The 2007 Offseason Thread

[Munson]

He would have had roughly 30 TD's, roughly 25 INT's, and a lot of superficial injuries.

Westbrook would be healthy and bored.

12 TDs, 19 INT's in 6 games?

[ice grillin you]

i suppose it could have been done but to say it certainly would have been done is a huge stretch for a guy that has proven he just is not capable of getting anywhere close to 30 without a TO...and as i said this year he had a good start but was really going downhill when he got hurt...all those factors considered i would tend to lean against him doing it

no point in arguing it tho cause once again he didnt do it

[Munson]

i suppose it could have been done but to say it certainly would have been done is a huge stretch for a guy that has proven he just is not capable of getting anywhere close to 30 without a TO...and as i said this year he had a good start but was really going downhill when he got hurt...all those factors considered i would tend to lean against him doing it

no point in arguing it tho cause once again he didnt do it

Well he played a tough defense in JAX and laid an egg...but other then that, the "downhill" direction was more of a "he's not scoring fast in the first half"....he wasn't not scoring period. Of course Westbrook being an amazing player was the reason for at least ONE of them TD's in the Bucs game, but you know...

[Eagaholic]

About the interview, I think To got the best of Howard and the interview was only average. Both missed obvious slam dunks.

Howard drilling TO that DB's around the league told him he can't get off press coverage and he doesn't run routes well anymore. They got into arguing about how well he runs routes and look at the film and - OK I will BS.  All TO had to say was "Howard, if you know anything about football, tell me out of all the receivers in the entire NFL, who had the most TD's?"   "Does Marvin Harrison run good routes? Who had more td's than him?"  He could have made eskin look absurd for saying those things.

On the other hand, eskin challenged him about yelling after the Dallas/Eagles game, "Why am I here?!" and crying that he didn't get the ball enough.

TO said yeah, if they are loosing and aren't getting the ball to him he should say that.

Eskin totally missed nailing him with the reason why he didn't have more catches is because he had multiple drops, including in a key situation for a sure TD, he alligatored the ball when Micheal Lewis was about to nail him, and he just stood there watching after Dawkins intercepted a pass for him - THAT'S why he they were loosing and he didn't get more passes.

It seemed all eskin could do in the last half of the interview was to try and say as many times as possible that TO can always call his show, anytime.


Grade

Eskin: D+

TO: C+

[ice grillin you]

pretty sure they dont hate each other even 1% as much as eskin leads on and that eskin and TO planned this in miami figuring it was good for both of them

it sounded and felt exactly like the eskin bernard hopkins faux debate

[Geowhizzer]

Two arrogant jerks engaging in mutual mass-debation?  No thanks.

[rjs246]

but he was almost certainly was going to get 30+ TD's again, something people said he wouldn't be able to do without a TO here


actually he probably wasnt going to get 30.....never in his life has he even come close to 30 and his last three games before the injury and in the game he got hurt he was pretty friggin awful...in fact he was on a big time downward path at the time of his injury not spiraling towards 30 touchdowns

McNabb had 18 TD's before he went down. Now whether they were going to win enough games and/or get into the playoffs or not, who knows. But we all know that if McNabb never went down, Reid would have passed enough for the rest of the season for McNabb to pick up 12 more passing TD's. He would have had 6 games (the rest of the Tenn. game plus 5 more) to get 12 TD's. I think it certainly could have been done. And he did get 25 in 2001 with a much worse surrounding cast.

So through 10 games against relatively easy competition he had 18 TDs. But through the last 6 games against better competition he would increase his touchdowns per game?

You're smrt.

[Munson]

I'm glad you read entire posts.

Considering that Reid would have continued to throw the ball like a mad-man, and considering that the "tougher" competition consisted of the absolutely fantastic defenses of Carolina, Indy, NYG, Washington (again), Dallas, and ATL...Yes, McNabb could have easily thrown for 12 more TD's. Yeah, those teams were MUCH tougher competition then the Jags D (the only team that succesfully shut down the Eagles offense for 4 quarters) at the time the Eagles played them. Sure, Dallas' D played good all year, but they were playing not up to par when that game rolled around..and yes, the Indy D played well in the playoffs...but they were TERRIBLE at the time the Eagles played them. Other then those two piss poor arguments that you could make, I don't see a "tough" defense in that bunch of 6 games.

After the taterskins game, he had 18 TD's through 9 games. That's 2 per game. 2 per game over 7 FULL remaining games (He was given credit for a 10th "game" in which he tore his ACL after a quarter of play) is 14 TD's, which puts him at 32 touchdowns for the season.  Also keep in the mind that the ONLY team that held him to under 2 passing touchdowns in a game during the 2006 season was the Jaxsonville Jaguars. So no, it is not a stretch at all to think he would have broken 30 passing TD's for the season. Thank you for coming, nice try, but you lose. And brush up on your math skills.

You're smrt. that is incredibly accurate.

[ice grillin you]

your entire argument is based on simply prorating his statistics...sports dont work like that...if you more intelligently based your argument on mcnabbs entire body of work over his career and the way he was playing at the time of his injury you would realize he most likely was not gonna get 30

you probably would be better arguing that he would have beaten his all time non TO career high of 25....thats something you can say he "certainly" would have done

[Wingspan]

i suppose it could have been done but to say it certainly would have been done is a huge stretch for a guy that has proven he just is not capable of getting anywhere close to 30 without a TO...and as i said this year he had a good start but was really going downhill when he got hurt...all those factors considered i would tend to lean against him doing it

no point in arguing it tho cause once again he didnt do it

Wrong, he had a great start. And leveled off and played well. He had one really bad game in the Jacksonville game. And one Jeckyl and Hyde game for the tampa game (3 INTs in the 1st half, 3 TDs in the second half). The jacksonville was the only game where he did not throw at least 2 TDs.

[ice grillin you]

he single handedly lost the tampa game...was brutal in the jacksonville and washington games and was downright horrific in the tenn game before he got hurt...to me that doesnt bode well going for 30 td's...

but again the bottom line here is that other than ONE year with TO he has never gotten 30 and he didnt do it again this year...but if makes you feel better about him to say he would have done it this year then be proud...would have could have should have are all words of losers...

i dont even know why we are debating a hypothetical so much...probably cause we like to argue

[Quasimoto]

Westbrook lost the Tampa game by not slowing down on his long TD catch at the end.

Only kidding.

[Wingspan]

he single handedly lost the tampa game...was brutal in the jacksonville and washington games and was downright horrific in the tenn game before he got hurt...to me that doesnt bode well going for 30 td's...

but again the bottom line here is that other than ONE year with TO he has never gotten 30 and he didnt do it again this year...but if makes you feel better about him to say he would have done it this year then be proud...would have could have should have are all words of losers...

i dont even know why we are debating a hypothetical so much...probably cause we like to argue

he had 2TDs and 0INTs with a 107 passer rating in the taterskin game.

and the Tampa game, while he pretty much put them in a big hole. He countered that with one of the greatest 4th Quarters I have ever seen, he had led the birds to 3 straight 80 yard TD drives, including one with 2 minutes remaining.

You relentless persuit to bash the guy is unreal.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Eagles' free agents unlikely to get tagged
Starting today, teams can designate 'franchise' players
By GEOFF MOSHER, The News Journal

Posted Thursday, February 8, 2007
Free agency is still more than three weeks away, but the first step to revamping an NFL team begins today.

Historically, though, it's not a big day for the Eagles.

Starting today and running through Feb. 22, teams can designate their franchise or transition players. The distinction is a way of keeping players from entering the free-agent market by paying them around the average of the top five or top 10 salaries at that player's position.

If a franchise-tagged player signs with someone else, the team that signs him must fork over two first-round draft picks to the team that tagged him.

The tags help salary cap gurus, such as Eagles president/capologist Joe Banner, build their team by keeping standout players without locking them into long-term contracts.

Players usually favor long-term deals over franchise tags, which is why both cases in which the Eagles have attempted to use the tag have backfired.

Two years ago, they tagged defensive tackle Corey Simon, a former No. 6 overall pick, as their franchise player with a $5.1 million payout.

An unhappy Simon, who had looked forward to cashing in on a long-term contract, held out of minicamp and training camp and the Eagles eventually removed the tag in August, allowing Simon to become a free-agent and sign with the Colts.

In 2002, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was saddled with the franchise tag. The move angered Trotter, and the organization withdrew the tag in April and let Trotter bolt for the taterskins before coming back to the Eagles in 2004.

Nobody in this year's flock is likely to be tagged. None of their top free agents -- Donté Stallworth, Jeff Garcia and Juqua Thomas -- command a salary near the top five at their position.

On the flip side, free agents the Eagles might be targeting -- say, for example, Baltimore All-Pro linebacker Adalius Thomas or Bears linebacker Lance Briggs -- are more likely to be tagged by their teams.

Here's a breakdown of the Eagles' free agents by position and their chances of sticking around.

Quarterback

Garcia will seek a starting job elsewhere. If nothing blows his mind, he can return to the Eagles for an incentive-laden contract based on playing time.

Koy Detmer enjoyed a nice two-game comeback but probably won't be around next year. At least, not until the playoffs.

Running back

The going rate for tagged running backs is around $7 million, not the kind of cash Correll Buckhalter can expect. Brian Westbrook doesn't make that. If Reno Mahe is back, it'll probably be on a one-year deal.

Wide receiver

The Eagles are unlikely to dole out $7.6 million -- the receiver tag number -- for Stallworth, an oft-injured wideout who probably won't command that kind of money on the free-agent market.
Defensive line

Thomas is probably someone the Eagles would like to keep, but not for the $8.6 million franchise tender they'd have to pay him. Look for Thomas, a linebacker/end hybrid who was the Eagles' top pass rusher most of the season, to test the market. His versatility makes him appealing for 3-4 defensive teams that have money to spend (think New England).

Linebacker

Shawn Barber recently turned 32 and hasn't played a full season since 2003. His return status is in doubt.

Cornerback

The Eagles could franchise Rod Hood, but they'd have to pay him almost $8 million, a hefty salary for a nickel cornerback. Someone will give Hood a fat contract -- and a starting job -- but it won't be the Eagles.

Safety

Entering the 2006 season, Michael Lewis looked like a potential franchise-tag candidate. That was before the Pro Bowl safety got demoted. Lewis is likely a goner. He thinks he should start and some other team probably does, too. Quintin Mikell could also get some decent looks in the market.

[ice grillin you]

ill say it again the whole lewis thing was a disgrace what they did to him...they deserve what they get with considine next year