phil equipped
Far be it from me to tell an NFL franchise how to run its team, but let tell the Philadelphia Eagles that they have squandered the career of Donovan McNabb. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all Lurie and Reid’s fault, McNabb didn’t help himself when he picked up a pitchfork and helped management run T.O. out of town, but he doesn’t make the personnel decisions either. Maybe I’m spoiled by having an owner like Jerrel Wayne Jones, but to watch the Eagles clip their own wings is only risible because they’re a division rival.
You look at the rest of the division, Jones has put together a gem in Dallas, The ‘Skins have hard-nosed defense has mastered the art of playing ugly, which keeps them in every game and renders them incapable of losing more than seven games in any given season, and The Gigantes are the defending Super Bowl Champs, which means they can do WHATEVER they want for the next three years. Philly went 8-8 last year and was the ONLY team in the division not to make the playoffs, yet they act as if this is the NFC East of the early 00s. They think they can just stick McNabb & Westbrook on the field and go 11-5. Maybe Reid hasn’t noticed with his kids’ insane drug problems, but the NFC isn’t the same conference it used to be.
Let’s start within the division, for the second consecutive year three out of four teams in the division made the playoffs. The Cowboys are the “class” of the division. I put class in quotes because it doesn’t really matter in the playoffs, NFC East teams are not intimidated by their division rivals in the playoffs, so I mean it’s great to have the Cowboys be the best team in the division but trust when I say that I would rather face ANYONE else in the NFC than a divisional foe in the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Cowboys set a league record with 13 Pro Bowlers last season, and there’s no reason to expect those players to repeat next season, since none of those seasons were that eye-popping. The Cowboys got Ken Hamlin resigned and drafted one of the consensus top four DBs in the draft, Mike Jenkins, who has the versatility to play corner or safety. Then the Cowboys add Adam Jones, who has proved himself to be a competent #2 CB, and if he can get himself back into game shape, and refrain from the rain dancers the secondary looks to be even more formidable. Everyone says, “yeah, but what about a #2 receiver?” Don’t forget Dallas played all last season without Terry Glenn, now whether he signs the waiver and comes back healthy is another issue. The Cowboys add Zach Thomas, and draft Martellus Bennett and Felix Jones as rookies who will fill the “voids” left by Anthony Fasano and Julius Jones. All in all, the Cowboys are a better team than last year.
As I said before, the Giants are the defending Super Bowl Champines and are “off the hook” for at least this season. However, you still have to worry about whether last season was just a fluke for Eli, or whether something has clicked for him. If it is the latter, then the division just got a serious headache, especially if he keeps Plaxico Burress. When you consider the production the Giants got from their rookies like Bradshaw and Steve Smith, it’s kind of worrisome to think that theoretically they should only get better, unless they catch the Michael Claytons disease. You want to bring up their “losses,” but when you think about it, who did they really lose besides Strahan? Yeah, they just traded Shockey, but in case you forgot they went on that run without him. That defensive line will still be one of the most formidable defensive fronts in the league, the pass rush should be fine with the loss of Strahan, they still have Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka (who I presume has learned not to let go), and 1-800-Osi-Ocean. Kawika Mitchell just flat out wasn’t that good, and I think Kenny Phillips will replace Gibril Wilson just fine. Verdict: Giants are a touch worse than they were last year simply because they lost Strahan, and that was just another horse to rotate in and keep the pass rush fresh.
Washington took a huge step forward with landing Jason Taylor. The day they lost both defensive ends, the ‘Skins land the most prolific sack artist in the league since 2000, I believe. Jason Taylor alone makes the rest of Washington’s defense better. JT Money just brings straight heat and that’s all there is to it. The offense has shown how explosive it can be, and what’s more, it has shown that it doesn’t much matter whether Jason Campbell or Todd Collins is in there calling the plays. Clinton Portis will be the horse he always is in the backfield and that’s all there is to it. Don’t let any of the three pass catchers the ‘Skins drafted pan out early and the ‘Skins are definitely in a position to win more than three games in the division.
However, when you look at Philly, what have they done? It’s almost as if they’ve been purposely squandering McNabb’s career because they know the fans never liked him (which is pretty unfair to him, have they forgotten that they wanted Ricky Williams?) and management knows they will never be blamed for the Eagles’ short comings. Let’s look at it though, who does McNabb have on that team? When you look at the tools McNabb has around, nobody is the best at their position in the division. LJ Smith? Nope. Brian Westbrook? I don’t think so; Portis is better than Westbrook if you want to go just straight up best RB in the division, but if you want to talk about entire running platoons, the Eagles come in last. Let’s not even talk about wide receiver, last is an understatement. You could take away every other team in the division’s top wide receiver, and Philly still wouldn’t necessarily be the best. With all those legitimate receivers sitting there in the draft begging to be drafted, the eagles went with DeSean Jackson, a punt returner. They better pray that ESPN airs some games on ABC, because that’s the only time I saw Jackson show up to play in college. Westbrook hasn’t played a full season in lord knows how long (neither has McNabb) but the Eagles seem content on their past accomplishments; beating up on the NFC when it was still just a JV League.
The Saints have become a top flight team in the conference, thanks to the offensive genius of Sean Payton and the resurrection of Brees. Bush should play better if Deuce McAllister comes back healthy. Add Shockey to an already loaded offense, and Jonathan Vilma (yeah) to anchor that defense, and I think it stands to reason placing the Saints ahead of the Eagles. The Panthers had an awful season last year, but they did also play it without Jake Delhomme, and mark my words, they’re back up Matt Moore will eventually be a quality starting quarterback in this league. If I’m the Bears, I offer a first or second round pick for the kid. He was Dallas’ 3rd signal caller during Parcels’ last pre-season, but everyone knows Parcels only carries 2. Either way, Carolina will be back to reassert themselves in the conference. Throw in what should be a resurgent St. Louis squad, an overachieving Tampa Bay, a consistent Seattle, a stout Green Bay and a potent-at-every-position-but-quarterback Viking team, and Philly is not really looking at that manageable a season.
Back when their defense had the players to make Jim Johnson’s defensive scheme seen unbreakable, and McNabb, Owens (for 21 games) and Westbrook were making football look as easy as it was in the playground, the Eagles didn’t really have to worry, but now, most of their stars are gone, and the ones who are left are no longer as radiant as they once shone. Yes they added Asante Samuel, but why? They’re just going to lose Lito Sheppard because of it, and the kind of money they’ve given Samuel will prevent them from really bringing in any other defensive stars. Add to that the fact now that EVERY team in the division (except them) has a pass rusher capable of logging 16 sacks next season, McNabb is in for a long one, but hey, he’s been hearing it in Philly since he was drafted, I guess it is true the more things change, the more they stay the same.
