That’s what Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe says (link).
Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson started a rap label and dropped $25,000 at a Los Angeles launch party. In his office that is still inside the Eagles’ NovaCare facility, former team president Joe Banner is having a good laugh. Jackson received his $47 million extension, in good measure, because Banner had his contract power usurped. Banner never would have done that deal.
If Joe Banner is laughing, the joke is on him and I’m not saying that because I’m DeSean Jackson’s biggest fan (spoiler: I’m not). Joe Banner got so caught up in his hardball, penny pinching methodology that it became counter productive and it started hurt the team.
You don’t have to tell me that DeSean Jackson probably didn’t deserve the big contract he was handed. And you don’t have to tell me that DeSean is a giant “hot dog” on and off the field. DeSean Jackson is flawed, there can be no credible arguments to the contrary. Yes, DeSean Jackson got suspended for missing a special teams meeting. Yes, DeSean Jackson is afraid to go over the middle. Yes, DeSean Jackson was dogging his routes last season. Yes, DeSean Jackson drops more than his fair share of passes. Yes, DeSean Jackson has seemingly been afraid of contact since the Dunta hit. And yes, his lack of size inhibits his ability to effectively run a full route tree. All of these things are undeniably true.
But consider this: The disgruntled, quiet DeSean Jackson that I saw last year wasn’t the same guy I saw in the first three years of his career. How much did negative contract negotiations with Joe Banner have to do with this? Personally, I think knowing you’ve got a price tage would make someone pretty upset. How would you feel if you knew you were only worth so much to the franchise and if you disagreed, they’d pack your bags for you. If you knew that was happening, would you give your all?
And I’m not the only one that noticed DeSean Jackson wasn’t the same last year. Michael Vick has noted DeSean’s improved attitude and WR coach David Culley has said that DeSean was playing not to get hurt last year.
Think, what would have happened if Joe Banner got his way? We would’ve franchised DeSean and dragged contract negotiations out even longer? Having a discontented DeSean Jackson really worked wonders for us last year. We would’ve let go of a valuable asset for free? Brilliant… Despite what Joe Banner thinks, DeSean Jackson is an integral part of this team. When he’s happy and swaggering about, the Eagles are better. When DeSean Jackson is running his routes and stretching defenses, the Eagles are better. And even when DeSean Jackson is hot-dogging it, he still does something for the Eagles…
I've never seen safeties plays as deep as they did against the Eagles last year... Lots of room for Celek to roam
Joe Banner was a master at saving the Eagles money but Joe Banner is a business man, not a football man and he clearly failed to take team chemistry and team morale into account, DeSean Jackson encapsulates that perfectly, as do Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, Terrell Owens and Lito Sheppard.
It was horrific. It was the sort of season you tell your grand children about when they think their team is having a bad year. They were the worst of times. You know how something bad isn’t so bad when you’re expecting it? Like when you go to a scary movie you hardly ever get scared because you know that it’s going to be scary so you’re expecting it? Or when you see your company going downhill and you brace yourself for your *ahem* termination? It’s still awful and heartbreaking but you sort of saw it coming. Do you know what I’m talking about? Good, because it wasn’t like that at all.
Fresh off of trouncing the Browns, Ravens and Cardinals the Eagles were flying high heading into their against the Giants. ESPN has them ranked top five in their power rankings and there is no reason for them to stop rising. NFL Network is hyping them up as contenders. Giants fans were so scared that they’re constantly talking about their superbowl rings like they matter. And everyone was wondering, can Michael Vick and the Eagles win the superbowl? And their questions were answered on September 30th. It was September 30th, 2012 when it happened.
Michael Vick threw an absolute bomb down the sideline to DeSean Jackson who appeared to be off to the races. But thanks to a little showmanship from DeSean Jackson, Prince Amukamara caught up and ripped the ball loose. Prince recovered the ball and takes off down the right sideline when suddenly, just in the corner of the frame, you see Mark Herzlich make contact with Michael Vick. Shortly after Prince runs out of bounds, NBC cuts to a shot of Vick laying on the field, “Michael Vick is down on the field after the play. We’ll update you after the break”. Sure enough, after the break NBC replays the Vick hit and it shows Herzlich picking Vick up right in between the shoulders, lifting him off of his feet and plowing him shoulder first into the turf. But the real update comes after halftime when Al Michaels tells us all that Michael Vick is not returning to the game. Mike Kafka comes in and the Eagles lose the game.
On Wednesday, the story leaks: Michael Vick fractured his right shoulder, clavicle (collar bone), damaged his rotator cuff, has a neck sprain and a pretty gnarly concussion. He’ll need surgery on his shoulder and he’ll be out for the season. Heartbreak.
Predictably, the Eagles struggle without Michael Vick and after the season Andy Reid is fired. Howie Roseman hits the reset button and moves Michael Vick, a now 33 year old QB who hasn’t played a full season since 2006. And with their top five pick, the Eagles select the USC golden boy, Heisman winner and national champion Matt Barkley.
The new face of the franchise.
And suddenly, after all Andy Reid and his teams had done, the Eagles are back to square one. What a cruel, cruel world. All it took was an injury to Michael Vick and the Eagles’ season went up in smoke and the hopes of every Eagles fan were absolutely demolished.
It’s happening again, Dave Spadaro is getting everyone’s hopes up. He’s making Dion Lewis sound like the next Barry Sanders, Riley Cooper sound like Harold Carmichael and Demetress Bell sound like Jonathan Ogden. Eagles fans everywhere are pumped and can’t wait for the football to begin. In an “Eagles Live!” segment, Spadaro and crew cut to a package put together by the always entertaining E-Rock where he talks to Eagles fans about their expectations for the season. One fan says “Superbowl or bust baby!” and then lets out a rousing E-A-G-L-E-S chant that gets everyone within a few hundred feet all riled up. It’s August and it’s happening again, Eagles hysteria.
Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen hit the road on their annual training camp tour and their praise of the Eagles is effusive. Adam Schefter says “You need to watch out for the Eagles, they’re looking to avenge last year’s disappointment” and Mort talks about the positive energy surrounding the Eagles. Then ESPN cuts to Trey Wingo and the “NFL Live” panel of experts and Eric Allen, Marcellus Wiley and Ron Jaworski all say the Eagles are the team to beat in the NFC East.
And over at NFL Network, the story isn’t much different. Michael Irvin and Marshall Faulk both agree that the Eagles are dangerous and Jaime Dukes proclaims loudly that the Eagles are the winners of the offseason (*cringe*). The camera pans to a confused Rich Eisen who says “Hold on now, didn’t we hear this last year too? It seems like I hear this every year about the Eagles, what is different now?”. Michael Irvin begins screaming about how happy DeSean Jackson is. Marshall Faulk talks about how great LeSean McCoy is and how Michael Vick is getting his first full offseason as a starter since leaving prison. Jaime Dukes mumbles some insufferable crap that makes no sense and then Warren Sapp widens his eyes and says “I don’t know about all that but that defensive line is scaaaaary” and then chuckles.
The press is all over the defense at training camp, they consistently praise how fast and aggressive the unit has become. In a press conference with Andy Reid and Juan Castillo, Juan reiterates the importance of fundamentals and says that “it’s been fun because we’re able to install more stuff this year”. Jeff McClane asks the coaches if they’re concerned about the size of the defense to which Andy replies: “Listen, we’re getting our best players on the field. They might be small but I tell ya, they look good and they’ll hit ya. Cough.” Geoff Mosher in particular has taken a shining to Mychal Kendricks, continuously noting how athletic and fast he is. Jimmy Kempski notes the stark difference between watching Jamar Chaney at strong side linebacker this year and Kendricks this year. And everybodyfawns over Demeco Ryans’ leadership skills.
Yep.
Eagles fans for the most part are weary but after witnessing the Eagles absolutely annihilate the Steelers in the first week of the pre-season there is a strong buzz surrounding the Eagles. All of a sudden, some of the bold fans are saying they expect nothing less than a superbowl victory. They cruise through the pre-season, losing only once to the Jets in the last week of the pre-season when Tebow works some of his Tebow magic on the second string defense. The hype train is moving full speed ahead. Then, the Eagles jump out of the gate in the regular season, absolutely trouncing the Cleveland Browns to the tune of 38-7. Suddenly, the media is all over the Eagles bandwagon and they are widely regarded as a serious contender.
Michael Vick shows improvement in the pocket, he goes through his progressions better and after extensive film study over the offseason, he and Jason Kelce show that they can adjust the protections based on what the defense is showing them. All while still maintaining that trademark Michael Vick flair. But most importantly, Michael Vick’s turnover rate drops back to normal levels after an anomaly last season.
DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin both return to form. DeSean is no longer playing not to get hurt, he isn’t hotdogging his routes and he isn’t ducking contact. Jeremy Maclin is back up to speed (and strength) after a cancer scare in the 2011 offseason that clearly hurt him this past season. And Jeremy Maclin is fully healthy too after dealing with an assortment of knicks and bruises in 2011. Michael Vick’s discovery of Brent Celek carries over too so they’ve got DeSean and Jeremy stretching defenses vertically while Brent Celek eats up the middle of the field and punishes potential tacklers.
And LeSean McCoy is LeSean McCoy and he further cements his status as the best back in the NFL not named Adrian Peterson.
The offensive line play doesn’t skip a beat. Sure, Demetress Bell isn’t Jason Peters but the rest of the line more than compensates for the decline at left tackle. Evan Mathis is still putting up rock solid performances. Jason Kelce continues to redeem Howard Mudd for the faith he placed in him, playing at a pro-bowl level just like many in the know have predicted. Danny Watkins develops with a full off-season and he continues to become the Logan Mankins type force that analysts projected him to become. And Todd Herremans is Todd Herremans, the swiss army lineman who just gets the job done and is tough as nails. The line continues to prove they’re athletic, smart and mean.
The defense lives up to the hype that was built up for them over the offseason. With the offense functioning at a high level and putting up points early and often, the defense can just pin their ears back and attack, attack, attack. The team has the highest sack rate in the NFL and Jason Babin and Trent Cole continue to wreck quarterbacks. Cullen Jenkins even knocks Matthew Stafford out of the game against the Lions with a vicious helmet to helmet hit as Stafford tries to slide up the middle. Cullen Jenkins gets suspended for a game but the hit is shown over and over again and the media begins to hail it as an aggressive play that epitomizes the Eagles’ mean (and borderline dirty) defense. And in the Falcons game where Jenkins is suspended, Fletcher Cox steps in seamlessly and records four tackles, two for a loss and a sack. After Jason Babin breaks the non-throwing hand of Matt Ryan, Dan Graziano writes “There is seemingly no stopping the Eagles defensive line, it is nothing short of a force of nature”.
And despite their shorter stature, Brian Rolle, DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks start wrecking people behind the Eagles defensive line. Brian Rolle continues to make plays at weakside linebacker and he continues to hit like a mac truck thanks to his low center of gravity and incredibly strong core. DeMeco Ryans looks every bit the tackling machine he was billed as in Houston. And Mychal Kendricks absolutely flies around the field with his athleticism, backing up every bit of bravado he brought to the table.
And with the front seven playing so well, the secondary is benefitting. With Asante Samuel out of the picture, the Eagles use Nnamdi and DRC in more press man coverage, something that suits them. Nate Allen shows the potential that the big wigs in the organization know he has and Kurt Coleman continues to play like a rabid dog on the field. Jaiquawn Jarrett can’t supplant Coleman but he does get more snaps than last season and he makes his presence felt on special teams.
Everything is going great for the Eagles and then… disaster. In week 10, DeMarcus Ware comes racing around the corner unblocked and crushes Michael Vick right in the back as he tries to spin away. Michael Vick writhes in pain on the field and eventually gets carted off. Troy Aikman immeadiately sympathizes with Vick saying “I know what that feels like and I’ll tell ya, it doesn’t feel good”. Mike Kafka comes in to finish the game but he just can’t execute the same game plan that was put together for Vick and the Cowboys rally for the win. Immeadiately, experts all over twitter claim to have known this hot streak couldn’t last for the Eagles and it was only a matter of time before Michael Vick got hurt. Some even wonder if Michael Vick is out for the season.
Thankfully, Michael Vick is diagnosed with a strained neck and a concussion after fears that he might have seriously injured his neck. With a three game lead in the division and a fair amount of confidence in Mike Kafka, the Eagles don’t feel the need to rush Michael Vick back and he misses the next two weeks.
In what can only be seen as an incredibly lucky break, Mike Kafka gets to face the Redskins and Panthers in his two weeks starting, two teams with secondaries that aren’t exactly the best in the NFL. With game plans that are crafted just for him and some stellar defensive performances against Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III, Mike Kafka and the Eagles nearly beat the Redskins and they soundly beat the Panthers. Michael Vick is healthy again and just in time to come back and face the Cowboys in what the media is hyping up as a revenge game. The game lives up to it’s billing and Michael Vick unleashes his wrath on Rob Ryan’s defense.
The Eagles end the season at 12-4 (they sit their starters in week 17, losses to Atlanta, Dallas, Washington, New York) and they’re ranked atop almost every single reputable sports network’s power rankings. They only lost one game with Michael Vick starting and finishing the game. They’re the team to beat. Everything is going right and Eagles hysteria is all over the place, including a Sports Illustrated cover with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin on the cover that is titled “Flying High”.
The Eagles have a bye week and they await whatever poor team emerges from the Giants and Bears game. This team ends up being the Chicago Bears, a team that is becoming increasingly annoying to Eagles fans everywhere. On the surface of things, the Bears team is like every other Bears team over the past half decade, nothing flashy and seemingly beatable but they’re scrappy, disciplined and they have enough fire power on offense to win games. The Eagles haven’t had much luck against the Bears lately and some contrarian analysts pick this game as their upset special. Despite a massively better regular season, only 55% of people on ESPN’s Sports Nation predict the Eagles will win the game. On the Fox pre-game show, Michael Strahan uses his magic gap tooth voo-doo to convince Howie Long to pick the Bears to win, leading to only three panel members picking the Eagles to win. Eagles fans everywhere are furious. And then, the game starts… Brandon Boykin returns the opening kick off for a touchdown and the rout is on. With an inspired performance from just about everyone, the Eagles cruise to victory over the scrappy Bears.
But the next game isn’t so easy as the Eagles move on to play Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship. Experts across the nation are afraid to doubt the Eagles again and most predict a win for the Eagles but Eagles fans know better. The Packers are the #2 seed in the NFC and they’ve got one of the best records in the NFL over the past three years along with one of the best quarterbacks of this era. This isn’t an easy game for the Eagles to win.
Both teams slug it out all game. Despite good performances from the defenses, points are still going up on the board. With five minutes left, the Eagles are up by a field goal (24-21) and the Packers are getting the ball back. Aaron Rodgers slings the ball around. He completes multiple passes to Greg Jennings, JerMichael Finley, they pound the ball with James Starks and finally on a slant route, Randall Cobb nearly takes it the distance, nearly breaking Nate Allen’s ankle with a juke move that was inevitably shown on Sports Center’s top 10 plays. With the Packers knocking on the doorstep, the Eagles bring in the big boys but John Kuhn won’t be denied and he powers through for the touchdown.
With two minutes left, every single Eagles fan in existence is dreading yet another NFC Championship loss. The Eagles had the lead and they surrendered a touchdown in the closing minutes of the game. It would be another heart breaking loss for the Andy Reid era Eagles. And as the Eagles get the ball back, Joe Buck says in his monotonous voice “Down 28 to 24 with only one timeout, the Eagles are going to need to put together an impressive two minute drill and put a touchdown on the board”.
First Down: Clay Matthews sack
*Time Out*
Second Down: Michael Vick check down to Avant for 8 yards
Third Down: Vick pass over the middle to Celek for 10 yards
With little over a minute left the Eagles are still only at their own 43 yard line and the Eagles take a deep shot to DeSean Jackson that falls just over his outstretched hands. Fifty seconds. A bullet to Jeremy Maclin on a deep curl route that puts the Eagles at midfield. Forty seconds. Michael Vick scrambles for 9 yards, just short of the first down marker. 30 seconds. The Eagles hand the ball off to LeSean McCoy who stretches the play wide, cuts back upfield inside of Charles Woodson, jukes Morgan Burnett and suddenly it’s a footrace with Tramon Williams to the end-zone. With McCoy running full steam ahead, Williams has the angle and he appears to be in prime position to make the stop but then suddenly McCoy stops on a dime and Williams goes flying across his face, only able to get a finger tip on McCoy and McCoy stumbles into the end-zone. Eagles win.
The Eagles meet the Houston Texans in the Superbowl. And I’m sure you already knows how this ends. The Eagles win their first superbowl.
Joe Banner is out as the president of the Eagles organization. This is shocking news to me at least as it seemed to me that Joe Banner was an unimpeachable figure. He showed up when Jeff Lurie bought the team back in 1994 and he’s been around ever since and now, 18 years later, he’s stepping aside. Kind of shocking that a guy who’s had a big hand in shaping this franchise over the past two decades is just leaving.
I can’t really speak to specifics but Joe Banner is widely regarded as one of the premier ‘capologists’ in the NFL, so much so that he helped shape the new salary cap structure in last year’s lockout. He’s largely credited as the maestro behind the Eagles’ cap savvy and his tough negotiating style is notorious amongst Eagles fans.
But some might say Joe Banner isn’t simply stepping aside, rather that he’s lost power within the organization and that there is hostility between Andy Reid, Howie Roseman and himself. Quite frankly, I don’t buy it but it doesn’t appear that doing so would be completely unreasonable. As a matter of fact, a quote from Joe Banner might just attest to that theory (link).
Banner, 59, said Wednesday that he hoped to “get involved with the world of buying and selling a sports team with the possibility of becoming part of a group that buys a team.”
If Joe Banner was riding into the sunset, ready to relax in his backyard sipping his Boston Lager while chowing down crab cakes, why is he saying he wants to buy a team? Wouldn’t that suggest he wants to go somewhere where he would have more of a say? His desire for more influence would certainly line up with reports that Andy and Howie have been the primary negotiators and personnel evaluators this offseason.
The media has been stirring this particular conspiracy pot for a while now. In February of last year there were reports that suggested Joe Banner was “lukewarm” about Andy Reid and about two months ago, an L.A. Times report suggested that Andy was in direct conflict with Joe Banner saying that Andy was “ready to walk away from the Eagles if he didn’t get more personnel control, and now he has it”. If these reports have any inkling of truth, chalk this battle up to Andy Reid and cross Joe off of Andy’s Christmas Card list.
How does this affect the Eagles? It’s impossible to say at this point but one of the primary influences in recent Eagles history is out the door* (he’s still an advisor by title but I’d assume it’s just that, a title and nothing else). His replacement is reportedly Don Smolenski and he’s not new to the Eagles organization, he’s been working with the Eagles since 1998. Lets hope Smolenski’s run as president of the Eagles is as good as Banner’s was because I’m already dreading the Smellenski jokes.
Just the other day, Kyle wrote a post about the Eagles depth at running back.
As you can see from that post, the Eagles have a number of talented, young running backs behind the Eagles All-Pro starting RB LeSean Kamel “Shady” McCoy. These aren’t guys you want starting for an extended period of time obviously, but they have the ability to contribute in a limited number of snaps. That’s exactly what backup RBs for the Eagles have been: players who don’t get many snaps.
Recent Eagles Backup RB History
Since McCoy took over as a full time starter in 2010, the Eagles have had 3 backup RBs: Mike Bell (2010), Jerome Harrison (2010) and Ronnie Brown (2011).
In the 5 games Mike Bell played as an Eagle, he had a mere 16 attempts. After those 5 games, the Eagles traded Bell for Jerome Harrison. Harrison recorded 40 attempts in 8 games played, although he did start 1 of those games in a meaningless Week 17 match against the Dallas Cowboys. In 2011, the Eagles backup was Ronnie “The Man Who Saved Jerome Harrison’s Life” Brown. He registered a mere 42 attempts in 16 games played. It is worth noting Brown started 2 of those games.
This confirms what we should already know by now: the Eagles don’t use their backup RB often. And this isn’t likely going to change. McCoy is too good of a player to keep off the field. Although Andy has said he wants to reduce Shady’s reps, I doubt it will be any kind of significant decrease. But maybe a closer look tells us something else – that the Eagles like to have a veteran as the backup RB. Bell, Harrison, and Brown were all considered veterans in their time as Eagles. So might the Eagles be looking for another?
Kyle wrote:
A lot of people were expecting the Eagles to draft a running back fairly high in the draft after not adding a veteran in free agency and the logic behind that is pretty sound. [...] But, the Eagles never added a free agent nor did they draft one. Whats the deal? They’re comfortable with their backups. At least that’s what Andy Reid says. And if what he says is actually true (you never know), you can see why. The Eagles have some talented young bodies at the running back spot who should be given a chance to make an impact.
And after acquiring those talented, young RBs, I was convinced the Eagles weren’t interested in adding a veteran at the position. After all, they hadn’t been linked to having interest in a veteran RB the whole off-season.
At 5'11" and 223 pounds with 4.37 speed, Bryce Brown is one of a couple talented young backs on the roster.
A lot of people were expecting the Eagles to draft a running back fairly high in the draft after not adding a veteran in free agency and the logic behind that is pretty sound. Last year LeSean McCoy played more snaps than any other running back in football and that was despite missing an entire game against the Redskins. If the Eagles want McCoy to be around for a significant amount of time, it would be wise not to run him into the ground like the Chiefs did with Larry Johnson, like the Ravens did with Jamal Lewis and like the Titans did with Chris Johnson.
But, the Eagles never added a free agent nor did they draft one. Whats the deal? They’re comfortable with their backups. At least that’s what Andy Reid says. And if what he says is actually true (you never know), you can see why. The Eagles have some talented young bodies at the running back spot who should be given a chance to make an impact.
Dion Lewis: I’m actually pretty excited to see Dion Lewis get more carries, he flashed some electric moves and good potential all year. He’s a small guy who won’t push the pile or punish defenders but he’s got great quickness and he reaches top speed quickly, he’s shifty and hard to grab in the open field, he’s small and can hide behind the offensive line and he’s got a good feel on inside runs and isn’t your typical “bounce it outside” scat-back. He’s got some Tiki Barber in him.
Bryce Brown: This guy is a talent, thats for sure but he’s talent with issues. He smashed county records in high school and he was the #1 overall recruit at any position according to rivals back in 2009. He produced a bit in his freshman year at Tennessee but after the season Lane Kiffin skipped town for his dream job at USC and Brown’s college career was completely thrown off track. Brown then transfered to Kansas State to play with his brother, linebacker Arthur Brown. At Kansas State he got hurt early, he was upset with his playing time and he decided to leave the team. Issues.
But after everyone wrote Bryce Brown off as an overrated high school talent, he lit up his pro-day. At 5’11″ and 223 pounds, Brown blazed a 4.37 40 yard dash time. Combine his stellar pro-day with solid tape as a freshman and Brown found himself being picked late in the draft. Wes Bunting, scout for the National Football Post, was a guy who liked Brown despite his past issues saying:
Possesses natural girth and muscle tone through his upper body. But, looks a bit thin and lean through the lower half. … Displays a good first step when pressing the line of scrimmage and runs initially with a good forward lean. He displays a good feel when asked to press the line of scrimmage or edge on perimeter runs and looked very comfortable in Tennessee’s zone scheme in 2009. Felt defenders well around him, displayed good lateral quickness when asked to put his foot in the ground and accelerated quickly into the open field. Showcased some natural wiggle as well as a cut back guy, setting up blocks and using his foot quickness/burst and make a man miss and burst into the open field. Once he collected his feet, did a nice job finishing runs, lowing his pad level and falling forward on contact.
Who remembers watching LeSean McCoy dance around and broadcasters saying that “He’s really good but Mudd wants him to follow his blockers and go to green”? I do. Thats what Mudd wants out of his running backs, he wants his backs to follow his blockers, get to the second level and attack cut back lanes. Bryce Brown is a guy who does those things well when he’s at his best.
Chris Polk: This guy, was an absolute steal in undrafted free agency. His injury concerns are vastly overrated, they didn’t stop him from carrying the ball on Saturdays and they won’t stop him from carrying the ball on Sundays either. He had a shoulder issue last year and had surgery but that isn’t an issue this year or moving forward according to Dr. James Andrews saying that “”If I thought Chris had a problem that needed fixing, I would have operated, but there was not a problem”.
Side note: I’m convinced that Dr. James Andrews has a surgery drive through
Polk played his ass off at Washington and he sacrificed himself for the team. He ran hard and he carried that team’s running game, providing both Jake Locker and Keith Price with a consistent running game to rely on.
I feel bad for Chris Polk. Busted his ass for the worst coach in American history and got Sarked too late. Great kid who deserves better.
Polk isn’t a picture perfect running back, he’s not super bulky, he’s not ripped and he runs high. But when those pads go on, he punishes people. He throws his body into contact and he’s without a doubt the most physical running back west of the Mississippi in college football (Trent Richardson claims the east). He’s just a natural with the football. He presses the hole, he allows his blockers to get into position, great patience, he knows when to accelerate and he doesn’t fumble the ball. He’s a downhill force who pushes the pile and once he hits the second level and gets to top speed, its like a runaway freight train. Chris Polk should have been drafted much earlier but I’m happy he ended up in Philadelphia because his running style compliments LeSean McCoy’s and Dion Lewis’ perfectly.
At Washington he put up 4049 rushing yards, 26 total touchdowns and had 3 straight 1000 yard rushing seasons. And despite carrying the ball 799 times, he only fumbled the ball 5 times and he had a 23 game stretch where he didn’t fumble the ball at all.
His disciplined and physical running style combined with his reliability and consistency have earned him comparisons to Arian Foster. I’m not sure he’s that good yet but Polk really is a player that we’re lucky to have gotten. He’s closer to Pierre Thomas than he is Foster IMO but I can see why people make the comparison.
Graig Cooper: Cooper is another guy who slid into undrafted free agency because of injury issues. In 2009 he tore his ACL and he struggled to return in 2010 and because of it, he slipped in the 2011 draft. He’s now 3 years removed from ACL surgery and he should be 100%. Prior to tearing his ACL, he was seen as a good all-purpose back who would likely end up being drafted fairly early in the draft.
”Cooper rated as one of the best running back prospects in the nation until his injury. At the top of his game he justifiably reminds many of former Miami star Frank Gore with his ability to create yardage and elude defenders. Cooper looked like a shell of himself last year when he was just eight months removed from major knee surgery. He may take a while to return to form, if he ever does, but Cooper is capable of producing at the next level if he gets his game back.”
At Miami he was the starter over stellar running back recruit LaMar Miller and he finished his career at Miami with 465 carries for 2383 yards (5.1 YPC), 66 receptions for 402 yards and 16 touchdowns on offense. When taking into account his return numbers, Cooper finished with 3864 all-purpose yards and 17 total touchdowns (1 kick returned for a touchdown).
One of the most underrated problems last year was the Eagles inability to flip the field on special teams and put the team in good starting field position. Last year the Eagles average starting field position was incredibly mediocre, finishing 18th in the NFL. But that doesn’t really highlight how horrible the Eagles were on returns last year, last year the Eagles were 29th in the NFL in both kick and punt returns. Not very good.
Graphic per Advanced NFL Stats
And for those of you prepared to argue that field position doesn’t matter, notice that ten of the twelve playoff teams last season placed in the top half of the NFL in starting field position.
The Eagles, seeing this really made it a point to beef up their return game. This offseason the Eagles have added Brandon Boykin, Mardy Gilyard, Cliff Harris and DaMaris Johnson, clearly showing their intent to improve on special teams. And they also have Ronald Johnson on the roster who is going through his first offseason as an Eagle after spending the season on the practice squad.
Just look at the kick return production these guys had in college:
Brandon Boykin: 110 kick returns for 2663 yards (24.2 yards per return), 4 kicks returned for touchdowns, 14 punts returned for 180 yards (12.8 per return) and 1 returned for a touchdown. The only player in SEC history with three 100+ yard plays. He’s the all-time leading kick returner at Georgia. He won the Paul Hornung award that is given to the “most versatile player in college football” in 2011.
Mardy Gilyard: 93 kicks returned for 2664 yards (28.6 yards per return), 4 kicks returned for touchdowns, 44 punts returned for 252 yards (5.7 per return) and 1 returned for a touchdown at Cincinnati. He was a two time Big East special teams player of the year.
Cliff Harris: 9 kickoffs returned for 192 yards (21.3 yards per return), 38 punts returned for 614 yards (16.1 per return) and four punts returned for touchdowns. He was a first team all american in 2010 for his work on punt returns and he was named the best punt returner in college football after the 2010 season at the College Football Performance Awards.
DaMaris Johnson: 134 kickoffs returned for 3417 yards (25.5 yards per return), 2 kicks returned for touchdowns, 47 punts returned for 571 yards (12.1 yards per return) and 2 punts returned for touchdowns. Johnson is the all time leader in career kick return yardage at the NCAA level.
Ronald Johnson: 56 kicks returned for 1351 yards (26.4 yards per return), 31 punts returned for 312 yards (10.6 per return) and 1 punt returned for a touchdown.
In total, these 5 players combined for 10,287 kick return yards, 10 kicks returned for touchdowns, 1921 punt return yards and 9 punts returned for touchdowns at the college level. None of these players has much of any experience at the NFL level and they should all be given a shot as a return specialist.
The Eagles took the NFL Draft version of a hail mary in the third round when they drafted Nick Foles. Foles isn’t much of a QB now (I’ll get to that) but he’s a guy who certainly passes the eyeball test and it never hurts to invest in the QB spot and Andy Reid knows that (see Matt Hasselbeck, Mark Brunell, Kevin Kolb, AJ Feeley). If he develops, you got a QB and if he doesn’t you cut your losses.
That’s what Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe says (link).
Joe Banner is out as the president of the Eagles organization. This is shocking news to me at least as it seemed to me that Joe Banner was an unimpeachable figure. He showed up when Jeff Lurie bought the team back in 1994 and he’s been around ever since and now, 18 years later, he’s stepping aside. Kind of shocking that a guy who’s had a big hand in shaping this franchise over the past two decades is just leaving.
