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  • Say Buh Bye, Tra......No to Holt.

    Posted on Fri, Mar. 13, 2009



    Eagles' Jackson: 'It will be very different'

    By Bob Brookover
    INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
    DELAND, Fla. – Several Eagles - and now former Eagles - gathered here today to help Tra Thomas raise money at his charity golf tournament at the Victoria Hills Golf Club.
    Quarterback Donovan McNabb could not make it, but sent Thomas a text message with his good wishes.
    Running back Brian Westbrook was here. Other than saying that his surgically repaired left knee was doing well, Westbrook refused to talk about anything football related, including the departure of Thomas and safety Brian Dawkins.
    Eagles Jamaal Jackson, Todd Herremans, Juqua Parker and Kevin Kolb were here, too. Also on hand was L.J. Smith, who said he expects to have a contract with the Atlanta Falcons within a few days.
    Jackson and Herremans played on the offensive line with Thomas and Jon Runyan, whose future with the Eagles is uncertain because he is recovering from knee surgery and is a free agent. The Eagles signed free agent tackle Stacy Andrews, brother of guard Shawn Andrews.
    "From my perspective, it will be very different," Jackson said. "You're talking about the two bookends – Tra was here 11 years and Jon played in 190-something straight games – so you're going to miss that. There's going to be an adjustment period."
    Herremans, who said he doesn't know if he'll remain at left guard or move to left tackle next season, agreed that it will be odd without Thomas and Runyan around.
    "I've been sitting next to Tra, practicing next to Tra, looking at Tra and messing with Tra every day at practice for the last four years, so it's going to be tough," Herremans said. "But this was going to happen sooner or later. We knew this day would come. The thing the Eagles have done well is they've made our inside (offensive line) core pretty young. I think they saw this coming with the older guys . . . and I think they prepared for it by getting us in the mix."
    With the expected return of Shawn Andrews from back surgery and the addition of Stacy Andrews, Herremans said the Eagles have the makings of an improved offensive line.
    "I think so," Herremans said. "Stacy is a good player and they're both tremendous athletes. I think we're making the right moves."
    Jackson, the Eagles' center, said he understands why people are so attached to the Eagles' veteran players.
    "Dawkins had been a pillar in the community and in the organization for so many years, so you feel a little sadness," Jackson said of Dawkins, who signed with Denver. "But with their departure, another star can emerge. I was on the team when Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent were playing corner. Once those guys left, Sheldon (Brown) and Lito (Sheppard) got a chance to play. I've seen these things happen in a positive way, but it also can backfire."
    In a way, this weekend is a long goodbye for Thomas, who was selected by the Eagles in the first round of the 1998 draft and protected McNabb's blind side most of the time since. With the Eagles showing little interest in re-signing the 34-year-old tackle, Thomas signed a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville is about 100 miles away.
    In addition to his golf tournament, Thomas is staging a charity basketball game today and a barbecue tomorrow.
    "It's a change of guard," Thomas said of the Eagles off-season changes. "I don't know how it's all going to play out."
    Thomas again said he thinks the Eagles gave up on him too soon.
    "I wanted to stay," Thomas said. "I really wanted to stay in Philly, but it's not always up to me. Coming out of college, Philly was the team I wanted to play for and that was the city I wanted to retire in. I just never thought I'd be wearing a different logo on my helmet. I always thought I'd have those Eagle wings.
    "I'm going to miss those guys. I've been battling with them for a lot of years now. We've been through a lot of good battles. I wish I could have been on the team that brought the city a ring. I just wish everybody much success. I don't want them to win a ring next year without me, but I just wish the organization much success."
    Note. A team source said the Eagles have no interest in wide receiver Torry Holt, who was released by the St. Louis Rams.
    http://shop.cafepress.com/content/global/img/spacer.gifOK, let's try this again...

  • #2
    I recognize that "it's a business" for both management and well paid players. I have an appreciation of the economics involved as well as the need to avoid allowing sentimentality to influence personnel decisions.

    Having said that, it is still sad when Eagle stalwarts like Dawk, Runyon, and Thomas leave.

    I wish nothing but the best to the 3 of them!

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by tinopuno View Post
      I recognize that "it's a business" for both management and well paid players. I have an appreciation of the economics involved as well as the need to avoid allowing sentimentality to influence personnel decisions.

      Having said that, it is still sad when Eagle stalwarts like Dawk, Runyon, and Thomas leave.

      I wish nothing but the best to the 3 of them!
      Sure it's "sad",,,,,,, good word to use.

      But it isn't the end of the world or something we haven't been through before..... many times.

      Doesn't make the Eagles heartless or the anti-christ or penny pinchers or buffoons.

      Sad is a good word, not over the top garbage.

      Comment


      • #4
        TheBleacherReport.com (B. Cunningham) Defends the Eagles FO personnel moves. If deemed irrelevant to the thread, I apologize in advance. Additionally, I do not intend this as a rebuttal of anyone's view. just posting items of interest. Stumbled upon it and thought it may warrant a look by the board.

        http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...-office/page/4
        Last edited by ThoughtProcess; 03-13-2009, 11:22 PM.

        Comment


        • #5
          Eagles - Now with Jacksonville, Thomas says Eagles' coaching staff is too 'businesslike'

          By LES BOWEN
          Philadelphia Daily News
          [email protected]
          DELAND, Fla. - Maybe there is no good way to handle departures of longtime icons.
          If there is, the Eagles certainly haven't found it.
          You can look at the team's current housecleaning purge as pragmatic and necessary, as some people have, you can look at management's history in these matters and conclude that despite repeated bouts of fan base wailing and gnashing of teeth, the Birds usually have a very good sense of a player's "sell-by" date. But . . .
          There is such a thing as a tone, an atmosphere, a feeling of belonging to something more than an efficient corporate entity. Players won't say much about those matters while they're playing for the Eagles, because they're playing for the Eagles, and saying something like that would create a problem for them, even if they didn't go so far as to chide management on their Facebook pages.
          By yesterday, Tra Thomas had been a Jacksonville Jaguar for all of 4 days, and he felt he could say something that he's been thinking about a lot lately, as he comes to grips with the end of his 11-year run as the Birds' starting left offensive tackle.
          "I think it would make the team a lot better, if they were that type of coaches," Thomas said after completing his charity golf tournament in his hometown, part of a weekend of events aimed at helping area youth. "It would definitely change the atmosphere of the team. You look at other coaches, who seem like they really get into the players' place.
          "I look at the coach from Pittsburgh [Mike Tomlin], he seems like he's a real passionate coach. He's really into his players, joking around with them. I think he's a great motivator, also. Other coaches around the league, I've seen them get passionate. Philly is just a little different. It's more businesslike, you know? Like, 'I expect you to do it, and that's it.' ''
          Thomas said Andy Reid left him a phone message this week, but they have yet to speak.
          It's a topic that won't fade soon, in an offseason that has seen the Eagles say goodbye to all-time great Brian Dawkins, along with Thomas and apparently the other offensive line pillar, right tackle Jon Runyan. Then there are those whose departures seem less wrenching, a group that includes Correll Buckhalter, Lito Sheppard, Greg Lewis, Sean Considine and L.J. Smith.
          Dawkins has acknowledged he was offended by the tone of the meeting he attended to talk about a new deal, before free agency began. Eagles president Joe Banner has acknowledged that management was late to discover Dawkins had taken offense, and surprised.
          Yesterday, when a reporter ventured that the Eagles sounded as if they hadn't meant to lose Dawkins to Denver, Thomas said: "They probably didn't mean to lose him, but they didn't try to keep him, either."
          Thomas, they apparently meant to lose, even though they don't have a clearcut successor at the crucial left tackle position.
          At the golf tournament, Tra's father, ex-Florida A & M offensive tackle William "Crane" Thomas, said his son was more disappointed than he's letting on.
          "I think it was real tough, because he really wanted to stay there," the elder Thomas said. "I think he kind of wanted to retire a Philadelphia Eagle. I wanted him to stay, too - I think Philly's got another shot at going back [to the Super Bowl]. That [NFC Championship loss] was a heartbreaker."
          Thomas said that when the season ended, his son, "was thinking he was going to be with the Eagles. I think he was a little disappointed that they didn't sign him [soon] after the season."
          Later, Tra acknowledged, "Of course I wanted to stay there. But they had to want me there."
          He reiterated that the Birds made only a token effort to keep him.
          "I don't think they tried to. If they tried to, they didn't let it be known," he said.
          He said he has no idea who will replace him. He allowed that left guard Todd Herremans, one of the charity weekend participants "could get it done."
          In fact, Thomas' guest list suffered from what he referred to as "the changing of the guard." Sheppard, Buckhalter and Lewis all commited to come before changing teams, then realized their new squads' workout schedules wouldn't permit it.
          Center Jamaal Jackson was asked if he was surprised to contemplate an offensive line without Thomas or Runyan, who bookended the group for a franchise record 134 games.
          "With the two tackles, everybody always said that age would be a factor [eventually]," Jackson said. "It's always been a topic of discussion. We don't look at it that way because we practice with these guys day-in and day-out," and they still perform well.
          http://shop.cafepress.com/content/global/img/spacer.gifOK, let's try this again...

          Comment


          • #6
            Cry me a river....if Tra or Dawk wanted so badly to stay they could have signed the deals they were offered by the Eagles or worked to negotiate with them. They went for the money and good for them, but you cannot have it both ways.
            Eliminate distractions, create energy, fear nothing, and attack everything.

            -Andy Reid

            Comment


            • #7
              [QUOTE=Vote for Kalas;123040]Cry me a river....if Tra or Dawk wanted so badly to stay they could have signed the deals they were offered by the Eagles or worked to negotiate with them. They went for the money and good for them, but you cannot have it both ways.[/QUOTE

              I agree VFK. However, both these guys probably knew by the way the negotiations went the the Eagles wanted to move on. Nobody beats the clock. That's just the way it is.
              "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by ThoughtProcess View Post
                TheBleacherReport.com (B. Cunningham) Defends the Eagles FO personnel moves. If deemed irrelevant to the thread, I apologize in advance. Additionally, I do not intend this as a rebuttal of anyone's view. just posting items of interest. Stumbled upon it and thought it may warrant a look by the board.

                http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...-office/page/4
                Thanks TP, this is a well balanced piece, shows the pluses and minus' of letting these guys go.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Kinda funny.

                  Seems like obvious sour grapes to me, but whatever.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    [quote=Eagle60;123043]
                    Originally posted by Vote for Kalas View Post
                    Cry me a river....if Tra or Dawk wanted so badly to stay they could have signed the deals they were offered by the Eagles or worked to negotiate with them. They went for the money and good for them, but you cannot have it both ways.[/QUOTE

                    I agree VFK. However, both these guys probably knew by the way the negotiations went the the Eagles wanted to move on. Nobody beats the clock. That's just the way it is.
                    Absolutely agree...both parties wanted to go their own ways...neither party did anything wrong. It is what it is.
                    Eliminate distractions, create energy, fear nothing, and attack everything.

                    -Andy Reid

                    Comment

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