March Madness

192 Comments on “March Madness”

1. 
   1 mksp said at 9:12 PM on March 28th, 2014:

   Some stuff here seems relevant:

   http://www.csnphilly.com/football-philadelphia-eagles/some-philly-clubs-cut-desean-eagles-did

   Is this true?

   “A team has exit interviews with each and every player. DeSean Jackson left the facility before he had his exit interview with the Eagles,” Gunn said.

   I truly believe the gang stuff is secondary. It really doesn’t feel like Chip was ever comfortable with DeSean, not for the culture he’s trying to build.

2. 
   2 PeterAkkies said at 9:13 PM on March 28th, 2014:

   I love your calm take on the situation, Tommy. This is an excellent piece.

3. 
   3 BC1968 said at 9:19 PM on March 28th, 2014:

   “The frustrating part of that is that DeSean could make a lot more money with football than in the rap game.” Doubt if DeSean sees it that way. He probably sees himself as a big time rapper after his football career is over. Unfortunately.

4. 
   4 Jernst said at 10:17 AM on March 29th, 2014:

   Well that is a miscalculation cause he’s a terrible rapper

5. 
   5 Sean said at 9:20 PM on March 28th, 2014:

   I never thought I’d say this about an NFL team, but I think the Eagles, under Chip Kelly, are focusing TOO much on character. It seems as though every player the team acquires has to have an outstanding reputation and image as a prerequisite. I understand the idea of changing the culture, but at a certain point they’re doing themselves a disservice by virtually ignoring talented, yet troubled players and weighing character so heavily. It’s also contrary to Roseman’s stated offseason strategy of taking care of needs so they can go BPA with every pick.

6. 
   6 Baloophi said at 9:44 PM on March 28th, 2014:

   Except for the racists and guys who dump women on the side of a highway…?

7. 
   7 holeplug said at 10:18 PM on March 28th, 2014:

   skipping mini camps to get house work done is ok too

8. 
   8 Flyin said at 11:29 PM on March 28th, 2014:

   and voluntary=mandatory. fear the sconce.

9. 
   9 Sean said at 1:21 AM on March 29th, 2014:

   That appears to have been an isolated incident, and not indicative of Cary Williams as a person or player.

10. 
    10 Sean said at 10:51 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I was talking more about character as it relates to football. Neither of those incidents had carryover effects into football. The difference between DeSean and those two is that it sounds like his off-field life was hurting his work ethic, his promptness, his dedication, and so on.

11. 
    11 austinfan said at 11:07 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Character players work hard to improve, and get enough of them, and young players feel the peer pressure to spend time in the weight room and film room to improve their game, instead of spending their time in the bar room gaming their plays.

12. 
    12 Scott J said at 8:53 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    I applaud the Eagles. The reason the NFL is filled with felons is because they tolerate them. At some point the NFL has to set a moral standard. I understand a lot of football players come from poor backgrounds, BUT, they are given a free education and a chance to make millions in the NFL and change their lives – but sadly they don’t change. Bettering ones self nowadays only means getting rich.

13. 
    13 CampDracula said at 10:23 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Not to get too off topic, but how is this different from the way we think about success in general in this country? If you make money, you’re successful. Nevermind how you did it or what kind of impact you’ve had on the world around you.

14. 
    14 bill said at 10:53 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    True. But the answer isn’t to make excuses for NFL players – the answer is to change that mindset, IMO. It’s one of the pet peeves that has alienated me from my Patriots fan friends. I compare Belicheat to Jamie Dimon, Lance Armstrong, Aroid, etc. as someone that is emblematic of the very cancer you’ve identified. It makes me sick that “winning” has now actually become everything in our culture.

15. 
    15 CampDracula said at 4:22 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    Fair enough. I’m not trying to make excuses for NFL players, however. I just see an unequal application of ethical standards applied across groups. What happens when bankers, business owners, stock traders, politicians, etc. place the almighty dollar above all else? And who has the ability to cause more widespread destruction?

16. 
    16 Scott J said at 4:04 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    True. The difference between society and the NFL is, a company will do background checks on potential hires. Most NFL players with their criminal backgrounds would never get hired by corporations. Ben Rothlisberger was accused of rape but never charged. He would be fired from most companies.

17. 
    17 CampDracula said at 4:30 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    Tolerance of misdeeds happens everywhere. The mayor of Toronto is addicted to crack. The largest news corporation in the world illegally hacks phones. BP destroyed the entire Gulf of Mexico. I could go on and on. Hell, even churches are filled with rapists. Let’s just not act like corruption is an NFL problem.

    If anything, these are athletes. They’re up there with rock and roll stars on the harmlessness scale. I’d rather focus on criminals in government or schools, for example.

18. 
    18 Neil said at 10:26 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Woah, let’s not celebrate indentured football too much.

19. 
    19 UsedtoBeAScribe said at 9:22 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    ESPN showed an interesting set of interviews with Maclin, Herremans, and Trent Cole from an event Thursday night – before DeSean got cut. They did not seem surprised or confused or even concerned by the possibility, which seems rather telling, particularly because they are some of the more established leaders of the team. This is total speculation, but I get the sense that DeSean was even worse in the locker room than has been stated.

20. 
    20 Eric Dein said at 9:47 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    And this Kelce tweet: “We just made an extremely unpopular decision, but I couldn’t be more excited and happy with where this organization is going!! #FlyEaglesFly”. No one has taken the time to define DeSean which makes you think that no one on the team is sad to see him leave.

21. 
    21 P_P_K said at 8:16 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    That really is telling.

22. 
    22 greenblood0118 said at 11:41 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Because when you define DeSean, you negate him…

23. 
    23 mark2741 said at 9:53 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    More telling – not a single quote or tweet from any current Eagle saying anything negative towards the Eagles for making the move, or positive towards DeSean. Oh, one exception – Kelce basically threw DeSean under the bus on Twitter.

24. 
    24 Daniel Norman Richwine said at 9:23 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Maybe it all comes down to Kelly really wanting to change the culture he inherited, the one which quit on Reid and the Eagles in 2012. Maybe Kelly is playing for the team 3 and 4 years from now, when Jackson will no longer be useful, and wanting to prevent him from influencing those Kelly hopes will be the leaders then.

25. 
    25 Daniel Miller said at 9:39 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Agree, I think this is a huge part of the issue. The Eagles aren’t a team that can really contend for the title this year. Kelly is building a culture and building a team that can dominate 3-4 years down the road.

26. 
    26 Bert's Bells said at 9:28 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    This is all Kempski’s fault.

27. 
    27 SteveH said at 9:30 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    It’s not, but the media speculation may have damaged our ability to get something in return for him. Or maybe not, who knows.

28. 
    28 Bert's Bells said at 9:31 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Probably not.

29. 
    29 Mac said at 9:45 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Also, when they cut players no sharp objects are involved, just blunt ones.

30. 
    30 SteveH said at 9:30 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    To be a fly on the wall during the conversations Howie and Chip had about Desean…

31. 
    31 Allen3000 said at 9:34 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Extremely frustrating all-around. I still can’t fathom how our front office was unable to get any compensation for him.

32. 
    32 Arby1 said at 10:43 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    This is the truly mysterious part. Tommy, I don’t know if you can address this in a future post, but how do you rate the front office’s handling of it? For me, to hear the leak that DeSean was available and that the team wanted “at least a 3rd rounder” never made any sense to me. ‘Why would they low-ball themselves’ is what I asked myself and I’m sure 31 GM’s in the league asked the same question. The team was acknowledging a problem without stating what the problem was. Which raised only more questions. I suspect they got weak offers at the owner’s meetings, (maybe they got no offers) but nothing that made them want to jump at the trade. Also, the leak: “He will be released if they can’t trade him.” What did that do for our leverage. The final nail in the coffin was the NJ.com article which collapsed any remaining market for DeSean. I don’t disagree with getting rid of DeSean necessarily, but to come out empty-handed seems like a huge blunder on the front office’s part. I like the moves the new FO have made in general, but this is a real puzzler.

33. 
    33 Baloophi said at 12:05 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Leak or no leak, I think getting “appropriate” value for DeSean would’ve been difficult.

    Unlike Percy Harvin, there wasn’t a legitimate beef to point towards – as in, Howie calls you up and says he’s fielding offers for DeSean, and you ask “why do you want to get rid of him?” There’s no realistic answer that doesn’t diminish his trade value. You can’t say he told you he wants to play for a winner, or you’re rebuilding – those are blatantly not true. You could say he’s unsatisfied with his contract, but then that would become their issue, and as it was, he was already well paid for his production. You could say something like, “he doesn’t fit our scheme” but that’s very fishy after the season he and we just had. And you couldn’t express character concerns because that would obviously drive the value down.

    Once they committed to parting ways, they were in a tough bind in terms of getting good value for him. Getting absolutely nothing is either

34. 
    34 Baloophi said at 12:14 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Okay, iPad and Disqus aren’t getting along. I was going to finish with a suggestion that not even getting an Asante-esque pick as compensation means teams know more about the situation or were simply too wary that the Eagles would deal him away. Whether they found out he was available via a leak or from Howie calling them to talk turkey seems immaterial, no?

35. 
    35 Arby1 said at 12:41 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    I’m not sure you have to tell a team why you want to trade someone but the Eagles had the 2nd highest WR cap. Why not just say ‘we want to lower our cap’? I think leaking that he *might* be available if the right deal came along would have been the right way to begin. Saying you want a 3rd rounder at the outset announces ‘there’s problems’. It seems like all of the leaks out the FO took the trade value out of this thing – that’s my main issue I guess, as much as strategy.

36. 
    36 Baloophi said at 1:38 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Gotcha. Two thoughts:

    1) We don’t know that they started with the third round pick stuff, or if that was ever from them. They could’ve been trying to offload him since February in creative ways and resorted to announcing a sale, or the third round rumor never came from them.

    2) On the WR cap issue as a reason for dumping, and in a larger sense not needing to give a reason, sure… Except that I think you get in trouble as a GM if you lie or intentionally omit information… Don’t get me wrong, deception is a big part of the job and I don’t mean you’d be sanctioned by the league, but if you don’t disclose your real fear (whatever it is in this case) and then it blows up on the other team, then you’ve burned a bridge with that team and potentially others. You become the GM nobody trusts and then nobody deals with.

37. 
    37 Baloophi said at 2:10 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Like, not drafting a player because you have superior information or not re-signing your own FA because you know he’s a dullard in the meeting room is one thing, but trading a guy and not disclosing your perceived issues is another.

    For instance, if we had traded Cornelious Ingram ostensibly for “TE depth issues” after that one promising preseason and failed to mention we had learned his knee was held together by Polly-O String Cheese and binder clips, the new team would be irate when Corny blows out his ACL posing for the team photo.

    Now there’s no “lemon law” or consumer protection advocacy in the NFL, but there is a Cold War like ethos that prevents such chicanery.

38. 
    38 Arby1 said at 2:44 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Difference of opinion. Buyer beware. GM’s knew who DeSean was before this week, now they know a little more, as do we. Unless there’s a lot more coming out that we don’t know yet, I’m not sure how much the Eagles are concealing. Has he been charged with anything?

39. 
    39 greenblood0118 said at 11:42 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Why assume potential trade partners were ignorant of the why? The Ealges might have simply resigned themselves to their fate, being out of options…

40. 
    40 Arby1 said at 12:52 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    I’m assuming that other teams DO know who DeSean is and what he’s all about. But I’m also assuming that he still had value as a 3-time All Pro coming off his best season as trade bait getting closer to the draft. But I think you’re right that the Eagles resigned themselves to their fate after it was rumored that the team would outright release him if no trades were forthcoming. After that, no team made an offer, leading to his release. Why would any team make an offer?

41. 
    41 barneygoogle said at 12:20 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Folsom Prison offered us a 5th rounder and two burglars for him.

42. 
    42 fran35 said at 12:45 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    There is a large part of me that is convinced that much more is going to come out re: legal troubles. That part of me also thinks that with Roseman being a dealmaker, and Lurie the class act-they would not have dumped Desean on an unwitting team with pending legal issues. Its just bad business and a GM can jeopardize future relationships with something like this.

43. 
    43 BC1968 said at 9:34 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Why we don’t win Super Bowls and the Pats do. They wait for their stars to kill someone before they release them.

44. 
    44 ICDogg said at 9:41 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    That was very FakeWIPCaller-ish. Kudos.

45. 
    45 Mitchell said at 9:40 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Give me OBJ and Bryant and we’ll have the fixin’s for one hell of a draft. O and Marcus Smith.

46. 
    46 SuPaFrO said at 10:45 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    1.OBJ/ Cooks
    2.Telvin Smith/KVN
    3.Marcus Smith
    4. Marty Bryant?

47. 
    47 Mitchell said at 10:40 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Idk if Smith makes it to the third or Bryant to the 4th 🙁 but I like it for sure.

48. 
    48 nopain23 said at 9:40 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Now…the draft options for the eagles just got less cloudy. WR at 22..book it!
    ODB or Cooks….this jut might be the best draft to have a need at WR.
    nowall we need is to trade BG for a pick ’cause 6 pick just doesn’t cut itin such a talent rich draft
    ideal draft

    RD1 cooks/odb
    RD2 KVN
    RD3 buccanon(yes i think he’ll be available in the third)

49. 
    49 anon said at 10:51 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Going to be hard for us to trade anyone now. Perception will be were dropping them bc they are bad people.

50. 
    50 Flyin said at 11:15 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Please re-read what you just posted. Don’t over react on one player released by the Eagles.

51. 
    51 Mac said at 9:42 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I haven’t seen anyone post this and it may be too soon to evaluate but

    How would you rate DeSean’s value as a second round pick?

    I would say that the Eagles got good value.

52. 
    52 Baloophi said at 9:46 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    The Giants game alone was worth it.

53. 
    53 Allen3000 said at 9:47 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I’d say he worked out slightly better than Trevor Laws

54. 
    54 Jamie Parker said at 10:24 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Or Matt McCoy.

55. 
    55 SteveH said at 10:32 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    The horror the horror…

56. 
    56 bill said at 9:13 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Can’t imagine that the odds of drafting a multiple pro bowler in the second are that high, so yeah, I think the Eagles got great value.

57. 
    57 Eric Dein said at 9:42 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    No doubt the first call DeSean should make right now is Cris Carter. I give him all the credit in the world for turning his life around after a wake-up call. Let’s hope Desean comes out of this smarter and makes us wince when all he does is catch td passes.

58. 
    58 mark2741 said at 10:23 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    If he does call Carter then that means that DJack has some sense and is not a complete loss. But let’s face it – he won’t. He’ll call his agent and his homies and they’ll tell him how he doesn’t need the Eagles…

59. 
    59 fran35 said at 12:47 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Jaccpot bitches!

60. 
    60 Weapon Y said at 1:17 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Btw cutting Cris Carter was a mistake too. Wouldn’t it have been nice if he stayed in Philly instead of waltzing off to Minnesota and tearing it up there?

61. 
    61 suthrneagle said at 1:39 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    ???-didn`t he say losing his job in Philly shocked him into understanding the mess of his life he`d made for himself?
    Then he got help and went on to `tear it up` in Minn.?
    Where`s the mistake, and if there was one beyond Carter`s lack of self control, then whose was it?

62. 
    62 Scott J said at 9:21 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Carter was released because he was a drug addict. Cutting him was a wake up call that helped turn his life around. If we didn’t release him, he may be dead.

63. 
    63 Weapon Y said at 12:37 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    I realize I might be cruel in saying this, but how did the Eagles benefit from him turning things around in Minnesota?

64. 
    64 Scott J said at 3:57 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    They didn’t benefit. BUT, the Eagles wouldn’t have benefitted from him staying in Philly.

65. 
    65 Weapon Y said at 4:44 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    You can’t prove that.

66. 
    66 Scott J said at 5:12 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    And you can’t prove that Carter being an alcoholic and drug addict would have been as successful in Philly as he was in Minnesota after he quit drugs and reformed his life.

67. 
    67 Weapon Y said at 6:06 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    I don’t have to. You definitively said he wouldn’t have done well even though there’s no proof he wouldn’t. I suggested there was a chance he might do well. The burden of proof is on you if you are going to throw around absolutes so much.

68. 
    68 Scott J said at 7:06 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    I’m going to jump in my time machine and get you the burden of proof you need. Hang on, hopefully this won’t take too long.

69. 
    69 Allen3000 said at 9:46 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    One thing folks often forget about drafting WR’s…They all appear great on paper, but are more often than not fools gold. There have been innumerable 1st/2nd round WR busts through the years. In fact, WR just might be one of the toughest positions to predict. So many great college WR’s have the raw talent and production, but for some reason, never pan out in the NFL.
    If Chip’s plan is to simply find Desean’s replacement in the draft, good luck. I’d love for this to be the case, but don’t be surprised if our rookie WR doesn’t work out as planned.

70. 
    70 Weapon Y said at 9:50 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    This

71. 
    71 Baloophi said at 10:01 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I’d be curious to hear D3FB’s theory (or anyone else’s) on the difficulty of WR prediction.

    Obviously corners are better in the NFL and there’s less time to get open with a better pass rush, but what else is going on?

72. 
    72 D3FB said at 9:55 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    I honestly wish I could tell you. Couple weeks ago a few other commenters and I looked at the 2005-2010 draft class for WR’s picked between rounds 1-3. The hypothesis was that bigger WR’s bust at a higher rate than smaller ones. We defined big as anyone over 6’3 and then broke players up into 3 categories: Hit, Average, Bust. What we ended up finding was that size was not a factor in the bust rate. It was something like 53.4% chance of drafting a bust if you took a big WR and 53.9% for those under 6’3.
    My best guess would be that alot of offenses require receivers to make route adjustments, and some guys lack the mental capacity to do that on the fly, as well as the fact that “open” in the NFL means one hand free with a corner hanging off you vs. in college it means no one within 5 yards.

73. 
    73 bill said at 10:50 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    And add to the fact that it’s impossible to untangle the roles inherent talent vs. being drafted by the right team (which in itself encompasses so many factors: good position coaches, a good game planner, right “fit,” etc.)

    I don’t think it’s at all likely they will draft someone who can produce even a DJax career average year next year, let alone his (IMO, unsustainable) 2013 numbers. But I feel fairly confident that, with this draft class, Kelly and his staff will produce a very productive WR (should they even draft one! I think they will, but I don’t think they’re going to deviate from their BPA approach).

74. 
    74 Anthony Hart said at 7:43 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    No way Chip cut him because he thinks he’s easily replaceable, DeSean did something or a few somethings that made the team decide he couldn’t be there anymore.

75. 
    75 mark2741 said at 9:57 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Not a single tweet or quote or interview from a current Eagle denouncing this. Don’t you find that odd? I guarantee, if he had friends in that locker room, there would be some tweets from players saying this was a mistake or at least a veiled insult back at the front office. Not a one. That’s telling.

76. 
    76 jshort said at 10:20 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Talk about sending a message, huh. …..He was missing meetings, they wanted to know why…might have had someone following him around!!!…Think FO knows a hell of a lot more then we’ll know for sometime.

77. 
    77 mark2741 said at 10:00 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I look at it this way – it’s not only about game day. It can’t be. The fans only care about that, but if you’re a coach/FO and you have to deal with a guy that is negative, then you have to correct it one way or the other. Something tells me this was a last-ditch effort by the Eagles. You can’t tell me that they wanted this to happen to save a few mil off next year’s cap! Anyone who manages/coahces people will tell you – it’s not just about ‘the bottom line’ – it’s also about practice, how they interact with others, etc. Anyone who thinks otherwise is living in a fantasy world.

78. 
    78 Telmert said at 10:02 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    On the draft and moving forward – lots of talk now that the Eagles will go after a WR in the draft, but I wonder if that’s true. Last pre-season they showed lots of 2 and 3 TE sets. We all wondered where they went during the season, and we finally did see more of it towards the end. I wonder if we’ll see a shift in that direction rather than a replacement for Jackson.

79. 
    79 gherbox said at 10:35 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Ive been waiting for this column all day Tommy, well put.
    I pretty much blew off working all day to read articles about this.

80. 
    80 Flyin said at 11:03 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    That’s the greatness of Tommy. He doesn’t just react, he digests and analyzes the situation before commenting on topics..

81. 
    81 gherbox said at 11:14 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    The question I have is this: Did the NJ.com article force the Eagles hand or was it created to explain the impending release?

82. 
    82 Flyin said at 11:25 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I would go with the latter. Do you think the the Eagles decided in 20 minutes to cut Jackson after reading the article that was released?

83. 
    83 gherbox said at 11:45 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I would be inclined to agree with you.

84. 
    84 BobSmith77 said at 1:46 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Of course not and at the very least the Eagles knew on advance the article was being published and when. I got lambasted in the last thread for asserting otherwise and about ESJ putting thus together on this own.

85. 
    85 Flyin said at 10:52 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I have a sense of pure calm regarding this situation. I understand we have lost our most statistically productive wide receiver, at the same time nothing bothers me regarding this. I am/was a DJax fan, yet something inside tells me this is for the good of the Eagles. Too many intelligent people in the front office know this was the move to make.

    This will not set back the Eagles! If anything, they have guarded against any future set backs.

86. 
    86 Michael Winter Cho said at 12:06 PM on March 29th, 2014:

    As do I. After bungling several NFC Championships in which they were favored, mishandling TO, not knowing you could have a tie, getting negative return from high-priced “Dream-Teamers”, Juan Castillo; I have come to realize my worrying will not help or change the Eagles. They must help themselves.

87. 
    87 eagleyankfan said at 11:01 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Well stated T-Law.

88. 
    88 austinfan said at 11:06 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    2004, Eagles add TO score 26 ppg before they call in the last two games.
    2005, TO goes ballistic, McNabb gets injured, OL goes on IR.
    2006, without TO, the offense collapes, oh wait, they score 25 ppg and gain 380 ypg with great skill players like Stallworth (started 11 games), Reggie Brown, Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis, LJ Smith and are a false start away from the NFC despite a mediocre defense.

    Chip in 2014 still has seven legitimate NFL skill players (McCoy, Sproles, Maclin, Cooper, Celek, Ertz, Casey) before the draft, and a top OL and a promising young QB. This ain’t the end of the world folks. If AR can adjust without his star WR, I suspect Chip will find a way.

89. 
    89 Flyin said at 11:35 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    Chip is a college coach, he doesn’t have 100 players to run his offense in the NFL. My math calculates that he is basing his moves on previous circumstances and has no clue to succeed in the NFL and that one player makes or breaks a team at this level. We are doomed.

90. 
    90 BC1968 said at 11:44 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    When people are saying the Eagles are losing so and so yardage and 12(?) TD’s from Jackson ….that’s assuming that no one is going to pick up the slack, they have plans to stay pat, and they already picked up Sproles, and that Jackson would come back with another kind of year like that.
    Let’s face it, we were talking about getting the Jackson of a few years ago coming back and dogging it when we heard he was talking a new contract because of his great year.He could’ve been unhappy and mailed it in…. I suspect he’ll have a great year with a new team to prove something, but that may not have been the case for the 14-15 Eagles. Geez did I say 14-15 Eagles? That sounds weird.

91. 
    91 Flyin said at 11:48 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    My comment was sarcasm. I have no worries that this offense will pull out the yards and tds that would have gone DJax’s way.

92. 
    92 BC1968 said at 11:54 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    I wasn’t trying to combat your point, I was making a general comment. I don’t know why I placed it there…lol

93. 
    93 Flyin said at 11:57 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    This whole saga has made me somewhat delirious.

94. 
    94 BC1968 said at 12:02 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    haha It’s an Eagles’ fan thing, we’re all delirious at this point.

95. 
    95 A_T_G said at 8:03 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    “…the Eagles are losing so and so yardage and 12(?) TD’s from Jackson ….that’s assuming that no one is going to pick up the slack…”

    Actually, that thinking assumes that we are going to play with 10 on offense and Foles will still throw balls to the spot where Jackson used to be.

96. 
    96 barneygoogle said at 12:17 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    I heard we may re-sign Reno Mahe for 3 years and 75 dollars.

97. 
    97 Flyin said at 12:21 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    Crab Fries for everyone!

98. 
    98 xeynon said at 8:37 AM on March 29th, 2014:

    In a related story, Chickie and Pete’s is considering filing tampering charges against the Eagles with the comissioner’s office.

99. 
    99 Ark87 said at 11:38 PM on March 28th, 2014:

    One example of an elite passing game with no elite talent, but rather several solid options is the Saints offense, pre-graham. Obviously Brees made that offense purr. Point is that while Foles isn’t at that level (yet?), at least he has an elite running back to help out. If we can keep improving our D, we should be fine.

100. 
     100 shah8 said at 11:46 PM on March 28th, 2014:

     Beware though…the poison sets in during the season, not right now.

101. 
     101 Flyin said at 11:50 PM on March 28th, 2014:

     Not to worry, the antidote is in the nova care complex already. Chip Kelly is so far ahead of you.

102. 
     102 shah8 said at 11:56 PM on March 28th, 2014:

     Just like Eric Mangini?

     Or like Pete Carroll?

     Looks more like the first, man.

103. 
     103 Flyin said at 12:00 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Chip is no penguin.

104. 
     104 SteveH said at 12:05 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Just gonna go ahead and copy and paste this comment…

105. 
     105 suthrneagle said at 1:19 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     what poison are you referring to?

106. 
     106 Baloophi said at 1:51 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     The only poison there is…

107. 
     107 Michael Myers said at 7:29 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     fu…cant unsee..

108. 
     108 xeynon said at 8:38 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Hair metal… What were they thinking?

109. 
     109 A_T_G said at 8:00 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Luckily, I have spend the last few years building up an immunity to I iocane powder.

110. 
     110 sonofdman said at 10:19 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Inconceivable!

111. 
     111 A_T_G said at 11:40 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I do not think that word means what you think it means.

112. 
     112 mksp said at 10:32 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Yeah, all the players that are anonymously commenting how bad of a move this is and tweeting their support for DeSean. You can tell it will be a real noxious atmosphere in the locker room next year without DeSean and with military dictator Chip overstepping his authority.

113. 
     113 rick said at 11:56 PM on March 28th, 2014:

     rumor– possible indictment. on Mr wondeful.

114. 
     114 Flyin said at 12:02 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     who is Mr wonderful?

115. 
     115 SteveH said at 12:10 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I googled it and this is what I came up with: could be a fleetwood mac alblum, a musical starring Sammy Davis Jr., or Kevin O’Leary. Not feeling real confident about any of those sources.

116. 
     116 BC1968 said at 12:24 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I know Mr Fabulous from the Blues Brothers’ movie.

117. 
     117 BC1968 said at 12:26 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     “You;re wearing the same shit you had on three years ago.”

118. 
     118 A_T_G said at 1:14 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     If rick’s last name is Flair, I’m betting on this guy.

119. 
     119 barneygoogle said at 12:04 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I understand there is a lot more about Jackson to come out from the NJ authors. We’ll see. IF the reports are true about Jackson–drugs, guns, friendship with murderers, stonewalling police, hiring gang members in his business–any team that signs him should be made to forfeit all their draft choices, their coach put on suspension, and their general manager banned from the NFL for life. That’s if Goodell has a pair. One has to question too, why the Eagles didn’t deal with this, long ago. Maybe Kelly didn’t get the big picture.
     …but the NFL has no shame. I fully expect Andy Reid to be giving DeSean a contract and a big, wet Kansas City kiss in about two weeks.

120. 
     120 BC1968 said at 12:05 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Don’t think you can blackball someone like that unless there is some kind of charge.

121. 
     121 Flyin said at 12:13 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I have a little understanding about being blackballed in entertainment… the law has nothing to do with it.

122. 
     122 anon said at 7:44 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Unless you knowingly lie.

123. 
     123 Flyin said at 12:05 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Reid supported his own son… a drug dealer and abuser.

124. 
     124 BC1968 said at 12:07 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     That played a role in giving Mike Vick a chance when he got out of prison. So he says.

125. 
     125 Flyin said at 12:09 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     deleted

126. 
     126 Flyin said at 12:29 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I read earlier that the Eagles decided not to trade Desean because they did not want a team not knowing what they know about the situation.

     As much as it sucks for not getting any compensation, I hold the FO in total respect for their actions, if this report is true.

     This is how you stay respectful in the business.

127. 
     127 Weapon Y said at 1:13 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     That’s a sucker’s mentality. Teams rip each other off all the time. You can either be ethical or be successful. Not both. Ask the Patriots or Seahawks if they care about ethics.

128. 
     128 Zepi said at 1:39 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     How does ripping off other teams in deals make it easier to make deals in the future?

129. 
     129 anon said at 7:43 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Timing of drop is awefully curious then right considering they’d been trying to trade him like 2 days before. Who knows if that gang stuff is even true. What do the eagles even know?

130. 
     130 Weapon Y said at 12:32 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Maclin and Cooper are simply not that good. Any rookie is a crapshoot. Wide receiver is a huge liability on this team now.

131. 
     131 Flyin said at 12:35 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I wish they would have traded for Sproles to catch some passes. This FO sucks!

132. 
     132 Weapon Y said at 1:10 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Sproles isn’t a real receiver. He’s a nice scatback and a good tool in the toolbox, but should not be your main weapon in the passing game. Neither should Maclin or Cooper. Try again, pal.

133. 
     133 Flyin said at 1:23 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Your right he is not a real receiver. What a fraud.

     When you factor in Maclin, Cooper, Sproles, Celek, Ertz. Casey and McCoy, the only real tool is you.

134. 
     134 BobSmith77 said at 2:01 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     He isn’t and the Eagles are going to have to cobble something together including using a high draft pick on a WR.

     Clearly worse off without Jackson and have to hope they hit on his replacement in the draft and that WR is a real contributor next year. This isn’t a young offense either as people assert either. It a mature unit with most starters currently in their primer or already past it. If the Eagles are focusing on say 2 years down the road, there is a good chance that the only player you mentioned still in his prime is Ertz.

135. 
     135 Michael Myers said at 7:26 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     cobble? really? you must be a cowlosers fan bobsmythe. yeah…in their “primer”. gfy

136. 
     136 Zepi said at 1:30 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Sproles is going to be one of the main weapons because defenses have to scheme against him.

137. 
     137 Right_On1 said at 3:39 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I wonder if pre-draft we make a move for someone like Juron Criner. Good chemistry with Foles (which Chip seems to value) and I can’t imagine he’d take much to get.

138. 
     138 Zepi said at 1:06 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     Could be a possibility. His measurables look good. Don’t know how much the Raiders value developing him still. Doesn’t look like he did much for them in the last two years and he could be fighting just to be on their roster this year. If the raiders cut him this season or next we could value him more than any other team because of that chemistry with Foles and give him a shot.

139. 
     139 Weapon Y said at 12:40 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     Sproles is good, but he can’t take over a game like Jackson can.

140. 
     140 Zepi said at 12:48 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     Yes he can take over a game. Why would defenses have to scheme against him if he doesn’t have the ability to take over games?

141. 
     141 Michael Myers said at 7:23 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     slut i mean slot…at least when ertz aint there…

142. 
     142 austinfan said at 9:43 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Yeah, because Maclin can’t do squat without DeSean on the other side. Why, when DeSean was hurt in 2012, Foles and Maclin combined for a mere 330 yards in 4 games. And Foles and Cooper only combined for 599 yards and 7 TDs the last nine games of 2013. So obviously, Foles will not be in a comfort zone with these guys starting at WR.

143. 
     143 Patrick said at 5:47 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     What does Anquan Boldin, Vincent Jackson Alshon Jeffery, Emmanuel Sanders, Dwayne Bowe Marques Colston, TY Hilton, Andre Johnson, Golden Tate and Greg Jennings have in common? They all caught less touchdowns than “simply not that good” Riley Cooper in 2013, even though they all had more receptions. Yes thats a cherry picked stat and the arguments are flawed, but it matches up nicely with your rhetoric. I think everyone knows that your WR corps would be better with DeSean Jackson, but lets not make it out to seem like we’re in the same boat as the Panthers. Enjoy your day.

144. 
     144 Christopher Miller said at 12:55 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Seems like this had been in the works long enough to wonder why we did not bring one additional free agent wide receiver in? I will admit I don’t know who would have made sense because until today that seemed like one of the strengths. I hate going into the draft thinking we need to draft one early even though there should be enticing ones at 22. Shoot if nothing else dump him after the draft so people won’t jump ahead of us if a wide out slides. Not sure I am thrilled with the handling of this whole affair. If you are trying to extract some value why dump him now. If you did not feel comfortable trading him why wait till now or entertain offers at all. Something still does not add up, but maybe when the details emerge it will be obvious.

145. 
     145 Michael Myers said at 7:03 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     in effect we added two wr’s….sproles and maclin to replace avant and jackson…to replace those lost. close to even in my book.

146. 
     146 Michael Myers said at 7:20 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I don’t understand your logic regarding jumpers/sliders. Jacksonville, ny jets, raiders, are all teams ahead of eags who could draft a wr. to me that means one might fall if they sign djax

147. 
     147 UsedtoBeAScribe said at 2:04 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     It would appear to me there’s one real positive to this situation: it seems Chip is going to stick around for a while. If he had it in mind to only be here for a year or two more, he would be more inclined to keep DeSean and deal with his shenanigans.

148. 
     148 Insomniac said at 2:04 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Now time to wait for Tommy to write which need is greater…WR or OLB? I’ve had my mock draft nearly done but today’s news just wrecked it.

149. 
     149 Baloophi said at 2:22 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Seems like, in this draft, if you have an OLB and a WR rated the same in a particular round, you might give the edge (so to speak!) to the OLB given the relative abundance of pass-catchers in this year’s crop.

     That said (and as was referenced below by Allen3000), “hitting” on a WR is hard, so unless we’re doubling down on WRs taking one later doesn’t necessarily ensure we’ve addressed the need.

     Still, comparing the availability of OLBs to WRs in this year’s free agency class, you wonder if you’d still give the nod to OLB, with the understanding that you’re more likely to find a serviceable WR outside the draft than an OLB.

150. 
     150 Insomniac said at 4:45 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     After watching a bunch of tape on both positions, I think it’s rather lackluster when we’ll pick in the first round.

     On a side note, I wonder if the Browns are still shopping Josh Gordon? I’d give up our first for him. Get it done Howie.

151. 
     151 Anders said at 9:37 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     BPA, I would still had picked a wr in the first of he had better grade than to reach on an Olb, so this does not really change anything for me

152. 
     152 Cafone said at 4:08 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Jason Avant is still available.

153. 
     153 Insomniac said at 4:51 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     So is DeSean Jackson. Oh wait..

154. 
     154 Mac said at 9:08 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     At what point can we talk him into a coaching job? Lol

155. 
     155 T_S_O_P said at 5:01 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Some thoughts: First, personally, I’ll miss ‘Peanut’, he was a special player and will forever be entwined in Eagles history. I supported him during his poorest season and I felt then as I do now, that regardless of the nature of the business of being a player, that contract status and the feeling of being enfranchised or disenfranchised effected him emotionally. IMO, that is in his nature. However, it would also seem now, that his day job and the Eagles organisation in particular, offered a yang to the ying of those others around him. Working for a great organisation and being loved for that can build a sense of security, more so if you don’t get that elsewhere. I hope he lands somewhere that can offer what our great organisation offered and at the same time he reflects on this whole situation.

156. 
     156 TommyLawlor said at 10:47 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I do hope DeSean learns from this.

157. 
     157 Frencheaglesfan said at 6:08 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Compared to this the red wedding was predictable!

158. 
     158 Poppi said at 6:17 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     What does every front office know in common? The D Jax contract was too rich. The FO shopped him hard and got NOTHING for him. Not even from Big Red. He will get signed soon for less money. A shame to lose him for sure.

159. 
     159 Michael Myers said at 6:57 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     He just chooses the wrong people to associate with. Part of Hernandez’s problem is that he never severed ties with the crowd he grew up with.

     I would say that his associates chose the wrong person to hang out with…

160. 
     160 Andy124 said at 8:34 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     there is every reason to think DeSean would have c continued to make huge money from the Eagles, if not some other team.

     Intentional?

161. 
     161 Corry said at 10:21 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Tommy is in the Crips! We should cut him.

162. 
     162 TommyLawlor said at 10:48 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     What the hecc are you guys talking about?

163. 
     163 Scott J said at 8:38 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Tommy is always the voice of reason. McLane wrote a hit job on the Eagles and Hayes is defending Jackson. Never a dull moment when it comes to the Eagles.

164. 
     164 tball_man said at 8:59 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Herein lies the beauty of this site (no disrespect to the prodigal father). The comments, understatements, observations, & debate make this my number 1 site to follow what our beloved Eagles are up to.

165. 
     165 Mac said at 9:12 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     McLane said that either the Eagles did the wrong thing or else they didn’t do the right thing.

     In other news… Chip Kelly has discovered that his captain can say heads we win tails they lose when asked to call it in the air at away games. Jason Kelce is enrolled in an auctioneer school to work on it this offseason.

166. 
     166 robo40 said at 8:50 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     I’m not so sure this hurts the defense by taking away draft picks. DeSean’s contract was realistically for 1 more year. They were going to take wideouts in this deep draft anyway, and now have an additional 6.5 million to retain players in 2015. On the field he was worth 6.5 million for 2014. But if we start the season with the players we have right now, it’s already a better offense than it was last year. Maclin + Sproles + intangibles + Benn/Smith > Jackson + Avant. Unless they were going to let Chip use 2 footballs, spreading it around may have become an issue. Would have been nice if they had managed to get a draft pick, but the division is still ours to win. I don’t buy that Jackson helps in the postseason, where physical play rules and they tend to let corners get away with more contact.

167. 
     167 the midatlantic said at 9:32 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     “intangibles”? When did we sign him?

168. 
     168 robo40 said at 9:44 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     We signed him with Sproles, and released him with Jackson. He’s one of Kelly’s favorite players, apparently. Which bodes well for the future.

169. 
     169 robo40 said at 8:01 AM on May 11th, 2014:

     Intangibles posts pix of himself on an island while his teammates are busting his butt. If you don’t think the Eagles are signing and drafting intangibles, you haven’t been paying attention.

170. 
     170 Scott J said at 9:31 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     What will be aggravating for us fans is, no matter where he signs, Jackson will play the good guy for a year. He’ll be early for meetings, won’t complain. And when the head coach is asked about him, he’ll say he’s been great, all his teammates love him, and they couldn’t be happier with Jackson on their team.

171. 
     171 Jernst said at 9:55 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     If this is just loose associations with the wrong crowd with no other issues I’ll be extremely dissapointed. Hanging out with rappers that are in gangs and flashing a C with your hands seems like a weak reason to cut someone and even more seems like a crazy reason for no one to give up anything for him in a trade.

     If there’s some Aaron Hernandez level concerns, then I totally understand. If they just don’t like that he occasionally hangs out w a rough crowd then they seriously bungled this situation and should be held to take for that.

172. 
     172 kevinlied said at 10:22 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     We’ll learn more as the weeks go by, but I’d be surprised if the team thought he was actually in a gang or that there was a great risk of him committing crimes. And I don’t think the issue is his connections. I think it’s his seemingly open embrace of gang culture. Most employers, especially those who are trying to appeal to a mainstream (read: white) customer base, would have concerns with their employees flashing hand gestures that could be interpreted as gang signs on Instagram and spelling the names of their side businesses in gang friendly ways. And Desean knows this. He is sophisticated in the intersection between “urban” culture and “mainstream” culture. When Carmelo Anthony was filmed in that Stop Snitchin’ video. He distanced himself from it as much as humanly possible. Desean has taken the opposite tact, and not surprisingly it has been to his professional detriment.

     Btw, props to Charlie Kelly (or is it Charlie Celly?) for calling this angle.

173. 
     173 Jernst said at 10:36 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Yea, still not buying it. I find it very hard to believe that a few Instagram photos and a rap label make a money driven results obsessed sports team weaken itself.

174. 
     174 kevinlied said at 12:31 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     I don’t think it’s the factor. I’m just saying to the extent “gang ties” played into the decision making process, the eagles were likely concerned that he was publicly embracing the culture and not that he was an actual gang member.

175. 
     175 Jernst said at 1:10 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     That’s completely likely. It just seems a little drastic if that was the only thing they had to hang their hat on. Seems like there’d be a middle ground reaction before cutting him if all he did was occasionally embrace a few thugs and their culture when he raps with them in between charity work.

176. 
     176 kevinlied said at 12:38 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     And if your goal is to earn lucrative contracts and endorsement deals in professional sports, it is never a good idea to publicize images of yourself flashing gestures that could be interpreted as gang signs — whether fair or not.

177. 
     177 Jernst said at 1:07 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     True…I certainly monitor my Facebook for anything that might be considered untoward and I don’t make 1/100th of what DeSean has at stake. Infinitely stupid on his part.

178. 
     178 A_T_G said at 11:31 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     If Damarius Johnson had been doing these things, would you expect the team to give him that same long leash and acceptance? I think the message here is that it doesn’t matter who you are or how talented you are, there are certain expectations that must be met to stay with the team. The fact that no player is speaking out seems to suggest that everyone in the locker room knows what those expectations are and knows that DJax failed to meet them.

179. 
     179 Jernst said at 11:46 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Agree completely. Teams always give their stars more leash than their JAGs. Just read about LT, Charles Haley, Deion Sanders and you’ll see that. I also agree that the players reactions are significant. I just think they know whatever it is that we know. I doubt it’s just Instagram pictures and finger symbols, it’s probably more unsavory things that have yet to come out if it’s off the field, or worse locker room behavior than we heard about throughout the season. Because, by all indications they told us he was a model citizen in the locker room all year.

180. 
     180 Jernst said at 11:47 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Seriously tho…read about Charles Haley. Dude was legitimately insane. He would whip it out and jerk off to ejaculation in meetings…on multiple occasions.

181. 
     181 Jernst said at 12:01 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     http://www.complex.com/sports/2013/11/insane-locker-room-stories/charles-haley … Talk about a locker room distraction

182. 
     182 Jernst said at 10:33 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     The one thing that I really don’t get is, if a lot of this was his work ethic and attitude in the locker room, missed meetings, not practicing hard, ect…then why wasn’t he disciplined once during the year. In OTAs he goofed off and didn’t put I the effort and he was demoted to 3rd string. After his talk with Chip all we heard was that he was completely dialed in and working hard for Chip.

     Doesn’t it set an even worse precedent to let someone bail on meetings and skip practice and never get punished. (Of course he’s getting punished now under that theory, but still…)

     I just feel like something changed from December until now.

183. 
     183 Neil said at 11:02 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Probably because none of those individual situations was bad enough to warrant discipline by themselves.

     However, when you’re the best paid player on the team, those little situations can add up quickly.

184. 
     184 Jernst said at 11:41 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     No doubt. I understand not wanting someone to act like that, especially if they’re your highest paid player. But, if someone keeps acting in that manner and that overall demeanor is enough to cut said player I’d think it’d be enough to warrant punishing at some point during the year.

185. 
     185 Neil said at 12:27 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     It’s weird for sure.

186. 
     186 Jernst said at 1:04 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     Let’s see how the draft and the season works out tho before we judge. Right now I’m deflated. But, the results will speak for themselves. Either we’ll be cursing this move with pitch forks in hand outside the Novacare complex this time next year, or Chip, a coach who’s been wildly successful everywhere he’s been knows what his offense needs.

     Only thing that kills me is the no compensation. If there’s no Aaron Hernandez level concerns that scared off everyone and he just “didn’t fit our culture”, getting nothing is the biggest scar on Howies resume to date. If there’s more to the story it makes more sense.

     I just see two options either DeSeans a lot worse than we know, or Howie unfortunately blundered this trade. If it’s all a couple of missed meetings and a yelling match with his position coach DeSean should have netted a 1st and a 3rd. Anything else is a failure, let alone nothing.

187. 
     187 Gay Eagles Fan said at 10:53 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     While I am a big DeSean fan at the end of the day the only thing about him I will miss is his production. He can be replaced. It may take a couple of guys to do it but we will replace his production. The reality is no front office is going to just dump a guy like DeSean on a whim or based on a newspaper article. NFL teams are multi billion dollar corporations and a decision like this one would have not only gone through Chip, Howie and Jeffrey but would have involved the Eagles legal team. All working to make the best decision for the corporation. We may never know what all went into the decision but at the end of the day I trust in the team’s decision. As to those who think the team is racist, if they wanted to hurt DeSean they could have held on to him until after the draft when he would have even less value to teams. Just like with Jason Avant they released him early enough to try and catch on with another team. In Chip and Howie I trust.

188. 
     188 Jernst said at 12:41 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     Agreed…we’ll be just fine. He was really good but not great. Rarely took over games, especially in the biggest games. Still makes us weaker. Still frustrating to give him up for nothing. But, I have to believe that there’s info that we as fans are not privy to . It’s probably a combination of things, but I feel very confident that it isn’t just a couple of poorly thought out Instagram photos and the fact he buts heads with his position coach. No team weakens themselves over easily handled situations like that. He was either much worse in the locker room than reported or much deeper into the gang life than we know. Both of which would make this understandable. Simply not being the biggest work out warrior, missing a meeting or two or taking a photo were you put your hand up like a C usually won’t get you fired/cut outright.

     If this is nothing more than that, it’s simultaneously concerning that we’d give up such a talent for nothing based on seemingly minor things while also making me respect Chip even more (until the team doesn’t produce as well). If Chip is that principled in his vision of what he wants, I give him the most respect. That’s a tough principled decision and one I, on some levels, legitimately respect. But, his vision better produce on the field or this could be a serious miscalculation.

189. 
     189 Miami_Adam said at 3:53 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     I’ll miss his flair for the game. See:

190. 
     190 Gay Eagles Fan said at 11:02 AM on March 29th, 2014:

     Chip inherited his team from fat Andy. My guess based on his behavior at Oregon that he gave DeSean the opportunity over the last year to keep is job and DeSean failed. The last thing an organization needs is a player seen as a role model by younger players to be missing meetings, disrespecting his position coach, and behaving like a fool off the field. Chip is trying to build a team culture that is based on hard work and respect. DeSean didn’t fit and was released. I also think it is telling that not one player either via anonymous quote to a reporter or via social media has backed DeSean.

191. 
     191 Jernst said at 12:55 PM on March 29th, 2014:

     Well said. I trust Chip so far and I’m looking forward to routing for a true team that puts it all out there on the field. DeSean hasn’t necessarily willed this team to victory over the 6 years he’s been here. And, I’ll always believe that a team is better with a team full of Duce Staleys than one of Chris Johnson’s, Sheldon Browns rather than Assante Samuels.

     It hurts to lose that talent but sometimes it makes you a better team. Football is won on those hidden plays, like 3rd and 7 that gain 8 yards rather than 6 because the player fought like his life depended on it. Those things rarely are seen in stats but are infinitely important.

     All that being said, if the offense struggles, safeties feel free to move into the box without a deep threat like DeSean, McCoy gets bottled up and Cooper/Maclin can’t compensate, Chip will have to reveal how bad DeSean REALLY was for us to release him for nothing. And Howie will have to answer for why he signed DeSean two years ago to an untradeable contract when by all accounts these tendencies of his were already apparent.

192. 192 Was Chip or Howie the DJax Axeman? - NY Superbowl Insider said at 3:39 PM on March 30th, 2014:

     […] When the going gets weird, Tommy Lawlor of Iggles Blitz (and BGN) is a reliable source of level-headed perspective. Plowing through all the Djacc angst, I noticed an interesting cautionary note in one of Tommy’s recent columns: […]