Lito Injury Replacement

[General_Failure]

And where are they now? Uh huh, after long, long careers where they both made a lot of money they're GONE!

[TexasEagle]

And where are they now? Uh huh, after long, long careers where they both made a lot of money they're GONE!

farging losers.

[Feva]

And where are they now? Uh huh, after long, long careers where they both made a lot of money they're GONE!

Exactly... and any of those guys would love to be able to come back and get burned by Fullbacks like Wynn does.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Tackling is pretty important.  You know?

Tell that to Deion. 

Or Bobby Taylor.

Or Dhani

[Seabiscuit36]

Undrafted yet appreciated
Eagles opponents finding out Hood is more than a nickel and dime player
By GEOFF MOSHER, The News Journal

Posted Thursday, September 14, 2006

Cornerback Rod Hood tackles the Rams' Torry Holt last season in the Eagles' 17-16 win on Dec. 18. Hood went head to head with some of the league's top wideouts last year when Lito Sheppard suffered an ankle sprain and missed the last six games of the season.

Getty Images/DILIP VISHWANAT
PHILADELPHIA -- Rod Hood insists his only concern is game day, not payday.

He has until March to worry about that.

That's when the Eagles cornerback becomes an unrestricted free agent, which should be a busy time period for Hood, who recently jumped into a starting role when Lito Sheppard went down with a sprained ankle.

Sheppard is expected to miss four to six weeks. That should be enough time for the rest of the league to get a good look at Hood.

Not that Hood is consumed with thoughts of future paychecks.

"I don't get caught up in that," he said Wednesday. "I just go out there and play the game I've been playing my whole life. I enjoy it and just to get paid to play is great for me."

The Eagles know what Hood, a fourth-year pro from Auburn who signed with the Eagles as a rookie free agent, can do.

He went head to head with some of the league's top wideouts last season when Sheppard suffered an ankle sprain and missed the last six games.

Shadowed by Hood most of the game, Giants receiver Plaxico Burress caught just two passes for 37 yards in a Week 13 matchup. The Eagles play the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Hood also held his own against Larry Fitzgerald and Santana Moss. In his first start, Hood picked off Brett Favre to secure an Eagles' 19-14 win over the Packers, snapping a four-game losing streak.

He made eight tackles and returned a punt 58 yards against St. Louis and picked off Mark Brunell in a near-upset of playoff-bound Washington in the final week of the regular season.

Hood finished with 41 tackles and three interceptions last season and became a restricted free agent.

"He ain't got to prove nothing to me," cornerback Sheldon Brown said. "He was a free agent who made the team. How did he not get drafted? When they throw the ball his way, he breaks up passes."

The Eagles offered him the highest tender for a restricted free agent and signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.579 million, meaning a team would have "They would have lost him otherwise," Hood's agent, George Mavrikes, said.

Already, the buzz about Hood is out. In its recent NFL preview, Sports Illustrated named him the Eagles' breakout player.

Reid has often said the Eagles are blessed with three starting cornerbacks.

"It feels good, because people recognize that I could play the game and I'm not just a guy who comes in as a nickel cornerback, that I am a starter," Hood said. "But unfortunately I got two good guys in front of me. So I just live up to my expectations and go out there and play hard. I'm in that role now, so definitely I'm looking forward to that opportunity."

And the other opportunity -- the one down the road -- could be lucrative.

Cornerbacks cashed in during free agency this past off-season, with Green Bay luring All-Pro corner Charles Woodson with a seven-year deal worth $52 million.

Brian Williams, who only started nine games last season for Minnesota, jumped to Jacksonville for a six-year, $32 million deal.

If Reid considers Hood a starting corner, shouldn't Hood be paid like one?

"I would think they would have to," Mavrikes said. "Seeing how much some of the other corners who are not as good as Rod got, you would have to pay him like a starting corner."

Or the Eagles could let him walk and suffer the consequences. They let defensive end Derrick Burgess flee to Oakland for a five-year, $17.5 million deal after the 2004 season. Burgess led the league last season with 16 sacks.

But that's a decision for March.

"I know my role on this team," Hood said. "But in my heart I feel I'm a starter and I'm going to continue to try to play every rep like I'm a starter."

[Philly_Crew]

Different situation than Burgess.  Although Burgess showed potential, Hood has shown the production.  I hope the Eagles are able to sign him at the end of the year but Hood will probably be blown away by another team's offer.

[Feva]

I love Hood... but he's as good as gone after this season.

[TexasEagle]

Yeah, he's out of here unless Lito has a lingering injury all year. Then I could see the team really working to keep Hood. Otherwise, he's walking and I wish him luck. He's been really solid for the Eagles over the years.

[Feva]

IMO, it doesn't have anything to do with Lito, other than he's the starting CB along with Brown.  It has to do with the money.  Like Hood says in the article.  He knows he could be starting elsewhere in the league and he'll want to be paid like it.  The Eagles already have Lito and Sheldon making "big" money so I can't see them giving Hood that same type of money to stay on as the nickel CB.

"Seeing how much some of the other corners who are not as good as Rod got, you would have to pay him like a starting corner."

That's his agent talking.

If you use Brian Williams as a barometer... you're talking a contract in the area of $32 million.  Hood will never see anything approaching that here with the Eagles.

[General_Failure]

I wonder how many snaps Hood plays as the nickel compared to, oh let's say Kearse, who gets rotated out to stay fresh. As much as nickelbacks play these days there's really no reason to not consider them starters.

[Feva]

Oh, I agree there... but I think it's a different story when it comes to the negotiation table, IMO.  When it gets there... Hood's not a starter and what do you think the chances are the Eagles pay him as much as Lito and Sheldon?

Don't you think they're much more likely to say so long to Hood and look for a CB early in the draft or try to go down the UDFA road again with Hanson?

[General_Failure]

The draft seems like the option they'll go with. Still, the third corner being worth less than the first two is an idea the whole NFL needs to let go of.

[BigEd76]

Sheldon, wearing a Phillies jersey, recommends a Bobby Taylor signing. 


video

[PhillyPhreak54]

Well, Bobby was in town on Monday. HIm, Sheldon, Akers and Runyan were at a fundraiser in Trenton.

Maybe Bobby told him to pimp him out for a job.

Honestly? Give him a workout. If his knee is healthy enough - sign him.

[mussa]

Defensive pass interference, number 21