FINALLY!
After weeks of murder, DUIs, car chases, weapons charges, and domestic abuse including child abuse (Boley from the Giants), football is finally getting back into the grind. It started earlier this weekend as some teams opened up camps. The Eagles finally signed Lane Johnson to come into training camp today. All rookies come in, along with all FIVE quarterbacks, even the water boy GJ Kinney.
2011 was a tough season, with high expectations and the Eagles finishing 8-8. Then 2012 came, and they went 4-12. People like the guy above pretty much exemplified a city. Seriously, people were suggesting to cut the entire team. That's almost what they did on defense. Anywho, this article last year was my most read one ever. I hope to repeat the process, though most of it was probably attributable to the DeSean "Diamonds on my Neck" Jackson and Andy "I moved to a great barbeque city" Reid chest bump picture I put up.
With that name, I bring up my first myth of many that I will either refute, repulse, or rhetorrically ask you back...
DeSean, Desean, D-Shawn Jackson's ventures outside of football will and/or has already detract the team from succes.
That's our boy right there reading his hellacious rap off some device. Perhaps it is a metronome so he can stay in time and on rhythm. Who the Hell does he think he is? William Shatner? That reminds me, Knock Knock. Who's there, you ask? Well, William Shatner. William Shatner who??? She's gross, I heard William Shatner mouth last weekend.
William pooped in her mouth.
Now I'm off topic, considerably. Desean opened up a rap label at the beginning of last season, and has produced such major stars including Desean Jackson. I have no problem if he has a hobby that he sinks he money into. Players who get hit for a living need something else to occupy their free time. Desean has a major charity as well to help with pancreatic cancer. I don't like rap, I think it is for the most part awful with few exceptions. I'm sure his is horrible. Listening to the Merril Reese reading of his rap was awesome, though. When a player in any city devotes serious amounts of time to a charity, everybody wants to go in and say what a nice guy he is. At least he isn't murdering anybody or hitting women in a club. And on a side note, he seems to favor Vick. Why wouldn't he? We all remember the opening bomb in the Monday Night Massacre of the Washington Redskins that started with the Vick to Desean deep ball. I will always remember that. That's been his signal caller for 3 years now. I know deep down Desean probably just wants the glory, but maybe now with his other ventures seemingly wrapped up, he can take more chances in football so that he can just produce, get more recognized, and help all his causes, either for himself or for others. Make fun of it all you want, but he should be fine (and by fine I mean another average season).
Chip Kelly will make us forget about Andy Reid. If you just now, today, became a fan of the Eagles, you are just flat out excited. I have only been a fan since Andy Reid, so I may never forget his tenure. Other longer-time fans still bring up how terrible Rich Kotite was. Kotite, as said in my Eagles daily calendar, went 37 wins in 66 games (0.561 winning percentage). Unfortunately, it almost takes the long tenure of a good coach or the tenure of 2 coaches to get past the last coach. I say this because many of the players, the saucy fingerprints if you will, are leftover from the Andy Reid era due to several players who are stuck on the team still. Danny Watkins? Casey Mathews? Nick Foles? Nate Allen? If Kelly wants a team of his own, that will take several more drafts to wash away the Andy Reid era, and by that point his tenure may be over as well. Andy also inherited the makings of a special team, and he left Kelly with some decent defensive prospects. Now, when the defense eventually gets up and succeeds, the announcers and analysts will be sure to pick out which players were Reid's selection and which were Kelly's. Reid kept himself clean, even lost a beloved family member in Philadelphia. Chip Kelly will be reported as having left Oregon to escape sanctions by the NCAA. Even if something insanely awesome happens, the media won't let us forget about Andy Reid, who is the Nation's hearthrob.
Chip Kelly will revolutionize the NFL.
MAYBE. The pistol formation has already let the Redskins come out of nowhere. However the talk all offseason was how coordinators can now plan for the pistol and make it a water gun. I don't buy that. You can't stop some great players. And the Eagles do not have those great players. I think Chip Kelly could've taken the easy way out and waited until next year when the draft will supposedly be much better. I predicted the Eagles only go 6-10 this year, so they will have a low draft pick again (but not near 4th). Many have made the argument that Bill Belichek has tapped the mind of Kelly, leading to the revolutionary two tight end sets the Patriots kill people with. Sorry, bad pun. The Patriots also had a murderers row in talent. Had enough? It's not my fault that one of the most highly acclaimed franchises has had more active duty players responsible or connected to deaths than the Patriots. People always think about Kelly as this guru. Hopefully he is. Andy Reid actually was a guru for his time. There I go now, comparing the two. Well, Kelly also has the philosophy that "Big People Beat Up Little People." True. That's why he got Lane Johnson. That's why he wants his O-line to be special. That is what dictates the team the most in his scheme. The only problem with him implementing a quick-get-the-play-out-and-off scheme is that there are plenty of Eagles who are old dogs. More like complacent dogs. Vick included. Vick is exciting because he is that special player who at 33 years old reportedly smoked Lesean McCoy in a foot race. Maybe so, but he isn't smart enough to not be a hero and not get his bell rung every play. If Vick is in, it will be San Francisco/Redskins retread. If Foles or Barkley gets in, than watch out. This could be where the mastermind label fits.
Speaking of which, Vick will be the starting quarterback.
I have been a supporter of Vick's since the Eagles signed him. I didn't see 2010 coming, but I was there when he came. Ew...I saw a leader, a warrior, a hero. Despite his failings in life prior. Many pegged Vick as the starter when Kelly was named coach. They restructured his contract and are very much below the salary cap, so that wasn't really necessary. Would Kelly's quarterback of the future be a guy the restructured for one year and would implement a new offense again the following year? No. Sure Chip Kelly can give us the lip service that the goal is to win the Super Bowl. But even he has to be honest and know that when he says that, nobody expects that this year. At least there seems to be no connection between Vick and Kelly. He seems more high on Foles. And I think he may be right. Nick Foles has reportedly improved so much over his 2012 self. I certainly was more impressed with him than anything Kevin Kolb ever did. He was almost Jeff Garcia-esque, in his first year. If he gets to be the starter from the jump, he could do good things. He almost got them back against Dallas and New Orleans last year, but the defense imploded. And besides, you have a much better/similar quarterback backing him in Matt Barkley. As much as I pulled for you, Vick, you're out and Foles should be in. I don't like that our two top quarterbacks have "ick" in their names, though.
But Duba, if Vick can just hold on to the ball, maybe he deserves to start?
IF? See above. That ball is already like 5 feet in front of him. I remember that. I think I actually punched myself in the groin when that happened. The three games the Eagles won with Vick was despite Vick. Sure all the talk about him was the one win against the Giants was Vick's only turnover free run last year. So what. Foles had his issues, too, as did some receivers and of course Bryce Brown. I think Brown had as many fumbles as touchdowns last year (better than Ryan Mathews stat of more broken collar bones than touchdowns - 2:1). And everybody is making a big deal about how Vick suddenly said that he learned how to hold the ball so as not to fumble. Good for him. Good for Kelly for being able to pick that up. A star athlete doesn't have to be the brightest bulb in the package, so that's what coaches are for. Andy Reid couldn't see that. I don't know. Whoever starts, must protect the ball with the utmost importance. I don't think Vick is that guy anymore.
The Eagles Defense is still the weakness.
Hard to tell. With team cancers supposedly removed from the team, maybe all 11 players on the field can play as one instead of looking over at each other as individuals who did what they were only supposed to do. I can see the defense being good to start the season, and then migrating back down to below mediocrity. It's a new system there as well. And the guy running the gig was the same guy who helped make the NFC West the laughing stock of the NFL. Supposedly individual players improve skillwise under Billy Davis, but that must come from within veterans who can then expand on a leadership role. Who is that leader? Newcomer Connor Barwin? Barwin's old teammate and second year Eagle Demeco Ryans? It should be Trent Cole. It should be somebody in the secondary. And then Ryans. Hopefully this younger core just gets down to business and works. They need to find some kind of heart. It may be a unit that benefits with the old "addition by subtraction" mantra. We all know Kurt Coleman wasn't the greatest safety, but maybe if his teammates had his back they could've thrived a little more. Right now, my thum is at a +1 degree angle, when my thumb was held out to the side like in the movie Gladiator. If they exhibit toughness, the fans will back them up in stadium, unlike last year when people were rooting more for the opposing teams' stars to do well for them in fantasy football.
Eagles Fans Will Never Be Happy
We got rid of Andy Reid and now everybody is happy, right? Nope. Pat Shurmur, the guru of the no coast offense. Billy Davis, the NFC West common denominator. Chip Kelly, an unproven professional head coach. The Eagles were late in naming a coach. Whatever made Kelly decide to come here, it cost them the chance to hire better options for coordinators. Yeah, Kelly may have his hand in the offense, but this pairing could be done by game 12. Chip Kelly had the fourth most 4th down attempts in college football during his tenure. What happens when he goes 0-1? People probably cheer and scream at his bravado. 0-2 in the same game. Fans get excited as the play is developing only to be let down perhaps with a short throw or a fumble or somebody like Vick breaking from the play to do it on his feet. Better not go for a third, Chip, or you will be pelted with batteries. I mean Car Batteries. Chip Kelly is like the negative of Rex Ryan. People focus on Ryan more than the Jets. The Jets also had the butt fumble.
Hopefully the Eagles team can play hard, and not Jet-like. Hopefully they can make the heat easier for Chip. If Vick is the starter, he will take half the heat. But if it is Foles, I expect Kelly to give you sounds and speech unlike the usually "Gotta do a better job" hyperbole. But there I go again.
I will be attending the Eagles open practice at Lincoln Financial Field on August 17. Feel free to stop me and ask for an autograph. I'll be happy to do so.
Until then, FOOTBALL!
No comments:
Post a Comment