Monday Morning Mehta 2/19/07

Edition # 196
February 19, 2007

Next MMM: March 12th, 2007 (5M Edition)
AL Preview: March 26th, 2007
NL Preview: April 2nd, 2007

The 3rd Annuall 2007 Philadelphia Eagles Official Offseason Guide Presented by Google

An interesting and pivotal offseason, as usual, is upon us and this year brings yet another controversy/drama. Andy Reid is on a leave of absence until mid-March. What does that mean? Probably nothing. Saying he's on leave only gives Andy an excuse not to talk to the media. He won't be able to go to the combine, but c'mon, those things are just about useless anyway. Didn't Vince Young and his wonderlict score make his stock drop supposedly? Anyway, I'm already off on a tangent. Let's get to what the Eagles need to do this offseason as we're 10 days away from the official start to free agency.

Quarterbacks
Normally, we just brush over this topic, but considering Jeff Garcia is now a cult hero, the decisions the Eagles make here are going to be big. Jeff Garcia is an unrestricted free agent (UFA - get used to the term. RFA is restricted free agent which means you have to give up a draft pick(s) to sign the player). The FA QB crop is weak, so I expect somebody to give Jeff Garcia more money than the Eagles will. He'll also be assured the opportunity that he can be a starter, something the Eagles can't offer. So expect AJ Feeley to be the backup next year, and the Eagles take someone around the 5th round of the draft to be the third guy. Or maybe Koy's back and it's Donny, Koy and AJ all over again.
QB FA's
Matt Schaub (RFA)
Damon Huard
Tim Rattay
David Carr & Jake Plummer (not FA's, but definitely available for a mid round pick)

Running Backs
Brian Westbrook is the clear number 1 and the Eagles don't need a splash here. Correll Buckhalter becomes a UFA and signing him means crossing your fingers he doesn't break another leg in May. Buck played real well in the 2nd half of the year and probably earned himself a nice paycheck. I think the Eagles have finally realized they need a big back to compliment Westbrooks speed. I think I've said Najeh Davenport fits what the Eagles need each of the last two years and this year is no different. But there's plenty of solid # 2 RB's this year. I would be very disappointed if the Eagles didn't do something good here. (And I'd love to see Tapeh replaced but that's not going to happen).
Side note - I expect to see more Ryan Moats next year and Reno Mahe will be in Cleveland (anywhere but in an Eagle uniform)

RB FA's
Ahman Green
Chris Brown
Dominick Rhodes - earned a lot of money in the Super Bowl
Ron Dayne - Woof, woof
Najeh Davenport
Musa Smith - tons of talent, hasn't been able to put it together.
Justin Griffith
Michael Turner (RFA) - Will get TONS of attention but will cost a first rounder. Jets?
Maurice Hicks (RFA) - interesting for Eagles
Jamal Lewis (I expect him to be cut pretty soon)

Wide Receivers & Tight Ends
It's difficult when the Eagles have the guy who heads the class in free agency at his position. You know the rest of the NFL is probably going to overbid for Stallworth. But Stallworth was such a good fit here. He and Brown could be the solid WR's the Eagles haven't had since Fred Barnett and Calvin Williams. Actually, I just wanted to put Freddie's name in this article. Anyway, I think the Eagles will reward Stallworth with a contract. Just got a feeling here. The overall free agent class is kind of weak, so the Eagles will have money to spend. But I don't think the Eagles can stop there. They need to sign a white WR. They need a white guy who just gets open and converts key third downs. You know the guy I'm talking about. The guy every Eagles fan can have a jersey of. There's plenty of white WR's out there this year too. Kevin Curtis and Drew Bennett will probably get starters money somewhere, but if they don't the Eagles should snatch one of these guys up. I'll even take a light skinned dude like Shaun McDonald. LJ Smith goes into his free agency year, I think he's got a lot to prove. Look for the Eagles to draft a TE around round 3.

FA WR's
Stallworth
Curtis
Bennett
McDonald
Ashlie Lelie (member when every Eagles fan in the world wanted him? How much did Vick hurt him? He's a sleeper in this. Could come at a bargain, and that's the Eagles favorite price)
David Boston
Marc Boerigter (really like him - gets hurt more than C-Buck)
Ty Calico (potential is there - good deep ball guy)
Bobby Engram
DJ Hackett
Keenan McCardell (see this would be a decent # 3 guy but he's not white)
Bobby Wade (are you laughing yet - yes, this is how bad the WR corp is)
Basically, if you want a WR, you better hope there's a Javon Walker type that's on the trading block. And please, please, let's not make a big deal when/if Randy Moss goes to Green Bay.

Offensive Line
Not much to discuss here. The Eagles are solid and deep at this position. William Tra Thomas had a very good year, but he's always a cap casualty possibility with his age. But do you remember hearing his name once last year? Seriously, I don't. And that's very good for an OL'man.

OL FA's
Leonard Davis
Mike Gandy - could be a longterm replacement for Tra, if the Eagles decide to do something here, which I doubt
Eric Steinbach
Porkchop Womack - what's an MMM without getting the word porkchop in there
Jordan Black - how is free agency this weak this year??

Defensive Line
The Eagles have 3 ends signed to long term deals in Darren Howard, Trent Cole and Javon Kearse. They have Mike Patterson and Broderick Bunkley in the middle. Yet any Eagles fan will tell you the D-Line needs help. Arguably the Eagles best defensive end the last 2 months of the year was Jaqua Thomas, and he's a UFA. Great, another Derreck Burgess! Cripes. Here's what I said last year: " When I watch the good run stopping defenses they always seem to have a big fat run stopper. A guy like Grady Jackson is an interesting big fat slob to plug up the middle. " So why do the Eagles refuse to do this? Find a big fat slob and plug him in there on first and second downs. The Eagles are way too obsessed with these undersized speed guys. 300 lbs is nothing for a DT these days. Mike Patterson and Bunkley are SMALL for DT standards. Get a 360 pounder and suddenly your fast guys can do their thing. So whose the slob? Details...

DL FA's
Dwight Freeney (he'll get resigned no shot he's going anywhere)
Hollis Thomas (see what a big fat guy on illegal drugs did for the Saints?)
Robaire Smith
Vonnie Holiday
Kris Jenkins (some say he's available after 2 injury riddled seasons - here's your slob with a ton of talent)
Cory Redding - nice player will likely be franchised
Ian Scott - moreso a 3-4 nose tackle type, but the Eagles should investigate here. Would come relatively cheap.

Linebackers
The need here is fierce. Jeremiah Trotter started off the season looking like one of the games best and ended up looking like an old man playing a kid's game. OK, he wasn't that bad but he wasn't good. O-Gat played well, but I'd like to see him in more of an Ike Reese type role. Play a few games when called on, but do your thing on special teams. As for the other guy, I'm not even going to say his name. The guitar playing brainiac should've been gone last year. We haven't spent much of Joe Banner's money yet - now's the time to spend it. There's going to be plenty of talent here, and the Eagles should sign two players, although I full well realize they'll probably just sign one and give Chris Gocong a chance to win a job. Cato June, and Adalius Thomas are both worth a look. Thomas is a potential stud, and probably better suited for a 3-4, but I think that stuff is overrated. Defense is about reacting. Adalius Thomas made a lot of the plays Ray Lewis came in late and got the credit for. Cato June also has pros and cons. The Eagles will love him as he's undersized but fast. But he's just coming off a "driving with a suspended license" charge. Do the Eagles really need another driving problem guy?? Reid might think June's his kid or something.

Other FA LB's
Na'il Diggs - he's no better than the bow tie guy
Kewika Mitchell - could be a good replacement for Trotter after playing one season outside
Chad Brown - he's what? 49 years old?

Defensive Backs
Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown and Brian Dawkins are going to be starters, but the strong safety position is unclear. Michael Lewis is a free agent and as far as I'm concerned can't be shown the door soon enough. Sean Considine showed flashes of playing well, but also showed flashes of getting exposed. If Considine REALLY is going be putting the weight "he lost" back and plays 20 pounds heavier he could be decent. The Safety the Eagles will look at is Ken Hamlin. Coming off an injury, Hamlin probably won't be valued as high as Deon Grant or Mike Doss.

Other DB FA's
Nate Clements (CB)
Nick Harper (CB)
Rod Hood & Michael Lewis
Travis Fisher (CB)
Ken Hamlin (S)
Deon Grant (S)
Kevin Kaesviharn (S)
Derrick Gibson (S)
Terrence Holt (S)
Mike Doss (S)
Quintin Mikell
Todd Johnson (S)

Special Teams
David Akers is set as the placekicker. The position the Eagles really need to upgrade is the kick and punt returners. The loss of JR Reed to injury has set them back here. And Jeremy Bloom must show he's ready to do something, otherwise the Eagles will need to bite the bullet and sign someone via free agency. Who's out there? The Phillip Buchanon's of the world. Moral of the story: Ryan Moats, Broderick Bunkley, Chris Cocong, let's see what you got...

Dragons Den
A bad loss to Bill and the Beeotch followed by a great win versus Creighton on ESPN2 Saturday night. Drexel's put themselves around 3rd or 4th place in their own conference, which is never good if you're trying for a at large bid from the CAA. They need to make it to the conference finals to have any pulse at an at large bid, and even then I doubt they'd get one. At this point for Drexel, it's about winning the CAA tournament. It's an uphill climb to say the least.

NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser

- Since we've last spoke the Rangers have gone into free fall. They're currently 5 points out of the playoffs in a year when a lot was expected of them. I have a controversial theory as to what may be the problem....Jaromir Jagr. In fact I'm starting to believe that no team with Jagr as their primary star will ever be serious Cup contenders. (Wait a second.....a few years ago weren't you killing the Flyers for not going after Jagr when he was available?) SHUT UP!! Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, Jagr is the type of player that needs to be on the ice a lot to satisfy his tremendous ego. I'm sure that coach Tom Renney grants Jagr the leeway to come and go from the ice as he pleases. Couple that with the fact that Jagr has never been confused with Rod Brind'Amour as far as his work out routine is concerned and BADA BING!! Guess where Jagr's taking his in game breaks? On the ice of course. And his defense suffers greatly. When Jagr's tired his defense is sort of like that half hearted tackle a defensive back tries after a wide receiver is already 4 strides in the end zone. When Jagr's fresh his defense is only slightly better but at least he has the energy for a cherry picker pass should it develope. I believe if Jagr wins another Cup it'll be toward the end of his career as a complimentary player.

- So the big news, other then a geek hooking up with a beauty 3 seasons in a row on "Beauty and the Geek", is the trade of Peter Forsberg. My first reaction when I heard the news was the Flyers didn't get enough. In fact when I first heard about the trade I think I yelled the F word louder then Tom Brady when he found out Bridget Moynahan was pregnant. But upon further review I'm liking the deal. The key to the deal is that there's virtually no chance that Forsberg will resign with the Predators after this year so this is strictly a rental. And considering it's a rental it's big that the Flyers got a first round pick and a puck moving defenseman. True the defenseman (Ryan Parent) is young but people that know a hell of a lot more about hockey then I do love the kid so that's good enough for me. The one thing I'm not liking is that Bobby Clarke will be making the draft picks so you can expect a huge slow lover of baboonery picked by the Flyers with the two first round draft picks.

- Remember when the Phillies traded for Ruben Amaro Jr. and he started out like a house on fire and he went on to his Hall of Fame career with the Phillies? Oh that's right, that last part didn't happen. Why? BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENS IN PHILADELPHIA!!! Amaro Jr. had a big 2 or 3 weeks and then came down to Earth. So remember that when you read about the new Flyer sensation, goalie Michael Leighton. For crying out loud the guy was picked up from the Norfolk Admirals, the minor league affiliate of one of the worst teams in the NHL (Chicago Blackhawks) so everyone just chill out.

- I really shouldn't do this but I am. I found a cool hockey blog, it's www.canucksandbeyond.com . If I was smart I would have kept it quiet and just stole from the blog and passed off the articles as my own but like I said...if I was smart. Anyway the blog is written by a woman which is strange but it's really clever. Check it out.

- So I'm sure nobody needs a review of the last two weeks of Flyers games so I'm going to talk about the most important thing the Flyers need to worry about right now....dismantling this mess. Kyle Calder needs to go. I can't imagine he'd command too much but who knows, maybe we could get a third line center for the guy. And most importantly, GET DRAFT PICKS!! Geoff Sanderson could get the Flyers something of value. He only has 8 goals this year but he's a solid pro and he prefers to play wing so he could be a nice pick up playing along side a big time center like Sidney Crosby, Joe Thorton, or Vincent Lecavalier. And of course there's Derian Hatcher. I'll give him credit for one thing, he still goes down and blocks shots even though the Flyers were eliminated from playoff contention about 6 games into the season. But other then that he's just bad. He's -18, he brings nothing to the table offensively, but what he does have is name recognition. Any team that would get him in a trade will create a buzz with their fans because they're going to be thinking they're getting the 1999 Derian Hatcher, not the 2007 Frankenstien he's become. And in closing....if the right deal came down the pike I wouldn't hesitate to deal any of the Flyers young players. They've over valued them long enough.