They can live with Burleson, Bryant Johnson, and whoever as the #2 WR. They NEED a left tackle. Jeff Backus sucks, and is the reason that their franchise QB is injured...again. If they get a top 10 pick (very likely), they just need to take the best left tackle available, then fill out the linebacker and DB positions...they should be fairly respectable next year. Either way, it's the first time they've had hope in a while.
The Eagles are fucking this whole situation up. Of course Vick is better than Kolb he played for seven years before prison, however Vick is not good enough to win anything significant. If the Eagles organization made the decision to stick with Kolb then they should have stuck with it. Instead they took him out every third play to run a pathetic wildcat offense that was horribly ineffective. If you name a young guy QB1 keep him in and let him get out of some situations. The Lions defense is awful so I'm not exactly impressed with what the Eagles did on Sunday. Of course here in Philly every talk radio host is talking about the present QB situation. If the Eagles actually had a decent offensive line and a strong defense to compliment the weapons they have on offense starting Vick might make sense, but the shape the team is in currently we would be lucky to make the playoffs and we certainly could not be the best team in the NFC.
Did you watch the game? The Jets got no pressure all game, Hernandez/Gronk were open over the middle pretty much every down, and before Brady went Moss crazy they were marching down the field with ease.
So are you blaming the play calling or Tom Brady? Hernandez had a good game, but do you actually think he was open every down? You might want to look at the other side of the ball as well. The patriots defense has been steadily getting worse over the last three years. Sanchez got the TDs, but they weren't containing the rush either. They were an old group at the end of 07 and they haven't effectively rebuilt yet.
Dearest Cowboys, JJ, and Wade, All of you should be fucking ashamed to even be associated with pro football. For $168mm on players salaries, plus what the coaches get paid, and what the Jones family skims from the top, this is what you give us? Quit making lame-ass excuses and play a decent fucking football game for once. Respectfully, Whatisinaname
It was a combination of both. O'Brien hasn't shown any ability to make second half adjustments and is a poor player caller in general. Brady certainly forced some balls to Moss when he had other options. Hernandez was targeted six times, had six receptions and went over 100 yards; dude was money. Why they were launching deep balls on third and short instead of picking up easy first downs to sustain the drive is beyond me. Yes the defense is mediocre, but it's young and was on the field for 75% of the second half. Everyone knows it's the offense's job to carry this defense this year (or at the very least at the beginning of this year). The defense will improve, but short of a truly elite unit, no defense is going to survive repeated three and outs/turnovers by the offense.
I think part of it is that New England hates the Jets and the idea of them shutting down Brady and Moss (Their two best offensive weapons). I think there was some selfishness in there in terms of Brady wanting to prove that he and Moss were better than the Jets vaunted Defense, and that he could do whatever he damn well pleased against that defense. It was clear that the Jets were going to take away Moss first and Welker second. After that, everyone else was pretty open. I just think the Pats were stubborn and wanted to prove that they could attack the strength of the Jets D and take them out.
As evidenced by Brady's idiotic throw to Moss resulting in an interception. That was a brazen attempt to embarrass Cromartie which backfired stupendously. He would never have thrown a ball like that on Revis, and there was absolutely no reason to do so other than to advertise the Brady-Moss Show. New England is going to have to adjust to the fact that, not only are they not the decisively dominant team in this division anymore, but that they could easily find themselves in third place by season's end unless they make adjustments for the fact that their offense is now old, broken down and smells like my meat poops (the third issue being an ongoing and ultimately incurable by-product of residing in Foxboro). I'm infinitely more concerned about Miami than I will ever be about the Patriots in 2010.
Nothing takes the edge off a Monday quite like a MNF game that delivers the goods. I have to say I was rooting for the niners. I can't believe their excellent clock management on their last drive ended up being their downfall. Also, I don't think I've ever seen a field goal kick get tipped and still find its way through the uprights. Great game.
If not for the stupid muff punt and the 3 turnovers inside the Saints 30 yard line, they could have won by a large margin. Good game overall. I was rooting for the 49ers too.
Those punts were hard to handle for both teams. Just ask Reggie as he limps by on one leg. I was impressed with the 49ers. They have nothing to be embarrassed by. I bet this game gives them the confidence they need.
So, my Eagles have said Vick is their permanent starter. I have not waffled on an issue in sports as much as I have on this one. I simply have thrown my hands up and plead ignorance. While short term, it makes sense, long term it probably doesn't. I think they have too many weapons on offense to "rebuild", so if that's what they would have to do with Kolb, then I'm against it. But if they think Kolb is the real deal, you obviously circumvent short term gains for long term stability. Basically, what it comes down to is that Kolb is an unknown commodity, it seems, both inside and out of the organization itself. Vick looked pretty good against the Lions, but again, not much of a measuring stick. I think they are potentially a playoff team, but they ain't getting past the first round. Just one of those in the middle years where I can't decide whether to temper expectations an let Kolb grow into the role, or go for broke with Vick. I am now leaning toward Kolb, and of course, they go and name Vick starter.
Kolb has been around the Eagles organization for years. If they truly thought he was a better QB than Vick, he'd be the starter. This entire thing strikes me as a vote of 'no confidence' in Kolb. Philly has always waffled with QBs. They had McNabb for years, but I felt like every single year he was there it was because there wasn't anyone that could be considered a 'better' option, and Philly would've ditched McNabb at the drop of a hat if someone better came along. Kolb was likely in the same position, and Vick came along and outplayed Kolb, so he'll stick around. The minute Vick falters and has a shitty game (and it'll happen), there will be calls for Kolb, just wait for it.
I think this is why they decided to stick with Vick. Had they went back to Kolb and he had a bad game, people would have been crying for Vick. If they wait for Vick to struggle a little before switching back to Kolb, people won't bitch about it as much. I'd be surprised if Kolb is starting again before the end of the year.
They don't 'come along' though. Look at the top ten QBs in the league. Is there a chance that any of them will get traded? A franchise QB is the holy grail of the nfl. Sure, we all want the next Peyton Manning on our team, but when you have a guy who's been solid every single year of his career you don't dump him at 33. Honestly, did Mcnabb need an immediate replacement? I don't see why, especially considering how far guys like Tebow and Clausen fell this draft. Mcnabb proved he can get the eagles to the super bowl (and the 5 nfc championships he single handedly lost), now the eagles have two QBs fighting over a job he was better at. That's why organizations can't leave important decisions to the fans.
Right, my point was that the Eagles, as an organization, always seemed like they were ready to shove McNabb aside at the drop of a hat. They never seemed fully committed to keeping him as their franchise QB, and always seemed to be keeping their eyes out for someone, anyone, that could replace him. In contrast, other teams get a franchise QB and they back him and stop looking around for other QBs. The Colts, Patriots, Saints, and hell, now even the Bears, Bengals, Ravens, and Falcons have their guys that they see as the future of the position. There are no controversies in those cities over who is going to be the starting QB. But with Philly, it seemed like they were ready for a QB controversy at the drop of a hat. Any time McNabb played anything less than a top 3 performance, they were ready to run him out of town. My point is that McNabb was one of the more consistent QBs in the league, and for pretty much his entire tenure in Philly, he was in the top 15 QBs in the league (most seasons he was easily in the top 5 or 10), yet Philly was always looking to replace him. Other teams would've given anything to get a consistently good QB like McNabb on their team (as a Chicago fan, I know I would've loved to have had him), but Philly being Philly, they were always ready to shove him out the door at the drop of a hat. Now, with Kolb and Vick, it will be the same thing. Right now, Vick is the toast of Philly, and everyone loves him and wants him to start. The first time he has a shitty game, or he decides to run for a first down (and misses it) instead of passing to a wide-open Brent Celek or DeSean Jackson, or the Eagles get beat because Vick throws a pick or fumbles, he'll be ripped apart and they'll start screaming for Kolb again. If you're Andy Reid, starting Vick is your only real option. If you start Kolb and he falters, not only is Kolb going to be crucified by Philly fans and media, but Reid will, too. If Vick fucks up, Vick will take the vast, vast majority of the heat for it, but Reid can always say he was going with the hot hand, and the guy that they thought could win now, but instead they're going to switch back to Kolb.
On Vick: After watching the second half of week 1, and all of week 2 closely. I don't think Vick is the same Run first Pass second Vick. Two years in jail, made him forget some football. When he came back to the Eagles, they taught him pocket Football, which Atlanta never, ever tried to fucking teach him. All his speed and running is intuition and working out. There was that play during the second half of that week 1 game where they were in the red zone he could have ran, and he passed it. Even the announcer wondered why he didn't run it in because he had a clear 10 yards with his speed. And week 2? He was playing the fucking Lions and he had under 50 rushing yards. You think this is the same Vick? You must be kidding me. He could have been CJ in that game. And I know Philly has lots of audible fans, but Vick dominated that locker room. All the offensive players wanted him to play, and probably the defense. As one of the guys on ESPN said "Those guys did not grow up watching the superstar Kevin Kolb on TV, they didn't play Kevin Kolb on Madden. They watched Michael Vick, they played Michael Vick, they loved the Michael Vick Experience." You think KK had support in that locker room? You should watch soccer. His whole statement after the first game was a brilliant plan to get him to be the starter. He'll play his ass off, pass like fuck to DeSean Jackson the loudmouth star of the offense, hand off nicely to McCoy, and get passes to Celek. Have them do the talking for him while he says every fucking thing textbook perfect politics. Same Michael Vick? Not a fucking chance. I'm not riding his balls here, but look at how events have unfolded. He could not have done anything better.