The Official Philadelphia Eagles Thread

[jayc948]

Well I just had to do it. Once a thread about the Giants opened up I knew this had to be done. I know there are also many Birds fans on this site. And I too look forward to the first game of the regular season when the Eagles stomp on those Giants.

So are the Eagles going to sign another running back to replace Buckhalter or is Levens it because im not happy with that at all.

[Jaw Breaker]

Regardless if you get another RB, You better hope and pray those corners hold up. To me it made no sense at all spending money on Kearse when you have 2 unproven CB's in your secondary. Just my 2 cents.

[jayc948]

Originally Posted by Jaw Breaker

Regardless if you get another RB, You better hope and pray those corners hold up. To me it made no sense at all spending money on Kearse when you have 2 unproven CB's in your secondary. Just my 2 cents.

Yea i know exactly where you are coming from. Amidst all this hype here in Philly with T.O. and the upcoming season and everything, what people are forgetting is that the Eagles are going into the season with two unproven cornerbacks in Sheppard and Brown. Apparently Reid and Johnson must be really content with these guys. But then again I do trust Jim Johnson, the guy is a defensive genius and if he says they will succeed and produce then I have to believe they will.

[Jaw Breaker]

Originally Posted by jayc948

Yea i know exactly where you are coming from. Amidst all this hype here in Philly with T.O. and the upcoming season and everything, what people are forgetting is that the Eagles are going into the season with two unproven cornerbacks in Sheppard and Brown. Apparently Reid and Johnson must be really content with these guys. But then again I do trust Jim Johnson, the guy is a defensive genius and if he says they will succeed and produce then I have to believe they will.

Out of the 2 I think Sheppard might do ok, but id be extremely worried about Brown. It just really confuses me that they would lose Vincent and wouldnt make any upgrade there.. but then go and spend on the Freak. To me having a good corner is more important than a DE who's injury prone. I guess we'll just have to see if Johnson is on the ball here..

[jayc948]

Originally Posted by Jaw Breaker

Out of the 2 I think Sheppard might do ok, but id be extremely worried about Brown. It just really confuses me that they would lose Vincent and wouldnt make any upgrade there.. but then go and spend on the Freak. To me having a good corner is more important than a DE who's injury prone. I guess we'll just have to see if Johnson is on the ball here..

My thoughts exactly. Im hoping that Johnson made the right call here. The Eagles were close to dead last in sacks and rushing the quarterback categories last year. Plus with the defensive line already thin this year with injuries with Simon, always injury prone Derrick Burgess, recovering Hollis Thomas, and out for the season N.D. Kalu, it looks like the Eagles made the right decision there for now.

[Beukeboom23]

Originally Posted by Jaw Breaker

Regardless if you get another RB, You better hope and pray those corners hold up. To me it made no sense at all spending money on Kearse when you have 2 unproven CB's in your secondary. Just my 2 cents.

Don't forget they had the worst run D in the league last year. TO better produce because their D isn't what it was a few years ago.

[jayc948]

Originally Posted by Beukeboom23

Don't forget they had the worst run D in the league last year. TO better produce because their D isn't what it was a few years ago.

The offense is going to have to put up more points than in years past because they can't count on the defense to give up only 10-17 points now.

[cottonzway]

As an Eagles fan I'll speak for the Eagles nation here on a few of these things.

First the running back situation. Westbrook is an all-pro player. This guy can do it all. I have no issues with him being the primary RB.
They do hovever need to address the situation in terms of depth and someone with size. Levens was going to come in before Buckhalter's injury to replace rooki Bruce Perry. I have no doubt they will make a trade here seeing there are no decent backs left on the market unless someone gets cut. There is no need to rush it though. Wait and see if someone gets cut and also keep an eye on the phone. I think there is some legit rumors to them looking to Buffalo.

The run stop issue. This one is pretty easy IMO. They simply had seven (7) guys down last year on their D-Line. The undersized Walker, Simon, and Simoneau wore down because of it. Hollis Thomas and Paul Grasmanis are key guy to the rotation and they are healthy. Sam Rayburn also showed signs that he can play. They also signed some Trotter guy who did OK here a few years ago.

The young cornerbacks. There is an extreme misconception that Vincent and Taylor will be missed. They didn't play often last year and Sheppard and Brown played most of the downs at corner. As did nickleback Rod Hood. Throw in a guy like 6'2" Matt Ware to cover some of the bigger guys and I think they are in good hands. Jim Johnson's hands to be exact. Another issue that involves this one is the pass rush. What makes a CB better? A pass rush. The Freak along with 1st round pick McDougle, and a guy who has Jason Taylor upside (finally healthy) in Derrick Burgess. This will make all the difference IMO.
Losing Kalu sucks but it only hurt depth. Those three guys alone if healthy will get around 30 sacks between them.

[jayc948]

Trung Canidate is out there as an unrestriced free agent. He would be alright.

[cottonzway]

Originally Posted by jayc948

Trung Canidate is out there as an unrestriced free agent.

No way! Another guy who would get hurt often and can ONLY run outside the tackles.
I know you are thinking of him as the rookie who backed up Faulk a few years ago but there is now a reason why it's close to Septemeber and he doesn't have a team. The Eagles need a guy for between the tackles.

[jayc948]

Originally Posted by cottonzway

No way! Another guy who would get hurt often and can ONLY run outside the tackles.
I know you are thinking of him as the rookie who backed up Faulk a few years ago but there is now a reason why it's close to Septemeber and he doesn't have a team. The Eagles need a guy for between the tackles.

True. I'm just worried about Westbrook possibly getting hurt again late in the season. What would we do then?

[cottonzway]

Originally Posted by jayc948

True. I'm just worried about Westbrook possibly getting hurt again late in the season. What would we do then?

Make a trade before week 6. I really do think they will pick someone up before the season starts. Someone that falls out of favor. I would give a 1st round pick for Henry and a little more if that situation goes where I think it is going. Hell they have the 2nd round pick they got for AJ and if they are a top 3 team their pick is going to be like 30 and the Dolphins are going to suck this year and that pick will be like 35 anyways. No biggie in giving up a 1st rounder given the situation.
I'll take a 1,300 yard back!

[Beukeboom23]

Originally Posted by cottonzway

First the running back situation. Westbrook is an all-pro player.

You do know what it means to be an ALL PRO? The all pro NFL team consists of the two best running nacks in the ENTIRE NFL. So what you're basically saying is Brian Westbrook is one of the two best running backs in the league. That's laughable I'd like to see the guy play an entire year before I make homer statements like that.

[cottonzway]

Originally Posted by Beukeboom23

You do know what it means to be an ALL PRO? The all pro NFL team consists of the two best running nacks in the ENTIRE NFL. So what you're basically saying is Brian Westbrook is one of the two best running backs in the league. That's laughable I'd like to see the guy play an entire year before I make homer statements like that.

Hey goofball he had 13 TDs, a 5.2 per carry average, and also 37 catches to boot. He did that in 14 games. He is the 2nd best kick return man in the NFL (Hall) as well. Don't give me this homer crap. So what if a guy doesn't make a pro bowl. So maybe he makes it as a kick returner. Maybe not at all. His numbers won't be guady like others because of the style of play Reid has. You are making it sound like a guys who aren't number 1-2 in the NFL aren't star quailty players. First of all the pro bowl carries more then one guy from each league. Secondly it doesn't mean that a guy isn't of that quality. Westbook would fall in my top 10 in terms of backs in the NFL and in terms of value and as a playmaker a lot higher. Don't go around calling people homers when you are totally clueless about football.

[Beukeboom23]

Originally Posted by cottonzway

Hey goofball he had 13 TDs, a 5.2 per carry average, and also 37 catches to boot. He did that in 14 games. He is the 2nd best kick return man in the NFL (Hall) as well. Don't give me this homer crap. So what if a guy doesn't make a pro bowl. So maybe he makes it as a kick returner. Maybe not at all. His numbers won't be guady like others because of the style of play Reid has. You are making it sound like a guys who aren't number 1-2 in the NFL aren't star quailty players. First of all the pro bowl carries more then one guy from each league. Secondly it doesn't mean that a guy isn't of that quality. Westbook would fall in my top 10 in terms of backs in the NFL and in terms of value and as a playmaker a lot higher. Don't go around calling people homers when you are totally clueless about football.

You're absolutely right I'm clueless about football because I don't think Brian Westbrook is one of the top two running backs in the league. Maybe you should understand the difference between All-pro and Pro-bowl "football expert". There are other teams outside Philly and just to let you know there is a back in your own division named Clinton Portis who is better than your boy Brian Westbrook. All he did was rush for 1591 yards and avg 5.5 yards per carry "football expert". Don't give me that crap about him splitting time either because if he was such a "Complete All-Pro back" he wouldn't split time with Buckhalter. Last time I checked the real All-pro running backs like Clinton Portis, Jamal Lewis, Priest Holmes, and LaDainian Tomlinson don't split time in the back field. But homers like you don't see that and would probably take Brian Westbrook over all of them. I bet you'd take him over Jim Brown. What a joke.