Philadelphia Eagles

Terrell Owens Doing What He does

Former NFL Wide Receiver Terrell Owens made it his  business this week to inject himself into the contract situation the Philadelphia Eagles are having with Desean Jackson. As you all know, Jackson wants and deserves more money. And the Eagles, on a player shopping spree, have been mum on how much Jackson will get when his contract is restructured and whether it will be this season.

But right now, all signs point to Jackson getting a new contract. Vick reworked his contract, cuts were made, and salary cap space is there. That doesn’t mean the Eagles have to do it this season, in fact it might work to Jackson’s advantage if they wait (assuming he has a good season this year).

Owens was quoted as saying that Jackson shouldn’t show up for week 1 to play unless his contract is restructured. This is sage advice coming from a man who, on the last episode of his VH1 reality show, hit viewers with the Ralph Tresvantesque single-eye tear over the fact that he has ZERO income coming in and a friend has stolen a significant amount of money from him. The same Owens who allowed vh1 to write into the script a scene where he takes advice from some non-psychologist non-financial adviser named CUZZIN JEFF.

I guess if your life can’t get any worse, might as well help someone get down to your level.

As an Eagles fan I lived through the suspension and contract drama they dealt with after signing Owens. And I was so happy when the Eagles did what they do and cut his ass from the team. We don’t do a lot of drama and the like and such in Philadelphia. Wrong team. Wrong city.

I was surprised to see the guys over at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner Blog agree with Owens:

I know this won’t be something Eagles fans like to hear, but it’s not like there’s no logic to what Owens is saying. At $600,000, Jackson’s earning way less than market value for a player of his ability. Careers are short. Injuries happen. Market value is fair, and most of the time, holding out is the only leverage a player has.

Okay, here’s the thing. WR careers are NOT short when compared to other players. Yes Jackson is small, yes he could get hurt. And actually, if he did, that would be proof of why the Eagles are hesitant to make a commitment. The worry is that he will be perennially concussed (he’s already suffered some memory loss)or jammed at the line of scrimmage.  Jackson has very little leverage here, and holding out would help give the Eagles a pass from fans if he got cut. No one wants to see that, but there’s nothing Philadelphia fans appreciate more than patience and signs that you WANT to stay despite our fuckery.

Let’s look at the other side of this. Owens advice is not only bad from a team-player stand point (not surprising since Owens has always been more of a team cancer than a team player), but it’s dumb from a depth standpoint. What Jackson needs to be doing is proving his worth, not sitting out to give EXTREMELY CAPABLE wide receivers Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper and newly signed former Giant Steve Smith an opportunity to eat up all the shine the Eagles will get on a the national stage. Since I’ve been watching football, no one has ever wanted to see the Eagles the play more than they do right now.

And Jackson should sit out, and miss the glory? If he stays healthy and performs well and the Eagles don’t pay him, someone else will. Ask Sidney Rice who waited his turn on the Vikings and got a big pay day with Seattle this year. For the record, I still think that the Eagles made salary cap moves in order to pay Jackson. I don’t think he should act hastily right now. If he has thoughts of doing so, he should watch Owens’ reality show. I’d hate to see Jackson on TV shedding sad man tears.

The Denver Broncos Continue to Treat Tim Tebow Like a Red-headed Step Child

It’s the last week of the pre-season and three teams are keeping up a ridiculous quarterback sham. The Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, and Washington Redskins are still telling everyone who will listen that they don’t know who the #2 quarterback is on their team. I have to be honest, I’m not here for that. I prefer when teams keep it real.

YOU LIE ANDY REID

The Philadephia Eagles have former Tennessee Titans STARTING Quarterback Vince Young as well as never-taken-a-snap-in-a-game-that-matters-but-definitely-seems-like-he-could-possibly-one-day 2010 4th round Eagles draft pick Mike Kafka. Young has a similar playing style to their starting QB Mike Vick and performed well enough to attend two pro bowls in the past. And before he was dramatically benched last year, he was having a pretty respectable season.

But the Eagles don’t know who their number 2 QB is? Oh okay, well let me tell you. IT’S VINCE YOUNG.

The ShanaSCAMS

The Redskins are just as pitiful with their situation. After benching a superior QB in Donovan McNabb for a spotty middling one-Rex Grossman-it seemed like the Shanahans were prepared to make a commitment to the QB (that most football watchers thought was exiled forever after leaving Chicago) until they could get a better veteran. But then the Shanahans (Head coach Mike and deeply offensive coordinator Kyle, his son) spent the entire lockout and first week of the pre-season raving about former Bringham Young QB John Beck. Beck, a man who 99.999999999% of football fans had never heard of. After no one took them seriously, the Redskins belatedly created some sort of “friendly quarterback competition” that is for all intents and purposes a complete sham.

Why? Because John Beck actually has a chance to be the Redskins QB for years to come. Grossman doesn’t. Everyone knows what Grossman can do. I can’t name a team in the league that would want to sign Grossman to a long term contract as a starter even given the dearth of talent that exists right now. You can’t rely on him to be a starter based on history and you can’t use him to train a new QB. Barring injury, the Redskins should be giving Beck the start, giving him intensive EXCLUSIVE tutelage, and figuring out what the hell he can do. Not having him split snaps and engage in some dumb ass competition with somebody who likely will spend the rest of their career as a backup.

The league is full of rookie quarterbacks and guys who have never been a starter before. They all will be learning the hard way this season. Perfect time to test out a newbie. You know what you (don’t) have in Grossman, might as well see what the deal is with Beck and stop confusing the hapless Washington media.

Ladies and Gents, Your Denver BRONCnos

Finally, the Broncos have made a mess of this entire quarterback situation. To be clear, Tim Tebow probably never should have been drafted as a quarterback in the first place. When I watch Tebow play, I feel like I’m watching a guy in a vicious battle with genetics. He knows what he needs to do but his body just won’t let him. He not only struggles with his throwing motion, simply dropping back with any sort of speed and fluidity is a test for him. The Broncos gave him the ultimate insult when they leaked to the press that Tebow just has “no football sense.” HOW LOW CAN YOU GO.

Just a few weeks ago, fans in Denver were SO TEBOW-CRAZY, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd said that the Broncos would probably HAVE to start Tebow just to keep the peace. Now here we are a short time later and Kyle Orton is the clear starter. And the Broncos are telling us that they just haven’t decided who would replace Orton if he goes down (which, he will-I’ve already put him on “ankle watch 2011″).

Brady Quinn is their number 2 and Tebow won’t be with the Broncos next season. In fact, I’d be surprised if he’s still in the league. Quinn was highly touted and then fell completely off the radar. From all accounts, Quinn has regained some confidence and looked more promising than Tebow in the professional system. This is not to say that Quinn is the Broncos QB of the future-or anyone’s QB of the future. But Quinn isn’t fighting with his DNA just to get the ball of out his hands. And if the Broncos want Tebow to be number two breaking him down publicly like this is not the way to ensure his best performance. And Quinn can definitely tell Tebow a little bit about fan hype and disappointment.

Long story short, all these teams know who their number 2 is and I’m not in the mood to play dress up with them. Have at it.

Michael Vick Should Be Able to Pay off His Debts and Have Something Left Over (I hope)

Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick just signed a 6 year deal with the team that is worth 100 million dollars with about 40 million of it guaranteed. If you remember, back in 2004 Vick signed a 10 year 130 million dollar deal with the Atlanta Falcons. It made him the richest player in the NFL at the time. Before he was found to own a dogfighting business, it was assumed that he would play out the rest of his career in Atlanta.

Barring any further foolishness he should be ending his career in Philadelphia. If his legs don’t hold up, they can always cut him after a few years.Before this latest contract was signed, Vick was due to make $16 million from the Eagles for this season. This deal should take Vick’s cap number from 16.2 million to 14.4 million. That means he will make less for the season freeing up a room in the salary cap for wide receiver Desean Jackson, who held out of most of training camp, to get a pay increase.

Now we’ll have to wait and see how the signing bonus pans out to really have an idea of what Desean can get. Signing bonuses are prorated against the cap over the length of the deal. Either way this restructuring helps the Eagles cap. Philadelphia media is sold on the Eagles cutting corner back Joselio Hanson which would give them another 2.4 million in cap space (estimated). It is kind of crowded on the team at that position these days! If they do cut Hanson, that will help Desean’s case as well.

For context.

Peyton Manning’s was reported 5 years, $90M with $54.4M guaranteed. Tom Brady’s was 5 years, $78.5M with $48.5M guaranteed.

Congratulations to Vick and here’s lookin at you Desean.

As far as Vick’s debt is concerned, his creditors have to be smiling. Let’s take a look at his circumstances. First of all, he’s on a court-ordered budget until 2015:

Under the terms of the budget, he is permitted to spend $3,500 each month for rent in Philadelphia, with another $750 for “utilities and miscellaneous.” There is no provision in the budget for buying dinner for his offensive linemen.

He is also obligated to pay $3,712 per month on the mortgage for the only remaining residence he owns, an unimpressive house in Hampton, Va., where his fiancée, Kijafa Frink, lives with the couple’s two children, Jada and London. In a rare bit of extravagance, the budget permits Vick to pay $1,355 monthly for a private school for the children.

Although there is a budget provision for “living expenses,” his car allowance is only $472 per month, a far cry from Vick’s pre-arrest collection of F-450 pickups and $100,000 luxury automobiles.

Vick’s mother, who was on his payroll in his previous professional life, is limited to $2,500 per month under the budget, a significant reduction from the salary and gifts Vick once bestowed upon her. He is also required to pay $3,000 per month to support former girlfriend Tameka Taylor and their son, Mitez.

The budget provides more generously for Vick’s agent, Joel Segal, and for Vick’s team of bankruptcy lawyers. Vick will pay Segal $32,500 this year, another $104,000 next year, and then $160,000 each year through 2015. It’s a total of nearly $800,000.

The fees Vick will pay to the bankruptcy lawyers are scheduled to be $748,750 this year, another $1,058,080 next year and a total during the budget years of $2.6 million.

The budget is part of a plan that is supposed to allow him to pay off the debts he accumulated before his arrest. It’s based on Vick’s playing well enough to earn a bonanza free-agent contract at the end of the current season, and it provides for total payment to his creditors of more than $12 million between now and 2015.

As a “reorganized debtor,” Vick’s income will be distributed to his family and his creditors in accordance with a court-approved schedule. As his income increases, he pays more of it to the creditors. (See the accompanying table.)

Other People’s Money

The more Michael Vick makes, the higher the percentage that goes somewhere other than into his pocket. Here’s how it works

As Munstor points out, Vick could have filed Chapter 7 and never paid back the bulk of his debts. But he didn’t. And that’s commendable.

Tavaris Jackson had a few chances in Minnesota and didn't deliver. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll thinks a stable situation will turn his play around.

I feel like I’ve gone on too much about the dearth of talent at the QB position in the NFL. But since there has been a bunch of movement at the QB spot over the two weeks, I suppose it’s appropriate to discuss it really briefly again.

Redskins QB Rex Grossman turned down a longer term offer with the Redskins preferring to sign a one year contract and keep his options open. On one hand, given Grossman’s previous performances, this could serve as a prime example of the audacity of NOPE. But, since the current NFL will now boasts Snap-starved Tavaris Jackson at the helm for the Seahawks and a very unproven Kevin Kolb taking 30 million + to take over the Arizona Cardinals, Grossman’s comment almost seems acceptable.

ALMOST.

Middling QBs are having the best year ever! And rookies that have to start right away might be having the worst. I’ll be interested to see how football commentators assess Andy Dalton and Cam Newton as they lead the disastrous Bengals and win-deficient Panthers from day 1. Both rookies will have it tough.

As for Rex Grossman, he is still going to have to “compete” for the starting spot in Washington with some dude named John Beck who I was going to research but lost interest half way through. In fact, I don’t plan to mention the Redskins much at all this year. As I’ve been told, “if you don’t have anything nice to say…”

The main thing that is disappointing to me about bad quarterbacking is the impact it has on receivers. I’m rooting for Kolb to be good because I want Larry Fitzgerald to be good. I’m rooting for Tavaris Jackson to succeed because I want Sidney Rice to succeed. And so on. This is one thing to keep in mind as you build fantasy teams…who’s getting your guy the ball? Anyway, a great receiver on a team with a bad QB makes me feel like I’m being cheated out of something great.

All the more reason for the NFL to think about how it can better nurture and preserve QB talent.

A little bit on good cap management

Everyone was wondering how the Philadelphia Eagles could sign so a many high value players and remain under the salary cap. Peter King sums it up.

Understand this principle to start: The Eagles were not in bad cap shape to begin with. When free agency opened they were at $99 million in commitments to veterans and draft choices. (More about those later.) They had shed big veteran salaries over the last couple of years — including quarterback Donovan McNabb’s — and by opening day 2010 had the third-youngest 53-man roster in football. Young means salary manageable.

As of Sunday morning, the Eagles’ projected roster (there’s some guesswork here, but it’s close) consisted of 35 players with cap numbers of $1.5 million or less. And only six players — quarterback Mike Vick ($16.1 million cap number), cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha ($10 million), cornerback Asante Samuel ($9.34 million), tackle Jason Peters ($6.54 million), and defensive ends Jason Babin ($5.3 million) and Trent Cole ($5 million) — had cap figures of $5 million or more.

King goes on to say:

Not including Asomugha, the eight free agent signings and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who came from Arizona in the Kevin Kolb trade, have zero dollars promised to them for 2012 and beyond. There are years remaining on contracts, yes. But guarantees, no.

Point is, this is the kind of cap situation that can absorb Vick at $16.1 million this year, and Asomugha at $10 million this year and $11 million next year. And the kind of cap that can accommodate a very good player like Cullen Jenkins, the best rush defensive tackle on the market, who never saw the market develop for him the way he thought it would.

Jenkins thought his first-choice team, Philadelphia, wouldn’t sign him after giving Asomugha a four-year, $48-million contract. The Eagles convinced Jenkins they still wanted him badly, but just couldn’t pay him what they’d been discussing pre-Nnamdi. After a night to think about it, Jenkins decided he’d rather play where he wanted for $4 million than to go to a Cincinnati-type team for more money. Jenkins figures he’ll still have another payday if he outperforms this contract in the first year or two. The reputation of the Eagles helped — as did some players’ desire to play on Vick’s team.

One more thing about the Eagles’ cap. It’s not the league’s number of $120.38 million per team. It is actually $125.58 million. That includes $2.2 million in what the league calls “reallocation credits” from the last capped year, 2009, when the Eagles didn’t spend to the cap, and the $3 million every team can borrow from a future cap year to support veteran player costs this season.

Love that King mentions guys wanting to play with Vick, and if you haven’t checked my Vick bromance post, you should.

Michael Vick greets new teammate Nnamdi Asomugha at Training Camp. (Photo by Rich Shultz)

Yes I realize I have quoted Urban Dictionary, but I think that’s okay because it has the word “dictionary in it.”

Moving on…let’s get something straight.

You may have been sporting a Michael Vick jersey since his days of Virginia Tech. You might even have known him way back in his Warwick high school days. You may have even purchased red leg warmers when he played for the Falcons so that your legs were covered in red like his legs.

And by “you” I do mean me.

But neither one of us (you or me) should think for one second that you are among the elite group of Michael Vick’s biggest fans. Cause Vick’s biggest fans don’t attend games—they play in them.

Nobody loves Michael Vick more than other football players. That’s why I didn’t even raise an eyebrow when the Dallas Cowboy’s Tashard Choice asked for his autograph 2 seconds after his team got spanked.

I couldn’t believe how annoyed some fans were. Most athletes and even sports journalists knew: Who cares that Choice’s team lost one game. THIS IS MICHAEL FUCKING VICK! Not like he ran across the field and got Desean Jackson’s John Hancock.

Last night the Eagles worked out a deal with Jarrad Page. Page IMMEDIATELY tweeted about how excited he was to play for the Eagles. Following suit of the other many recent Eagles signings such as Jason Babin who also gushed with happiness to play for the team.

I lamented that I didn’t see too many new players for my beloved Falcons expressing such glowing excitement. Then I remembered, they don’t have Michael Vick anymore.

There’s a reason Michael Vick used to refer to himself as The Experience.  I can post any number of highlights showing the electrifying moves this man can make on a field. But what people don’t know is how much of a football players’ football player he is. Vick is the reigning King of guy’s guys. A man’s man, if you will.

If there’s anything that athletes know, it’s just how hard it is to do what so many of them make look easy. From a spectator standpoint, Vick still has a lot of issues with reading defenses (though he’s improved a lot) and some work to do with spreading the ball (which he avoided like the plague in Atlanta). But scouting reports aside there’s simply no accounting for the ability to do what simply looks impossible.

Other athletes appreciate that attribute in Vick more than anyone else. Not to mention Vick’s desire and drive to win games, and his refusal to be broken by his past mistakes—no matter how hard PETA and the media conspired to make him.

Once you factor in Vick’s magnetic personality, easy smile, and willingness to praise his teammates you have the makings of the biggest man-crush target in NFL history. Even the most level headed of players are wide-eyed for the comeback kid. Vick’s presence on the Eagles and helpfulness in recruiting new players is why the Eagles are signing pro bowl talents at bargain basement prices. And probably one of the reasons that Asante Samuel would rather stay and sit sometimes than be traded away to play among the lessers.

You get the sense that when Vick reached out to players to come to the Eagles their first thought was “He Likes me…he really likes me!” Players couldn’t wait to sign the dotted line on one of the Eagles seemingly endless slew of economical contracts.

As rumors swirl that the Eagles have reached out to Randy Moss, I have no doubt that if the recently retired player says “yes” to their advances, Vick will be the primary reason.

Bromances are powerful things.

Nnamdi Asomugha Shows up to Eagles Training Camp Sunday, July 31, 2011. He can't practice until Thursday, August 4th (new CBA rules)

First of all, I’m pretending to believe that Asomugha (Ass-sim-mah-wah) signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. I’m not going to REALLY believe it until my Asomugha jersey arrives which I will be ordering promptly the minute they go on sale. I spent all of Friday morning tweeting about how the Eagles rarely take risks or make what I perceive to be “grand gestures” toward fans or toward winning. It bothered me that the Eagles weren’t even in the race for Asomugha.

I wasn’t lobbying for them to sign him necessarily, but just to be in the race. To say, we’ll look at any and all options. We want to win, and we’re willing to come up with a surprise or two. Hours later, the Eagles signed Asomugha to a 5 year deal 60 million dollar deal with 25 million dollars UP FRONT. No one deserves it more than he does. And no one deserves to be excited going in to a season more than us Philly fans. And if you say different, I really hope you can drive your car on blocks.

In addition to the Aso signing, the Eagles have signed almost everyone else who was free…Cullen Jenkins, Jason Babin, Vince Young, Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie, Oprah, Stedman. Well, everyone except Desean Jackson who may or may not be ending his “holdout” soon depending on who’sreporting.

More on Desean later. For now, I know everyone is wondering how the Eagles slipped in and stole Aso from under the noses of the Jets, Cowboys, Texans and 49ers. Lucky for you, I got my hands on Aso’s journal. woot!

For those who don’t know much about Asomugha, all you need to know to enjoy his journal entries is that he’s perfect.

Nnamdi Asomugha Journal Pages from Thursday, July 28 and Friday, July 29, 2011.

5:00 am - Woke up and drank organic coffee and ate three boiled eggs and had a protein shake while reading the LA Times, NY Times, and Wall Street Journal from front to back. I feel smarter every day. God is so good.

6:00 am - Worked out in top secret location with top secret people doing top secret drills.

8:00 am - Called Jets Coach Rex Ryan and heard his ringback tone which I felt was completely inappropriate. I googled the lyrics…apparently the “song” was “Sex in Crazy Places” by some fellow by the name of “Gucci Mane.” Hung up without leaving a message.

8:45 am Received a video message from Jets Linebacker Bart Scott saying that he “couldn’t wait” to be roommates. Set a rule to send all emails from Bart to special folder (gmail trash bin).

9:00 am Called some kids I mentor to make sure they are doing well. And they are. I worry too much but can’t help it. God is so good.

9:15 am Received voice message from a team with which I was not familiar. They said they call themselves “the San Francisco 49ers.” Googled them on my limited edition Iphone. Couldn’t tell if they were really in the NFL or not. Wrote myself a note to ask my agent. Still forgot.

10:00 am Arrived at the airport with my agent to fly to Houston for a meeting with the Texans. I’ve heard good things.

11:15 am Must turn phone off now. I hope this flight is safe. God is so good.

3:00 pm Arrived at Houston Texans facility. Everything was going well until they suddenly brought out several bottles of moscato and plates of chicken tenders. Informed them that it’s tacky to serve dessert wine at lunch and that I do not partake in the consumption of fried foods. Weird moment of misunderstanding too: They thought I came for wine and chicken tenders. But I’d said I wanted to sign with a contender. Couldn’t wait to leave.

4:00 pm Tired. A lot on my mind. Heading back to the hotel to relax with some light reading. Probably Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.”

NEXT DAY

7:00 am Slept in this morning. Can’t believe I woke up so late. But I’m blessed to have the opportunity. God is so good.

8:00 am Turned on the TV but couldn’t bear to see myself on every channel. All this attention is so embarrassing. There is a famine in East Africa for God sakes. Took a moment to pray.

9:00 am Drove to Dallas and met Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who greeted me wearing a dashiki and later tried to put a cowboy hat on my head without asking. My agent told him that Black people don’t like to be touched to which he responded “I thought he was African!” Couldn’t wait to leave.

2:00 pm Received a text from my good friend Jets Cornerback Darrell Revis telling me he really hopes I sign with the Jets. What a great guy. Never figured him to be one to have a pet though. Seems he has a hamster or something. He was on his way to buy spinning wheels.

2:30 pm Received text message from my old boss Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis’ great great great great great great great great grand daughter letting me know that he died for the 7th time since 1983. I was sad as I always am when this happens to him. Can’t wait until he comes alive again. God is so good.

3:45 pm Heard from my agent that the Philadelphia Eagles swear up and down (which really isn’t respectful of God but anyway) that they want to win a Superbowl and might be willing to offer me money to play for them. Spoke to Eagles owner Joe Banner and heard the passion in his voice. They sent over an initial offer but something seemed amiss…** Contract must definitely be revised!

4:15 pm Received a phone call from the President Emeritus of my alma mater, The University of California Berkeley regarding Eagles Wide Receiver Desean Jackson. They were concerned about the impact his twitter account and general life behavior might have on the image of the university. They asked me to take him under my tutelage as he is a fellow alum and I happily obliged. It’s such an honor to help guide young men in the right direction, even when they are a mere 5 years younger than I.

5:45 pm Signed a reworked contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Can’t wait to start. GOD IS SO GOOD.

**A sneak peak at the first contract the Eagles sent Asomugha:

DEAR SIR,

FIRST I MUST ASK FOR YOUR STRICTEST CONFIDENCE IN REGARDING TO THE TRANSACTION IN WHICH I AM ASKING YOU TO ENTER. WE ARE IN GREAT NEED OF HELP AS WE HAVE EXPERRRRRIENCED MANY TRIALS OVER THE PAST YEARS AS YOU MAY SEE. THEREFORE, I NEED AN URGENT HELP FROM YOU AS A MAN OF GOD TO HELP GET THIS MONEY TO YOUR COUNTRY. THIS MONEY, AFTER GETTING TO YOUR COUNTRY, WOULD BE SHARED ACCORDING TO THE PERCENTAGE AGREED BY BOTH OF US.PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MATTER IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL AS THE GOVERNMENT IS STILL UNDER SURVAILLANCE TO PROBE US. IF YOU PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS NUMBERS WE WILL THEN TRANSFER UK 25,000,000,000,000,000,0000 EUROS INTO YOUR ACCOUNT MR. ASOMUGHA. PLESE DO NOT SHARE THIS DOCUMNT BEYOND YOUR GRACIOUS EYES.

I’m such a fool. LOLLLLLL

If you missed Asomugha’s press conference for the Eagles yesterday, here ya go:

So last week beleaguered Redskins QB Donovan McNabb was interviewed on ESPN radio and said, among other things, that athletes shouldn’t tweet. This became a sort of big story over the weekend. And usually I don’t like to post things that everyone else has already posted but I had a few thoughts on this.

In the interview, the subject of twitter came up because so many athletes publicly criticized Jay Cutler in their tweets for not returning to the  NFC championship game last season-before there was any report on the extent of his injury. McNabb said that the players who tweeted about Cutler during the game did so out of jealousy. I’ve said before I thought that the criticism of Cutler by both athletes and the general public was dumb and uncouth. My solution to this is to encourage people not to be dumb and uncouth and to make fun of them when they are. McNabb’s solution, however, is to get athletes off of social media.

Athletes, especially football players, need social media in order to maintain relevance. There’s over 1700 players in the NFL and most won’t ever make an amount of money that remotely approaches what McNabb has made in his career. Other players need every ad dollar  and fan connection they can muster up. Social media doesn’t prevent players from commenting out of hand, nor should it. I mean, I personally enjoy the off the field entertainment.

This past month we’ve seen quite a few players spar with words. Namely, New York Giants’ Defensive End Osi Umenyiora and Philadelphia Eagles Running  Back LeSean McCoy as well as Chicago Bears Linebacker Brian Urlacher and Cincinnati Bengals Linebacker Dhani Jones. In these exchanges, Umenyiora refused to acknowledge that he’d ever heard of McCoy choosing to refer to him as a woman and Urlacher stated that he hadn’t heard anything about Jones since the year they were both drafted.

I think McNabb’s position just further shows why his PR is so stinking bad. And he really could stand to lighten up.

Eagles DB Asante Samuel

Chris over at Smart Football wrote a GREAT and very readable post on constraint plays i.e. those plays that are designed to put constraints on defenses. Chris’ post is about offensive philosophy and structure and how important it is not to lose sight of it. I think it’s worth the read.

One passage, however, triggered a memory I had of the Cowboys handily beating my Eagles:

Constraint plays thus work on defenders who cheat. For example, the safety might get tired of watching you break big runs up the middle, so he begins to cheat up. Now you call play-action and make him pay for his impatience. The outside linebackers cheat in for the same reason; to stop the run. Now you throw the bubble screen, run the bootleg passes to the flat, and make them pay for their impatience.

The bubble screen as an example reminded me of the 2009-2010 season when Cowboys QB Tony Romo completed 8 bubble screen passes to WR Miles Austin in just one game against the Eagles. Of course I didn’t remember how many passes there were, I had to use my trusty google. But I did remember several plays being executed the same way against an Eagles defense that wasn’t particularly good but contained a few gems of individual talent.

And that’s where the possibility of getting burned comes into play as those players like, for example, Asante Samuel are looking to break up the play.  The inclination for Eagles defensive backs to move up  (I look at it as almost blitzing without blitzing) got them burned on lots of deep passes. Eagles were using “aggression” to make up for the lack of quality. BURN.  The bubble screen being a shorter pass that initially looks to be deep was just as effective at exposing their problems in the secondary. Eagles DBs are not much of a unit per se and in many ways the Eagles defense continues to be a sham in the backfield. That’s why all the  talk of sending Nnamdi Asomugha to the Eagles talk is so prominent.

Eagles did pick up some defensive backs in the draft but still plan to pursue starters in free agency. Not Asomugha though.

I decided to focus my headline on the title of Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick’s autobiography rather than say something off color about how I have no intentions of reading it.

*brace yourself for negativity*

Okay, I love Michael Vick. I, too, grew up in Hampton Roads Virginia. I was lucky enough to see Vick play many times in high school. And I, just like other people from the Tidewater area, kept my eye on Vick from high school to college at Virginia Tech to the Atlanta Falcons to his stint in jail to his speaking turns on animal rights to his signing with the Eagles.

So it’s not that I don’t care…it’s just that at 30 years old and having not won any championships at the collegiate level or in the National Football League (he doesn’t even have a Heisman!), releasing a story that chronicles your life seems a bit premature to me. We’ve heard all about Vick’s trials with his friends, with dogfighting, arrogance and redemption. It’s hard for me to imagine this autobiography being highly engaging given Vick’s mild mannered personality. And with Vick still being in full out apology mode, I can’t see him doing much criticism of others-that kind of honesty sells!

From USA Today.

Vick, 30, hopes he can impart the lessons he learned confined inside a lonely prison cell to young people who might now be damaging their own lives. They are lessons that Vick regrets that he, at age 26, was too naive to absorb.

“My propensity for trying to lie my way out of trouble only made my consequences more severe,” he wrote.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz *snores*

The title “Finally Free” is certainly appropriate, I can see him discussing how hard it was to let go of past negative influences his life in addition to what it felt like to regain his freedom after being incarcerated. But all in all, if I had to predict…I don’t get the impression that Vick’s autobiography will be candid or contextualized, I think it will be image-driven and a summary of things we already know.

If his story reads as I think it will, it probably would have been much BETTER for him to write a handbook for young men. I think a lot of boys would rather get a pep talk from Michael Vick than Hill Harper. And Harper’s book “Letters To a Young Brother” sold pretty well. Young boys might actually read Vick’s book rather than using the pages as toilet paper after their moms and aunties force it on them.

From my view, I’d rather read Vick’s autobiography when he’s not longer walking on egg shells and can come clean about the herpes/Ron Mexico rumors, the woman who sued him, his relationship with Dan Reeves and Jim Mora Jr., his thoughts on being betrayed by his friends and family and that kind of thing.

Is it rude to speculate that Vick’s financial problems are the reason he is releasing an autobiography at 30 years old? What do you all think, will you read Vick’s story?

Josh Cribbs still wants a chance to prove himself as a returner.

Placekickers just had their best week ever. Kick returners? Not so much.

Fans and players alike were looking for a break from the lockout talk and the NFL just gave it to them in the form of the latest rule changes. The NFL announced this week that kickoff will now take place at the 30 yard line instead of the 35 yard line. Touchbacks will remain at the 20 and coverage teams will get a 5 yard head start instead of a 10-15 yard head start.

What does this mean?

Less returns

Less injuries on returns

Less excitement

More touchbacks

Less excitement

Last season, with kickoffs taking place at the 30 yard line, there were 23 kickoff returns that resulted in a touchdown. The last time teams kicked off from the 35 yard line was 1993. That year there were four such returns.

I can’t boo loud enough!

Kickoff returns are one of my favorite parts of football. There’s just nothing like a an exciting return, especially to start a game. I’ve heard a lot of theories about why 26 teams would vote in favor of the rule change-everything from having to avoid paying returners to setting the stage for an 18 game season. All valid. But I think that the owners heard the phrase “prevent injuries” and knew they could go for it both for financial reasons as well as to appear sensitive to the safety issue-especially since they voted down increased protection for defenseless receivers at the same meeting (SIDE FUCKING EYE!).

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I support anything that keeps the fellas on the field safer. But I really hate when practices are eliminated through the backdoor. In this case, the NFL isn’t really reducing injuries through modification, they’re doing so through elimination.  If the NFL wants to get rid of kickoff returns they should just do it rather than pretending there’s still a real choice for coaches and players.

Even the reduced lead time for coverage isn’t going to help returners enough to prevent their inevitable drift into never never land. One day I will tell my grandchildren about the spectacular kickoff returns I’ve seen. By then I’ll probably also have to explain to them that there used to be punt returns, sacks, and tackles too.

I’m exaggerating…slightly.

But I really am uncomfortable with the way that the rule changes that happen every year send different messages about the game’s direction.  Perhaps as soon as we’re done discussing the CBA there should be a general conversation about the future of the game.If kick off returns are so dangerous, is it possible that they may eliminate punt returns next? PLEASE GOD NO! Hi Roger! Let’s chat about this. Call me.

Seriously though, some teams have invested in their special teams (the Browns being one example as well as the Bears who both voted against the rule) and if we’re going to talk about finances, it might be good for owners to talk about where the game is going before making rules that negate investments some of them have already made. Part of being a good business owner is planning. ZING!

On another note, it bothers me that the NFL refused to release any data on this issue. Football players are injured on any time play action takes place. I couldn’t begin to take a guess about whether kick off returners are being injured more often on returns than in other times they’re on the field.

The most notable return injuries last season weren’t a result of velocity rather awkward tackling and illegal hits such as what happened to Dez Bryant and Ellis Hobbs. Kick off return injuries are also more memorable than other types of injuries and without data, how do we know the NFL isn’t scapegoating?

That being said, many injuries on kickoff happen to other players-not the returners. And even without numbers you can assume that there’s a health benefit to the rule change (reduce contact, reduce injury, 2+2 = 4 and other complicated things of that nature).

Predictably, kickers around the league went to bed while visions of touchbacks danced in their heads.

Graham Gano:

“On kickoffs you do see a lot of big plays, a lot of big hits, and a lot of big touchdowns. I think it will affect that a whole lot. You’re gonna see guys who don’t have a strong leg putting it in the end zone, getting touchbacks, so that’s going to take away chances to get big returns. For us I think it’s going to help us out a lot.”

Jay Feely

“Personally, I’m very happy about it. I think all the veteran kickers are happy about it. I do think it will definitely take some excitement out of the game. It eliminates good returns from guys like LaRod (Stephens-Howling), Devin Hester, Leon Washington.”

Speaking of Hester and Washington, they had plenty to say, so did Josh Cribbs.

Devin Hester

“They’ve gone too far. They’re taking the whole fun out of the game,” Hester said. “The fans come out, especially in Chicago, to see returns. That’s one of our key assets to our team. Fans love our big returns. Not only do they kick it out of bounds when it’s time to punt the ball. But now they get this advantage on kickoffs where we felt we were guaranteed a kickoff return. Now you’re taking that away from our return game. The return game is out of the picture.”

Leon Washington

Oh they hating on me man. Come on now. You know I don’t like the rule. I’m sure sure Brad Smith and Devin Hester and Joshua Cribbs and the rest of those guys you know doing a good job returning the balls don’t like the rule. I mean it’s a part of the game that is really exciting. I think fans look forward to it because it’s an instant momentum change. You gotta think about it. It’s the first play of the game or the first play after halftime after the opposing teams scores, so it’s one of those things. I think the NFL is trying to figure out how can they minimize the injuries on the kickoff and kickoff return unit. Also like you said there might be some greed involved. I’m sure teams will try to adjust to it. I was telling my dad the other day you know it looks like there’s going to be a bunch of 109-yard kickoff returns because I plan on coming out of the end zone if that takes place.”

Josh Cribbs

“It’ll be a tremendous amount of touchbacks…They’re already kicking away from Devin Hester, myself, other guys and this will just make it over the top, like no kickoff returns.

“I guess I just have to get my punt game up until they change that. I just can’t fathom that other alternatives were not taken. What it does do is take a lot of the excitement out of the game, decreases the opportunity for guys like myself coming out of college to have an opportunity to play football because scouts won’t recruit guys like that anymore because they won’t need them.”

Just so you know, the Eagles, Browns, Jaguars, Bengals, Raiders, and Bears were the only teams to vote against the rule change.