I'm pretty damn pissed off. I don't think I'm alone in the Philadelphia region today. Brian Dawkins is gone to the Denver Broncos. The Eagles, seriously have lost their heart today, cut out and sent packing by that greedy bastard Joe Banner in the front office. So, here's my rant.
Weapon X in Orange and Blue? Yeah, that's a possibility, as Brian Dawkins visited the Denver Broncos on an official free agency visit today.
The Eagles have the 3rd largest cap room, what's the deal here? What's the problem with giving Dawkins a multi-year decent deal, as oppose to handing down a crappy 1 year deal to a guy who's done more bringing in the fans than anyone on the team?
Personally I'm insulted as an Eagles fan that Joe Banner and the crew in the front office can't see the value of this player. He's a fan favorite, he's a leader, and you know what, he's a producer. He can also help bring in the young guys to be just like him. That's worth its weight in gold.
Look what happened when we had the opposite - his name was Terrell Owens.
I think I'm going to start looking for some rope to string Joe Banner and company up by their toes over Lincoln Financial field. Stop the nonsense already and sign Dawkins to what he deserves already, and stop treating us fans like garbage you just ignore!
There's been carnage around the NFL this week, especially in Tampa Bay where who would have thought they'd let Warrick Dunn go, or Baltimore putting Ray Lewis out there? Now with just 1.5 hours to go until Free Agency is upon us, Brian Dawkins is STILL not signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Can I just say - "WTF are Banner and Lurie thinking?"
This could all be for not, in a half an hour, the Eagles can put out an announcement that Dawkins has signed a 2-3 year deal, basically to secure him as an Eagle till her retires. This goes way beyond numbers on the field, seriously, this goes right down to the fans. That whole bit about wanting to win a superbowl for the fans.... doing things for the fans.... well for pete's sake, sign Dawkins and lock him in for the fans.
This guy is a leader, I even put it out there that he is "the" leader on the team, "the heart" of the Eagles.
It's bad enough they raised ticket prices during a recession, if they don't sign Dawkins, its like a knife through the heart for us die hards who have come to think of Dawkins as one of our own family. It makes the Eagles really seem like they don't care about the fans in anyway shape or form, just about the money.
And don't label me living in fantasy land, I know that football is a business. That was evident when they let Jeremiah Trotter go last year. But Dawkins? Really now, not signing Dawkins before free agency sets in, just really kicks us in the gut.
Sign Weapon X already..... the man is an Eagle, and deserves to retire as one!
*Update - Dawkins signed with the Broncos on 2/28/09, this post still holds true, every word, but the EaglesChick is not happy about Dawkins Leaving.
There's one thing I have in common with Brian Dawkins, the love of Wolverine (Weapon X). Probably the part I look forward to of the games the most is when Brian comes out of the tunnel at the Linc, scratching and clawing just like Wolverine. There's that force you see, that desire to not give up, to keep clawing and scratching until the very end.
I watched an interview with Brian Dawkins on the NFL network today. The man never ceases to impress me. On the field he's this amazing player (whom the Eagles would be wise to re-sign until he retires an Eagle), a leader, even a father figure. He's a force that offenses are forced to reckon with, plan for and above all, respect.
Off the field, he's a gentleman. A christian man who doesn't curse. Who prays, who mentors, who leads. A man that any parent would be glad that their kids idolized, looked up to and modeled their football careers after. The man is just that worthy.
Against the Cowboys this past Sunday, you could see the intensity in Brian Dawkins' mannerisms, the passion in his playing - two stripped balls, just wow! The man was on fire. Did he have something to prove? Was he playing like a man who on he last leg, hoping for a miracle? No, he was playing like Brian Dawkins always does - like Weapon X.
Was this his last game as an Eagle (if every fan in Philly had their way, definitely not!)? Was this his last season wearing the green and silver breath right strip? Was this the last time for him to come clawing out of the tunnel at the Linc? I surely hope not, as probably many of you reading this hope not as well.
There are a lot of players who's contracts are up at the end of this season. Dawkins, Thomas and Runyan are just the top three that come to my mind. While we know Joe Banner shows no mercy when cutting players even though they are fan favorites (look what happened to our beloved Jeremiah Trotter), I think there's a distinct hope among the Eagles fans that the Eagles realize the worth of Dawkins. His worth goes well beyond what he's done on the field. It extends beyond the stripped balls, sacks, tackles and interceptions. This man is a force that most teams would die for. He's respected, he's got character, he's a leader and he's a team player.
Let's hope he retires has an Eagle team player.
The Philadelphia Eagles signed on 2 of the 3 remaining draft picks yesterday to 4 year deals. Running back Nate "Nasti Nate" Ilaoa and defensive end Victor Abiamiri agreed to terms on their four-year deals on Sunday. The only remaining draft pick the Eagles haven't signed is the first draft pick - quarterback Kevin Kolb.
Abiamiri, who hails from Notre Dame, was the second of the Eagles' two second-round picks in April's draft. Standing 6-foot-4, and 267-pound he racked up 10.5 sacks last season, the second-highest single-season total in the Notre Dame's history.
The Eagles are hoping to have a strong rotation at defensive end this season, since Jevon (The Freak) Kearse is returning after missing most of last season with his knee injury (this Eagles Chick is VERY happy to see Kearse back in the lineup). Also in the lineup is, third-year man Trent Cole who will battle Darren Howard, for the starting right end spot. The Eagles re-signed Juqua Thomas who had a career high six sacks last season and also have former first-round pick Jerome McDougle.
Ilaoa, who the Eagles chose in the seventh-round of the 2007 draft come from Hawaii, He's one of two running backs selected along with Tony Hunt from Penn State was drafted in the third round.
Ilaoa stands 5-foot-9, 245-pound and earned All-WAC honors as a senior rushing for 990 yards and scoring 18 total touchdowns (13 rushing, 5 receiving). This guy is seen as important to the Eagles offense because of his great ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and since the Eagles often uses the running back in the passing game, you can get the feeling how this guy is going to fit in with Westbrook Hunt, Moats and Buckhalter. While at Hawaii, Ilaoa set a single-season school record for a running back with 67 receptions and 837 receiving yards.
This does leave the Eagles with a similar situation with the quarterbacks, only now the Eagles have five running backs on the roster - Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Moats, Hunt and Ilaoa. At 245 pounds, Ilaoa is the biggest running back on the team's roster. Four running backs were kept on the original 53-man roster last season at the end of training camp, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out for all the players.
Ilaoa got the nickname "Nasti" for his style of running. He also put up impressive numbers while at Hawaii:
Last night a deal that was first rumored, then done, then not done, then finally finalized was a move that will help to sure up the Eagles weakest area, its defense. Yesterday the Eagles signed former Buffalo Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes to help strengthen the Eagles' defensive line.
We all know the Eagles had a heck of a time stopping the run last season. Spikes along with Reagor are going to help the Eagles be a lot better at that in 2007. Hopefully this is going to quiet some of the complaints that have been very loudly voiced.
Along with Spikes, the Philadelphia Eagles also signed a third quarterback Kelly Holcomb in the deal. The Eagles traded Darwin Walker and a late round draft pick in 2008 for the two. Spikes is signed with the Eagles through 2008, for a contract that has a base salaries of $4.5 million and $5 million for this year and next. The Eagles signed Holcomb through 2008, at $1.485 million and $1.535 million for the two years.
This is Spikes 10th NFL season and he is probably going to fill a starting role at any one of the 3 linebacker positions in Jim Johnson's defense. There have been questions about his Achilles' tendon injury that happened in September of 2005, but the Eagles obviously feel that this is well past worry. Especially looking at his performance last year - recording 70 total tackles, 43 of them being solo tackles. Over the span of his career, Spikes has recorded 21 1/2 quarterback sacks, and 878 tackles in 126 games.
The Philadelphia Eagles signed Montae Reagor to a 3 year deal. After visiting Philly on Tuesday, Reagor and the Eagles came to a $8.3 million dollar deal for the 3 years. There was some speculation that Reagor's former Superbowl Champion team, the Indianapolis Colts, would resign him, however that wasn't the case.
Despite his lack of "bulk", Reagor makes up for that in his speed, which will allow him to fit quite well into the Jim Johnson's defensive scheme. Some sports experts are expecting the Eagles to make a move among the defensive lineup now that there are 6 defensive tackles.
The former Texas Tech player and standout has 16 sacks, 213 tackles, 4 forced fumbles & 7 recoveries. Although Reagor started the first 5 games of the Colt's 2006 season, an October 22nd car accident a few hours before the Colts game with the Redskins put Reagor out of play for the rest of the season. After initial evaluation there was some hope that he'd return later in the season, however those hopes were dashed when Reagor's injuries turned out to be a lot more serious.
Tom Heckert did not seem to concerned about Reagor's injuries. "He's been relatively healthy," Heckert said. "He told me last night he had one knee scope, and that was it. The face -- that's not a problem at all."
"They want to bring good character guys here," said Reagor. "They want to bring guys that are loyal to the ball club, good character guys, guys that are going to work hard on the field and be good in the community as well. So, it's a very attractive place to be and I'm glad to be here."
Free agent Shawn Barber, the Eagles linebacker in 2006, is heading for Houston. After spending two days with the team last week, Barber and the Texans came to a deal. Barber, who's a locker room leader, contributed 60 tackles in the nickel linebacker role even though he was out for three games this past season with injuries. Barber had signed his one year deal with the Eagles back in March of last year.
Shawn Barber, was previously on the Eagles in 2003 before making his way to Dick Vermeil's Kansas City Chiefs. In 2003 he had his banner year that included a career-high 141 tackles and five sacks. This past year Barber was the recipient of the Jack Edelstein Memorial Award, which is presented annually by the Philadelphia media to the Eagles player "with an
uplifting manner, a love for life, and an exceptional sense of humor
who makes all with whom he comes in contact with feel good."
Barber's joining quite an assortment of newly acquired free agency acquisitions for the Texans that include the likes of Ahman Green and Ron Dayne.
Last week Donte Stallworth, who had only a one year deal with the Eagles, signed with the New England Patriots. This "Eagles Chick" was really hoping he'd stick around in Philly and not just because he wore my own lucky number "18", but because he was a definitely a threat on the field that led opposing team defenses wondering how to deal with when he hooked up with Donovan McNabb.
Stallworth led the league in yard per reception in 2006. That includes passes from both McNabb and Garcia, but it was with McNabb that Stallworth really had a "rhythm" with. Granted, recently signed Kevin Curtis, is nothing to sneeze at, but is this a deal that we Philly fans are going to be groaning about come post season in January 2008?
Stallworth has a deal from the Pats that has bonuses built in that are based on his performance. If he finds that same rhythm he had with McNabb, with Pat's QB Tom Brady, he'll hit those bonuses without a problem. It will definitely make all of us fans wonder, why our team couldn't have worked out the deal instead.
First reported by the NFL.com, and later confirmed on PhiladelphiaEagles.com, Eagles Running Back, Correll Buckhalter has been re-signed to a two year deal that will keep him in Philadelphia. Three or four teams, including the Giants were rumored to be interested in Brian Westbrook's backup, but lingering questions about his knee seemed to be the major issue in Buckhalter leaving Philly for another team.
We here in Philly all know Correll's surgery and injury history, but his last surgery was in September 2005. Generally knee injuries take about 2 years to re-coop and be back to 100%, so this year should be a great year for Correll, if his performance last year was any indication.
Correll has been in Brian Westbrook's shadow, but fans are starting to really notice that this running back is definitely not a "shadow", Buckhalter is coming into his own. This year should prove even more interesting since local sports experts are expecting Marty Mornhinweg to retain play calling
duties and the Eagles will likely run the ball more than they
have recently, the Number 2 running back slot now becomes even more important.
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