delete me

[PhillyPhanInDC]

countdown to 6pm today

Uh.....what is 6pm? Press conference?

[rjs246]

Nothing is happening at 6pm today other than FF beating it feverishly to the hopes that he got someone else's hopes up.

[PhillyGirl]

i thought branch had until 9/1?

[SunMo]

he does.  FF is trying to raise peoples hopes, only to crush them later in his own sick twisted power trip.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Birds might stand pat on Branch
By LES BOWEN

THE EAGLES know they're counting on some things they can't really be sure of getting from their wide receivers: Todd Pinkston being healthy and productive, Reggie Brown blossoming, Hank Baskett being not only for real but ready to contribute solidly as a rookie.

That might mean a move for a wideout before the Sept. 10 season opener - particularly if Pinkston can't provide any better reassurance in practice this week than he supplied in catching one pass for 4 yards Friday night against the Steelers.

Getting Deion Branch still looks like a longshot, though.

Sources close to the situation say the Eagles like Branch, 27, who has been given until Friday to seek a trade acceptable to the New England Patriots, but they don't consider him one of the league's top receivers. Those sources say the Eagles would be unlikely to offer Branch more than the $18.75 million over 3 years that reportedly was New England's latest bid. But New England was insisting on Branch playing the final year of his current contract, this season, at the scheduled $1.045 million figure. The new deal wouldn't kick in until next year. It's possible the Eagles would be amenable to a different structure.

Even if a contract agreement was possible, there would be the matter of what the Patriots would want in a trade, if they are serious about trading him. The Eagles, like many NFL observers, assume the Pats' main motivation in giving Branch permission to seek a trade was to convince him that no one out there wants to sign him to a contract like the 6 years at $43 million the Colts gave Reggie Wayne. But there is substantial bad blood between New England management and Branch, who is holding out of training camp. The Eagles know from their own experience that once a player is alienated, even if the market doesn't provide what he's looking for, he doesn't necessarily put things back together with his current team. At some point, Branch might just prefer to move along.

Nobody is going to give the Patriots a first-round draft pick for Branch, who is not viewed as a game-breaker, despite his 78 catches last season and his Super Bowl XXXIX MVP award. A second- or third-round pick is more likely. Even if the Birds were willing to go that far, as Donovan McNabb noted a couple of weeks ago, you don't just snap your fingers and pick up this offense. It's very late to integrate a wideout into the attack, especially a starter.

The bottom line might be, if it starts to look as if Branch really will be traded, the Eagles certainly will want to kick the tires and go for a test drive. Nothing better is likely to appear on the market. But they don't seem to be breathless with anticipation, and fans probably shouldn't be, either.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Ok, I'll be breathless with anticipation regarding Stallworth instead.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

ESPN Insider, FWIW:

Branch drawing interest
Aug. 26 Branch has been given permission from the Pats to seek a trade and, not suprisingly, the wideout is generating plenty of interest. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Vikings may inquire about Branch, especially with Koren Robinson possibly facing a yearlong suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.
The Bears are also considering a move for the 27-year old, the Daily Southtown reports. The Bears are still looking for a quality receiver opposite Muhsin Muhammad, after missing on a chance to acquire Ashley Lelie, a player they coveted, when he was traded from Denver to Atlanta earlier in the week.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Here's the way I (truly) see the odds of this situation:

95% - Branch stays with Pats (sic) for at least this season
0% - Eagles acquire Branch
5% - Someone else acquires Branch

[rjs246]

Here's the way I (truly) see the odds of this situation:

85% - Branch stays with Pats (sic) for at least this season
1% - Eagles acquire Branch
14% - Someone else acquires Branch

Fixed.

[SunMo]

Here's the way I (truly) see the odds of this situation:

97% - Branch stays with Pats (sic) for at least this season
.01% - Eagles acquire Branch
2.99% - Someone else acquires Branch

Fixed.

Fixed.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

See, now you're just splitting hairs.

[SunMo]

See, now you're just splitting hairs.

i split your mom's hairs last night

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

More power to you if you want to deal with that drama.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Eagles | Reid basically mum about Branch
Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:38:02 -0700

Bob Kent, of PhiladelphiaEagles.com, reports Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid was tight-lipped as far as the team's interest in WR Deion Branch, the disgruntled wide receiver from the New England Patriots who has been given until Friday, Sept. 1, to seek a trade. "We've looked at him and evaluated him, but I'm not going to get into anything past that," Reid said.

Shocking.

[Butchers Bill]

With Stallworth traded for, this thread will likely disappear soon but this gem had to be included:

The Patriots are asking for two first-round draft picks in exchange for WR Deion Branch, according to a report on WIP in Philadelphia.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/scorecard/08/28/truth.rumors.nfl/index.html