Whoda thunk it? (http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/12512653.htm)
QuotePosted on Tue, Aug. 30, 2005
Eagles expected to romp again in NFC East
BARRY WILNER
Associated Press
Donovan McNabb probably could throw his passes left-handed to Terrell Owens, who could carry a mirror downfield admiring himself, and the Eagles still would win this division.
An exaggeration? Sure. But one that emphasizes how lopsided the NFC East race figures to be again this season. By Thanksgiving, Philadelphia could be celebrating a fifth straight division crown.
It isn't just that the Eagles have the best overall roster in the East, filled with leaders, and an excellent coaching staff. They also know how to win, and getting to the Super Bowl last winter will be a further boost.
Besides, the other three division members are, at best, mediocre. The Giants have questions all over on defense and on the offensive line, and a relative novice - albeit a very talented one - at quarterback. The Cowboys also have a lot of holes and leadership questions. Washington seems good enough to send Joe Gibbs back to NASCAR very soon.
The Eagles swept their divisional games in 2004 and are quite capable of a repeat. Even with the tumult Owens has caused and season-ending injuries to Todd Pinkston and Correll Buckhalter, they far and away are the class of the East.
That's most noticeable defensively. Philly's secondary, led by Brian Dawkins and Michael Lewis at safety, is the league's best. Jeremiah Trotter was sensational at middle linebacker when inserted into the lineup in midseason. Defensive end Jevon Kearse should be more of a menace in his second season with the team, and the line is versatile and deep, even without Corey Simon, who was granted free agency Sunday.
Coordinator Jim Johnson will call for blitzes and more blitzes.
"We know we are a nasty defense. We know we are a good defense, but last year we didn't have enough takeaways," Trotter said. "That's a focus for us this year, getting the ball."
When they get it, McNabb will hand it or throw it to do-everything back Brian Westbrook, a perfect player for Philly's scheme. Or he'll find L.J. Smith, a tight end ready to emerge.
And then there is T.O. Somehow, despite all the turmoil this summer, there's a belief that Owens will be as dynamic as ever - maybe if only to stick it to the organization he's upset with for not renegotiating a $49 million contract.
Few coaches could steer a team through such dysfunction, but Andy Reid is masterful handling myriad personalities. Besides, only Owens really is disruptive.
"I can't sit here and try to tell you what Terrell is going to do," said Dawkins, an All-Pro. "Only Terrell knows what he is going to do."
Whatever he does, it will make headlines.
The main headlines coming out of Dallas could be whether Bill Parcells will stick it out beyond this season if the Cowboys are losers again. Same thing for Gibbs in D.C. And from the Meadowlands, the focus will be on just how far Eli Manning has progressed.
Manning is nursing a sore elbow, robbing him of valuable practice time. He played poorly for the first four games of his stint as a starter last season, but came on in the final three to raise hopes in New York.
Unfortunately for Giants fans, this team doesn't appear ready to have a winning record, particularly if it has injuries. Other than Michael Strahan, who comes off a torn pectoral muscle that cost him half of last season, there are no defensive stars - although linebacker Antonio Pierce was a solid addition and rookie Justin Tuck has had a strong summer.
Tiki Barber, a superb all-around back in his prime, is the best offensive weapon, and WR Plaxico Burress could be a nice complement for tight end Jeremy Shockey if he has his head on straight.
Coach Tom Coughlin needs more peace between players and staff than he had last season, and he can't afford to overwork Barber. Even if the Giants don't reach .500, if Manning develops, the year will be worthwhile.
Parcells has been in midseason form this summer, bemoaning all kinds of perceived problems with his club. He has some big-time playmakers in safety Roy Williams, running back Julius Jones, tight end Jason Witten and, quite possibly, first-round pick DeMarcus Ware. He has been unstoppable as a 3-4 end or linebacker during the preseason.
Parcells also has little support for Williams in the secondary, and while Williams might be the best run defender at his position in the NFL, he's not so hot in coverage.
Also, the Cowboys have key players with lots of wear, starting with quarterback Drew Bledsoe and extending to wide receivers Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson, guard Larry Allen, defensive tackle La'Roi Glover and nose tackle Jason Ferguson.
"We've got a few moving parts," Parcells says. "I wish it wasn't quite this many."
One of the major moving parts in Washington could be Gibbs, the franchise's most successful coach in his first stint. Another stinker like 2004 could drive him back to Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte.
The taterskins have that potential, too. Their defense, coordinated by Gregg Williams, is just fine and gets back linebacker LaVar Arrington to complement linebacker Marcus Washington, cornerback Shawn Springs and, if he doesn't get sentenced to jail time for threatening someone with a gun in a dispute over an all-terrain vehicle, safety Sean Taylor.
But the offense, Gibbs' baby, has been weak. Neither Patrick Ramsey nor Mark Brunell seems to be the answer at quarterback. If that doesn't change, would Gibbs go with Jason Campbell, the rookie from Auburn he traded up to get in the draft?
Running back Clinton Portis should get 1,200 yards rushing behind an upgraded line that has a healthy tackle in Jon Jansen this year. But few teams will be as dismal throwing it, and the special teams need upgrading.
LOL. Loved the smacks in Saint Joe's direction. :-D
even hoge can't think we're not winning the division again. the only question is whether or not we can sweep.
The fact he shtein all over the skins makes me want to frame this article.
gibbs>x100andy
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 03:45:14 PM
gibbs>x100andy
Please. Please. Please....tell me you're kidding. Please. Pretty please?
Quote from: PhillyGirl on August 30, 2005, 03:56:03 PM
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 03:45:14 PM
gibbs>x100andy
Please. Please. Please....tell me you're kidding. Please. Pretty please?
You told me he stopped sniffing glue ???
im not even gonna get into this with you nutcases
ill just say that if gibbs were surrounded by the eagles infrastructure the same way that andy has been the last 6 years they would have won a superbowl by now
as a game coach he runs circles around andy...i mean its so ridiculous to even be discussing this
Gibbs is an offensive mastermind. Just look at what he did last year. 200 passes to Coles on the 5 yard hitch and Portis got nearly 2,000 rushing at 3 yards a pop. We need that kind of coaching.
im not even gonna get into this with you nutcases
Then why did you?
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 04:08:07 PM
im not even gonna get into this with you nutcases
ill just say that if gibbs were surrounded by the eagles infrastructure the same way that andy has been the last 6 years they would have won a superbowl by now
as a game coach he runs circles around andy...i mean its so ridiculous to even be discussing this
yeah buy Andy's > Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, Lombardi, Tom Flores ;) It's not that I'm a homer or anything like that........
The "I'm scared of your defense" offense is exactly what this team needs.
Diggler would make the ProBowl so fast ...
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 04:08:07 PM
im not even gonna get into this with you nutcases
ill just say that if gibbs were surrounded by the eagles infrastructure the same way that andy has been the last 6 years they would have won a superbowl by now
as a game coach he runs circles around andy...i mean its so ridiculous to even be discussing this
Have you watched Gibbs since his return? This ain't the 80's and early-90's no more, IGY.
Gibbs' in-game management is terrible. Go look up all of the articles in the Washington papers last year about the brain farts by King Joe.
Get a clue, bro. Do you be condtradictory for shteins and giggles?
gibbs admittedly had an off year last year...but hes still light years better than andy...if he had half the talent andy has hed win the bowl...you wanna talk about brian farts andys had plenty of them over the years and continues to have them
andy juggles more duties and if you wanna include player personel aspects then they are closer...but as far as game coaching gibbs by a igy boner
im dead serious when i say this but look out for the skins this year...they will easily come in second in the east...and will get a wild card...only thing really seperating them and the birds is the huge discrepency at the qb position
theyll be 9-7....10-6
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 08:03:57 PM
gibbs admittedly had an off year last year...but hes still light years better than andy...if he had half the talent andy has hed win the bowl...you wanna talk about brian farts andys had plenty of them over the years and continues to have them
andy juggles more duties and if you wanna include player personel aspects then they are closer...but as far as game coaching gibbs by a igy boner
im dead serious when i say this but look out for the skins this year...they will easily come in second in the east...and will get a wild card...only thing really seperating them and the birds is the huge discrepency at the qb position
theyll be 9-7....10-6
:-D :-D :-D
Living in Maryland is rotting your brain, IGY.
Get out now before you go out and buy a Portis jersey!
I'm trying to help you out here.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 30, 2005, 08:05:13 PM
Living in Maryland is rotting your brain, IGY.
Get out now before you go out and buy a Portis jersey!
I'm trying to help you out here.
No, please....let him go.
I like having him around...I don't agree with his points often, but he's good to argue with.
Plus I want to laugh at him after each Skins loss this year.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 30, 2005, 08:07:11 PM
I like having him around...I don't agree with his points often, but he's good to argue with.
Plus I want to laugh at him after each Skins loss this year.
You'll be doin' a lot of laughin' then because the taterskins are going to suck major ass this year.
They have disaster written all over them, Jay, and for him to suggest 9-7 or 10-6 is plausible is just ridiculous. There's simply no factual basis to back up an asinine prediction like that and arguing with him over it is a waste of time. He's really no better than a Skins fan. In fact, that should be his member title:
Ersatz Skins Fan.
6-10 last year with the leagues worst offense...it has to and will get better
the nfc sucks
gibbs will be better acclimated to the league
brunell wont single handedly lose 5 games for them
jansen is back and that is a slept on addition...thier line is the best in the division
their big concern to me is the secondary...it might get lit up...i dont know if springs has another year like last in him..and carlos rogers as a rook is kind of scary...but if they can even be average...i dont see a three game turnaround for them as something that would be out of the question...especially in the nfc
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 08:26:00 PM
6-10 last year with the leagues worst offense...it has to and will get better
the nfc sucks
gibbs will be better acclimated to the league
brunell wont single handedly lose 5 games for them
jansen is back and that is a slept on addition...thier line is the best in the division
their big concern to me is the secondary...it might get lit up...i dont know if springs has another year like last in him..and carlos rogers as a rook is kind of scary...but if they can even be average...i dont see a three game turnaround for them as something that would be out of the question...especially in the nfc
There line is the best in the division? Since when?
jansen
thomas
rabach
dockery
samuels
name one better
Thomas, Hicks, Fraley, Andrews, Runyan
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 08:36:12 PM
jansen
thomas
rabach
dockery
samuels
name one better
I hope you're farging kidding me ::)
Moe
Larry
Curly
Shemp
Curly Joe
jansen=runyan
thomas>hicks
rabach>>>fraley
dockery<andrews
samuels=thomas
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 08:36:12 PM
jansen
thomas
rabach
dockery
samuels
name one better
All I know is Clinton Portis could rack up 1500 yards rushing in Denver in his sleep yet he couldn't crack that even though he got close to 350 rushes in DC.
Tra Thomas > Chris Samuels
Artis Hicks > Derrick Dockery
Hank Fraley < Casey Rabach
Shawn Andrews = Randy Thomas
Jon Runyan < Jon Jansen
Thomas has the edge on Andrews b/c of experience, but I'll take Shawn because of potential. I do like Randy Thomas though.
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 08:43:36 PM
jansen=runyan
thomas>hicks
rabach>>>fraley
dockery<andrews
samuels=thomas
Thomas is their RG and should be compared to Andrews
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 08:36:12 PM
jansen
thomas
rabach
dockery
samuels
name one better
(http://s1-images.amazon.com/images/A/Y02Y2496595Y5729743.0001.04.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)
Ahaha. Jon Jansen couldn't hold Runyan's jock.
Also - Tra Thomas is equal to Chris Samuels?
Also - wtf is the deal with Rabach over Fraley by a mile? I don't see that either.
If the taterskins line was so great, why did teams steamroll them last year and abuse the taterskins quarterbacks like $2 hookers? And don't tell me Jansen made that much of a difference because he didn't.
Just stop it, dude.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 30, 2005, 08:45:12 PM
Tra Thomas > Chris Samuels
Artis Hicks > Derrick Dockery
Hank Fraley < Casey Rabach
Shawn Andrews = Randy Thomas
Jon Runyan < Jon Jansen
Thomas has the edge on Andrews b/c of experience, but I'll take Shawn because of potential. I do like Randy Thomas though.
You really think Jansen is better than Runyan? I would say on par but not better. Of the players on there line maybe Raybach is better at his position. Samuels is hugely overrated. Dockery is a penalty waiting to happen. As far as Thomas and Andrews I think we all know who will be better by seasons end.
Jay... I disagree about Jansen wholeheartedly. He's a good player but Runyan is a beastmaster. Sure, he's getting a little older but Jansen is coming off a major achilles injury and won't be nearly as effective as he was before the injury.
PS: Don't get me wrong. I like Jansen as a player. In fact, he and Runyan are similar in temperment but in terms of production, there's really no comparison.
I like Runyan too. He's durable (144 straight games) and he's a tough SOB.
But I do like Jansen too. I would give him a slight edge over Ruyan. Just a slight one. I think his pass blocking is a little better wheras Runyan is a better run blocker.
jansen=runyan
like phreak said one has an edge over the other depending on the type of blocking...and that equals them out
If the taterskins line was so great, why did teams steamroll them last year and abuse the taterskins quarterbacks like $2 hookers? And don't tell me Jansen made that much of a difference because he didn't.
lennie friedman was their center...need to know more??...he had trouble snapping the ball much less blocking...rabach is a monster upgrade
98 year old ray brown filled in for jansen...again huge upgrade with jansen back
samuels also had an off year
even with all that portis ran for big yards...he just didnt have a lot of scores because of brunells incompententcy in getting the team anywhere remotely close to the end zone...also gibbs made a mistake of trying to force the counter trey down his teams throat...once he abandoned that portis started playing huge again...his first i think 5 games were weak and the last ten or so much better when gibbs went to a straight ahead running attack
im not saying their line is the hogs part deux...but imo its the best in the division getting a slight edge over the birds
Samuels BLOWS.
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 30, 2005, 08:03:57 PM
andy juggles more duties and if you wanna include player personel aspects then they are closer...but as far as game coaching gibbs by a igy boner
so then Andy IS the better coach? :-D
Quote from: PhillyGirl on August 31, 2005, 07:29:12 AM
Samuels BLOWS.
Right, he gave up one sack all of last year.
Quote from: hkHog on August 31, 2005, 08:58:16 AM
Quote from: PhillyGirl on August 31, 2005, 07:29:12 AM
Samuels BLOWS.
Right, he gave up one sack all of last year.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story, right? (http://snap.stats.com/stats/nflinfo/playerstats.asp?id=5032&Submit=Go)
He gave up 5.5 sacks last year, buddy.
Thanks Phreak. I knew it wasn't one.
Quote from: hkHog on August 31, 2005, 09:06:32 AM
Quote from: Beermonkey on August 31, 2005, 08:59:51 AM
Quote from: hkHog on August 31, 2005, 08:58:16 AM
Quote from: PhillyGirl on August 31, 2005, 07:29:12 AM
Samuels BLOWS.
Right, he gave up one sack all of last year.
He wasn't talking about in football.
Oh, I see, he's been following T.O.'s example then.
You really suck at this.
Oh, maybe I was wrong then. Two sacks:
QuoteEverything returned for Samuels last year as he allowed only two sacks.
http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/08/22/sports/maryland_sports/001_skins_main.html
I'm sure the DC Examiner has more accurate stats than a football statistics web site.
Quote from: rjs246 on August 31, 2005, 09:34:10 AM
I'm sure the DC Examiner has more accurate stats than a football statistics web site.
:-D :-D
There is a lot more to being a good Olineman than just sacks given up. You could take the worst Olineman in the NFL max protect with RB's and slide protection to him all day long and he may never "give up" a sack.
Isn't STATS Inc. the official stat-keep for the NFL (and MLB too)?
Yeah, I thought so.
Who cares how many sacks Samuels gave up? 90% of the taterskins passing plays were 3-step, 5-yard outs. Antone Davis could look good doing that.
Quote from: Larry on August 31, 2005, 09:37:34 AM
Who cares how many sacks Samuels gave up? 90% of the taterskins passing plays were 3-step, 5-yard outs. Antone Davis could look good doing that.
GF...we need a new filter.
May I suggest, "Fat ass waste"?
Quote from: Larry on August 31, 2005, 09:37:34 AM
Who cares how many sacks Samuels gave up? 90% of the taterskins passing plays were 3-step, 5-yard outs. Antone Davis could look good doing that.
:-D
Good point about the "deep" passing game by Joe. I loved watching those 8-yard outs on 3rd and 14.
Quote from: MURP on August 31, 2005, 09:36:00 AM
There is a lot more to being a good Olineman than just sacks given up. You could take the worst Olineman in the NFL max protect with RB's and slide protection to him all day long and he may never "give up" a sack.
Try the next line in the article:
QuoteEverything returned for Samuels last year as he allowed only two sacks. He had more pressure on him as the taterskins would send extra blockers to the right side, compensating for the loss of tackle Jon Jansen.
Yeah, and I'll give you that on the Stats website, I just remembered reading this article so I dug it up. I'm sure I read somewhere else that said he gave up one. I don't know why the stats would be different.
Ice-Grillin
Quote... portis ran for big yards...he just didnt have a lot of scores because of brunells incompententcy in getting the team anywhere remotely close to the end zone...also gibbs made a mistake of trying to force the counter trey down his teams throat...once he abandoned that portis started playing huge again...
How were they gonna get down the field whan all Gibbs would call were 5yd hitches? The 4-skins offense was an embarrasment last year. He was a great coach in his day, but he obviosly lost it. For you to say that QB issues are all thats holding them back
Quote...only thing really seperating them and the birds is the huge discrepency at the qb position
is like saying water is the only reason the Titanic sunk. They still need a QB and Gibbs doesn't like or trust his. So everyone can play short coverage and stuff 8-9 in the box. Please explain how their defense is in our class. Yeah they got some stars, but overall it's not as close as you want to portray. Now admit your retardedness and repent at the feet of Big Red, and Jim Johnson.
phreak how do you get access to stats inc...its not a free site is it???
Quote from: ice grillin you on August 31, 2005, 09:49:44 AM
phreak how do you get access to stats inc...its not a free site is it???
Try this:
http://snap.stats.com/stats/nflinfo/index.asp
Yeah the part I linked is free, bro.
I do not see a pay option on there, so I don't know if they have another separate pay site or not. I assume they do because there are a TON of stats that they do not have on that link I put in here. They get really in-depth so I wonder if they do have a pay site or one only available to the media and teams?
Quote from: hkHog on August 31, 2005, 09:41:29 AM
QuoteEverything returned for Samuels last year as he allowed only two sacks. He had more pressure on him as the taterskins would send extra blockers to the right side, compensating for the loss of tackle Jon Jansen.
Yeah, and I'll give you that on the Stats website, I just remembered reading this article so I dug it up. I'm sure I read somewhere else that said he gave up one. I don't know why the stats would be different.
yeah, im gonna read real deep into an article that cant even product the correct stats for a player. :-D