The Philadelphia Eagles Invented the Game of Football

The Philadelphia Eagles invented the game of football. Oh no? You say that they didn’t invent the game of football? Well, my friend, the three amigos of Andy Reid, Joe Banner, and Jeffrey Lurie would lead you to believe otherwise. The self-proclaimed gold standard, the Eagles have failed to acknowledge some very important things about their organization. And this is what will do them in at the end.

First, the Eagles need to remember that professional football is based on a fan driven economy. And much like the real world economy, it can have its ups and downs forming a cyclical path that in some cases can be predictable. It wasn’t twenty years ago when the team couldn’t sell out, and required a local TV station to buy up the tickets so that it wouldn’t be blacked out. Then, the team was bad and there was a disconnect between then owner Norman Braman and his customer base. Stars like Reggie White and Seth Joyner were great a hit in the pocket book and were allowed to leave. Since Lurie and Banner took over, they have had a nice run of success both on and off the field. But, again, like the economy there could be a fall coming….and like I said, it can be predictable. First, Dawkins was allowed to leave…then Tre Thomas…, and like Reggie and Seth, were barely replaced. Could this be the precursor to a downturn for the gold standard of the NFL?

The Birds administration have had a chronic issue with arrogance, from the pretentious Boston born owner and his evil little henchman to the non-answers begrudgingly provided during every post-game press conference. They put off the notion that they think very little of the fans. They are a three headed monster that think the people paying them hard earned money are crazy for not bowing down to their god-like status in the world. Perhaps I am crazy, or maybe we all are for not realizing what we really have; a football dictatorship. We are told, by them, how to root for our team. We are disregarded, by them, when we speak. And we are those who have been taken advantage of from the onset. Perhaps it time for a revolution. We can have a Boston Tea Party and dress up like Redskin fans and begin the process of regime change.

But just as every notable dictatorship has condemned the masses to their rule, the three headed monster also gave themselves the ability to rewrite history; and their good at it too, not Stalin good, but good. Every year during the state of the team address, it is almost as if they are trying to convince us that not only did they win last year’s Super Bowl, but every Super Bowl since 1996. I could swear I saw a Football Prospectus photo with Lurie hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. They should really wait a little while more, until all of the fans are completely brainwashed, before they start officially changing the history books. I’ll provide an example. After the Baltimore blowout, otherwise known as the game Coach Andy benched Donovan, Reid said that he didn’t know who was going to start the next week, mentioning Kolb and McNabb by name. More recently, he stated that McNabb was always the guy and that there was never a question about it. Soon the whole Dawkins saga will disappear into a new season and that story will change. Old photos of the Eagles great will then be superimposed with those of Quintin Demps even though he was in grade school when Dawk joined the Birds. And they’ll expect us to believe it without question.

I don’t mind an owner making business decisions, that’s part of life when it comes to being a sports fan. What I don’t want is to be spoken down to, to be told how to behave when I pay to behave how I wish (within reason). I don’t want to be told what is good for me when the actions taken eat me alive. And I do not want someone in charge of something that I love dangling my precious in front of my face and saying it is not mine. The Eagles belong to me, me and every other Philly fan around the globe. We want honesty, a sense of reality, and the knowledge that ownership will truly improve to reach the next level. Not say that they’ve tried and that it’s not their fault; that our expectations are too high. We don’t want to here that they’ve won however many games and that they are just as good as teams who’ve brought home the glory. The Phillies gave us the taste of a winner and now the Eagles are in trouble, because it is their time to bring the next championship, and they better get ready for the criticism, second guessing, and foul-mouthed venting every time they fail to win it all. Because unbeknownst to the three headed monster, they didn’t invent the game of football, they just invented a new way to disenfranchise the fan.

Another Eagles Receiver Rumor

First it was Marvin Harrison, then it was Anquan Boldin, now, it seems that Braylon Edwards might be the next wide receiver to be joining the Philadelphia Eagles. They have apparently joined the group of teams that are looking to deal for the guy. It would be a great thing for the Birds to acquire a top-notch wideout, but as far as I can tell, Cleveland would demand a first round draft pick (unless they get desperate), and Edwards would want a new contract. Neither of these two things would go well with the Eagles administration, and the possibility of them trading for Edwards, in my opinion is between nope and not gonna do it.

Let’s start by looking at the receivers they have. The tandem of Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson is the best they’ve had in the Andy Reid era. Yes, T.O. is the best receiver in Eagle green in the past 10 years, but I would say the Todd Pinkston devalues that duo. Adding Braylon Edwards would certainly upgrade the corps, but not enough in the Eagles’ eyes to justify the price tag that would come along with him. Sure, the team has plenty of money under the cap, but they would have to view Edwards as enough as an upgrade to warrant the spending of cash. He made over 10 million dollars, including bonuses in 2008 and could look for as much in a new deal. Generally he would be worth it since he may be one of the top five receivers in the league however if anyone knows how Joe Banner works, he low balls players, then pays based on future production, not on what someone has already accomplished. Curtis made less than six million last year.

The Eagles do certainly have two first round draft picks and it is possible that one could be used to obtain Edwards, but it is also possible, more likely even that they will use both picks to fill glaring needs at offensive tackle and either tight end or running back. There will be no way that Edwards will have the opportunity to catch balls thrown at his feet if the QB is on his back all day due to a revolving door on the offensive line. There was some talk of a stop-gap solution putting Todd Herremans or Shawn Andrews at the spot vacated by Tre Thomas so that would free up one of the picks that could go for Edwards. In addition, the Eagles have something like eight second day picks and one or two of those could get a deal moving as throw ins.

Joe Banner is the maker or breaker of this deal for Edwards. Instead of looking at Edwards 2007 season when he scored 16 touchdowns and caught 80 balls for 1289 yards, he is bound to base any trade value on his 2008 stats when he scored only three TDs with 873 yards receiving, indicating that this may be Edwards’ potential on his team, adding in the number of drops Braylon is credited with as well. All this may be true, and it is unfortunate because Banner won’t look at the big picture. Does this make my wide receiver corps better? He will put Edwards in a particular spot, say in Curtis’s spot on the field and ask, “is this guy worth four million dollars more?” The answer will be no and he will cite “value” at the position. Forget asking if Edwards is better than Reggie Brown or Hank Baskett.

It won’t be a shock if the Eagles are able to obtain Edwards. They did get T.O. and speed racer Donte Stallworth via trades so it isn’t unprecedented. The big difference here is that T.O. was an upgrade over James Thrash to the Nth degree and Stallworth was there only to fill the massive whole that Owens left. But if they do decide that Edwards is worth the price it would take to get him, then perhaps kudos would be deserved. Right now, I’ll reserve the right to skepticism as I wait for Braylon to be traded elsewhere and Banner to say they tried….just like they tried to get Randy Moss and resign Brian Dawkins.

The Philadelphia Eagles One Year Deal Wonders

The Eagles have made a smart move signing fullback Leonard Weaver to a contract. This ensures that the Birds will not have to start Dan Klecko in the backfield and can put him back on the defensive line where he can be more effective until the Eagles decide to cut him. The contract to Weaver is a one year deal that has a base salary of 1.75 million, but can get to 2.5 Mil with incentives that are probably so far out of reach Leonard couldn’t get to them in a spaceship.

The Eagles have been very fond of one year deals this offseason. They signed safety Sean Jones for one year, then safety Rashad Baker for one year. They signed restricted free agent linebacker Tank Daniels for one year as well. Add in Weaver’s contract and that makes four contracts out of five, with Stacy Andrews getting the only multi-year deal from the Birds thus far. It’s a bit peculiar and it may call into question their long range plans.
First is the potential for a lockout between owners and players after the 2010 season. The media has been discussing it already and the Eagles may be financially preparing themselves should a standoff occur. This way they don’t have a lot of money tied up in signing bonuses and salaries when everything is settled. And you know what that leads up to….one year deals for next year’s free agents. There’s no good reason to go into each season with the same question marks, but next year the Eagles will go into the 2009 offseason needing to sign a fullback, a safety, a wide receiver, all of the things they needed to pick up this year. This type of consistency is not a good thing.The Birds could be looking at the potential of the players they have on the roster now, or plan to draft this April. Something tells me they’re going to love Quintin Demps more than his own mother just so they can feel justified for letting Dawk go and signing Sean Jones for only one year. Maybe they’ll draft a fullback, or sign a rookie free agent and pay him the minimum. They’ll save money and if they find some guy off the streets that will do it for less, it’s easier to make that move than it would be if you had a guy who could play a little, like Weaver. It doesn’t say much for depth at any position though.

They only other reason that comes to mind is that the Eagles were expecting something better and it didn’t work out. The problem with that statement is that they didn’t go after anything better. Dawkins was probably the best safety for this team and they let him go to Denver. Weaver is a pretty good player and perhaps, like Jones, wants to see how everything plays out for one year before they start talking long term. Unfortunately for the players, they will probably be low-balled to the point they want to leave. I am not saying either side needs to agree to a five year deal, but three for a player with a decent track record isn’t necessarily a bad idea, unless of course, that third year is a lockout year.

Whatever the Eagles due, it will probably warrant criticism. Almost everything that comes out of that camp does nowadays. The administrative branch of Reid, Banner and Lurie has become a focal point of frustration that has eaten away at the average fan and the flow of bad press has left the image of a cheap organization with the mindset of Ebenezer Scrooge. I don’t think they need to worry about the customer base though since there is a waiting list for season tickets and their merchandise sells well. But it’s only a matter of time before their mismanagement of the Philadelphia Eagles will make Norman Braman the Philadelphia patron saint of football.

The Assassination Of The Philadelphia Eagles By The Coward Andy Reid

This week Andy Reid finally spoke up on the state of the Philadelphia Eagles, including the departure of key veterans from his roster. He didn’t speak to the general media of course. Instead, the Eagles own website lackey was handed the responsibility of grilling Coach Andy with softball questions on topics like the Brian Dawkins saga, the wide receivers, the draft, and free agency. This is a quick rundown on what he said.

When questioned regarding Brian Dawkins, Coach Andy did indicate the great job he had done for years, but that they had made an attempt to keep him but that it didn’t work out. Perhaps it was because Coach Andy and Joe Banner didn’t want to work it out. Andy said this in regards to how much money they had 40 million under the cap and how they go after free agents, but I think this is how he and Banner truly felt about Dawk and why they didn’t resign him.
"You can say it's a conservative approach or you can just say it's smart. People are hesitant to say that, but … Because you have the money, you just don't go blow it on something that you don't think is good enough quality to put on the Eagles uniform.”

Well, apparently they didn’t really feel that anyone was worth putting in an Eagles uniform except the brother of an AWOL offensive lineman, a backup safety, and another safety as a stop-gap replacement to the Pro-Bowler he let go.

Andy Reid thinks that Reggie Brown and Hank Baskett are starting caliber players, for which teams, I’m not sure. Maybe he is right, but only if DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis are both suffering from broken legs. His talent evaluation processes have killed this team time and time again, especially when guys like Greg Lewis took up roster spots from guys who could actually make a contribution, like a punt returner or a fullback. He put players in like Mark Simoneau and pretended he could replace then Pro-Bowler Jeremiah Trotter. He’d rather have Brown and Baskett instead of the likes of Houshmandzadeh, Bouldin, and anyone else out there with a bit of skill.

That leads into the draft where they have the potential to pick up 12 more guys that will fail to make a contribution. But at this point, where they got rid of quite a few guys, they will need a good deal of those picks to select replacements in order to maintain the general roster. Andy is looking for fourth and fifth round picks to make an impact, probably because they guys they’ll be backing up were last year’s fourth and fifth round picks. He wouldn’t say whether they will use all twelve picks, but if there is a Winston Justice in this years draft, Andy might just trade up to get him.

Another thing that was brought up was that, according to Tra Thomas, departed offensive tackle, the Coach needs to have a better relationship with his players. But Andy Reid has a big head. I’m not saying that because of the actual girth of his noggin, but rather the arrogance and the pompous attitude he lays down on the Philadelphia Sports media at large and the Eagles fans. This is the foundation why he didn’t personally bench Donovan, didn’t answer questions about Dawkins, and doesn’t feel that he needs to answer to anyone but Joe Banner and Jeffrey Lurie. He may know more football, I will give him that, but does he know better? I don’t think so.

Most of what was discussed got bogus Andy Reid answers. He needs to do a better job in the Red Zone, he’s not discussing the McNabb situation, What this B.S. interview does is give Andy an out every time a real reporter or journalist wants to ask him a question. He doesn’t want to open himself to criticism because he doesn’t think he deserves it. Instead, he will respond by indicating he already put out his answer on the B.Dawk issue and will treat it as if it is old news. The problem there is that he never spoke about it before and when he finally did it was with a guy who will get fired if he even thinks about considering any critical words against his employer. I don’t know, maybe Coach Andy’s in the same boat. If that’s the case, we’re all sunk.

The Philadelphia Eagles Billionare: Jeffrey Laurie

Congratulations to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Laurie for being a new member on the Forbes magazine billionaires list. Perhaps he should celebrate by taking Joe Banner out to dinner and releasing him of any and all duties he has in regards to the operation of the football team. Banner, the over-controlling yet ever loyal employee to Laurie, has completely changed the football financial system and how it relates to the salary cap, and now Banner’s version of the system is essentially what is used around the league. Laurie should understand this and identify and reward his right-hand man with something wonderful…like a nice severance package. Banner is a man who has made himself obsolete in the business. Banner is a shrewd guy, but now he’s not the only one who can do the job.

Laurie should also realize just how he became a Billionaire. Yes, it was through the ownership of the Philadelphia Eagles, but it was through the toiling and hard work of Eagles fans, buying the tickets, concessions, and merchandise. And now with the apparent disregard for the fan, and in some cases his affect on the quality of product the organization is putting on the field, give him a warm pink slip laden send off. I know there will be those who will say that the team has gone to five NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl. I will retort with the fact that the money values that they put on certain positions have hindered them from winning it all. For instance, they will spend money on the offensive and defensive lines. They will not spend money on linebacker, although they have been lucky with the young guys they have. They will spend money on the cornerback, but not come close to signing any of the bigger named wideouts when they become available. For years it has been argued that the Eagles would have won at least one if they had better guys than Pinkston & Thrash, and a guy like T.O. for more than one season. Dante Stallworth was a pickup in a trade, but they didn’t consider him worth signing after the season was over. To sum up the position on the receivers, they will spend many dollars on covering the best receivers in the league, but do not want the best receivers on their team. That is a Joe Banner decision, and if Jeffrey Laurie wants to win the Lombardi trophy, those decisions need to be made be someone else. It will be a fan friendly move that will not necessarily endear Laurie to the Philly fan, that will be difficult to do since he is one of those high brow types, but it will inch him in the positive direction.

Outside the Banner issue, Laurie also needs to step up a bit and settle with the city of Philadelphia regarding a petty battle of a mere eight million dollars. Laurie claims he lost that much due to a canceled preseason game a few years back, and the city claims that the Eagles still owe that amount for agreeing to build luxury boxes in Vet’s Stadium. That deal was with the previous regime, but Laurie took that debt on when he bought the team. Incidentally, it has been argued that eight million dollars would enable the city to keep multiple libraries, slated for closure due to budgetary constraints, in operation.

Laurie was a rich guy before he bought the team, now he is richer. He doesn’t need money and he has his share of fame. What he needs is love. Love from the city he relies on. Love from the people who helped put him on the billionaire list. The amount of good grace and a sterling public persona he would receive would undoubtedly outweigh the actions it would take to receive such accolades. Whether he cares, I do not know. What I do know is despite his new billionaire moniker, it won’t take him as far in the eyes of public appeal if he doesn’t do what it takes to properly thank the city and fans of the Eagles for what they helped him accomplish in the city of Philadelphia.

Eagles Free Agency Update

The Eagles aren’t exactly burning up the Free Agent Trackers around the web, signing on a few guys to replace long time Eagle players that the administration has decided to jettison. To play the potential role of Correll Buckhalter’s stand-in will be Eldra Buckley, a 5-9 running back claimed off waivers, who has spent the past two seasons on the Charger’s practice squad and has gained zero game experience. If he even makes the every day roster Buckley will be nothing more than a special teams body and will do nothing to the actual run game. Now, to be fair, I could be mistaken and this guy could be the second coming of Heath Sherman, but in actuality Brian Westbrook can rest easy knowing that his job is secure, unless Heath decides to come out of retirement.
I
n other news, the Eagles are expected to talk with former Seattle fullback Leonard Weaver. Weaver is considered one of the best, if not the best fullback on the open market. Last year he rushed for 130 yards, but more importantly in an Andy Reid offense, caught 20 balls for 222 yards. The 2008 Eagles had no true fullback to lead block for B.West as they tried defensive tackle Dan Klecko in the role. I like Klecko, but he should stay and add depth to the D-Line and let a real fullback play. This would be a good pickup for the Birds and I hope that this is not a case where Weaver will take a Philly offer back to the Seahawks and resign with Seattle. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Then, of course, the Eagles will come out and say that they tried to sign a fullback but he decided to resign with his current team, so they’ll have to try, um, Jason Avant at fullback. It will be Randy Moss all over again and the contentious combo of Andy Reid and Joe Banner.

More talk is being made about how Andy Reid is handling the loss of veteran starting players from his team. Generic statements have been released to the media, but anyone who believes that those are Andy’s words are fooling themselves. Previously during the Stacy Andrews welcoming party, Reid refused to discuss the Dawkins departure. More recently, Tra Thomas has come out and said that he hasn’t spoken to his former head coach since just before Free Agency started up. No one expects Andy to be handing out hugs, but his communication skills or lack thereof only will only add to the public image dilemma the Eagles are facing in the real world outside the Novacare complex.

The Philadelphia Eagles Are In Trouble

The Eagles are in trouble, plain and simple. They have purged themselves of not one or two, but four starters and two important backups this free agency season and have found the administration the focus of negative media coverage from every direction. They have done little to garner public support in their decision making and have replaced replaced their losses with what looks to be a decent safety and a potentially decent offensive tackle. The depth chart is beginning to wear thin in a couple of areas and the Eagles have failed to produce any more viable options to show that they can remain competitive going into next season and fewer reasons why the fans shouldn’t run ownership out of town.

Tre Thomas, the eleven year vet and the only man who has truly protected Donovan McNabb’s blindside has agree to terms with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The next guy in line would have been Winston Justice, but if anyone has heard of him, it is because he was manhandled and abused by the New York Giants defensive line. If he is the man for the job, the Kevin Kolb will be the starter by the time the bye comes around because Number 5 will be broken and near dead. Behind Justice, there was last year’s 7th round pick, King Dunlap, who may or not be a player. Dunlap was a monster for his first couple years in college, but fell off the face of the Earth in his senior year. If he can regain some semblance of a NFL tackle, he will take the place of Justice on the roster when he invariably gets cut.

Then there is the case of running back. It is no secret that Brian Westbrook is the team’s best player at that position. Now, there is no question that Lorenzo Booker is not as good as Correll Buckhalter, and thereby an inadequate backup. If the Eagles expect B.West to last the season, they will need to get someone, either via the draft or free agency, to spell him from time to time. The organization claims that Brian will be better on the field since he will be overall healthier than he was in 2008, but how long can that last when he is the only ground option.
Jeff Laurie, who only speaks when the team is either doing well or there is exceedingly good news, has been in an ongoing battle over an eight million dollar suit from the city of Philadelphia. The Eagles have a counter-suit going saying that they lost eight million dollars when a Pre-Season game with Baltimore was canceled because the field at Veteran’s Stadium was in shambles. The political action group, ACORN, has a small rally outside Laurie’s suburb home, fighting for city. It turns out, that eight million dollars would help keep the libraries that are forced to close due to budgetary constraints open.

Joe Banner, went on talk radio last week and essentially lied his way through an interview regarding the Brian Dawkins saga. He stated that he wished he only had a chance to talk to Brian and maybe he could have swayed him to stay or that a deal still could have been worked out. Brian said his agent was in contact with the team three times before he signed with the Broncos and that there was never an indication that Banner wanted to talk or change the deal he had put on the table. Sunday night, Banner said just that, that he wasn’t going to match the offer Denver made, which tells me that Banner had no intention of giving Dawkins a better deal and was only doing a media tour because of the public backlash of Brian’s departure. Oh, by the way, no one has heard a peep from Coach Andy Reid during this whole mess.

And now, most recently a story has come out about just how weasel-like the organization can be read
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20090309_Gonzo___Cold_Eagles_sure_are_thin-skinned.html to see how they fired a part-time employee with a disability because he loved the team he worked for. If every company was like this, unemployment would be 75% and the remaining workers would be so frightened little robots. For six years, Dan Leone, who suffers from a potentially debilitating illness called transverse myelitis, was an exemplary worker. Then the Eagles let Brian Dawkins leave for Denver, and to vent Dan vented on a Facebook page. One of team’s upper management saw this posting and well, one thing led to another and Dan “could no longer be trusted.” The post wasn’t even up that long as Dan realized his mistake and removed it, but the wheels to his firing were already rolling. Soon he found out that there would be no warning, no slap on the wrist, and no understanding, just a firing squad from a team with no backbone and the arrogance previously unknown to mankind.

Not only have the Eagles screwed up with their on the field business, they are doing the same off the field. Their PR department must have been bought on the cheap like everything else, because they are slipping into an area saved for those like Marge Schott and Leona Helmsley. All we need now is some insider trading and a sex scandal and we’ll have the most eclectic bunch of guys possible running our team.

The Philadelphia Eagles & The Brian Dawkins Fallout

The world according to Philadelphia Eagles fan has been turned upside down since the departure of Brian Dawkins. Questions upon questions have been raised regarding the reasons he decided to sign with the Denver Broncos, few blaming Dawkins. It is widely believed that the Pro-Bowl safety never wanted to leave the Eagles, but was summarily told by the Eagles administration that the Eagles were leaving him. This picture started to become clear once free agency started. Historically, the Eagles have signed players they wanted to keep, locked them up early before they had a chance to hit the open market. So when the clock struck midnight last Friday and B.Dawk wasn’t under contract it became clear that the Eagles were willing to part with guy.

I remember hearing the news, driving home on Friday, a little after 5 p.m. The announcement made reference to the nearly infamous piece from SF Chronicle indicating that Brian had “agreed to terms” with the Broncos. Panic started to take shape, both within myself, and every other Eagles fan. Since then I clearly went through the five stages of grief. First I denied the fact that the Eagles would actually let him go and that Dawk would leave. I then felt hatred for the man I believed responsible (and still do) in Joe Banner. The stage of bargaining was a very small one in this episode of free agency, I told myself that the Eagles could sign no other free agent and they would be fine as long as they had #20 in the backfield. Depression, yeah, I was depressed, but I don’t want to talk about it. And now, nearly 72 hours after I first heard the news, I have accepted the entire situation. I don’t like it, but I have accepted it.

Team lackeys and media brown-nosing doo doo sellers became obvious as they took the side as the administration, allowing the administration itself to become heard without speaking. They knew it was going to be bad, bad for the fans, bad for them, but all they had to do was survive the initial brunt of criticism. Andy Reid didn’t even address the issue at the big party known as the Stacy Andrews unveiling. Joe Banner and Jeff Laurie have been completely silent, issuing bogus statements saying how much Dawkins has meant to the team. Fact of the matter is this: Banner and Laurie own the team and they run it like a business, they are not fans in the real sense of the word, they do not feel the passion that real fans do, especially in Philadelphia, and they know that Eagles football is a drug, a narcotic that the city needs to survive and that they can do anything they want, no matter how heinous and us junkie Eagles fans will keep coming back.

What could have been the disagreement between the two sides that would have driven the wedge between Brian Dawkins the man and the team he lived and died for sixteen Sundays a year for the past thirteen years? I haven’t heard the terms the Eagles offered their star but I’m guessing that they used a calculator, abacus, and a slide rule, to come up with a lowball number and offer that for a one year deal, not considering how much money they have under the cap. It was reminiscent of Hugh Douglas’s departure, and Jeremiah Trotter’s first exit, when they took an older player, “insulted” them with a bad contract offer, and then talked about how they pay based on how they will play at the end of the deal using verbiage like “diminishing returns.” Denver simply offered Dawkins a better commitment than Banner. Denver valued the player, man, leader, and his experience more that Banner, who would prefer to have a 2nd year Quintin Demps start instead of a Pro-Bowler.

Maybe the economy has hit the big wigs at the Eagles, and that their real financial investments have given nothing but diminishing returns. But Joe Banner has made clear that in the world of football, capology is more important than the fan, because the fan is a constant in his equations. He couldn’t be more wrong. The fallout has occurred and his silence will not be tolerated, cannot be tolerated. He has laughed in the face of children as he took what they loved and sent it away. I am an Eagles fan, and will be forever, but my dedication to the franchise has changed I think. I am not excited about who they may or may not bring in anymore, nor do I care who they draft next month. My guess is that I’m not the only one who feels that disconnect, that numbness that settles in after a dramatic change. How will I feel when camp opens? I don’t know. It will be different and it won’t be as electric as it would have been if Brian Dawkins’ energy was still radiating through the entire defense. My man crush has been crushed and that all I’m gonna say about that. I wish him well, and I wish Bronco fans the best, as they watch perhaps the greatest player in Eagles history.

Someone Needs to Talk!

This entire weekend, we have heard virtually nothing from the Eagles administration regarding the departure of Brian Dawkins. There have been some press releases, but that's it. When Andy Ried was available for questions, he would only discuss the signing of Stacy Andrews. All respects to Stacy, but his signing was completely overshadowed by a shunning of B.Dawk. The fact that Andy wouldn't address it only makes matters worse has it appears that he, Joe Banner, and Jeff Laurie viewed Dawkins as nothing less than expendable in the eys of a salary cap. First, remember that the Eagles were 48 million dollars under the cap, so money was there. The problem was they didn't want to spend it on a Philadelphia icon. Brian got a lot of money over his five year deal in Denver, but for anyone who knows the NFL, it is easily understood that Dawkins is unlikely to fulfill that contract. So in essence, his 7.2 million guaranteed over the next two couldn't be matched by the loser Joe Banner. He'll say it was regarding the dimishing returns or about maintaining a level of competition, but hello?? Dude was a Pro-Bowler last year. But what does Banner care, as long as the games are sold out, as long as the team continues to make tons of money, he bets that fans of Dawkins will forget him and move on. I wish Banner would just move on.

Dawkins a Bronco?

If Joe Banner and his lackies let Brian Dawkins leave I will need a very long time to recover from the utter diappointment. Dawkins was the longest standing Eagle and he deserves to retire one, even though it may not be the greatest business decision. The Eagles are 48 million under the cap, 48 million. Give the greatest Eagle the opportunity to fly in midnight green until he is ready to hang it up. Joe Banner is a horrible, horrible blight on the city of Philadelphia.