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Thursday, April 29, 2004

The Bachelor 

Last night’s Bachelor was mildly hilarious: Palmer bafflingly chose to keep a woman who has
admitted that she's...

1) lost track of the number of men she’s had sex with;
2) hates kids and;
3) slept with a married man.

I can see why the Giants won’t give Jesse Palmer a shot at being the starting QB: he makes lousy decisions in his personal life, why would they trust him with their offense?

My favorite part on last night's show was when one girl, who until now had seemed very shy and timid, coldly informed the woman that she “didn’t deserve to be there”, a stunningly blunt moment on a show where everyone in the past has strived to avoid offending each other.

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Tuesday, April 27, 2004

More Draft stuff... 

I don’t think the Eagles decision not to pursue a wideout or a linebacker was a bad one: they obviously wanted to upgrade the o-line, add help in the secondary, replace A.J., and find a replacement for Duce in the Eagles hydraheaded backfield. Seems like a good draft to me!

SI’s Dr. Z rates the Eagles draft a C. Mostly I think it is because of the concern over Andrews size. I think the rest of the Eagles draft is the key: the Patriots restock and remain competitive each year because they bring in mid-round draft guys to play key roles in their defense. Ware and Reed could be big-time contributors in 2004.

Go to ESPN’s SportsNation to vote on the Iggles draft:

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Monday, April 26, 2004

Now we get to see Eli twice a year!  

Peter King is right to call the Giants-Chargers / Rivers-Manning deal "weird". Peyton has been a success, but the Giants gave up quite a bit to gamble on the continued success of Archie Manning's gene pool: next year's first-rounder could be an important pick. Poor Eli could be without a supporting cast for 2-3 years up there in the Meadowlands.

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Draft Day, Post-Mortem... 

-I like the Eagles draft: upgrading the line to protect Donovan; lots of help in the secondary with Ware, Reed & Wynn; Perry and Tapeth look to take some of the load of replacing Duce off Buckhalter; and Hall is an interesting pick: he'll take A.J.'s slot as the No. 3 QB.

It was a good draft.

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Sunday, April 25, 2004

Draft Reaction.... 

-I was surprised when the Birds traded up to take a lineman, but I think they did well in the draft. They needed DB's and it looks like they got three or so. Those later round picks might really come back to help the Eagles: the Patriots build their team with those types of guys all of the time.

-I apologize, but my blogging is going to be a little infrequent until May 12 because of law school exams.

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Saturday, April 24, 2004

Up to the Minute Draft Reaction... 

-Thank goodness the Browns got Kellen Winslow. Those Miami tight ends scare me.

-Eli in New York? Heh, heh, heh! They...

1) Gave up too much to get him; and he
2) won't be nearly as good as his big brother.

-Looking like Chris Gamble for the Eagles unless they trade up here with the 'Niners.

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Pat Tillman, 1976-2004 

I was pretty shocked to hear yesterday that Pat Tillman had died in Afghanistan. We all pay lip service to ideas like duty, honor and country. We all feel a swell of patriotism and admiration for those who fall defending their country. But Pat Tillman was a person who really did put his honor, his sense of duty and his self to the cause of defending his country.

I hope the NFL dedicates the 2004 season to his memory. He was a great American. His death should remind us all that freedom isn't free. I hope everyone prays for his family and friends this weekend.

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Thursday, April 22, 2004

Draft Update!  

Dr. Z: Eagles get Chris Gamble, CB from Ohio State. Good. We need a corner, not a lineman.

I guess Sheldon Brown and Lito Shepard aren’t thrilled by how much the fans want the Eagles to grab a corner. I understand their annoyance, but the Eagles need at least three good cover corners with all of the talented wideouts entering the league and the fact that they face-off with the Rams wideout corps, MeShawn, Shockey and (probably) Kellen Winslow seven of sixteen games next year. Get over it. You guys will need help.

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What do the Mannings have against Sand & Surf?  

I want the Chargers to draft Eli Manning just out of spite. If Eli wants to play in front of The Bachelor, so be it.

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Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Draft is a comin'!  

SI’s Duane Cross has the Eagles picking an O-lineman from Miami at No. 28 (under the “best athlete available” theory) unless they succeed in trading up. SI is projecting the CB’s the Eagles might be interested in going in the No. 10-12 slots to the Stillers, Jets and Texans. Shoot. We need help in the secondary! A fact Paul Domowitch reinforces by outlining the peril the Eagles face with undersized corners in a draft with so many big recievers coming out... Hey, I'm worried about just one guy: MeShawn down there in Dallas. He's reunitied with a coach he idolizes, eager to stick it to his critics, and we are going to see him twice a year. I don't think standing pat is much of an idea at all. We need help, big time.

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Monday, April 19, 2004

Article 

I think I might have already mentioned it, but I wanted to bring everyone's attention to a terrific article written in The Atlantic Monthly by MarK Bowden about Eagles Center Hank Fraley. Bowden is a terrific writer (anyone who read his book Blackhawk Down knows that), and his profile of Fraley is intelligent and engaging: he breaks down how mental the game really is. His book, Bringing The Heat, is one of the best books written about football that I've read.

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Movin' On Up? 

According to ESPN's John Clayton, the Eagles are trying to deal with the 49ers to move up from the twenty-eighth pick to the sixteenth selection in the draft. I haven't been paying too much attention to the draft: is there a terrific corner that the Eagles are interested in available around the middle of the first round? (I hope.)

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Reid's Draft Record... 

Nice article in today's Inquirer about Andy Reid's record as the Eagles GM.

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Thursday, April 15, 2004

The Bachelor! 

I don't suppose anyone has watched The Bachelor? My fiancee loves the show, and I have to admit that it has been pretty entertaining this year: The Bachelor is the Giants backup QB, Jesse Palmer. So far the poor guy has:

-Called out the name of the wrong woman (and awkwardly invited her to stay after informing her that he originally intended to cut her);
-Basically told a group of the girls that he wakes up every morning with a random woman in his bed (and after realizing that the women weren't impressed by the idea that their future husband routinely engages in casual, anonymous sex, he quickly recast his statement);
-and he seems fixated on a model from Miami who has basically told him that she never wants children ... despite the fact that he wants 4-to-6.

In contrast to previous shows, this one has been a hoot. (Palmer also has a "spy" with the girls: a friend of his posing as a bachlorette to gather intel. The girls reaction will be hilarious when she admits who she really is.) Palmer doesn't come across as a bad guy, but c'mon ... he plays with Jeremy Shockey! How nice of a guy can he be?

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Schedule Reaction! 

The Inquirer's Bob Brookover pointed out some interesting bits of information that I was unaware of: the Eagles three 2003 Monday Nighters were ABC's three highest-rated games of the 2003 season. Also, the Eagles are 13-1 under Andy Reid in nationally televised games: the sole loss being against the Bucaneers last year.

Les Bowen notes that the Eagles usually start slowly (1-4 in season openers), so the weak opening schedule could make 2004 very different than previous Eagles campaigns. The problem is the mid-point in the season, when they have five NFC East games in eight weeks. Will they be ready? Bowen breaks down the Iggles schedule a little more here.

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Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Eagles 2004 Schedule... 

The Eagles 2004 schedule is out. I made a few predictions about their schedule and ... Okay, I was wrong! Really wrong!:

The Eagles do play three Monday Nighters, and one is against Dallas, but the other two are the Vikings and the Rams, not the Panthers and Ravens as predicted. And the Eagles open against the Giants, not against the Packers.

A few other little things I noticed:

No Turkey Day games for the Eagles this year. The Lions play the Colts and the Bears go to Dallas. (The Bears on Thanksgiving? Who's idea was that?)

The Panthers, Ravens and Steelers are all 1:00 P.M. starts, but it looks like the nets want to make the Redskins game on November 21, and the Packers game on December 5 as the featured games. The opener is also slated for a 4:15 start, so it must be the big game of the day.

Just one Sunday Nighter on ESPN: at the Redskins on December 12.

Honestly, I think the Eagles caught a bunch of breaks with this schedule: Giants at home week one, the Vikings on Monday Night for week two, their two weakest road games (Bears, Lions) are weeks 3 & 4: there is no reason that the Eagles shouldn't be 4-0 going into the October 17 game against Carolina. The Eagles schedule is so nice that I honestly think they can go into the October 31 game against the Ravens with a 50-50 shot of being 6-0. Some of the later season games are tough (at Giants, Packers, at Redskins), but hopefully, the Eagles should be able to run off at least a 11-5 record against these guys. I could see them going 12-4 or even (dare I say it?) 13-3 with this schedule.

Optimism ... Isn't it contagious?


2004 Schedule

2004 Preseason
Date Opponent
Week 1 at New England
Week 2 Baltimore (CBS)
Week 3 Pittsburgh (ESPN)
Week 4 at N.Y. Jets

2004 Schedule
Date Opponent Result
Sept. 12 New York Giants 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 20 Minnesota 9:00 p.m.
Sept. 26 at Detroit 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 3 at Chicago 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 10 Open Date
Oct. 17 Carolina 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 24 at Cleveland 1:00 p.m.
Oct. 31 Baltimore 1:00 p.m.
Nov. 7 at Pittsburgh 1:00 p.m.
Nov. 15 at Dallas 9:00 p.m.
Nov. 21 Washington 4:15 p.m.
Nov. 28 at New York Giants 1:00 p.m.
Dec. 5 Green Bay 4:15 p.m.
Dec. 12 at Washington 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 19 Dallas 1:00 p.m.
Dec. 27 at St. Louis 9:00 p.m.
Jan. 2 Cincinnati 1:00 p.m.

All times are Eastern

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Tuesday, April 13, 2004

NFL Schedule Out Tomorrow... 

The NFL announces their 2004-2005 schedule tomorrow. The Eagles will most likely get three Monday Night Football games and one or two Sunday Night games. More likely than not they'll be the featured game more than a few times. (All the better for me - because I'm in Pittsburgh I only get to see the Birds if it is a nationally televised game).

Because the NFL determines its schedule by a rigid formula, we know who the Eagles will play:

Home: Dallas Cowboys, New Jersey Giants, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.

Away: Dallas Cowboys, New Jersey Giants, Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears.

A few things I noticed:
-Possible Turkey-Day games (the first since the glorious days of bounty-dom in '89) because Dallas and Detroit are on the schedule.
-The nets will be eager to broadcast playoff rematches against the Panthers and Packers.
-The nets will also be eager to broadcast the Ravens and Stillers games because of T.O. and Duce.
-I think that the Eagles luck out a little in getting the Panthers, Packers and Vikings at home while going only having to take on the Bears and Lions on the road.

If I were a betting man, I'd say the Eagles will have three Monday Nighters, and they'll be against the Cowboys, the Ravens, and the Panthers.

I bet the Eagles will open against the Packers too.

We'll see....

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Friday, April 09, 2004

Football roundup... 

So the New Jersey Giants want Eli Manning? Good luck, fellas. Just because Peyton is a success doesn't mean his younger brother will...

That Soul-Desperados game last Sunday was pretty good. Always good to see a Philadelphia team beat one from Dallas.

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Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Is two better than three? 

Stupid question, but bear with me ... The more I think about it, the more I worry about the Eagles decision to let Duce go to the Steelers via free agency.


The Eagles backfield was extremely dangerous in 2003 with Westbrook, Duce and Buckhalter sharing duties. The three accounted for a total of twenty-seven rushing and receiving touchdowns (not including Westbrook's special team TDs). The trio had well over 1,600 yards rushing and 800 receiving yards, and touched the ball over four hundred times in 2003. Offensively, with the receiving corps disappearing for entire games, the running backs were left to carry the Eagles load with Donovan.


Now the Eagles are going with a Westbrook/Buckhalter/Player-To-Be-Named-Later attack. I doubt that they'll have the success. Mind you, the Eagles backfield won't need to be as explosive as it was in 2003. Terrell Owens is going to open up big gaps in opposing defenses by drawing safety attention, which the Eagles think (or hope) will open the field for Pinkston, Mitchell and L.J. Smith to make some big gains.

The problem that I have is that the Eagles are a lot weaker in the backfield than they think with Duce gone.

Let's start with Westbrook: he had an electrifying 2003 season. His touchdown return against the Giants saved the Eagles season. He more than replaced Brian Mitchell as the punt returner, he added an explosiveness to the Eagles backfield that served as a potent ying to Staley and Buckhalter's yang. Who knows how the NFC title game would have played out had Westbrook been on the field breaking a big play early or running a kick back. Westbrook led the Eagles in rushing, and finished second with thirty-seven catches.


The problem with Westbrook is his durability. Can he play the whole sixteen games of the season? He's listed as being twenty pounds lighter than Staley and twenty-two lighter than Buckhalter. He missed both playoff games.

Buckhalter is a different story: he is basically the same back as Duce, except he's about three years younger than Duce and (hopefully) has more gas in his tank. The Eagles intended Buckhalter to replace Duce in 2003, but Westbrook's emergence caused the Eagles to rework those plans. Now with Duce gone, most of his 96 carries in 2003 will get added onto Buckhalter's 126. I don't doubt Buckhalter's tools, or his talent, but I do have three concerns:

-His pass catching. The lack of receptions by Buckhalter in his two full NFL seasons are glaring gaps on his resume:

2001: 10 catches / 130 yards
2003: 13 catches / 133 yards

Pass-catching in the West Coast offense has always been Duce's strong-suit. Consider his last three full years:

2001: 63 catches / 626 yards
2002: 51 catches / 541 yards
2003: 36 catches / 382 yards

Even in his injury-capped 2000 (when he only played five games), Duce had more catches (25) than Buckhalter has had in his career. That's a stat that should make Eagles fans sit up and take notice, because a key to the West Coast offense is a back's ability to take high-percentage, blitz-avoiding screen passes and parlay them into modest gains. Roger Craig made a career out of catching screen passes from Joe Montana, which opened the field for Jerry Rice, John Taylor, and Brent Jones. Will the drop-off in backfield receiving hurt the Eagles ability to spread the field?


-His blocking. Admittedly, I haven't gone back to the tape to take a careful look at Correll's pass-blocking, but Duce's toughness and skill was always one of his biggest assets as a player. He was skilled at making sure blitzing linebackers and safeties stayed away from Donovan in the pocket. McNabb's comfort in the pocket is of vital importance to the Eagles, especially in light of the way that a quick team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers disrupted the Eagles rhythm in 2003.

-Duce's leadership. This is the biggest intangible. Duce was a real leader, a tough, take-charge type with whipped teamates into shape and always came to play in the trenches. I don't see Buckhalter or Westbrook as the leadership types.

So those are my concerns. I think that picking up a back, after getting help at cornerback for Sheldon Brown and Lito Shepard, is a must for the draft. The Eagles need a tough, Duce-type back skilled at pass-catching.

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Monday, April 05, 2004

Touchdown Penalties?  

Allow me to state for the record that the NFL’s new penalties for celebrations are stupid. Granted, stunts like Joe Horn’s cell phone call against the Giants are stupid, but what is really hurting the game of football? Too much showmanship after a touchdown? Or the fact that too many of the players are criminals or sexaholics. (Hmm, guess who I am thinking of...?) Say what you want about T.O.’s sharpie incident, but his off the field behavior never winds up in a police blotter. Give these guys penalties for being antisocial jerks who don’t think the rules apply to them. Don’t penalize them for signing a football after they make a big play.

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Saturday, April 03, 2004

The Bird Blog is re-born! (Sort-of) 

I changed some thing around: that means re-doing the link and re-inserting the comments page. Sorry. I was just growing very disatisfied with what I saw.

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