Author, Author
Posted: July 17th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 24 Comments »Not only is that the name of the most underrated Al Pacino movie of all time, it is something that people can yell at Michael Vick now that his autobiography is finally done. The book is called Finally Free.
Interesting title. Not sure I’m too keen on it, though. Sounds as if he was held back. Vick will tell you that the only thing holding him back was himself. It does sound like he’s pretty honest about how bad he was back in his Falcons days.
I’ve talked to a few people behind the scenes in Philly and I have yet to hear one bad word about Vick. Not one. That shocks me, but it is enough people that I believe Vick has genuinely changed. I guess time in federal prison can do that to a man. Hopefully, I’ll never know.
I have no interest in reading the book. I read coaches books and football history books. Players have bad memories and offer poor perspective on things. I rarely find myself even interested by a player’s book. Maybe it is just the wrong guys putting them out. I’m not all that into stars. If Byron Evans wrote a book, that’s one I’d buy. Or Mike Zordich. Certainly I’ll be at the front of the line when Derek Landri releases his book Greatness is Contagious, the story of a man who cured cancer at halftime of a win over the Dallas Cowboys and had 3 sacks in the game as well.
I’m probably in the minority when it comes to books by players. They obviously sell to someone. What is the general feeling on Vick and his book? Will you guys buy it? Would you read it if a friend owned it and just lent you the book?
PFT has up a story on Vick and the book. There are some interesting nuggets for those who are interested.
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Vick was on The Today Show talking about his book. They decided to show some highlights of him playing. Only one small problem. They showed Jerrod Johnson.
Say what?
Johnson is 6-5. Vick is 6-0. Both are black QBs, but that’s about where the similarities end. Pitiful job by The Today Show.
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Here is an excellent salary cap update on the Eagles by NFL.com’s Brian McIntyre. No real analysis needed. Just good info.
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Jimmy Bama decided to have some fun with Cowboys WR Dez Bryant after his arrest for pushing/shoving/hitting his mom.
Here is Bryant’s updated resume. Management material.
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Domo has listed his Preseason Power Rankings. GB is atop the chart. The Giants are 2nd. The Eagles are all the way down at 6th.
I can see the Eagles that high. I can also see if someone has doubts on the team and lists the Eagles down closer to the 15 range. I cannot imagine anything lower (from a reasonable person). The team could have a nightmare season (as we found out last year), but based on talent and intangibles, you can’t predict that to happen without just wildly guessing (and/or hoping).
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NFL Gimpy’s new MAQB column is up. Good stuff, as always.
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Reuben Frank has a list of his Top 10 roster battles. Mostly good stuff. He has one listed that I don’t buy. He’s got Stanley Havili vs Jeremy Stewart for the FB job. I don’t question that Havili will have to battle for the job. I do question Stewart as the challenger. He is 5-11, 218. Forget what PE.com says. He might have bulked up some, but I doubt he’s got the size to be a legit NFL FB right now. The player Havili has to worry about is Emil Igwenagu, from UMass. He’s got the size and receiving skills to be an NFL FB. Iggie needs to show he can block and play STs.
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Until proven otherwise, I’m going to assume Jeff Ireland is responsible for the assault on Dez Bryant’s mom. He has a history of disrespecting her.
Well played.
It’s possible IMO that the Eagles might decide that they no longer need to carry any fullbacks, and rely on running backs and tight ends to fulfill any fullback-type needs they might have. It’s not like they would ever use a fullback more than 20% of the time anyway.
The Eagles will use the FB if he is worth using. It should also be noted that the Eagles already used Harbor roles last year where they have used a FB before hand.
Very possible. Still, there has to be a battle for the job, even if no one wins.
I figure he’ll be competing with guys like Polk, Brackett, Damaris Johnson, etc. for a job.
I kept telling people the Eagles wouldn’t carry a FB last year. Not that I don’t like Schmidt as a character, I just don’t believe he is effective at FB. Perhaps I am spoiled by memories of Leonard Weaver.
The fact that they seem to think they need a FB makes me think they’ll keep one again this year. Hopefully it’s a guy who can light things up on special teams in some way.
I think the blocking scheme changed enough that during the season they seemed to rely on the fullback less and less. So they could easily have changed their view about the position.
That’s true, they may just be warming up to the idea. I certainly hope they don’t keep a substandard FB and thus miss out on an opportunity to have greater depth on the D-Line or at WR or TE. That’s part of the reason I give a slight edge to Emil in the FB race…
Those power rankings have the best photo of Kevin Kolb ever.
Was he playing a drinking game during warm-ups?
It’s no Atogwe, but it’s pretty good.
I wonder if he was craving french fried potaters. Mmm-hmm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pz2kXoDo_s
Marcus Hayes has an article on Philly.com about how if Andy Reid has another bad year he will be fired. This may be true enough but it is like the 15 millionth time that some philly.com columnist has called for or predicted Reid’s firing and is one of the reasons that I think that philly.com columnists write largely worthless stuff.
Those of you who are financially savvy might know that professional money managers on average tend to underperform the stock market averages. (Be patient with me here.) This seems a bit counter intuitive since we would expect money managers in general to be half above and half below the averages. Professional money managers however might then be expected to be disproportionally residing in the upper half – not the lower half.
A recent article by Charles Ellis in “Financial Analysts Journal” sheds some light on the matter. It seems that pension funds, endowments and other money managing institutions have a tendency to fire money managers who have a run of two or three bad years and then hire money managers who have had a run of two or three good years. Unfortunately this turns out to be a bad strategy because those just hired “good” managers have a tendency to do badly after they are hired. Sound familiar?
The article suggests that the evidence shows that it may be better to judge money managers over a 10 year period or so. Also the institutional pressure to perform over a short period of time can cause mistakes and bad performance.
Hmmmm.
In the case of football there are only 32 head coaches. They are competing in a zero sum game where only one can win the ultimate prize as opposed to money managing (not a zero sum game) where many can make money and half (at least theoretically) can be above average.
So if Reid has a bad year in 2012 he may well get fired. But that may well underestimate the value of his by then 14 year extraordinary overall performance. Yes, he may not have won the big prize, but that doesn’t mean that someone else is better.
One of the things I like about Lurie as an owner and the people that he brings in, is that they are not shortsighted and don’t make a lot of rash decisions.
Yes. Lurie has exhibited patience and good judgment. While the papers are reporting that Lurie is ready to fire Reid if he doesn’t have a good year, I would be surprised if they actually knew what he was thinking.
They may also know what he IS thinking, but also know that printing an article that says “Lurie will stand by his man Andy Reid.” Won’t sell as many copies as one that says “Without a SB, this may be Big Red’s Last Season.”
As far as I’m concerned, Reid has had a great run with the Eagles. I believe that the SB is a terrible measuring stick for anyone, and I would be shocked if the front office or Lurie have made any indication that a lack of a SB win equates with failure.
Much as it pains me to say it as a fan… the bottom line in the NFL is money. The Eagles are a massively marketable team. They are generating tons of cash, and therefore the ultimate (and real) goal is being achieved.
I’m not really sure I buy Harbor vs Brackett either, although in fairness, if you have to get to 10 roster battles, you can run out before you get 10 really good ones. Harbor definitely had a rough OTA/minicamp, but it’s not exactly like Brackett lit it up. Harbor is the best run blocking TE on the team, and he does have some receiving ability. Brackett’s ticket to the 53 man roster is if the Eagles keep 3 TEs. It’s not beating out Harbor.
I think Harbor is almost a lock. Brackett is trying to be a 3rd TE which means he is competing with other ‘extras’ like Damaris Johnson, Polk, and (IMO) Havili.
I’d keep a close eye on Brackett when the pads go on. He’s a former WR from a program that ran a pro style offense, so he should have no problem running TE routes. The big question is how much strength has he added and has he learned how to block well enough for TE.
Brett Brackett 6-6 248 25 [4.61 1.59
22 4.24 6.74
34 9’10]
No question he has the size and athleticism you’d want in a receiving TE, he’d match up against most of the TEs who went in the top 100 the last few years. However, as a converted WR, there’s always the question whether he’s just a big WR or has the willing to do the “dirty work” required of a TE.
One thing interesting is how well Howie has them set up for 2013.
1) cap will remain around $140M or so, maybe $145M, but it will start escalating by $7M+ in 2014 through the rest of the decade with the new TV deals.
2) right now they’re listed at $137M, throw in rookie deals and they’re close to maxed out next year –
FAs – DRC, Dunlap, Tapp, Dixon, Fokou, Jordan, Hanson
2014 FAs: Kafka, Maclin, Cooper, Harbor, Clayton, Chaney, Allen, Coleman, Hughes
Big 2013 cap hits
Peters $10.9M, Bell $9.6M, Jenkins $5.5M, Aso $15.3M
So I see three strategies:
1) some of that current $14M will be moved into 2013 in September through contract renegotiation – look for DRC to get a big signing bonus
2) 2012 will be the audition for players who are 2014 FAs for new contracts
3) Aso, Jenkins will renegotiate new deals unless they have huge seasons, Peters and Bell may also renegotiate, depending on health and Bell’s play.
Plenty of options for Howie and no need to panic, but that also tells you why they’ve been husbanding cap money, 2013 will be tight, but come 2014 some contracts will come off the board or get renegotiated (Cole is not going to had a $11M cap hit, for example)
Howie does have the team in a good place right now. Let’s hope some young guys play so well that we have to spend big $ on them.
I think you are referring to the adjusted salary cap figure when you are speaking of the $140M #. The actual salary cap is not expected to vary significantly from the current $120.6M until the 2014 TV deal renegotiation. The 2013 # will be about $121M + rollover from the unused portion of the 2012 cap which stands at about $16M now. That gives us about $137M for 2013 putting us on par with Eagles 2013 salary estimates (before the $6M+- for rookies) as you state.
Not trying to restate your post, but I think the cap rollover feature in the CBA and the rookie wage scale monumentally simplified the way teams do business. Cap resources/negotiations can now be managed on a single spreadsheet, further supporting the argument that Banner saw the writing on the wall last July.
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