The 2010 Point and Laugh at the Eagles thread

[Diomedes]

Not only did I forget him, but had to look up who was traded away for him because I forgot Clemons even existed.

[QB Eagles]

*  Is it true that Bell is the only player in the entire league this offseason to sign an offer sheet with a new team and be let go by his original team?

Yup.

[MDS]

Just saw the big homie Az Hakim when I'm walkn out the club. he was about to leave and couldn't get in. but I told my man bryan to handle it

PIMP

[ice grillin you]

Mikell: Eagles' moves have been for the better
By: REUBEN FRANK Burlington County Times

Quintin Mikell saw it happening right in front of his eyes, and there wasn't a thing he could do to stop it.

His teammates, his friends, were being pulled in two directions last fall, and that meant the Eagles were being pulled in two different directions. And that helps explain why a football season that had so much promise fell to pieces at the end of the year.

Mikell, the Pro Bowl safety and now the team's senior position player, said the dramatic roster changes the Eagles have made this offseason were necessary to rid the team of a negative element that had infiltrated the locker room.

"There were some things I had never seen before since I'd been here," Mikell said after a recent workout at the NovaCare Complex. "There were guys who were more concerned with their own individual accomplishments than going out and playing as a unit.

"When we lost, instead of looking at themselves and asking what they could have done better, there were some guys who were questioning the coaches and the game plan. But you can't bring that negativity to the team, especially when you have a young locker room like we have. Because then the young guys hear it and it spreads, and you can't have that and be successful."

The Eagles won 11 games last year but ranked 19th in points allowed, their second-worst ranking in the last 10 years. The last five games of the season, they gave up 136 points - more than 27 per game.

It was a year of enormous transition. Legendary Brian Dawkins left for the Broncos. Revered defensive coordinator Jim Johnson died just before the season began after a courageous battle with cancer. And then the team's best linebacker, Stewart Bradley, suffered a season-ending knee injury a few weeks before the season began.

Despite some very good performances - the Eagles held the Panthers to three points in the opener and won six straight games late in the season - the defense struggled. Missed tackles, blown coverages, dropped interceptions and long gaps without pass pressure ultimately doomed the Eagles, who lost two season-ending games to the Cowboys by a combined score of 58-14.

"I don't know what happened," Mikell said. "We just hit a wall."

But in retrospect, maybe it shouldn't be that surprising that things fell apart. They were heading that way all year.

"There was just a lot of negativity," Mikell said. "A lot of people weren't putting the team first. Everybody's guilty of it at some point - I've been guilty of it here and there. But when it's all the time, then it's a problem. We've never had that before, since I've been here. We've never been a selfish team, where guys were more worried about what they did individually than how we did as a team. But we had guys who were more concerned about how the game plan affected them. It was, 'How am I going to get my sacks if we're doing this,' instead of, 'Hey, let's go out and do whatever it takes to win the game.' "

Mikell wouldn't mention any specific teammates but said the players he feels put themselves ahead of the team are no longer here.

The defensive players who were a big part of last year's rotation who are no longer with the team are defensive ends Chris Clemons, Darren Howard and Jason Babin; linebacker Chris Gocong; and defensive backs Sean Jones and Sheldon Brown. From context, it's clear he wasn't talking about Gocong or Brown.

"You can't let your personal situation affect the team," Mikell said. "We've always been a no-name defense. We've been Dawk - and he's been our superstar - and then a bunch of guys nobody's really heard of. It's never been about individual accomplishments around here. Guys go out and smash heads and do whatever it takes to win.

"Now, it was, 'Well, we had to keep going out there (because the offense wasn't getting first downs),' or, 'They had great field position,' or whatever. I don't care if we have to go out there 20 million times, let's go out there 20 million times and stop the other team."

Mikell said some of the departed veterans openly questioned first-year defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who was just 35 years old when he took over for Johnson in July.

"Sean's a good coach, but as soon as things started going wrong, people started doubting him and second guessing him," Mikell said. "If we had a bad game, it was like, 'Why did he make that call? I could have gotten a sack if he made a different call.' Look at yourself. What can you do to get better?"

Mikell, who made the roster as an undrafted free agent in 2003, is one of only three members of the 2004 Super Bowl Eagles still on the roster.

That kind of dramatic turnover is unusual, but Mikell said, considering everything, turnover was necessary.

"We're really close," he said. "We lost some guys - losing Sheldon and Chris (Gocong) is going to be tough - but when it comes down to it, I believe in our coaching staff and I believe in the way they've done things around here. They'll bring in guys who can play ball. They always have."

"It's an opportunity for the young guys to show what they can do. They just have to understand that it's not enough to just say you're good enough, you have to make the commitment to be good enough. Not just now during (offseason) workouts but coming in early during the season and watching film with me, staying late and watching film. Don't just talk about it, do it.

"Guys like Sheldon and Dawk left a legacy, and I guess I'm the last link to those guys and Troy (Vincent) and guys like that. I learned from those guys, and now it's up to me to teach the young guys how to be professionals on and off the field.

"Those guys have to learn. If we're going to get back to the Super Bowl, they have to. They don't have a choice. It's their time now."

[reese125]

he keeps mentioning "sacks", so Im assuming he was talking a lot about Howard, because I doubt it was Clemons (or maybe it was as well)...but did Howard really think he was that good he could blame the system?

[rjs246]

Nice article.

[reese125]

Filed to ESPN: Three way trade -- Eagles get LB Ernie Sims, Lions get TE Tony Scheffler, Broncos get undisclosed draft pick

good stuff...love ernie sims

[charlie]

He's a bump up from what they had... but i can't see how an ex lion can help with anything. Ever.

That said, i know next to nothing about this guys except it's a decent football name. (edit) since it's only a 5th round pick.. it's a pretty solid gamble.

[SunMo]

pick is a 5th per eagles website.  if true that's a steal

[SunMo]

Eagles Acquire LB Sims From Lions
The Eagles announced today that they have acquired starting weakside linebacker Ernie Sims from the Detroit Lions through a rare three-team deal that also included the Denver Broncos.

The Eagles sent a fifth-round draft pick in 2010 (137th overall) to the Broncos. The Broncos gave tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round pick in 2010 (220th overall) to the Lions, who sent Sims to the Eagles.

In essence, it's a fifth-round pick for a proven starting linebacker.

"Ernie Sims is an impact player at the linebacker position," said head coach Andy Reid. "He brings a lot of energy to our already energized defense. We are looking forward to adding him to our team."

"We are excited to acquire Ernie Sims," said general manager Howie Roseman. "He plays fast, he's aggressive and his style is a great fit for our defensive scheme. He is a leader who was a team captain for the Lions and we are eager to see what he can do in our defense."

This marks the fifth trade of the 2010 off-season for the Eagles and the third for a veteran defensive player (defensive end Darryl Tapp, linebacker Alex Hall). The Eagles now own 10 picks in the upcoming draft - 1st round (24th overall), 2nd round (37, 55), 3rd round (70, 87), 4th round (105, 121), 6th round (200) and 7th round (243, 244).

Sims (6-0, 230) was originally a first-round choice (ninth overall) of the Lions in 2006 and has since played in 59 games (56 starts) for Detroit, totaling 505 tackles, 2.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and one interception. The 25-year-old linebacker played in 11 games (eight starts) in 2009, and compiled 49 tackles and one forced fumble.

Now in his fifth season out of Florida State, Sims was immediately plugged into the Lions starting lineup as a rookie and earned Pro Football Weekly all-rookie honors in 2006 after starting all 16 games and leading the team with 144 tackles. He was named the team's defensive captain for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, starting all 32 games and again pacing the team with 312 tackles during that span.

A native of Tallahassee, Fla., Sims' father, Ernie Jr., played running back at Florida State from 1977-81, and his mother, Alice Bennett, was an All-America sprinter on the Seminole track team from 1980-83.

[ice grillin you]

yeah if its a 5th thats a great trade

he hasnt been the playmaker i thought hed be in the pros be but its still a nice upgrade over what they have and at 25 years old still has upside

[rjs246]

A young talented LB? Be still my beating heart. I mean, Sims isn't exactly a world beater, but a 25 year old team captain at a position of need for a 5th rounder is a goddamned steal.

[SunMo]

The Gambler is at it again!

[Sgt PSN]

quinten mikell is the current longest tenured player on defense?  is it just me, or have the eagles cleaned house a little more than it actually seemed?

[SunMo]

longest tenured overall

cole is longest tenured draft pick