Going On the Record - Micc's AFC Prediction

Okay, I admit it, I should've done this at the end of August, like last year. But I swear, I won't let the Colts impressive debut alter my prognostications. (ed. yeah right)

So without further ado, let me boldly go where, uh, only about 10,000 other Internet talking-heads have gone before:

AFC North: Wow is this a tough division to pick. The Ravens were tough as hell last year and now they've got a good young(er) back in Willis McGahee rather than the Jamal Lewis who rapidly transformed from thundering to plodding.
1. Baltimore Ravens - the addition of McGahee does it for me. I usually would shy from picking a team to repeat with competition like Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, but a running game will give the Ravens that extra-win somewhere that puts them over the top.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers - neck-and-neck with Cincy, but I think the O might open up a bit.
3. Cincinnati Bengals - more like a 2a pick. QB Carson Palmer enters that oft cited "2nd year" back from a Torn-ACL. He alone could trash my entire prediction for this division because he is clearly the best QB in the AFC North (which is usually a pretty good barometer for who has the best team as well)
4. Cleveland Browns - over/under on the beginning of the Brady Quinn era: Week 7. Over/under on the # of wins for the Brownies: 5.

AFC East. The class of the division remains the Pats (though the sheen has come off a little in the past couple of weeks, with injuries/suspensions to Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison and their best CB Asante Samuel just now reporting to the team (and accepting his franchise designation)
1. New England Patriots - Brady got some scary weapons now. Lots of pressure on Laurence Maroney, but he look good. If he gets injured....well that's an argument that can put on a LOT of teams. The defensive holes could hurt them early, but unless the NY Jets streak out of the gate and the Pats stumble badly, they should have more than enough to win the AFC East tiara.
2. NY Jets - the Man-genius will be the primary competition for the Belichick-led Patriots. Thomas Jones gives the Jets a great option at RB. I don't think the Patriots are used to the Jets actually having a reliable running game the past couple of years (when Curtis Martin was in his last year and then gone in '06). They'll have one this year.
3. Buffalo - the J.P. Losman-Lee Evans combo won't be enough to get this team over the top. Huge turnover on D leaves a lot of questions. No answers yet. Wouldn't completely surprise me to see the Bills do really well, also wouldn't surprise me to see them founder
4. Miami Dolphins - No O-line and stauesque QB in Trent Green. Affording your QB less protection than what some of the girls wear down on the strip spells bad news for Miami.

NFC South - Defending Champs should rule the roost (see I told you)
1. Indianapolis Colts - swear this has nothing to do with their dismantling of the Saints on opening night. They just have too much for their division rivals. Period.
2. Houston Texans - ok, I will take a wild stab and say the Texans' gamble on Matt Schaub pays off. The guy knows the system the team uses and maybe Ahman Green will be the Texans' uncaped crusader for one season. That's the hope in Houston. It won't be enough to make the playoffs, but it could be enough to make some noise that Houston doesn't totally suck.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars - maybe Garrard will be "the man" down in J-town. Maybe the Jags won't recover from the release of Byron Leftwich. I'm down on the Jags because they can't seem to stop the internal roiling that seems to sabotage their season each year. Moreover, Garrard is just the 4th best QB in the division.
4. Tennessee Titans - an odd placement, I know, considering the Titans "remember us, we're still in the NFL" run last year. But jettisoning nearly every weapon Vince Young relied on last year (with the exception of TE Ben Scaife) just doesn't seem like a formula for success in 2007. If some weapons emerge, this pick will look foolish, cause Vince Young is just electric.

AFC West - aiya, San Diego, Denver and uh...oh my the other two should be bad.
1. San Diego - Going with talent alone on this one folks. LT, Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates? An orangutan could coax a 9-10 win season of this squad. They could roll out a wax figure of coach Norv Turner and be just as effective (come to think of it...)
2. Denver Broncos - Travis Henry is next-in-line to get the Shanahan-system-can-make-a-1,000-yard-rusher out-of-anyone. Thing is, Henry is already a damn fine back. He could become a monster in Denver....yea! I got him on one of my fantasy teams
3. Oakland Raiders - from bottom of the scrapheap to what? Mild, somewhat respectability? Perhaps. I just think any team with a defense as good as the Raiders should be somewhat decent. Is McNown the answer? Dunno, I expect Culpepper and his deep-ball ability to take over at some point.
4. Kansas City Chiefs - odd place for the Chiefs, but I just don't trust this team on either side of the ball. O-line is deteriorating and even with Larry Johnson, who is arguably a top 3 back in the league, it hard to see him dominating in a 3-yards and a cloud-of-dust offense. And who is going to be throwing the ball to new WR Dwayne Bowe? K.C. may make me pay for this lack of faith, but that's how I see it right now.

Typhoon Fitow

Well, looks like the worst of Typhoon Fitow is past.
Plenty of high-winds and some small debris tossed about (our empty trash can took a little jaunt out the garage and down the alley while we were taking the boys to the vet). To say the least, our command picnic was delayed. Not sure a day in the park would've been much fun.

If you want to see what it looked like, check out Christina's blog. It doesn't quite capture the max. intensity we witnessed (didn't have the camera out at that point), perhaps because the rain isn't as visible. I mean, it was coming DOWN, from every angle it seemed, you went outside, you got drenched, you open the car door - you got drenched. Of course the boys decided to use the poor weather as an excuse to piss in the house. Bastards.

Oof! Colts Stomp Saints

Well, I figured the Colts would score some points. But the Saints must be thinking they just got smashed by Hurricane Ka-Peyton.

41-10? Well, so much for my prediction. Got close with the Colts, but I thought the Saints would be able to score some points. Which is perhaps the scariest part of the game: the Colts D. I mean, the Saints' were supposed to have a strong D, but all they did was dink and dunk and "take what the D gave them" - that was enough to keep the game 10-10 at the half, but it was nowhere near enough in the second half. Manning got rolling, and the Colts just churned out the points.

Moreover, my thoughts in the off-season were: the Colts lost too many defensive starters. Talk about addition my subtraction. I think the replacements are clearly better than the guys from last year. Oopsie....

Fantasy note: Manning scored 23 points in ESPN FF. Great, I'm already 23 points in the hole.

Final note: I wouldn't want to be the team that has to face New Orleans next week (uh, that means you Tampa) because the Saints just got embarrassed on National TV.

Overlord - Runaway Fun Getting your "Minion on"

Well I finally fired up my new XBox 360 game Overlord.

AND Lord, is it FUN. There is really nothing that quite matches the miniature horde of underlings you have to do your bidding. I mean take a look at these darling little evil creatures:
You see, minions are part servant, part soldier, part errand-boy, part fanatic willing to sacrifice themselves for your benefit. Ordering them around is a snap. Currently I only have two types: Brown (melee fighters) and Red (fire throwers/absorbers/your basic ranged-attackers, weak in close-combat types)...I'm currently on quests to get Green (immune to poison/sneak attackers) and Blue (healers) minions. It functions well with the Xbox controller too: choosing them is fairly simply all the colored minions correspond with their same color button (exception - brown minion are coded to the yellow button).



This game is seriously warped, and I love it. I mean you start by having to free the men of Spree from the halfling (think Hobbit and pronounced harf-ling) oppression. Seems quite a few of the heroes that vanquished your predecessor have gone to seed. The halfling hero Melvin, for instance, has become a giant corpulent bag of fat who's halfling worshippers steal food for him, enslave local farmers and ravage the human town (Spree - sounds like Bree the human town near the Shire - no?). Now, dispatching the halfling king isn't exactly evil, more like evil-lite. But its still damn fun to dispatch your minions to ransack Hobbiton (er, the halfling holes), smash everything in sight, and watch them go about their perverted business with gleeful shrieks and obsequiously returning with the gifts they've pillaged "For the Master".

Wanted to take a break from the Football posts. If you have an Xbox and an evil-fun streak, Overlord is a must-buy.

NFL is About to KICKOFF!

Colts vs the Saints.
Game is coming up, uh, later today. (Tomorrow morning for me). And I figured I should commemorate this somehow.

Prediction: The Colts bring too much O for the Saints, win by 10, 37-27.

As for the rest of the games. Well to be honest. I just don't know and exposing my ignorance for all to see would be a just this side of ridiculous. So why bother?

I do know one thing: NYG RB Brandon Jacobs may be big, but I think about 50 of his 250 lbs must be lodged in his fat skull. Season hasn't even started and he's giving Dallas bulletin board material, talking about going to Dallas and whuppin' dat ass. I'm sure Amani Toomer is going to be real appreciative of his comments when Roy Williams lays him out at some point in the game.

IN other news.
A decent article by Les Bowen on the situation surrounding McNabb.
Not sure I like this article by El Segundo on GCobb.com, I mean its half-baked and doesn't even bother to analyze the Packers entire defense. If you going to discuss the Packers D, don't tell us how great it is and then leave with the cryptic "And that is, of course, before even looking at the playmakers in their secondary." (Ed. pet peeve: starting a sentence with AND).

Well why the fuck not look at their secondary. Like its stocked with All-Pros....Charles Woodson played fairly well last year. He at least showed he wasn't washed-up. Al Harris is the other corner, but isn't he getting a little long in the tooth to be mentioned with the top corners in the league (I mean, I can probably name a good dozen without pausing: Vasher, Newman, Bailey, Sheppard, Barber, Asomugha (or whatever the fuck his name is, the dude in Oakland), Dre Bly, Asante Samuel, D. Hall, Mathis, Lucas....ok, ran out, sue me...what am I an encyclopedia? Point is, I can't even name the Packers safeties and all of a sudden I'm supposed to be afraid of a pair of, at best, second-tier CBs. Not likely.

What I do respect from the Packers D, is their D-Line, which is underrated and an up-n-coming LB corps. Its going to be the FRONT 7 we have to worry about. Not the back 4.

Analyzing the Eagles D

Well its taken a couple of days for me to get the time. I did my roster analysis of the offense (scroll down) a few days ago. So not to leave out the defense, off we go:

DL (10 total, 5 DE, 5 DT) Brief word before the positions. This is same number of D-lineman we carried last year. However, unlike the O-Line, there are several new faces this year. As usual, expect the Eagles to dress 8 DL each game, and creating alternating DT & DE rotations (They don't usually swap out 4x4, but 2x2 and sometimes 1-to-1.

DE - Jevon Kearse, Trent Cole, Darren Howard, Juqua Thomas and Victor Abiamiri. O.k. so the only "new" face is Abiamiri, our second round draft pick. But Kearse returns after missing 14 games last year with a knee injury. His effectiveness will go a long way to determining how effective our DE rotation will be. The Darren Howard at RE, Kearse at LE combo looked awesome early last season. Then Kearse went out, Howard played out-of-position some snaps and played too many snaps are wore down as the season progressed. This season, provided they all stay healthy, the two elder statesmen of the D-Line should be fine. Matter-of-fact, Trent Cole supplanted Darren Howard as the starter in TC this year, so his snap count should be manageable. Of course, for the amount of $$$ he's making, Howard is over-priced. If he could manage to play to the level of his compensation. We'd could have a monster line. The final member of the regular rotation will be Juqua Thomas (who followed Kearse here from Tennessee). JT has a stellar preseason, and that new contract hasn't slowed the man's motor. I am looking for good thing from Juqua this year - he's going to make it hard for the coaches to keep him off the field. Abiamiri is a spot player this year. He's insurance in case of injury, but it really here to learn the position and then take over one of DE slots that will almost assuredly be vacated by Kearse or Howard (or both) during the 2008 offseason.

DT - Mike Patterson, Broderick Bunkley, Montae Reagor, Kimo Von Oelhoffen, LaJuan Ramsey. Two new faces here. One real new, as Kimo just joined the team in place of the injured Ian Scott (who signed in the offseason but never played a snap in TC or preseason). This rotation gives the Birds a mixture of youth and experience (in Kimo's case, significant experience - he's 36). The bonus as I see it: Reagor and KVO may give up some age/weight to the departed Sam Rayburn and Darwin Walker, but they have both recently been part of Super Bowl winning teams. They know what it takes to get things down, and can teach the young guys (Patt is 3rd year player, Bunk and LaJuan 2nd year, rookie FA Jeremy Clark is on the practice squad) a thing or two and provide a steady veteran presence in the middle. In Kimo's case he'll primarily be called on the stuff the run. Ramsey has been hobbled by a high ankle sprain most of TC and preseason and will likely start the season not dressing for games. Once he's good to go (say a few weeks into the season) expect him to suit up and spell one of the "old" fellas for a few games. This will keep the vets fresh for the long campaign.

LB (6) - Takeo Spikes (TKO), Omar Gaither (OG), Chris Gocong, Stewart Bradley, Matt McCoy and Pago Togafau. Lots of question marks about this group. Obvious TKO is being relied on as our stalwart LB, even though he's brand new to the system. OG is going to good in the middle. He's got the speed Trotter used to have, though not the size. OG is more of sideline-to-sideline guy, whereas Trot had become a tackle-to-tackle guy, or perhaps a tackle-to-hashmark guy if he slanted that way. That said, he's and last year, he played the WILL position. One thing he did flash last year - a propensity to make plays - something our LBs sorely lacked before he showed up. TKO is a play-maker as well, so look for the LBs to contribute a bit more on the batted passes, INT scope. The real question is going to be their susceptibility to mis-direction, screens, etc. Gocong is essentially a rookie and learning the SAM, Stewart Bradley is a more natural SAM, but is a genuine rookie. There's going to be some bumps along the way, but these guys have the talent, its a matter of getting the confidence, being comfortable and just playing. As for McCoy, well, the Eagles like to talk about how well he graded out in the first half of last year, but he's small, quick guy and while he can tackle ok, he hasn't shown an ability to really stick his head in there and knock out a runner or an ability to stay healthy for a season. Since he's not a starter anymore, expect to him dress and play special teams, and also, perhaps join in the certain LB rotation packages when the Birds need a LB to help in pass coverage. As for Pago, no clue fellas. The Eagles had to place him on the 53-man roster because they claimed him off waivers from the Cardinals. He's a fireplug type (5'10", 250), who can run. But can he play? Not sure we're going to find out this year, though he could dress and make an appearance on special teams. I just don't think it will be early in the season - perhaps once McCoy wears out....

DBs (9 total - 5 CB, 4 S)
CBs - Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown, Will James, Joselio Hanson, Nick Graham. A bit of consternation in the Eagle-land when the Eagles pulled plug on the Rashad Barksdale (6th rnd pick) experiment in favor of undrafted rookie free agent Nick Graham. Both players flashed some ball-hawk in the preseason, but neither is really going to be counted to play much this year. Will James is our clear #3 CB, even though he boasted about being a starter and going to the ProBowl, he did not do enough (IMHO) to justify playing in front of Sheldon Brown. Lito remains our best play-making CB and has really developed into one of the top corners in the NFL.

S - Brian Dawkins, Sean Considine, Quintin Mikell, J.R. Reed. This group is a bit less steady that in years past. Dawk is going to be fine, as always, and we really need to remain pretty much ageless this year. Last year he responded from an o.k. season in 2005 to a stellar Pro-Bowl-nod-earning 2006. We need that to continue, because the Eagles did not have a chance to draft his replacement this past April. He's one of the best-ever, and my all-time favorite Eagle. Say no more - it will be a sad, sad day when Dawkins hangs them up. I just hope it doesn't happen for a few more seasons - and I can't wait to see him snatch another Brett Favre pass in the opener.

The biggest area of concern is clearly his battery mate Considine. Much was made about him bulking up in the off-season in order for him to be able to stand-up and lay some wood from the SS position. Uh....doesn't look like that is going to happen. He bounces off big TEs and I haven't seen him lay out a single WR. SC simply does not instill any fear in opposing receivers over crossing the middle. None. Quintin Mikell and J.R. Reed both have huge special teams roles for the Eagles. Mikell is our ST captain and J.R. returns after a injury and jaunt around the league to (hopefully) provide our return game that spark its been missing ever since he got injured between the '04-'05 seasons. The primary question in my mind: Can "Q" turn his play up another notch and supplant Considine. One thing Mikell can do is HIT, and it appears that Def. Coord. Jim Johnson is creating some schemes/packages to get Mikell onto the field. With Reed and Mikell both dressing, I practically expect more contribution to the Birds from our back-ups safeties than from our starting SS.

Another Forum for Eagles Fans

We'll I have to say, I gave Neil's Eaglezfanz forum another shot - and I really enjoy the extras (avatars, being able to put a picture in your post, being able to curse, have a funny photo in my signature line, etc). Makes it more fun.

If you like Eagles football, or just football in general. Swing by and check it out. So far its pretty much a troll free environment, which is cool.

6 Named to Practice Squad

Well folks, the Eagles named 6 players to their practice squad.

WR Michael Gasperson - been a PSer for a couple of season now, but hasn't broken through. This was probably his best preseason so far
WR Bill Sampy - deep thigh bruise kept him sidelined most of camp. The fact that they're keeping him on the P.S. solidifies the notion that the Eagles really like this guy. If healthy he might've challenged for a roster spot - its the only explanation I have for the Birds keeping two WRs on the P.S.
DT Jeremy Clark - consensus spot here. Clark stepped up and had a great camp. Lots of chatter about whether we should've kept him on the 53-man roster.
FB Jason Davis - he played the final preseason games like a man who really wanted a job. I don't think he showed enough to warrant the Eagles picking him over Thomas Tapeh, BUT it appears he did flash enough for the Birds to put him on the P.S. and not 7th round selection Nate Ilaoa
TE Lee Vickers - another consensus guy. This guy really jelled with rookie QB Kevin Kolb and though he's a converted DE he showed some good hands. With Celek busting out as well, there was no chance Vickers would make the active roster. IF L.J. moves on or the Eagles decide to part ways with Matt Schobel....Vickers could make the team next year
DE Marques Murrell - was all over the field against the NY Jets in the final preseason game. You could tell this guy was fighting for a job. A bit under-sized, he has a chance to develop into a situational pass-rusher.

As you know, NFL Practice Squad are allowed to have eight players on them. So why 6? The guess here is that at the time of the annoucement neither Marcus Paschal nor Akeem Jordan had cleared waivers. They made the original "final cut" down to 53, but we released when the Birds made some moves (see below). My guess is one or both fill out the squad.

post edit: My prediction (such as it was) was correct. Both Paschal and Jordan were signed to the practice squad once they cleared waivers.

Another Gratuitous Dachshund Pic

No real reason for this post, other than to give equal time to the "Dude"

Eagles Make More Moves!

Whew, its a good thing I just stuck with the Offense yesterday, cause the Birds made 3 more moves overnight (for me). I woke up and the found out the Birds had signed former Steelers & Jets DT Kimo von Oelhoffen. Generously called a veteran, the 36 year old lineman will be looked to provide a steady vet leadership to a young front 7.

That pretty much ended Ian Scott's brief stay with the Eagles. Shame too, because Scott was a good player in Chicago, but simply couldn't get on the field fort he Eagles due to a knee injury. The Eagles did not place him on the Physically Unable to Perform list (or PUP list) which would have given Scott six more weeks and delayed the Eagles decision as whether or not to keep him (Ex. any player PUP'd cannot play until Week 7 - at minimum. I believe team have until Week 9 or 10 to activate the player onto their 53-man roster, place them on injured reserve or release them.

I think when he wasn't cut by the Eagles yesterday, even after he hadn't played and UFA DT Jeremy Clark had an excellent camp that the thinking in Eagledom was that the Eagles chose Scott over Clark because he's more of a proven commodity - and the Eagles already have two young 2nd-year DTs and probably weren't looking to have a rookie added to the mix. Reagor was signed primarily for his veteran savvy and his experience on winning ballclubs. KVO brings a similar pedigree. He's been on a Super Bowl winning team.

But the REAL surprise (and delight to many) was the return of, uh, return man/safety J.R. Reed. You see, JR was an unsung hero for the special teams during the Eagles Super Bowl run in 2004. While most folks focused on the how McNabb and T.O. torched the league and how Trotter's return to the middle sparked a defense renaissance (and rightly so); what went less noticed was how good the Eagles special teams were that season. I mean our return game consistently set up the Birds with good to excellent field position. I can remember talking with my Dad about that. Several times a game it seemed, the Eagles would turn mediocre field position (say between their own 15-30) into really good fp with a good punt return, or following another team scoring, the kick return team would crank out another good return and hand the ball to McNabb & Co. near mid-field - giving the O a chance to get those points back.

Well anyway, the Eagles claimed J.R. Reed off the waiver wire (he played for the vaGiants for 8 days but we'll forgive him) and it hopefully it signal the return of our return game, which has been stuck in neutral the past two years without J.R.

Oh yeah, the Eagles also claimed middle linebacker Pago Togafau on Sunday. HA, first "von Oelhoffen and then Togafau - is the Front Office trying to make poor Merrill Reese go nuts? A rookie free agent out of Idaho State, Togafau spent training camp and the preseason with the Arizona Cardinals. The 5-foot-10, 250-pound Togafau had 16 tackles in the preseason. He led the Bengals in tackles in each of his last three seasons and finished his college career with a total of 361.

To maintain the 53-man roster limit, the Eagles released linebacker Akeem Jordan and safety Marcus Paschal. (and I'd already come up with something about them for my analysis of the defense roster spots). Now I could imagine the Birds will try and stash both of the those guys on their practice squad. And if Togafau flops, Jordan will be back.

Analyzing the Eagles "Final" 53-man Roster

I put final in quotes "" because I'm not so sure the Eagles won't make a move if a player they like comes around. But as it stands, the Eagles kept 25 players on Offense, 25 players on Defense and 3 specialist (P, K, Long-snapper).

Breaking down the O:
3 QBs, 4 Back, 5 WR, 3 TEs, 10 OL.
The Quarterbacks and Offensive Line are the easiest to gauge:

QB - McNabb, A.J. Feeley, and Kevin Kolb. No mystery here folks. We've known this was going to be the line-up since, oh, the April draft. The only "surprise" has been of a pleasant variety - because Kolb looks good - damn good.

OL - Thomas, Herremans, Jackson, Andrews, Runyan return as Top 5. Justice, McCoy, Cole, Young and Max Jean-Gilles all return as the Top Reserves. Wow, that's some stability. Usually the Eagles find someone new to rotate into the mix, but it seems like Cole, Max, Young and McCoy held off the competition (I think Winston Justice is safe, and almost counted on be a starter in 2008). I see Justice and Cole as almost guaranteed as dressing during game. Justice is our top Reserve T and Cole can swing to G or C. If the Eagles dress 8 OL - it will be interesting to see if Scott Young or MJ-G gets the nod. I don't think McCoy will dress much at all (I'd be shocked actually). No doubt the Eagles like the guy, but if McCoy sees the field this year "we in trouble" and that's putting it mildly.

Backs (RB/FB) - Westbrook (duh), Buck, Tony Hunt and Thomas Tapeh. OK - no real surprises here. Buck returns as our top back-up and I expect Tony Hunt to dress and maybe get a couple touches a game early in the season, just to see how he does in "real" games. Is he ready to step-up when the "bullets are flying" and grind out some tough yards for the Birds? Those early carries will go a long way to determining whether or not he stays activated consistently throughout the season (injuries will play a part as well). Also by keeping just 4 total backs I think that means we're almost guaranteed to keep a back or two on the practice squad. Nate Ilaoa and Jason Davis seems the most likely candidates. This way, in case something does happen, as least there is somebody familiar with the system who can step-up and try and chip-in.

TE - L.J., Matt Schobel and Brent Celek. Obviously if L.J. is healthy and stays that way - then I won't expect to see much of Brent Celek (since teams have to deactive 7-8 players each game, I don't there's enough room to dress all 3 TEs each and every game). What we DID see in the preseason was fairly encouraging. He got some quality time with the 1s, and acquitted himself nicely. L.J. is a much more polished package and there will/would be a drop-off is he wasn't in there. Celek look like a keeper. If the Birds don't want to match L.J.'s price (the going rate is probably similar to the 6 yr, 30 million dollar deal (14 mill guaranteed) that HB/TE Chris Cooley just got from the Redskins; then Celek will have a real prominent role for the Eagles in the future.

Wide Receivers - Reggie Brown, Kevin Curtis, Avant, Baskett and GLew. No surprises in the Top 4 - we all expected that. Perhaps the most interesting development: Jason Avant rise to the third wideout position with a strong camp. Baskett won't disappear - he's too big and has too much play-making potential to completely disappear. And finally, once again Greg Lewis does enough to make the team. I can remember last year, when some folks on the boards were calling for GLew's departure (and bemoaning his continued presence on the roster). With Bloom getting cut, we might get to see a bit more of GLew as he could very well be our punt returner of record. I think we'll dress all 5 each game.

Eagles Final Roster Cuts Published

Straight from the horse's mouth. The Eagles can establish their eight-man practice squad beginning at noon Sunday, Sept. 2. More analysis later, we'll probably be leaving for air show pretty soon. Its cloudy out and was raining this morning, but hopefully it will clear up.

Player (Position)	Comment
Rashad Barksdale (CB)	A project after one year of college football
Jeremy Bloom (WR)	Didn't provide boost in return game
Jeremy Cain (FB/LS)	Converted LB, needs practice
Jeremy Clark (DT)	Run stuffer who earned praise thru camp
Zac Collie (WR)	Not good enough
Tank Daniels (LB)	Fast linebacker, not enough production
Jason Davis (FB)	Good natural runner who worked way back from ACL injury in '06
Dustin Fox (CB)	Slowed by Achilles injury
C.J. Gaddis (S)	Neck-to-neck with Marcus Paschal all camp
Michael Gasperson (WR)	Practice squad project past two seasons
Erick Harris (S)	Couldn't beat out Paschal for fourth spot
Jasper Harvey (C)	Eagles already have two young, atheltic centers
Jacob Hobbs (G)	The lightest O lineman in camp
Nate Ilaoa (RB)	Needs to develop pass blocking skills
Dirk Johnson (P)	Simple, lost to Rocca
Mauricio Lopez (DT)	Space-eater, but not enough push
Marques Murrell (DE)	Too small to play the run
J.J. Outlaw (WR)	Couldn't break the numbers crunch
Jonathan Palmer (T)	Too many experienced veterans
Dedrick Roper (LB)	Lost time in camp with foot injury
Bill Sampy (WR)	Hindered by quad injury all camp
Lee Vickers (TE)	Converted DE who Eagles took on as project

Cuts Aren't Official (Yet) but two are confirmed.

Well the Eagles are saying that the list of cuts that made its way onto the net was, in fact, just a default dummy list of guys the web-guys THOUGHT were on the way out. Well, I dunno about that - the list looks pretty logical to me and Les Bowen is reporting that sources have confirmed at least two of the cuts:

P - Dirk Johnson
WR - Jeremy Bloom

Deeper analysis when the cuts become official, but my take on the release of Dirk and Bloom is fairly simple: the Eagles couldn't pass-up the near unreal talent of Aussie kicker Sav Rocca. Moreover - Rocca must've gotten a thumbs-up from K David Akers despite the two trouble snaps in the final preseason game versus the NY Jets.

Now Dirk's grousing a bit - saying if the Eagles knew before Thursday's final game that they were going to keep Rocca that they should've let him go. I for one, ain't buying that shit.
ONE - there is no guarantee the Eagles had already made up their mind. They wanted a spirited competition after Dirk turned in a injured, sub-par (generously speaking) season in 2006. Dirk came back strong and kicked the heck out of the ball. But he clearly doesn't have the leg strength or talent of Rocca. Case closed.
TWO - Why exactly did we "owe you". Excuse me Dirk, but football is a CONTACT sport - as Sav found out in game 1. So what if we'd released Dirk (and watched him try out and latch on with say New England or Cleveland or Detroit or wherever) and then had Sav get submarined in the preseason game or otherwise taken out? No, the threat of injury is always there and no team keeps two punters, just-in-case, so the Birds made their choice. And they did it at the right time. After a complete evaluation at the END of the preseason.

As for Bloom - well, it was nice thinking we had found a guy with something special, but Bloom did not live-up to expectations. His punt returns were no better than the long and not-so dearly departed Reno Mahe. He had a little wiggle to him, but not the elusive nature or shotgun burst of a Dante Hall. I mean, if anyone from the coverage team so much as laid a hand on Bloom, he went DOWN. I was pulling for the guy too, but I'm not so blinded by my own hope for success that I can ignore the fact that he just didn't have "it". Oh well.

HUGE Misawa Base Air Show Tomorrow

Christina tells me, upwards of 150,000 thousand people will be flocking from all over Japan to the annual Misawa AB Air Show.

Wow folks. Misawa isn't all that big. Something like 44,000 people. Its not a "small" town, but its not big, I can tell you that.

Well the city is going to be tripling in size tomorrow, and we're going to be in the thick of it. The worst part: Base authorities have asked people to leave their pets at home....so no pics of Zaar and D.J. trolling the flight line or posing with an F-16...(dang)....Probably for the best, with that many people it would've been hard to keep them out from "underfoot" - though I have no doubt they will be plenty of stupid human broodlings buzzing around getting in my way tomorrow...

I wonder how many foreign spies will show up....

More Analysis Later

Sorry, folks, will provide more on what the final cuts means for the Birds later. We're getting ready to go see Rush Hour 3. Saw The Bourne Ultimatum last night. Not bad, not bad at all. Its amazing how much credit Hollywood gives the U.S. Intelligence system...as if....

Eagles Cuts Leaked Early?

Evidently the person in charge of making sure the wireless news feed to Eagles subscribers got a little too pro-active and may have dished the dirt on some Eagles cut a day early. Besides the obvious black-eye the front office is going to get should a player get word via the net, instead of in-person, it seems someone is due for a pink-slip of their own.
Now Eagles.com and Spuds won't confirm any of these moves....so there COULD be some changes. Doubtful. But not altogether beyond the realm of possibility.

In case the .jpg doesn't show up clearly: there are a few notable names on the list:
Ian Scott, the big run-stuffing DT they signed from Chicago - he could get on the field with a knee injury, which was good news for rookie FA Jeremy Clarke who really took advantage of his opportunity with a strong camp. Clarke - you isn't on the list.

Jeremy Bloom, I noted this in my blog earlier. Too much shake, not enough bake. He has a little wiggle to him, but the Eagles prospective KR/PR just never seemed to want to run it straight up the field. Not every play can be bust to the outside - ESPECIALLY with our ST blocking.

Dirk Johnson, our incumbent punter apparently lost out to the booming leg of our new Aussie pick-up, Saverio Rocca. Rocca, who was an instant hit with the fans, can flat-out crush the ball. Hell, he "shanked" a kick and he got a 42-yarder out of it. Toss in the a great pooch-punt ability and the propensity to hang ball up in the sky long enough for the coverage guys to make the fair catch, and you have a true special teams weapon. Dirk may be steady, but our Special Teams have been anything but. Having Rocca back there at least gives the punting unit a chance to shine. Now he just need to get that holding thing down. FG do not need to be an adventure. If he and LS Jon Dorenbos don't practice FG snapping and holding for 60+ this week, something is wrong.

Nate Ilaoa, the big Samoan HB from UH couldn't crack the line-up. Well he's project, as evidenced by his 7th round status. I think he lands on the practice squad.

Zaar is "Dog of the Day" on Dogster

Well, we just got an ass-ton of Dogster friend requests for Zaar and D.J. because Zaar was featured as the "Dog of the Day" on the Dogster Homepage.

Of course. I did a screen capture to record the momentous occasion.

Not going to share that, but here is a different shot of Zaar.

The Rest of the Game

Am so glad to be able to say this: NO INJURIES! That is definitely the best part of tonight come-from-ahead 13-11 loss to the Jets tonight. Oh well, he's hoping we get to return the favor in 5-6 weeks when the games actually count.

Offense: YAWN
They've done next to nothing in the second half.
Critical drop by J.J. Outlaw...(who is that you ask? - well its a name you'll be reading when I do the article on who got cut in a few days).
The best part so far: the sideline interview with RT Jon Runyan. Speaks of the comfort-level he'll soon get with the return of Shawn Andrews and L.J. Smith and the importance of not having to worry about the guy next to you making any mistakes.
- Kolb is lighting it UP! 10, 11 passes in-a-row??? A HUGE 4th qtr drive, completely driven by Kolb passes, and a perfect strike to Zac Collie (another name you'll see on the cut list). 2-pt conversion roll-out and good zipped pass to Nate Ilaoa (a roster possibility) for the 11-10 lead with 2:40 remaining.

Defense:
-Some nice stands/holds by the 2nd-3rd stringers. DT Jeremy Clark seems to making his case for the 5th DT spot (assuming there is one)....with LaJuan Ramsey (Last year's 6th rounder from USC) on the shelf with a high-ankle sprain
- Clark is making the most of his chance.
- So is Marques Murrell (rookie FA DE from Appalachian St). No chance Murrell cracks the rosters, but there is a maybe for Clark.
- Victor Abiamiri showing up in the final Jets possession. He rung up a HUGE sack on 3rd and long and looked to seal the game....FLAG - Personal Foul on the Eagles after the play. 1st and 10 now...FUUUUUUCCCKKKKK.....and guess what, instead of holding, the Jets take the momentum from the 2nd-life chance afforded them by Rashad Barksdale stupidity to drive for the game-winning FG with :03 seconds left. Dumbass. And it might just cost him a job.

Special Teams:
- Jeremy Bloom needs to learn to run straight forward...too much shake, not enough bake. Every return does not need to be busted to the outside dude.
- Rocca has boomed two nice punts - pinning the Jets deep. Considering the pathetic nature of the coverage teams so far - we might NEED Rocca's sky-high kicks to bail out the coverage teams. He had to air it out on the 3rd punt...and he "shanked" a 44 yarder......you kidding me right? That's the distance most punters actually KICK the ball.
- Michael Gasperson made some good ST tackles. Not sure its enough to earn a spot.

First Half Thoughts (Eagles v Jets)

Offense:
- A.J. is slingin' the rock! AND holding onto is WAY TOO LONG! Taking hits AND fumbling...DANG fella...He must think he's got the 1st-string O-line in there...Where's that internal clock that tells a QB to get rid of the ball?
- Tony Hunt looks like a keeper. I know its all second-string, but he looks sharp and powerful.
- WR Avant had a helluva catch down the sideline (31 yard gain on 3rd and 25)
- The red contact lenses (worn by a few Eagles players) may cut down on the glare, but they are creepy.
- Kolb enters the game early...seems like Kolb's early series are a little rough. He seemed to find his groove in the 2nd quarter. His dad is a HOOT.

Defense:
Didn't get much work in the 1st quarter. Seems like the game-clock just ain't stoppin' (Good).
The Q HITS! OK Quintin Mikell can hit....anyone else like to see him replace Considine???? I can see the threads forming already (ed. note: yup they're there already).
Juqua Thomas is for real. I talked about him being a key guy to re-sign this off-season. It certainly looks like a good move now. I also love the fact that even though he signed a decent extension, he's hasn't slowed down. No "fat wallet" syndrome that seems to affect some guys when they get their first big signing bonus.


Special Teams:
- Hmmm, punting competition aside...Is place-holding going to decide the Eagles punter?the Eagles have flubbed two 46-yd FG attempts so far. The first was a poor snap - and Rocca couldn't save the hold....
The second was a good snap - hold got down - and Akers missed the kick. Hmmm, I wonder what the replay will show? Were the laces forward? YES...dang it.
Eagles finally convert a FG! With the pressure on, Rocca got the snap down and spun.
You know the Eagles got the chance to try that 3rd FG because a TD was called back. I think that's the only time I've ever been happy to see 7 points converted into 3....
- Punt coverage sucked on the first punt....WTF? Are our ST going to suck again this year? They've gone from a strength that helped propel us to the Super Bowl in 2004 (2005 is awash) to a base-line average group with notable deficiencies in 2006. This 2007 group isn't all the impressive either. What the fuck is wrong?
- Kickoff coverage sucked too.

Final Preseason Game is Almost Here

And you can bet I'll be up and watching it. I was about to do a roster prediction article, but honestly, tomorrow's game is going to determine those last few slots. Its a final chance for guys like Nate Ilaoa, Rashad Barksdale, Nick Graham, Marcus Paschal and Jeremy Clark to catch the coaches' eye and stake a claim to a roster spot.

There's also plenty of question remaining about how many the Eagles might keep at certain position. Last year we had 10 linemen for each side of the ball. That seems a bit exorbitant this year because we have a long-snapper, Jon Dorenbos, who will serve as an emergency TE (like Mike Bartrum use to)....But I will tell you this - The Eagles damn sure will be carrying 3 TEs this year. Brent Celek looks like the real deal (and this game against the Jets turn that warm fuzzy into hot passion) - so L.J., Celek and Schobel are going to be on the team. (Sorry Lee Vickers, its the practice squad for you).

Well anyway, while most pundits will bemoan the fact that this game is completely worthless and I'm sure some articles will question why owners "get away" with charging full price to see a bunch of scrubs play...however, those writers aren't battling for jobs. I'd say at least 45 roster positions are solidified - I mean absolute no doubters, but who are the 6 linebackers going to be? Do we carry 8 or 9 DBs, if so who are 8 & 9? 4 backs or 5? 5 means Ilaoa has a great shot, 4 means he a practice squad guy.

How many wide receivers? Curtis, Brown, Avant, Baskett and ??? I'd say Lewis and Bloom but who knows....We're all about to see the final curtain call. Enjoy it, for what its worth - a glimpse at some of the role-players who could be asked to step-up contribute at some point this season. (you never know)