To Anquan or Not To Anquan

Should the Eagles trade their remaining first round pick for Arizona’s Anquan Boldin? A good number of Birds fans would say yes. I say hold on there Sparky. Boldin would most certainly improve the wide receiving corps, that I have no doubt. But I feel that he wouldn’t really improve the team overall, especially when you have no one to back up Brian Westbrook in the backfield. No, leave Anquan out West. Work with what you have on the outside, which isn’t all that bad by the way, and go out and get what you really need…a running back.

Just imagine if you will…You have Anquan Boldin on one side, DeSean Jackson on the other and Kevin Curtis fitting perfectly in the slot. Brian Westbrook is in the backfield. McNabb takes the snap, goes play action faking the handoff. Westbrook takes off only to be met at the line and on the tackle gets his knee twisted. Oh no! He’s hurt. In comes his backup, not Knowshon Moreno or Beanie Wells, but the wonderful and talented Lorenzo Booker! Can you see the dropoff yet? Now you can say that there is a loss of talent between the first and second string of receivers, but when your big weapon, and B-West is still your big weapon, goes down, the offense begins to look a whole lot less scary.

The 21st pick isn’t even guaranteed to get you Anquan straight up. A 3rd or 4th rounder would almost certainly have to be included as well, so it is unlikely that after the Jason Peters trade, that the Eagles will give up one pick let alone a couple. They have holes and depth that needs to be addressed. Take safety for instance. Right now there’s Jones, Mikell, Demps, and maybe J.R. Reed, but really, using a 3rd round pick for this position would be a good idea.

Some would say that you could throw in a player. Really? Like who? Sheldon Brown plus the 21st pick is too much. And I can tell you now that there isn’t much of a market for Reggie Brown or Hank Baskett, not when the guy involved is better than those two guys combined. The first round draft pick is really the only chip the Eagles can dangle in front of the Cardinals. It is unlikely they’ll take a player the Eagles are willing to give up.

So I’ll say to Eagles fans, you must live without Anquan Boldin, and (I hate to say it this way) make due with what we have at the moment, which isn’t Thrash/Pinkston (pictured) or Johnson/Small. For once in a long time, receiver isn’t our biggest need; it may be a need, but not our biggest one. We need a complimentary back, we need a tight end, and we need a defensive end, all before we need a receiver. And while it might be flashy, with some razzle dazzle pop, adding Boldin will not necessarily be the answer.

The Eagles Bring Some Intrigue to Their NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles have made the upcoming NFL Draft a bit intriguing for Philly fans. Nearly everyone in America knew that they were going to pick an offensive lineman with one of their two first round picks, and in essence they did with trading the 28th pick in the draft to the Bills for 2-time All-Pro Jason Peters. It won’t be know until the season starts whether Peters is the solid replacement to Tra Thomas that the Eagles organization thinks that he is or the guy who gave up the 11+ sacks last year, at least according to some stat geeks. Regardless though, this trade with Buffalo only increases a great deal of speculation on what will happen with their 21st pick.

At this point, I have no clue, but I suspect that they will draft a defensive lineman. I would be happily surprised if they picked a running back like Knowshon Moreno (left) or Beanie Wells (right) to complement Bryan Westbrook, but my gut tells me that they will leave that for the second or third round and get a second tier back. My eyebrows will also be raised a bit if they pick up Brandon Pettigrew (below) should he fall that far. No, look for the Birds to go ho-hum and select Tyson Jackson out of LSU and stick him in a rotation with Victor Abiamiri.
But what if….what if the Eagles see what’s coming down the road…an aging Westbrook, a young QB entering his third year, a dynamic wideout that makes defensive backs buckle. What if they see the opportunity to pick up that third piece to the offensive puzzle? A guy that will create a reason for safeties to move up and play the run, or a tight end that needs double coverage. This pick could be the one guy who will take us truly to the next generation of Philadelphia Eagles, the post McNabb, post Westbrook, and reluctantly, the post Dawkins Eagles.

To me, either Moreno or Wells will do, for that matter you can add Pettigrew too, but I would rather see one of the two top RBs in an Eagles uniform next season. Philadelphia replaced both of their offensive tackles with guys who are arguably better at run blocking than pass blocking, but that might not mean much since that was the case with Thomas and Jon Runyan. We will know just what they will do this Saturday. Perhaps this Eagles regime has seen the light, or perhaps not. Maybe they will finally understand what the fans mean when they say “playmaker,” or maybe they’ll risk ruining the franchise just to prove that their philosophy is right.

The other option they have of course is to trade their pick. I won’t give them the ability to trade out of the first round, but instead send it to Arizona for Anquan Boldin. That will enable the Eagles to slide Kevin Curtis inside where he belongs and solidify what will be the best receiving group, dare I say it, in the NFL. It wasn’t too long ago when Eagle fans had to bear witness to James Thrash and Todd Pinkston, but now on the precipice of what could be the last chance for Donovan and Andy Reid to make it back to the Super Bowl together, the Eagles might be prepared to go all out offensively, not unlike they did with T.O., only without all the drama.

The suspense is building and we might end up with something exciting or horribly disappointing. I am trying to think positive and believe that they will pick someone who will make the immediate impact and will help make the enigma that is DeSean Jackson, better. If only I could will them to select someone other than a lineman and to stimulate the fan base. Although they haven’t acknowledged that they are rebuilding, the letting go of Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas, and realistically Jon Runyan strikes another chord. Let’s make it official and draft the replacement to the guy who has been most important player on the team for the last couple of years, and get the best running back available to take over the reigns for B-West.

In other news regarding the Philadelphia Eagles….Cornerback Sheldon Brown wants out, especially after Joselio Hanson’s new contract. Brown has been the most consistent DB since the departure of Troy Vincent. Also, does anyone get the feeling that the Eagles are scared that Shawn Andrews might leave the game? Andrews missed all of last year and it was questionable whether or not he still wanted to play football. To try to ensure that he comes back the Birds signed his brother Stacy at the opening of free agency. Now they trade for his college roommate in Peters. Stay tuned, Philly might be signing two of his uncles, a second cousin, and his 3rd grade crush, just to make sure he’s back on the O-Line in ’09.

Ocho Cinco on the Eagles? That's Craziness

Ocho Cinco on the Philadelphia Eagles is craziness. I mean, c’mon! How many receivers in this league have been tied to the Birds this offseason, something like six. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Marvin Harrison, T.O (again), Anquan Boldin, Braylon Edwards, and now Chad Johnson were all Philly bound at some point. And it is only a matter of time before Plaxico, Jerry Rice, and Steve Largent find their way to the rumor mill as future Eagles. It is getting a bit ridiculous. The Eagles are always looking for players that will upgrade a position and they have, according to media reports at least, been inquiring about wideouts. But I will put the chance of the Eagles obtaining Chad somewhere between slim and the space between Coach Andy’s cheeks…the ones in the rear.

First of all, Ocho Cinco is T.O.-lite, and there is no way that the Eagles are taking that big of a risk. They would take on an ego, especially if the talent and possibly more important, the salary outweighed the potential risk of discord and Johnson has shown that he can bring discord. Johnson is not so much an ego, but rather he is an honest to goodness leggo my eggo loon that could help the Eagles win, as long as he was happy. If not, who knows? The difference between Chad and Terrell is that Chad is a bit more fun, particularly from the standpoint of the fans. Legally changing his name to his Spanish nickname is fine by me, just down throw your teammates under the bus.

And do the Eagles even need Chad Johnson? I don’t know. They could use a guy like that to completely open the field, but the damage he would do to DeSean Jackson would be immeasurable. Jackson has an ego all his own, and sometimes his football smarts take a time out ala the play of him running down the field and releasing the ball just prior to passing the goal line. Jackson has a good work ethic, he picked up the offense well, and his potential at this very moment may not be has high as his mentor, the immortal Rice, but in the least Steve Smith. I must note that I have no idea how Boldin or Edwards would affect Jackson, but I don’t think either will suggest that DeSean changes his name simply to Diez (and that’s the number ten in Spanish for those not in the know).

I say no to Ocho Cinco, let him rot in Cincinnati. He does nothing for me in terms of helping the Eagles advance further into the playoffs and I don’t think that he could catch those McNabb passes to his feet any better than Kevin Curtis. There will be many Birds fans that that will want his skill, but few that want his character. Perhaps if there was a way to somehow convince that brain of Johnson and turn it into the boring, humdrumness that is the career of Hank Baskett, then the balance of what is and what should never be will be maintained in the realm of the Philadelphia Eagles.

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: Free Agency Vs. The Draft Part 4

For the past ten years, it has been argued whether the Eagles would have won a championship or more had Donovan McNabb and the offense had they more weapons to work with. More recently this has been used by McNabb apologists as his legacy is being called into question, but regardless, it is a valid question. Since the Andy Reid era began, you can count the offensive “skilled” players drafted in the first round on one hand. There is Donovan, and then there is Freddie Mitchell. Todd Pinkston, Reggie Brown, and DeSean Jackson were all second rounders. Westbrook was drafted in third round and Correll Buckhalter in the fourth. Their focus in the first round has really been the O and D lines.

Wide receiver has always been an intriguing position for Eagles fans, most of who know that the group they have had has been slightly below average at best. Philly has gone out on a limb and picked up T.O. via a trade a few years back and went to the Super Bowl, since that time, Kevin Curtis has been the only guy they’ve brought in that has made an impact. Some would argue that the short time Donte Stallworth was in town would qualify, and maybe he would if he stuck around for another year. This year, I would doubt that the Eagles would go after a wideout like T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who would command more money than Joe Banner would want to part with. Instead I would expect them to go after a role player like Pittsburgh’s Nate Washington, if they go the free agency route at all. Philadelphia will select one receiver in this draft, probably in the middle rounds, whether that person even makes the team though, is questionable. As long as Greg (G.Lew) Lewis isn’t back, it’s and upgrade. Since one Rutgers alum will be leaving (L.J. Smith), Kenny Britt would look nice running fade routes where his fellow Scarlett Knight seemed to disappear.

Running back would be pretty much the same story. Unfortunately, Buckhalter will probably not be back, especially if he knows he can get more playing time elsewhere. That leaves Westbrook and bust Lorenzo Booker. I’ve seen mock drafts having the Eagles select a running back in the first round, but I can’t imagine that happening. They’ll pick up someone in the third or fourth round. Chris Wells would be great for the Birds but Andre Brown out of NC State is more likely to occur. There are no decent prospects for signing a free agent for the Eagles since Jacobs franchised and both Sproles and Derrick Ward will be looking, again, to make more money than the Eagles will want to spend.

The Eagles do have other priorities other than running back and receiver, I’ll acknowledge. It is just a shame that the flashes of razzle-dazzle come just seldom enough, fans aren’t sure the team is capable of putting on a show. DeSean Jackson, who doesn’t exactly fit “Andy Reid’s type of player mold,” has that potential and talent, so we’ll have to see if he can build on a fine rookie season. B.West seems like he is just out of that stage of his career. Whether the Eagles will use one of their top picks to try to get some of that sparkle back remains to be seen. However, I would not expect them to make too much of a splash in regards to skilled players, either in free agency or the draft.