If nothing else, there is certainly one thing no one can say about brand new Eagles general manger Howie Roseman: the man is not boring. Roseman’s first “cut day” as the Eagles’ GM yielded two trades and releasing two former starters as well as keeping 10 draft picks and two more rookies not drafted by the Eagles. I was highly critical of the Eagles’ decision to keep 13 draft picks because I figured there was no way more than seven or eight rookies actually made the roster.
Clearly I underestimated the youth movement in Philly as a grand total of 12 rookies make up the 53-man roster. That’s an insanely high amount and it could result in more long-term success than anything immediate.
There were several surprises out of Philadelphia this past Saturday, but let’s take a look at the five most surprising and intriguing.
Trading Stacy Andrews to Seattle
The move started to look inevitable on Saturday, but only a week ago no one would have guessed that Andrews would actually get traded. Some were calling for him to be released, but I doubt even they thought there was a chance he wouldn’t be an Eagle.
In the end, the Eagles wound up getting peanuts for Andrews (a seventh-round pick), but the move saved them $5 million and with the addition of Reggie Wells from Arizona, keeping Andrews around was no longer necessary.
Trading for Antwan Barnes from Baltimore
About four hours before the roster is supposed to be trimmed down, the Eagles continued making moves and actually adding guys. Barnes, a guy who played outside linebacker in the Baltimore Ravens’ 3-4 scheme, is actually someone Andy Reid has had his eye on ever since he came out of college back in 2007.
Reid has a way of eventually getting his guy, and he made it very clear he wanted Barnes. In Philly, Barnes will likely play more defensive end than linebacker, but his versatility could prove very valuable.
I had a hunch they might trade for a defensive end or linebacker, but Barnes was not a guy who ever even crossed my mind.
Cutting Macho Harris and Quintin Demps
Demps, we were told, was going to be the heir apparent to Brian Dawkins. But, unfortunately for us, that went down the drains after Demps proved he was a total blockhead during the 2008 NFC Championship game.
The next year, after Dawkins was allowed to walk to Denver, Demps was slated to take over at free safety, but couldn’t hold on to the job and was replaced by Macho Harris, a fifth-round pick out of the 2009 draft, before the season even began.
Now they’re both gone and there doesn’t seem to be an Eagles fan in Philly or anywhere else ready to shed a tear for either of them. Good riddance, you both played like six-year-olds and never realized the potential everyone saw.
Keeping Kurt Coleman as the Lone Backup Safety
Originally I thought the Eagles could keep three safeties, but I figured the guy would be Demps due to the fact that the Birds were lining him up at both safety positions and were using him as the primary kick returner during the preseason.
I happened to be right with my first instinct about keeping only three safeties, but it turned out to be seventh-round pick Kurt Coleman who got the nod as the primary backup.
Roseman hinted that the Birds might still add a safety, but for now Coleman is the man should either Nate Allen or Quintin Mikell go down.
Keeping Hank Baskett Over Kelley Washington
I’m repeating myself at this point, but it’s something that needs to be said. Reid must start paying more attention to the special teams, but he refuses to do so. Someone has to tell him that the best special teams coordinator in the league (which they have) is completely useless if he doesn’t have guys to work with.
Sure, Baskett is a decent special teams player, but nothing like Washington who has turned it into a niche. Washington, along with White, made it seem like Reid was taking a renewed interest in the third phase of the game, but now they’re both gone and the team will be relying heavily upon their rookie linebackers to step up.
Honorable mentions:
Keeping Rookie Corner Jorrick Calvin
I was actually less surprised by this than most, figuring there was little chance Reid cut the guy before getting to really see him some more. He was impressive enough against the Jets that keeping him just made sense.
Trading Tracy White to New England
White was a free agent for how long, so why didn’t the Patriots just sign him when he was still on the street rather than sacrificing what will likely be a seventh-round pick in 2012? It’s not much, but they could have had him for nothing about a month ago.
King Dunlap Sticks Around for One More Year
Why not just cut Dunlap and keep Kelley Washington around? Reggie Wells can play right tackle in a pinch and Nick Cole could slide in at right guard. Or, for that matter, Austin Howard likely would have little trouble making the transition.
Keeping Dunlap just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me and the only thing I can think is that Reid and offensive line coach Juan Castillo see too much raw potential in Dunlap to cut him loose just yet. But was it really worth sacrificing a guy like Washington or defensive tackle Jeff Owens?
Good Stuff Bo,
A little harsh on Demps, who had a good rookie season but definintely regressed each season,
M Harris was no surprise, he can play a little CB/S but neither at a NFL Level due to an lack of speed
Keeping 10 OL, 10 DL , 7 LB and 6CB is a bit much and only having 3 S and 5 WR is proabbly a tad light..
I expect them to make a move today/tommorow for 4th Safety (DuJuan Morgan,A Alfava,G Anderson Come to mind who were cut by their teams yesterday)
The do have some depth at hand could trade a Parker/Tapp from the D/Line or a J Hanson from CB
and or flat out waive,release OT K Dunlap tio open up a couple of spots , they are not done dealing
I would like to see a blocking TE added or WR K Washingtonton brought back
hopefully they can place DT J Owens, WR D Collins, RB Martell on the practice squad for Ithink these players have some peotential to help this team out down the road.
great stuff my brother keeping queen dunlap doesnt make any sense!!!!! the eagles didnt have any faith in him last year cuz they put todd herramans in the tackle position over him last year when peters got hurt!!!! they should have kept kelly washington if you ask me he played well enough on ST and at reciever but they keep HANKY “PANKY BASKETT” who has alot of distractions with his sooo call “wife”/ kendra “everybodies been up in her!!! come on eagles who else is going to give us a solid blue collar wr who plays hard can give us a great enzone celebration lol! Baskett over washington doesnt make any sense to me we released him last year for a reason and hanson your day will come for you to get your one way outta philly buddy i can see it now!!!!!!
With these moves the Eagle’s are admitting some mistakes which they bashed on this site for never doing. Ya win some, ya lose some. move on.
5-11
FYI, fantasy league is all set to go. Draft is Tues @ 9PM. If you will not be there, please set your autopicks.
I have a question for anyone/everyone:
During the Reid/McNabb era, do you think Reid had more deficiencies as a coach/GM or McNabb as a QB?
The trade of Andrews for a bag of doughnuts and the cutting of Demps and Harris really show what a mess the Brian Dawkins fiasco was. Some of the money that was over-paid to Andrews should have been used to keep Dawkins. The Eagles have tried to replace Dawkins with Demps, Harris, and Sean Jones; all 3 are now gone. The off-season moves from last year look like garbage now. I have a bad feeling that Jason Peters is going to get Kevin Kolb killed this year.
Drummer, you the answer to the question…
g
Reid had more deficiencies as a coach/GM than Mcnabb had as a QB…Mcnabb masked Reids deficient offense with big play ability …and he covered his GM duties by using his legs when Reid thought it was alright to run an offense without good receivers.
This season tells the story
If Demps wasn’t an injury prone player in addition to looking like a bonehead at times he probably still have been here just for his return ability, but that combination is a lethal mix. I can see the Baskett decision A.) Because Andy Reid always liked the guy and he has a couple of big play under his belt. B.) Since DeSean Jackson is going to be healthy for about 6 games it makes more sense to keep a receiver that has more than a season and a half playing real games in this system. (Avant hasn’t been looking that great so far which is crazy, but that just makes more of a case for keeping another someone with a good grasp of the system for the time being anyway)
all the above drummerwinslow look andy reid’s decision making though the past years have been suspect!! as far as him having success through the years yes i can say he has but andy reid never had a killer instinct as a head coach/gm/or mcnabb as a qb!! andy reid’s decision making as a coach as far as balance have been suspect and other teams have figured out our scheme as far as playing arena leauge football like we are the philadelphia soul!!!! im not going to get into his personal life a fews years back with his sons but as far as him and his deficiencies all the above brother!!! count how many times jimmy johnson bailed him out through the years and count how many game winning drives mcnabb had through the years!!!!! KILLER INSTINCT he lacks buddy ryan rex ryan bill cower the faces of KILLER INSTINCT!!!!!
Jroc, how would you rate Reid as a GM?
@drummer
At the end of the day as all coaches say “The players are the ones actually on the field that do the work.” Just based on that without looking at anything else you would have to believe the deficiencies lie within coaching and management, because they hire and train the personnel.
Add to that the obvious lack of Pro-Bowl WRs over the years, consistent lack of a legitimate running game strategy, the inability for the defense to show up at the end of the year, being consistently undersized at every position and justifiably worn down, where the blame lies is pretty glaringly obvious. It’s just a matter of people excepting the fact that having a nice handful of exceptional talent made up for the deficiencies of the FO.
Songs, I agree with your opinion. To go a step further, would you have traded McNabb?
While finding a franchise QB can be nearly impossible (i.e., Denver is still trying to replace Elway), finding a winning coach can prove equally difficult. Reid has grown (slowly and painfully) over the years and might actually be at a point where he can put it all together.
If we had kept McNabb, how long would it have taken to implement a new coach’s philosophy? My guess is it would have been 2-3 years.
Butch, thanks for answering. I agree.
While I agree that Reid had more deficiencies, I believe the franchise had to trade McNabb at the end of the season, only because they failed to fire Reid a year earlier.
I disagree with the asertion they absolutely had to trade Mcnabb with a year left on his contract. By not knowing how the CBA would affect our team going forward, I feel the FO should have put everything into challenging for a superbowl this year. We should have sured up both lines and the safety position with Mcnabb in place and let him play for another contract extension. We still would have had the opportunity to compete for a championship. We should have hired Jeff Garcia as a back up and let the vick experiment go. I have “0” confidence in this front office building with a new system in place and they are so stupid to accomodate Mcnabb and send him to a division Rival to remind us constantly of how big of a Mistake it was..”we will be reminded when this Redkins team with a stout defense and a franchise QB is in the playoffs” And don’t hand me the garbage line that the redskins don’t have receivers for Mcnabb learned very well how to excel without receivers with Reid at the helm.
Kolb should be holding a clipboard….this season will be telling.
“TIME’S YOURS”
DRUMMER WINSLOW i believe andy reid lost some of his duties as far as GM a few years back!! he had too much on his plate and i believe he was trying to be the offensive cordinator,GM, we havn’t had balance since the three headed monster through the years we had suspect wr trash pinkston na brown fred mitchell! so if you ask me his GM roll i preach again suspect!!!
i believe kolb is ready!!!!!to tell you the truth mcnabb hasnt been hungry the pass few years not scrambling throwing the ball with three defenders on a reciever and throwing the ball and setting up his recievers to get blasted by a defender, shoe string throws need i say more!!! mcnabb was worried soooo much on what critics have to say about him “is he a qb”! winning games and winning superbowls make you who you are!! hell ask trent dilfer how he feels about winning a superbowl! lol
jroc…good…so we can expect a better season with a better record than last year….right?
Gotcha, roc.
Songs, if McNabb played out his final year, he would become a free agent and the team would have gotten nothing for him.
Roc, I agree that McNabb was worried about critics. After all, he took the blame for everything that went wrong with this team.
As for him not being hungry, I have to disagree with that. He’s suffered through too many injuries for me to question his desire. For example, If I were McNabb, I’d have taken my $100 million and retired. Instead, he went to DC because he has something to prove.
I doubt McNabb intentionally threw balls at his receivers’ feet or purposely set up his receivers to get wacked. I do believe that after being hit so many times and suffering so many injuries, he had become nervous. For the past few years defenses bragged that they knew what plays were coming and in my opinion, that’s no different than Kolb trying to complete passes behind our currently porous offensive line.
yes i believe so i expect good things from the eagles every yeari just think andy reid has to except he has personnel and they all have to do there job as well!! do you think fellas that we should have passed up on max jean gilles and got hartwig in free agency??? what do you thing songsrme2??
Who’s Hartwig?
I feel you drummer and yes taking hits can make your judgement shaky but did you see a few years back when jeff garcia was the qb when mcnabb was out!!! he made me think that he should be the the starter instead of mcnabb! he was firery and he looked like he was having fun out there (garcia) mcnabb beating his chest with the “my bad passes”! and look at the phillip rivers and the peyton mannings and drew brees and tom brady’s they are firery and if you didnt block 4 them they will pull your helmet on the sideline and tell you “block or you will be serving me gatorade for the rest of the season”! you didnt see that in mcnabb just the same blank stare on the sideline!!!! but the most part mcnabb wasnt hungry enough as far as that aspect getting in players faces but through the years mcnabb has been one of the most least sacked qb’s if im not mistaken so the o-line for the most part did fairly well with protecting him!!!
we need to start asking why Kolb have been a total diappointment during the preseaon instead of trying to strain at an knat when critqueing Mcnabb… Mcnabb have shown more success than any QB to ever wear green and by pointing out his shortcomings… you’re raising an imposible bar for Kolb. Kolb is not looking good,,,,are you concerned? If this guy is garbage what does that mean for the future of this organization?
the answer is too much to bare…Isn’t it?
Roc, for some reason, Reid had a more balanced offense whenever McNabb wasn’t playing. Garcia didn’t come close to taking the beating that McNabb took. When Garcia was quarterbacking, the team leaned on Westbrook.
During two of his worst injuries, McNabb showed incredible toughness. He threw 3 TDs on a broken ankle and played through the incredible pain of a sports hernia, despite Reid calling pass after pass, week after week.
Drummer, are you prepared to deal with an unsuccessful Kolb?
yea your right songsrme2 he hasn’t shown much because stasha andrew’s made tank williams look like shawn rogers out there and jason peters needs to get it together with these bone head penalities it just looked like to me he didnt have faith in the o-line game one against the jags he looked great the game vs kc, kc was doing plays that they are going to do in the regular season lol! they schemed for a preseason game against us and you see that from time 2 time with a team who has a horrible franchise for soooo many years!!! kolb will be fine we need more balance with the play calling more like 55/45 not 80/20!!!!!
Songs, Kolb hasn’t had the protection which would allow him to excel.
Realistically, McNabb didn’t have the protection needed either (because of Reid’s predictable play calling), but he developed “escapability” while playing with those dog toys in the Arizona desert each year. Unfortunately, Kolb hasn’t had the opportunity to develop those instincts. However, if this offensive line doesn’t come together quickly, Kolb will get his chance to hone those life-saving skills (or die, trying).
As far as I’m concerned, McNabb was judged/treated unfairly. However, that’s no reason to do the same to Kolb. The ball’s in Reid’s court. I hope he doesn’t get the kid killed.
yea thats why westbrook is the way he is now and i hope he retires soon before further damage!!! as far as donnavan you can look at his press conferences and look at him after games like he just didnt care like hes frustrated with the organization and when garcia was qb dante stallworth was getting #’s out there which brings 2 me that the team didnt totally lean on westbrook it just tells me mcnabb was leaning towards westbrook 4 many years if it wasnt for him and donnavan throwing screen passes to him mcnabb would’nt be who he is now!!!! trust me it sure wasnt him throwing to pinkston and thrash and freddie mitchell no it was westbrook and chad lewis who bailed him out through the years!!!!
Roc, I’m not certain that the pass/run ratio is as big a problem as it I thought it to be some years ago. However, we definitely need to be able to run the ball in short-yardage situations and in the red zone. Just the same, I’d prefer your 55/45 ratio.
Jroc…are you prepared for a losing season? What losing record would be acceptable for you?
Roc, you think McNabb’s receivers bailed him out? Aren’t they supposed to catch the ball? If McNabb’s receivers aren’t getting opeh, how is he supposed to complete passes.
When McNabb had T.O. and Pinkston, he broke the TD to INT records and went to the Superbowl.
8-8 becuz this schedule is really and i mean really tough we play the colts fellas and peyton manning gave jim johnson nightmares!!! but i think the eagles turn a new leaf this year and atleast and a strong possibility go 10-6 winning the division now i could be wrong but i bleed green baby and i have faith in our players and for the future to come
yea your right drummer on that behalf about mcnabb and the recievers but he had wayyyy more weapons last year than he’s ever had in his career and what happened he couldnt throw a crossing route pass to baskett when we played the cards in the playoffs and it was one of those off to the races pass but nooooo mcnabb couldnt get it to him and look what happened another season with out the chip!!!! and i know drummer you remember that!!!!! and last year we got better adding weaver into the mix getting maclin and what happened more beating his chest saying my bad fellas my bad i’ll get you next play!!!! com on mcnabb was good not great and trust me i love this brother and hes givin us some of the best seasons as our qb but change had 2 come the FO seen him diminish and i seen it as well if he was on the rams would anyone be talkin about this issue about mcnabb maybe a little but now he is with washington we should panic now?well be fine without him i have faith
i think kolb should not throw the ball alot maybe 25-30 chances and we run the ball giving mccoy 20-25 carries weaver bout 10-12 and bell about the same! if you have more balance the less three and outs you have and a few years back i think we were one of the worse teams with three and outs and on bad field position on our own 20yd line. if you ask me sean payton got it together and who expected to say the saints will win the sb nobody in there right mind will tell you that. they have average recievers and nobody expeceted colston to be who he is with him being drafted so late.. they built a team who had chemistry alot were either undrafted.. balance is the key 2 success and if you ask me the saints had balance last year and guess what it worked 2 there advantage!!!!
Jroc…you are out of your damn mind….There’s no way possible thisteam win 7 games with this schedule. You want Kolb to throw less than Mcnabb? Why?
Kolb is more accurate and can give mor Yac..Right?
He can hit a receiver in stride and avoid the ground ball…right?
Let’s air it out …for Kolb is a much better QB than Mcnabb…..Right?
yes he is a better qb than mcnabb and your right about airing the ball out but i think its his first season as a full time starter and when mcnab was the starter he didnt get alot of snaps at qb right or wrong? this will keep alot of pressure off of him and maybe game after game when he gets comfortable then he can wing the the ball as much as he wants to. but my thing is songsrme2 that teams expect to rush three and drop back 8 against us and thats whats been happening against other teams found out the scheme greg williams had when he was the defensive cordinator for washington at the time and they were sucessful!!! trust and believe i have faith in the eagles and i do believe injuries on other teams play a roll in teams records. who knows songsrme2 tony romo could get an injury and be out for the season same with mcnabb or eli thats why nfl is what it is expect the unexpected leauge!!!!
kolb can be the next arron rogers and i can see it in him!! you gotta build a system that works for him to make him better we have the recievers and we have the rb’s but the oline i believe the eagles are doing that now to help this qb be sucessful cuz if not the FO will get alot of zingers thrown at them that we should have kept mcnabb!!!!
I’ll have to agree with Jroc on this one Drummer. AR just doesn’t have that “killer instinct” like coaches such as the cowher, ryan’s, or even belichick. McNabb had his share of faults with dirtballs and too much laughing/playin around etc, but really had no real weapons besides TO. Furthermore, AR never really utilized the ground game like it should have been used. We lucked up and got a big back like weaver but those other coaches would of saw that early on during our championship runs and got #5 that help early-on. Then (though we can’t do anything about it) we trade our probowl QB within the division right at the time he finally gets weapons and develops rapport with them. I believe the “Turk” needs to visit AR. I’m tired of his coaching style. He’s better utilized as a Qb coach, not a team coach. I kind of believe in the back of my mind that roseman feels the same way. Also, am I the only one that feels that the 7th rd safety pick, Coleman; is playing much better than the safety we drafted for the #5 trade? Knowing AR, he’ll probably keep his Mcnabb-trade pick in the game before coleman if allen was screwing up (not that I hope thats the case) because he’s a stubborn bastard.
lol rocko rock on brother rock on!!! rocko your preachin my brother i like that!!!
Rocko, I agree with your post.
JRoc, we didn’t play the Cards in the playoffs last year. We played Dallas (without a center), and if memory serves, the Eagles broke their own scoring record last year.
Jroc, I’m not saying that he is or isn’t, but how can you see that Kolb is the next Aaron Rogers? Bobby Hoying played more than Kolb and many swore he was the next Montana.
Rocko, if you read my earlier posts, you’ll see that we agree with one another.
I know we played the cards 2 years ago when demps was making stupid decisions by bum penalties!!!! im saying that mcnabb had weapons from 2004 till 2009! and you know what he didnt eat. thats all im saying and records dont mean anything its all about that chip!! bottom line ask marino he has all the records but no ring! mcnabb had talent around him and a defense for many years to back him up!! if my memory is correct wasnt he the one throwing up in the huddle and all season he threw only 8 picks all season long but in the sb he threw 2 picks that cost us the chip!!!! mcnabb couldnt handle the big games im sorry 2 say he was doing the stupid guitar hero crap before the game last year and he ended up looking like mili vanilli when we found out they had no talent! and what vick do one play threw the ball 2 maclin 4 a td. mcnabb was backed up by andy reid for soooooo long and finally the FO made the right decision and got rid of him!!!!!
he was the team captain but through the years either b.dawk or trotter were the ones jumping down the players throat if they made a mistake on the field!! but not donnavan and you can look at westbrooks face on the sidelines like he was pissed primarily cuz of the play calling and dmac’s poor accurcy and decision making! you what im talkin bout drummer you know the mcnabb happy feet throws a randy johnson breaking ball to the recievers socks lol!!!! com on i rather see mcnabb as a redskin than sam bradford any day good choice by philly we knew that when kolb was drafted mcnabb will have his day and you know what his time finally cam!!!!!
Wow Bob, you really don’t like Demps or Harris. You act like one of them ran over your dog. Agree with the Dunlap/Washington argument.