The 2007 Offseason Thread

[Rome]

If Hank Baskett put on 20 pounds of muscle, he'd be an Antonio Gates-like tight end.

[Seabiscuit36]

If Hank Baskett put on 20 pounds of muscle, he'd be an Antonio Gates-like tight end.

Maybe not Antonio but he'd be damn good

[Rome]

ice grillin you  04:23:17 PM  Viewing the topic The 2007 Offseason Thread.

Ha - wait for it. . .

[ice grillin you]

i have nothing to say thank you

[BigEd76]

igy is hoping they sign Chris Cooley

[Feva]

... because he's dying to see Cooley in a pair of those mignight green nuthuggers.

[Seabiscuit36]

Eagles' drive picks up speed at Dover
Players have fun trying to tackle Monster Mile
By KEVIN NOONAN, The News Journal

Posted Thursday, July 26, 2007

Eagles linebacker Omar Gaither buckles his helmet before taking a few laps around the Dover International Speedway on Tuesday. Gaither posted the slowest time as several players enjoyed the outing leading up to the start of training camp this weekend. (Buy photo)

The News Journal/BOB HERBERT


Eagles players and cheerleaders celebrate after a day of driving at Dover's Monster Mile on Tuesday. Place-kicker David Akers set up the activity then logged the fastest speed.
(Buy photo)

The News Journal/BOB HERBERT
DOVER -- Omar Gaither climbed out of the car with a big grin on his face and said excitedly, "I must have been going 1,000 miles per hour, right?''

Well, not exactly. Flying solo, Gaither's top speed was just 92.402 mph.

Meanwhile, Sheldon Brown had no idea how fast he had driven.

"But it felt fast enough to be scared," he said.

On Wednesday, Gaither, Brown and several other Eagles players drove to Dover and then drove around Dover International Speedway. It was an expedition organized by kicker David Akers, an avid NASCAR fan who has become friendly with drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott Sadler and Martin Truex.

Of course, there was some danger involved in this trip to Dover, and one or more of the Eagles could have been involved in an accident and been injured just a few days before the start of training camp, but fortunately they all managed to merge onto Del. 1 from I-95 safely.

Akers, a native of Lexington, Ky., loves all kinds of motor sports and he did a little bit of racing in his younger days. He's been a regular at Dover for years and has even spent time in the pit with Sadler's crew. This past June, he was here for the Autism Speaks 400, and over that weekend he hit it off with Truex, who ended up winning the race.

That's also when Akers started the wheels turning for Wednesday's wheel-turning expedition. Monster Racing Enterprises has a program at Dover where fans can ride and/or drive stock cars around a track that has become notorious in racing circles for its high-banked mile oval. And Akers jumped at the chance to jump into a car and drive at a track he's visited many times.

A four-lap ride costs $89 and a 10-lap drive costs $379. You can also do both for $439. Or you can drive 20 laps ($629) or even 30 laps ($899). For more information, call 800-468-6946 or log on to monsterracing.com.

Akers and cornerback Lito Sheppard have both driven cars before at different tracks, including Pocono, so it wasn't a surprise they posted the two top speeds. The players drove 10 laps, and Akers got his car up to 116.807 mph; Sheppard ran his at 109.422 mph.

Not quite up to speed was Gaither, who was the official slowpoke of the group, and Brown, who had a top speed of 94.117 mph. Brown also lost points when he missed pit road after his 10th lap.

The other Eagles who drove on Wednesday were safety Sean Considine (104.040 mph) and punter Sav Rocca (99.310 mph). Akers said other Eagles wanted to come, but stock cars and football players aren't always a good fit.

"[Jon] Runyan would love this," Akers said with a laugh, referring to his 6-foot-7, 330-pound teammate, "but I had to tell him 'No way.' "

The biggest Bird at Dover on Wednesday was Rocca, a former star in Australian football who is trying to make the jump to the NFL this year. The 6-5, 265-pounder had some problems squeezing into his car, but he said the effort was worth it.

"It was really exciting," he said. "We have different kinds of racing [in Australia], but nothing like this. And I can't imagine what it must be like with these stands full of people. How many does this place hold?"

When informed that Dover holds well over 100,000 people, Rocca whistled.

"It must be quite a scene," he said. "I'd love to come back and see a race here sometime, see what it's like when it's the real thing."

All of the players came away with a new perspective on NASCAR and what it takes to be a successful driver -- or, for that matter, any kind of driver.

"I have a lot more respect for those guys now," Brown said. "Just dealing with the heat for a little while made me appreciate what those guys have to endure for hours. And I can't begin to imagine what it would be like with 40 other drivers out there, banging and bumping you at those speeds.

"So, I'll stick to football. You can still get hurt, but it's not at 120 miles per hour."

[PhillyPhreak54]

As I mentioned in the 10 questions thread, I saw the pic that accompanied that article and not only does Considine look bulked up, but Sav Rocca is huge. It's him, Akers, Gaither, Sheppard, Considine and Brown in a line. Comparing Rocca to Gaither is laughable because Gaither looks so small for a LB.

[PhillyPhreak54]

[Seabiscuit36]

Considine actually looks more like a footballer in that pic.  I cant wait to see Rocca in camp. 

[phillywin2k5]

looks like the Right Stuff movie poster

[SunMo]

or every cheesy action movie that's been made in the past 10 years

[ice grillin you]

are we really analyzing how considine looks dressed in a nascar suit in a picture that is taken from a distance and then translating that to how hes gonna play this year or getting some sort of excitement out of it

all time board low

[Dillen]

are we really analyzing how considine looks dressed in a nascar suit in a picture that is taken from a distance and then translating that to how hes gonna play this year or getting some sort of excitement out of it

...No, we're not.

[Diomedes]

all time board low

this benchmark is achieved every ten posts or so

and more often than that if I'm not posting much