Lito Sheppard - He Once Was An Eagle

[Don Ho]

aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh 

[SD_Eagle5]

Eagles' Sheppard made plays off the field
By FRANK SERAVALLI
Philadelphia Daily News

seravaf@phillynews.com

WHEN LARRY Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner picked apart the Eagles' defense on Sunday, Lito Sheppard wasn't on the field. Most players would have a little pent-up angst, the "I could have done better" competitive thinking.
Not Sheppard. Not this season, anyway. After Quintin Demps was burned on one play, Sheppard went over to give him a pep talk.

"That's a tough situation he was in," Sheppard said. "You win some of those battles and you lose some. He is a rookie in this league. I told him, 'Let that go. Because you're going to play in this league a long time and you're going to see those if you play long enough.' "

If part of the Eagles' miraculous run to the NFC Championship Game is due to team chemistry, then Sheppard should get more than his fair share of credit. It is just hard to imagine that given Sheppard's limited on-field contributions that he would be such a force off it.

"These guys are like my brothers," Sheppard said. "There are a lot of bonds made with guys on this team."

"I've been saying it all season, we are like a band of brothers," fellow cornerback Sheldon Brown said. "We just had a chemistry on this team that worked out. When you bring in certain guys, sometimes it doesn't work the same way."

In the beginning of the season, things didn't look so friendly inside the confines of the NovaCare Complex. The Eagles had brought in high-priced free-agent corner Asante Samuel. A zealous agent - Drew Rosenhaus - and a reportedly jealous cornerback seemed to have the potential to fracture the locker room.

Instead, Sheppard kept quiet - for the most part - keeping the issues with his contract and lack of playing time to himself. He made the inauspicious transition from former Pro Bowler to anonymous special-teams player peacefully.

"I did that all in the character of me," Sheppard said. "They were winning. They had a chance to win the Super Bowl. [With] the love I had for these guys, I didn't want to mess that up.

"It was pretty humbling, actually. Not being able to do something you love, it's almost like when a guy is injured. He wants to be out there when he knows he can help the team. For whatever reason he is just not out there.

"I had to humble myself . . . and put the team first and not let self get in the way of that."

Despite this season's low numbers - 21 tackles and one interception - Sheppard believes he can still be a game-changing cornerback in the NFL on a weekly basis.

"I just know I can play this game at a high level," he said. "I've been playing it at a high level. The only thing negative that was talked about me to this point was injuries. I played a full 16 games with some minor muscle aches, I don't see why I wouldn't be out there."

While returning to the Eagles next season is a possibility, Sheppard wouldn't say where he might end up.

"It's possible," Sheppard said of returning to Philadelphia. "It's possible anywhere.

"I want to be back on the field playing next year. That is the most important thing. It needs to happen."

Sheppard said that he "absolutely" could not withstand another year on the sideline.

"Without a doubt," he said. "I need to be playing."
The only problem is that decision is out of his control. Sheppard's request for a trade was not honored when the Eagles couldn't find any suitors at the beginning of the season. A sign of his lack of playing time, Sheppard made just two tackles - both against Minnesota in the wild-card game - in the last seven games.

Coach Andy Reid wouldn't address any possible player personnel moves yesterday.

"It [the loss] is just too fresh," Reid said. "I don't really want to get into any of that stuff yet."

For now, Sheppard says he will "head down South and warm up" and spend time away from football. Where will he be 6 months from now when training camp opens at Lehigh?

"I'm not looking that far ahead," Sheppard said. "I'll just let the people that make those decisions make them."

Wherever Sheppard goes - a remote Caribbean island or just back to Jacksonville, Fla. - he has a season full of lessons to take with him.

"It definitely made me stronger," he said. "Every year you are presented with different obstacles. I think all of that kind of defines who you are. How you react to those situations can determine where you go from there."

[Cerevant]

their corners are supposed to be left alone...they paid 30 million for one of them and have the luxory of benching a pro bowler...the whole reason to have them is so they can sit on an island while the blitzes kill the qb...problem is arizonas game plan brilliantly counteracted the blitz

they didnt pick up the blitz they negated it by throwing quick passes to the vacated area which was usually the strongside flat

Um, isn't the point of paying 30M for a corner to take away the quick pass so that the rush/blitz can get to the QB?

[ice grillin you]

their corners are supposed to be left alone...they paid 30 million for one of them and have the luxory of benching a pro bowler...the whole reason to have them is so they can sit on an island while the blitzes kill the qb...problem is arizonas game plan brilliantly counteracted the blitz

they didnt pick up the blitz they negated it by throwing quick passes to the vacated area which was usually the strongside flat

Um, isn't the point of paying 30M for a corner to take away the quick pass so that the rush/blitz can get to the QB?

they werent throwing it to guys that were covered tho...they were releasing free men into the flat and the area vacated by the blitzer...it wasnt like corners were getting beat it was a case of uncovered guys just running free...it was a brilliant plan to counteract jj's blitz and they had the perfect qb to do it

[Magical_Retard]

And JJ had the perect plan of not anticiapting that or adjusting after seeing a 100 screen plays.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I want to know how they controlled the Cardinals offense so well the first time and so poorly the second time.

IGY will probably point to Asante Samuel not being on the field in the Thanksgiving game, but even conceding that point, there had to be a lot more to it than that.

[ice grillin you]

samuel was as much a factor sunday as he was on thanksgiving so i dont think that had anything to do with it

it was clearly the short week = ill prepared and unfocused

road game vs home game obviously hurts you

and eagles had nothing to play for and thats when they step up

on the flip side cards had nothing to play for on thanksgiving whereas sunday being the nfc championship game  they elevated their game as they should while the eagles didnt

[Cerevant]

they werent throwing it to guys that were covered tho...they were releasing free men into the flat and the area vacated by the blitzer...it wasnt like corners were getting beat it was a case of uncovered guys just running free...it was a brilliant plan to counteract jj's blitz and they had the perfect qb to do it

Great theory if the numbers panned out.  13 out of 21 passes went to WRs, 9 to Fitz.  The corners were not covering the WRs.

[Tomahawk]

I want to know how they controlled the Cardinals offense so well the first time and so poorly the second time.

The Cardinals actually moved the ball pretty well. If Boldin didn't have one of the worst games of his career by dropping at least three passes, one of which was a TD, that game could have been a lot closer

[ice grillin you]

they werent throwing it to guys that were covered tho...they were releasing free men into the flat and the area vacated by the blitzer...it wasnt like corners were getting beat it was a case of uncovered guys just running free...it was a brilliant plan to counteract jj's blitz and they had the perfect qb to do it

Great theory if the numbers panned out.  13 out of 21 passes went to WRs, 9 to Fitz.  The corners were not covering the WRs.

yeah and a team that has larry fitzgerald anquan boldin and no te threw almost half their balls to backs or te's

also many of the balls in the first half regardless of who caught them were in in an area vacated by a blitzer.,..hence no one was covering man on the play

remind me again why im discussing an nfl game with a canadian who didnt even watch it

[Magical_Retard]

I want to know how they controlled the Cardinals offense so well the first time and so poorly the second time.

The Cardinals actually moved the ball pretty well. If Boldin didn't have one of the worst games of his career by dropping at least three passes, one of which was a TD, that game could have been a lot closer

He also fumbled in the 4rth qrt which sealed the game for the Eagles.

That was a throwaway game for the Cards. They had many of those since they won the division basically by week 4. They threw away the Eagles game, the Pats game, and some others.

In that game though, the Eagles pressure did get to Warner from the start. The other factor was that the Eagles jumped out to a lead. Westbrook also bothered to show up for once.

[Diomedes]

Westbrook also bothered to show up for once.

I cannot tolerate comments like this.  Westbrook is irreproachable.  The guy cannot single handedly win every game.

[reese125]

I think Sheldon Brown is a shut-down corner that thrives against big time receivers

[Diomedes]

I think he and Dawk and the rest of the secondary need to remember that tackling is not a shoulder-spearing exhibition.  The arms are to be used as well, specifically to be wrapped around the defender at the moment of contact

[Magical_Retard]

Westbrook also bothered to show up for once.

I cannot tolerate comments like this.  Westbrook is irreproachable.  The guy cannot single handedly win every game.

I love him. But I just hate that he is never there in the big games cause he is either hurt or Reid decides to show everyone how great the passing game is.

The team desperately needed their offensive weapon to have some sort of a game. He was absent in all three games. Maybe they need a 2nd back who can play all season and they can bring Westbrook in just for the playoffs.