Stability is a Good Thing

Posted: March 18th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 64 Comments »

Let’s talk a bit more about the re-signing of Evan Mathis.  This is a great thing for the Eagles for a variety of reasons.

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1. Continuity.   The most underrated factor in good O-lines is stability and continuity.  The Houston Texans have probably had the best OL in football the last 2 years.  Any great players on their OL?  No.  They function well as a unit.  Don’t judge them as 5 individual parts, but rather as one group.

The Eagles OL last year was outstanding at times.  The best way to get a repeat performance is to bring back the same players.  Carl Nicks is more physically dominant than Mathis.  David DeCastro has the potential to be a special OG.  But the best fit for the Eagles is Mathis.  That’s why the team focused on keeping him.  Mathis knows how to play beside Jason Peters.  Mathis knows how to play beside Jason Kelce.  Mathis knows the playbook, the blocking system, and how to do exactly what the coaches want.

2. Versatility.  Mathis has the size to play OT if needed.  Should an injury occur to Peters or Herremans, Mathis could be asked to move.  Todd could slide to LT and Mathis to RT, for example.  Or if Todd gets hurt, Mathis could just go to that spot.  He’s got the athleticism and size to play OT in this system.  He’s also a veteran player who knows how to deal with complex NFL defenses and the crazy looks that people will throw at offenses.

3.  Value.  Some people have questioned if the Eagles overpaid for a “journeyman OG”.  I don’t think so at all.  Mathis was a star OL at Alabama.  I seem to recall them having a decent football program.  Mathis went to the Scouting Combine and had a great workout.  The immediate response from some scouts was to wonder if he could play LT in the NFL.  Mathis spent 3 years with the Carolina Panthers, starting 15 games in 2006.  He then went to a dysfunctional Miami team for part of a year.  Mathis left there for Cincinnati and was a Bengal until 2011. He’s not a journeyman in the sense of a guy who bounces from team to team.  Bengals – 26 games.  Panthers – 25 games.  Dolphins – 7 games.  Mathis problem was timing.  A player must be on the right team at the right time to get a break.  Was Bobbie Williams a bad player for the Eagles because he couldn’t beat out John Welbourn and Jermane Mayberry?  No.

Mathis finally got the right breaks in Philly.  He fit the system.  He came here as a coach was installing a new system so no player had his job locked down, aside from LT Jason Peters.  Newly signed RT Ryan Harris gets hurt.  Herremans moves to that spot and suddenly Mathis is the starting LG.  He didn’t just play “okay”.  Mathis was outstanding.

The Eagles did want some protection in case Mathis isn’t able to sustain that level of play.  They didn’t give him a lot of guaranteed money.  Basically the deal works like this…as long as Mathis plays well, he gets paid well.  If his level of play drops, the team can cut him and move on without it costing too much.  This is fair to both sides.  Mathis can’t sit back and count his money all day.  He’s got to stay focused and play well.  If he does play well, Mathis is worth every penny the Eagles gave him.

It is interesting to note that Mathis is 30 and just got a good deal from the Eagles.  They will pay some older guys who have plenty of tread left on the tire.

* * * * *

To show just how impartial I am with Eagles players, I had prepared a scouting report on Mathis to share with Ravens fans had he signed with them.  Here it is:

Strengths:  Unborn children have never had to suffer from the atrocity that he calls blocking.

Weaknesses:  Everything else.

Summary:  Completely overrated player who will pull apart your soul, strand by strand, as you watch him miss assignments, get overpowered, and basically do nothing except consume oxygen.  As a threat to humanity, he ranks 37th overall, just after flying monkeys and just before packs of rabid donkeys.

* * * * *

What’s up with Derek Landri?

DTs just started to move around this weekend.  Jason Jones signed a 1-yer deal with Seattle.  Kendall Langford signed with the Rams.  Those guys will start.  Landri is a backup DT.  He had to wait his turn, but should start to get some attention in the next 7 to 10 days or so.  My guess is that the Eagles are interested in keeping him, but Derek is looking for the best deal he can.

Back to Jason Jones for a second.  Jeff McLane said on Twitter that the Eagles did talk to him about a deal.  I’m sure the Eagles were curious about him, since Jones played so well for Jim Washburn in Tennessee.  Jones got $4.5M with $500K in incentives from the Seahawks.  That’s more than what the Eagles could offer.  Here Jones would be a backup and you can’t pay those guys big bucks.

* * * * *

No word yet on King Dunlap.  I’d be interested in bringing him back as the #3 OT.  The Eagles might rather try to draft someone and then target a veteran OT after the draft, depending on how things work out.

* * * * *

Did you see how much Dallas is paying Kyle Orton in 2011?  Check it out.  Crazy.

  • Cafone

    I’d like to know what you see in King Dunlap. Particularly, all other things being equal ($$$, injuries), would you actually rather have him over Winston Justice as your #3 OT?

    They say you can’t teach things like speed and size, and there’s no way to teach Dunlap to be shorter. In my opinion, his awkward build will always be a liability that he’s not athletic enough to overcome.

    • TommyLawlor

      Dunlap has been a good backup OT for the last couple of years. Simple as that. Can play RT or LT. Not someone I’d ever want to be my starter, but has been a useful role player.

      Justice, at 100%, is better. Not sure if he is healthy. He does want a starting job. Dunlap might be open to staying here as a backup.

      • T_S_O_P

        If Justice is 100% shouldn’t the Texans want a look?

        • wee2424

          Justice got traded to colts

          • T_S_O_P

            oooooooooooops!

  • izzylangfan

    I have to confess to being a little bored. Although I shouldn’t be surprised – this is the Eagles modus operandi. But watching teams overpay for free agent talent does at least at first blush seem more exciting than sitting around waiting for the market to settle. But it is still difficult to be convinced that the Eagles are going to do something at linebacker rather than settle for a couple of recently injured players on the cheap.

    Apparently no linebackers are interesting to anybody so far. Hawthorne seems to be the most interesting to teams precisely because he is not so good that you actually have to pay him much. Tulloch seems to have priced himself out of the market. Clearly as time goes on the market price of linebackers is dropping. But other than that what is happening in the linebacker market?

    • TommyLawlor

      Very quiet on the LB front. The Saints are talking to several guys, but that tells you that they aren’t smitten with anyone and are shopping for a good deal.

      Hawthorne is scheduled to visit DET this week, so they must be frustrated with Tulloch’s demands.

      The Eagles will get involved with a LB this week. Not sure who. The Evan Mathis PC is Monday so maybe we get a visit on Tuesday or Wednesday.

      • eagleizeit

        Tommy – What do you think about having all 4 LB’s visit early like the Saints. I would think that it would be good for them to see Curtis, Tulloch, Hawthorne and Fletcher for several reasons. Get a feel for them, show you’re interested in the best avail player for the team(but also don’t want to overpay), show some respect for the pos(not just call who’s left meet & make an offer) and let the fans know you’re doing your due diligence. If they meet with them early enough and leave a favorable impression, the one you might want the most might tell them when a teams pressuring them to sign, but they’d prefer to play for you for less money than you even had in mind. I don’t see what the point is in just treating them like a #, signing whoever and possibly spending more money than necessary. They’ll care less about the organization to and maybe just be here for the money(not play as hard; which could’ve all been prevented).

        • TommyLawlor

          Free agency isn’t a time to test drive players. Good scouting departments should have grades on players. The FO then targets the players they want.

          By bringing in a slew of guys, it comes across that a team doesn’t know what they want and are making it up on the fly. Doesn’t mean that is the case, but that’s the way it comes across.

          Teams and agents are talking. The Eagles aren’t ignoring LB and blindly hoping. They have a plan or plans in place. FA is about adding players, but also working the market so you don’t overpay if you don’t have to.

          Let’s see what happens in the next few days.

  • T_S_O_P

    Tommy, you have taken taller DTs in 2 mock drafts, any thoughts on Chas Alecxih of Pitt?

    • TommyLawlor

      He’s a guy I’m still working on. Also need to study JR Sweezy from NC State. Both are interesting guys that should fit us well.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anders-Jensen/748307140 Anders Jensen

    A little off topic, I just saw the Spuds interview with Cole and he said Hunt is upto 260, if that is true, how do think it will help him?

    • wee2424

      Better against the run, maybe able to mix in a bullrush move

    • TommyLawlor

      Hunt needs to be 260 to be a functional run defender. Good news.

  • wee2424

    I hope we resign landri for the right price. Good things happened when he was on the field. I keep seeing articles stating Landry is supposed to come in for a visit this week. I really don’t know how I feel about signing him. Would definitely have to be for the right price considering his injury history. But if he is healthy he would be a physical presence that we have been missing since Dawkins. I would imagine he would be great in run support.

    • http://twitter.com/alex_karklins Alex Karklins

      I have zero interest in LaRon Landry and I’m kind of confused by all the attention he seems to be getting. He can’t stay healthy, is a liability in coverage, and seems like a walking personal foul penalty. Not to mention his grotesque body-building obsession. I think plugging Keenan Clayton into safety in short yardage situations makes a lot more sense.

      Derek Landri is a totally different story. He brings the ruckus whenever he’s in the rotation.

      • wee2424

        I agree with you. He would be an upgrade over clayton, but he would just cost way to much. He does bring that nastiness and physical presence that we lack, but yet again it would just cost to much. The injury problems wouldn’t be a concern if yet again he didn’t cost to much. there would be a Ferrari in my garage, but it cost to much. Drank again tonight, lol I can go on and on with this. Btw, season finale of walking dead tonight, whose watching?

  • Zachary Kaplan

    Tommy,

    When do we start to worry that the team is over-valuing it’s own talent?

    We were a 8-8 team, how sure are they that last years squad underachieved? I’m not saying we needed to sign Mario Williams, Randy Moss, Peyton Manning, etc. – but for a team that said last year was unacceptable, it doesn’t seem like anything is changing.

    Coaches? Other than a DB coach – seems like the whole group is returning.

    At the moment is seems like the roster won’t have any “major” new faces, so it too is mostly a return…

    A 8-8 with this much confidence in it’s own talent confuses me.

    • hallcr3

      I think Tommy’s #1 from above applies here: continuity. We’re returning with the same players, but a group of players who have a year together under their belts. The coaches will also have 1 more year of experience with this group.

      Also, I believe Tommy presented the Giants as an example. They didn’t make many changes last off-season and ended up in the Super Bowl.

      Finally, who are the upgrades out there? Our current roster only got us to 8-8, but what positions can be upgraded with the talent that’s available? Other than LB, I don’t see how any FA’s would have been improvements over the team that only went 8-8.

      Besides, I don’t think it’s that simple. Just because this roster went 8-8 in 2011, doesn’t mean they can’t be a Super Bowl team in 2012. Look at the Colts. They went 14-2 in 2009, 10-6 in 2010, and 2-14 in 2011. Only 1 player changed. A really important player of course, but the roster was largely the same. Players and coaches improve, matchups change, and some teams just get lucky. Ultimately, we just need to hope Vick cuts down on his turnovers and we’re back in the Playoffs.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=47904149 Liam Garrett

      What hallcr said. Last season’s failure wasn’t because we lacked talent.

    • metaReign

      It is the inability of ball controlling and securities that cost the team last year, minus those things and it would have been a well achieve performing season. Team as a whole were starting to come together towards the end of the season, on both sides of the LOS. With all those mistakes, bit of bad luck and literally, no off season, Eagles find themselves in an awkward position with just a couple of spots needing to be address. When u find an 8-8, whose offense and defense fell in the top 10, and the players coming together as a unit, rather losing key players, keep the continuity and add to upgrade against the salary cap. The off-season is going to be the key elements with FA, Trade market and the Draft, along with OTA and Training Camp.

    • Cvd52

      We have a good team. The d needs to get tougher and mike Vick needs to play better. Im sure we will grab a LB at some point. Add a good MLB and Vick plays better and we shud have a great year

      • Zachary Kaplan

        I hate to say it – but what you all are doing is saying last years failures were acceptable. This team has done nothing to improve, other than “stability” or “continuity”….

        At the end of the day – we have the same coach, who coached a “highly talented” team to 8-8. We have the same QB who lead the highly talented offense to 8-8. We have the same defense.

        This is placing a lot of faith….in stability.

        I know some commented on how Tommy wrote that the Giants kept a stable team and it helped them, well this is the same Tommy who wrote that they really aren’t a great (or good) team. I’m not trying to rip anyone…but if this team makes no changes, I’m going on record, I expect a disappointing season. The Giants were better than us last year, and we changed nothing, and now we’re better?

        • metaReign

          Who says we’re better, if u’re meaning in stability, we’re good. We’ve a long way, though. What happened last year, was definitely unacceptable, not talents wise, in ball securities and protecting the ball, mistakes after mistakes. I’ve said it more than once, that we had it all last year, on a stripped and rebuilding team, talents are there, why strip them down again when we can structure build upon it.

          I get that u’re uncomftable with some of the re-signings, that’s understandable. When u say we have the same coaches in the same place, then the question is who do u, personally, would have in those positions? We have a good front office, coaching staffs, would u change all that and accept a winning season with 1-15?

          I’m not trying be sarcastic, when the team have talents, u just can’t do a second year of stripped rebuilding, starting from the FO to the coaches, to the players, and the salary cap spent would be for naught. That’s the impression I’m getting from u. I believe from the owner to the front office are doing the best they can to keep the Eagles in tip-top shape. U can’t ignore talents, just because of a terrible 8-8 season.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anders-Jensen/748307140 Anders Jensen

          Take the Packers then. They were a 6-10 team, kept almost everybody, went 11-5, only added on FA (Woodson), went 10-6 and won the SB and last year they went 15-1, even tho they added nobody through FA.

          As everybody else also have said, when you draft and add people through FA, it takes at least 1 whole season before you can expect impact, that we got immediately impact by 3 people is very rare.

  • nicolajNN

    Not sure if it’s because the Eagles have been very inactive but this years FA have been kind of boring and slow developing, but maybe that’s just me?

  • ian_no_2

    the starting line is locked up for the next three years

    • ian_no_2

      if there’s any problem with that is that a good value on an OL in the draft is passed on in the early rounds, but ‘stability is a good thing’ especially when Mudd is the coach. The whole offense is set, as a matter of fact.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anders-Jensen/748307140 Anders Jensen

        Good value for OL is found everywhere, just look at our own line.
        Peters was UDFA, Mathis 3rd rounder, Kelce 6th, Watkins 1st and Herramans 5th round.
        Also they way Mudd run his scheme, athleticism is the most important thing and you can find athletic linemen all over the draft.

  • Donald Kalinowski

    The Eagles gave Jeff Garcia 5 million to be their backup 6 years ago to be their backup. Garcia was coming off two disappointing stops in Cleveland and Detroit.

    I find it odd that you brought this up and then made us click on the link to read the story. Shameless promotion for your buddy ?? :)

    • http://twitter.com/alex_karklins Alex Karklins

      Shameless promotion? Who is making money off this? Don’t be ridiculous.

      • Donald Kalinowski

        Relax it was a joke. I thought it was funny how Lawlor was promoting JimmyK’s site.

        • http://twitter.com/alex_karklins Alex Karklins

          The post-St. Patrick’s Day hangover strikes again. I’m normally much sharper than this. And a lot more charming. And good-looking. My apologies.

  • Donald Kalinowski

    Funny how things change so quickly. In 2008 it we got a new LG, in 2009 we got a new RT, RG, and LT, in 2010 we got a new C and a RG. In 2011 we got a new LG, RG, C, and a RT.

    3 years ago I thought we would have a decent and dominating line that would play together for a long time: Peters/Herremans/Jackson/Andrews/Andrews

  • hallcr3

    Wouldn’t you hate to be a SF fan right now? Looks like they’re all in on Manning and there’s no indication he’s going to choose the Niners.

    I’m sure SF fans are divided on Alex Smith, but he did lead the team to a 14-3 record and had a memorable playoff performance. I guess Manning was worth throwing that away? I dunno.

    • iceberg584

      There’s a report that A. Smith just spent five hours at the Dolphins complex in Miami. If he signs with the Dolphins and Manning rejects the Niners, it could be a potentially devastating turn of events for SF. Kind of hoping that’s exactly what happens…

  • deshawnbentley

    “The Houston Texans have probably had the best OL in football the last 2 years.” Ehh far from it. Not sure if you’re familiar with sabermetrics but the numbers suggest otherwise.

    This past year they were actually towards the bottom. They allowed 31 sacks (171 yards), 55 QB hits, and 65 tackles for a loss.

    Here is where the confusion may begin so I’ll do my best to remedy that.

    Houston’s O-Line was T-25th in the league in WPA(wins probability added) which is the measure of a play’s impact on the outcome of a game. This stat directly quantifies how much one player added to the outcome of the game by being directly involved. In this case, how well a player blocked, yardage gained behind him, penalties etc. Together as a unit, Houston ranked 25th in this category.

    Houstons O-Line was ranked 29th in EPA (expected points added) which takes into account the value of the current down, distance, and field position situation in terms of future expected net point advantage. In other words, it is the net point value a team can expect given a particular combination of down, distance, and field position. First and goal at the one represents an EP near 6, while 3rd and 20 at a team’s own one yard line represents an EP of about -2. The EPA stat subtracts the expected points value at the start of the play and the end and uses that to measure how a player affected his team directly on one play.

    In summation, WPA measures how a player affected his teams ability to win the game given a particular combination of circumstances including score, time remaining, field position, down, and to go distance. Whereas EPA measures how a player did on a given play.

    Hopefully this made a little sense so I can just highlight the rankings.

    Houston ranked:
    27th in Run-WPA
    15th in Pass WPA
    32nd in Run EPA
    5th in Pass EPA

    for comparisons sake

    Eagles ranked:
    15th in Run-WPA
    10th in Pass WPA
    18th in Run EPA
    15th in Pass EPA

    • deshawnbentley

      However, to remain objective. Your point about them being very good last year is valid.
      And if you buy into these figures/statistics…the rankings:

      Houston’s Oline

      19th in sacks allowed (30)
      14th in QB hits (61)
      17th in TFL (53)

      5th in WPA
      5th in EPA

      2nd in Run-WPA
      15th in Pass WPA
      3rd in Run EPA
      17th in Pass EPA

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anders-Jensen/748307140 Anders Jensen

      Not to sound like a jerk, but where do you have those stats? The two best stats sites I know (and I dont take what they say as gospel), but PFF had the Texan line as 5th best total (Eagles was 2nd) and FO had the Texans 4th best in run and 22nd in pass (Eagles 26 and 11).

      • deshawnbentley

        Stats are courtesy of advancednflstats.com. it is incredibly similar to fangraphs, actually has some of the same writers, so it does have its validity and merit.

        A reason I put much more weight on these stats is because it uses a mathematical formula for its stats which create consistent results. To my knowledge pff is a group of people who watch the game and assign values to the player. Not the best way to be precise with ratings and statistics. I’m not too familiar with FOs statistics so I can’t speak on that.

      • deshawnbentley

        Also just looked at FO’s stats. They use basically the same adjustments as AFS as well as the same criteria. Probably some minor differences but factor in the same exact things. I’d need to see the formula for both but the deviation from the two is quite large in Houstons case.

    • http://twitter.com/sjampendk Sjampen

      Sometimes you have to look outside the stats. For the Eagles its obvious that you can’t just say ignore the fact that its Mike Vick they are blocking for. That tough, even though he evades tons of sacks.

      For the Texans you have to consider this years injuries. They were without Arian Foster for 3 games, and who knows how many of them he played not at his full health. They lost one of the best receivers for at least 8 weeks and they lost they’re starting QB in week 10. Obviously they had a hard time getting a passing attack going with TJ Yates, who without a doubt took more sacks than Matt Schaub. Every opponent knew that the ball was going to Arian Foster.

      Still they managed to run the ball well and finish with the 13th overall offense and make the playoffs. To me, that means good line play and a very strong defensive effort. Imagine if LeSean McCoy missed 3, but was healthy in all the other. That might be 3 wins you take away right there. Imagine if Vick was down as long as Schaub and we had to start Vince Young for 7 games, combined with for two of them, he didn’t have a top 3 WR.

  • mhrinda

    The Eagles are playing moneyball again with positions of need for this team. They are rolling the dice that the demand and price for players we do need will come down so they can sign them at their price. Its a dangerous roll. We can sign back all our players and still have huge holes in our defense. The draft is no sure fire thing. We need players at the LB position and safety that can step in a contribute right away (experience does help).

    If we end up with sub par LBs because it was about how we value players on the open market (moneyball) I feel sorry for us.

    And then have to listen to Reid and Howie explain (during the season) how this and that player wanted too much money and we just had to make do what we had and what was available.

    I know a lot of you have a draft mentatality but I like to bring to your attention that the Eagles have not been too good at drafting defensive players of late. A good top tier (in this market this year) FA signing or 2 or 3 would be a good for this team and would move us truly in the right direction.

    As I often stated in my previous posts, I had all the faith in the world in Howie and Reid last season. I believed everything they said and how for example Matthews would be ok at MLB etc. Then the season started, and now all the sudden disaster. That is just one of many examples of miscalculations the Eagles made last season that I thought “hey they know what they are doing”

    I hope I am wrong and all you guys are right. I want to see them do well and win.
    As I have been saying — Lets play for THIS season.

    • hallcr3

      But as I keep saying in response to all of the posts from fans like this one:

      Where are the upgrades?

      You say we have holes on defense… where and who is available to fill them?

      ALL of the LB options are still out there. If we’re playing “moneyball” so is the rest of the NFL.

      • mhrinda

        We all know the LB core is a mess. I dont have any confidence in any of the LBs on this roster (Rolle and some of the others might develop more but its a big gamble with a unit that has no experienced good players). We all know whos out there…. Tulloch Fletcher .. Lofton might not be a good fit because hes not so good in pass coverage and the others.

        Eagles moneyball is this: if they dont think a player has their money value they will not try to acquire him even if the hole on their team is a big as it was last season. Then we waste another season planning and projecting into the future waiting for the perfect player that fits their value scheme to come available.

        And there are only so many LBs out there to sign (that are good in THIS market) and once they sign (if not with us) we are again stuck. They are taking a big chance not signing at least 1 LB so far….

        • hallcr3

          But apparently nobody thinks these linebackers are worth the money. We’re not the Redskins, we’re not going to outbid ourselves for average players.

          • mhrinda

            The risk is not acquiring any upgrade at all.
            When you are in a position at LB like the Eagles you might just have to overpay until we can field a stable core.
            We are taking a big gamble here… I hope it works out.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anders-Jensen/748307140 Anders Jensen

            Its clear nobody is paying Lofton and Tulloch there demands and the Eagles are smart not to overpay for average production.

          • mhrinda

            The problem again lies in the fact that we have 3 spots of below average production at LB. We are not a rebuilding team. We are suppose to contend. You cant send out 3 suspects.

            If we miss, and our plan goes south. Again we have a massive hole and another wasted season.

            Retrospect sucks. I rather get it right now than look back at what could have been.

            Its early. Lets see what the Eagles do.
            But lets not wait to long and be stupid.

          • http://twitter.com/sjampendk Sjampen

            Last year we got Nnamdi Asomugha and Cullen Jenkins late, and it was LATE, in Free Agency.

          • mhrinda

            We didnt really need another CB it was a luxury (after the trade of Kolb)

            We do need LBs bad.
            I would rather they address this need quicker rather than later.

            I hope your faith in the Eagles pay off.

          • eagleizeit

            I agree they should get LB’s, the scariest thought though is when I was trying to figure out what in the world they were possibly thinking while waiting to play their 1st game last year. Akeem Jordan was there only experienced LB, besides Fokou(2yrs); with more than 1 yr of actual experience. Clayton and Chaney were drafted a yr b4 while Mathews and Rolle still haven’t played in their 1st NFL game. Jordan didn’t even play until the end of the year. That had to of been the least experienced starting 5 LB’s in NFL history. Averaging just over a half a year’s experience between all the starters for the majority of the year. I wonder if there’s any way to find out what the 2nd youngest starters were. Probably 2 years average experience or something. What’s even scarier is 2 were drafted in the 4th rd, Rolle was in the 5th or 6th and the other two were in the 7th rd. What coaches in there right mind would start that group of inexperienced late rd draft picks without even any competition in training camp. Any Body In There.

          • mhrinda

            And now we are playing the waiting game with the LB free agents. Its scary. If Im a FA player, I might be a little mad that the Eagles want to lowball me and sign somewhere else.

            I dont think the Eagles intend the results they get. Thats why their schemes and planning scare me. When things dont go as they plan then they are left to “scrap” for whats left or depend on some rookie to do what an experience veteran should provide us.

            And its 3 spots up for grab not just “1″ problem area.

          • eagleizeit

            DJax has declined the past 2 yrs, only cares about himself and getting payed more than everyone else on the team to be happy. Anybody can tell you the Eagles are dumb and overpay not only for poor production(1TD every 4 games) but pay for someone who gets injured, is beyond selfish and throws a pentrom pantrom whenever he doesn’t get what he wants.
            Tulloch got what $3 million last yr, if they feel that’s too much, like they obviously did than they are stupid because there chances of finding a good player at any position for free is just unrealistic. They do have at least twice as good of a LB group this yr than what they chose to go into last yr with so why not keep it the same since overpaying means paying more than a 4th rd picks salary(our most expensive last yr) is stupid according to you.

          • BreakinAnklez

            I am getting tired of the Djax is injury prone crap. He’s played in 59 of the 64 regular season games since drafted. One was for the suspension, so that’s 4 games he’s misse due to injury. 4!!! That’s hardly injury prone.

            Granted I wish it wasn’t bc of two concussions, but stop acting like he gets hurt walking down the hall.

    • iskar36

      I understand the point you are trying to make, but I think you are making it way to early in the offseason. The Eagles generally have a great idea of what the market is like for particular players. I am fairly certain that regardless of whether they were particularly interested in any of the FA LBers, they have a reasonable guess on 1, which teams might be interested, 2, a ball park figure (to keep with all the baseball references)the teams might be looking to sign those particular players, and 3, a ball park figure of what the players are looking for. If there is a guy they truly have interest in, they will get involved in discussions with that player’s agent if they fear they are about to lose him to another team. Keep in mind, none of the names any of us are hoping to land have signed anywhere, so if the Eagles are interested, so far they have gauged the market properly. On top of that, even though they have not had a ton of success in drafting defensive players in recent years, that does not mean they should exclude the draft from their plans. If there is a player they are targeting in the draft, you just have to hope he will come here and be productive.

      My point is, we have to wait and see what the Eagles will do. It is certainly frustrating to see a huge hole at MLB not being filled, but that has to be balanced with the fact that we haven’t missed out on anyone yet, and for all we know, MLB will be addressed in the first round of the draft. All that being said, if leave the draft with a 3rd round project at MLB as our supposed answer, you’ll have every reason to question the Eagles method. I have a feeling though that they will address it a lot earlier.

      • mhrinda

        Its just their style I worry about. They slot a player in a money value position and then if they dont think hes worth more they will ignore their holes and needs or try to fill them with unorthodox and questionable means.

        We cant get our “prime player” every season. Sometimes you just have to go with what you can get and overpay when you are in a situation like the Eagles are in (not ridiculous money but overpay what they think hes worth)

        They could sign a big buck FA LB and draft LB. They seriously need 3 spots. I figure they will address 2 if we are lucky.

        They dont draft well in defense. Its a concern.
        If we are the Steelers, and we draft a LB im confident. They know what they are looking for. But the Eagles, they have to earn my respect in that department.

        And with drafting, just because a guys a stud at college or at the combine doesnt mean it translate to a good NFL career. A veteran with experience is a more sure bet especially when you need to fill all 3 spots.

        I hope everyone on this site proves me wrong and the Eagles in their time will do whats needs to win it all this season.

      • eagleizeit

        I thought they were somewhat intelligent too; until last year. So what’s the excuse for last year when it was obvious as well? Everyone knew it was urgent to have very good LB’s behind the wide-nine then as well.

  • hallcr3

    Also, that’s two baseball references in a row… sabermetrics and moneyball.

    If I wanted that shit, I’d go read Beerleaguer comment sections.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anders-Jensen/748307140 Anders Jensen

      I really doubt we will ever have a stat there is able to quantify what every play did on a single play. In baseball you usually only have 3-4 players do anything and none of them are done simultaneous with the other

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PYKGABCJ34Z4TOFYAA53LMBXJI Jamie

    Rabid donkeys! LOL!!!!1111!!!!

  • Aaron Yang

    hey tommy, what do you think our chances are at signing plaxico? i’ve been saying this since he got out of prison that we should pick him up. i dont care if we have the entire state pen on our team if they are decent players. him and vick have a special connection and bond if you look at their history and it would make a lot of sense. and im sure we could’ve paid plaxico the amount of money we threw at that bum steve smith to play for us and we probably would have had more td’s this past season. but i REALLY want the tall, high jumping specialist in the end zone for our rather short qb. i dont think its even something we should be thinking about…the man can produce touchdowns and is a HUGE redzone threat…and we have a HUGE redzone weakness.

    another thing…storyline for the eagles off season has been centered around the LB corps. about a million and one articles on what the birds should and will do and everyone is different…some more similar than others and others just completely off. my take on this situation has two different routes and conclusions and can be altered in many different ways to please me. first is to sign the best MLB available in free agency…whether it is tulloch, lofton, or hawthorne and look at the draft to pick up good quality OLB’s in the third and fourth rounds and there are some attractive athletes that would fit the qualifications well…my favorite being nigel bradham. and the second case scenario would be to sign some solid OLB’s through free agency and just go on and move up a couple of spots to secure the top MLB in the draft which is the name every eagles fan has been hearing for the past couple of months…luke kuechly. the problem with this is that i have been an eagles fan all of my life and i just dont see them doing either or. the realistic thing i do see them doing is either settling for mediocre, injury prone players that is barely an upgrade and plug them in there as a make shift bandaid. that or sign one household name but not the top name and call it a day. so essentially…i feel as though the front office will do just enough to try and shut up the fans but not enough to really help us get over the hump. i really just dont understand why they under value the entire middle of the defense so much but love to over value the front and sides. this is probably one of the rare cases where i wish i am to be proven wrong…but looking at my track record with the eagles…im usually only wrong about the wrong decisions.

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