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  • interesting yahoo article

    sorry if this has been posted before.

    Righting the real wrongs
    By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
    July 26, 2006


    BETHLEHEM, Pa. – When Reggie Brown turned the corner on a double reverse on Monday, quarterback Donovan McNabb swept into his wake, laughing and clapping as he watched his new No. 1 wide receiver run for a 30-yard touchdown.

    McNabb wheeled toward the sideline and pointed at seemingly everyone and no one, and he barked to the crowd of fans and reporters.

    "You will be seeing that!" he said.

    One second later, McNabb turned and took an energetic trot toward the coaches. For a moment, the man who has known little more than pain and controversy for over a year looked genuinely happy.

    It's a common thread in this training camp, which rolled into full gear this week without major controversy. In other words, nobody showed up in the parking lot rocking army fatigues and headphones and looking like a hybrid of Chuck Norris and Jay-Z. And while the memory of Terrell Owens hasn't exactly been wiped away completely, he's at least been demoted to a second-string topic of conversation.

    The Eagles have plenty of other things to worry about – like keeping up with the rest of their division, not to mention the vastly improved NFC.

    "I've talked about (Owens) until I'm blue in the face, man. Let's concentrate on this team right now," safety Brian Dawkins said. "Last year is last year. I can't give you any more clever clichés or smooth comments.

    "[This camp] is like every other year I've come. That's how it's supposed to be – without any distractions."

    Well, it's hard to say there haven't been any distractions. There was the expected spark about Owens' book when camp opened, with McNabb referring to the tell-all as something from the "children's" department. And the situation with first-round pick Brodrick Bunkley is dragging on, with the team and agent Gary Wichard haggling over the length of the rookie's contract.

    But those have largely been secondary concerns, taking a back seat to more pressing issues. As it stands, the Eagles have plenty of other concerns, such as finding a steady (and healthy) contributor from the receiving corps, getting the defense back into sync after a disappointing campaign in 2005 and recapturing the pre-T.O. identity that took Philadelphia to three straight NFC championship games.

    Getting beyond the scars from last year became the offseason's No. 1 priority, and for the most part, that goal appears to have been achieved. If you wanted to find little signs of healing in training camp, players will share odd things. Guys are actually playing video games together again. Lunch isn't awkward.

    It sounds absurd, but there is no more dividing up loyalties like a United Nations debate. No more McNabb Bloc. No more Owens Bloc. No more guys stuck in between. The locker room has been devoid of paranoia. The situation got so out of whack last season even a guy like mild-mannered offensive lineman Shawn Andrews began to wonder about the frequent hushed conversations.

    "It's really a breath of fresh air," Andrews said. "This year, it's not about what such and such did, or such and such said. This year, guys are playing around. There aren't guys sitting at their lockers whispering. After a while, you'd see guys sitting there whispering, and I'd start to think, 'Are they talking about me?' "

    Now the talk is about what the team needs to do get back to core values – specifically, a flexible, attacking defensive line and an offense capable of spreading the ball around. For various reasons, Philadelphia was neither last year. The first instinct is to look at Owens and make a blanket statement, pointing the finger at rotten internal chemistry. But this was hardly a one-bad-apple scenario.

    In reality, the Eagles ran into a relatively unique maelstrom of problems. The defensive line alone was a case study in mishap. There was the freak shooting of Jerome McDougle prior to training camp, there was the holdout and eventual cutting of ties with Corey Simon and there was the seemingly sound decision to let Derrick Burgess go (which backfired). Each dealt a devastating blow to the backbone of an Andy Reid team, corrupting the effectiveness of Jevon Kearse and forcing an unfair burden on rookie Mike Patterson.

    Combined with ineffective play at linebacker, the Achilles tear to Todd Pinkston, the health issues at offensive tackle and the prolonged problems with McNabb's sports hernia, one could argue that the Eagles were destined to fall off the map regardless of the Owens brouhaha. And some of those problems – particularly fixing the defensive line – far overshadow correcting the team's chemistry and finding a replacement for Owens.

    "First of all, it starts with the rush," defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "We didn't get the pressure we normally had. We've always been in the top five as far as pressure, and we didn't get that for whatever reason. And the second thing was more big plays in the secondary, between big-play penalties and big plays.

    "[Rushing the passer and big plays] go hand in hand, there's no question. I'm not going to put all the pressure on the defensive line. We all have to play better."

    The Eagles plummeted to 19th in overall defense last season, as their takeaway ratio dropped (from plus-6 to minus-2) and their sack total fell from second (47) to 26th (29). Part of that ineffectiveness had to do with losing Simon and Burgess and just the overall lack of consistency at defensive tackle.

    Kearse steadily faced blocking schemes that could easily focus on him without worrying about surrendering sacks elsewhere. While he still managed 7½ sacks (identical to his 2004 production), the rest of the defensive line failed to produce any kind of consistent rush. That reality was a major reason for going after Saints defensive end Darren Howard in free agency and drafting the speedy and versatile Bunkley.

    Howard is the trigger. In the best-case scenario, he, along with a healthy McDougle and a steady rotation at the defensive tackle spots, will unlock Kearse the same way Osi Umenyiora became the bookend that bolstered an improved Giants pass rush in 2005. Like Umenyiora freeing up Michael Strahan, the Eagles hope Howard's pass-rushing abilities ignite the kind of havoc the defensive line delivered in 2004. Certainly, Johnson will have the kind of speed at his disposal to create some serious matchup problems, particularly in third-down passing situations when he could conceivably find a way to get Howard, Kearse, McDougle and Bunkley all onto the field at the same time.

    "We've got some quickness out there," Howard said. "But the thing that we really have is a lot of depth all across the line. We're going to have fresh guys rolling in to rush the passer all game long. I can tell you right now, we're going to run offensive linemen ragged just rotating guys in."

    Howard stuck out in the first full day of pads, getting to the quarterback and generally looking like a top-tier complementary player to Kearse and the rest of the defensive line. And ironically, Howard also seems to have the most level-headed grasp on where the Eagles stand heading into the season.

    Yes, he's acutely aware of all the questions – whether Reggie Brown can be a No. 1 wideout; whether the Eagles can find some balance running the football; whether McNabb can right himself after last season's struggles. But he's also coming from a situation in New Orleans that makes Philadelphia's trials in 2004 (even with the Owens saga) look downright trivial.

    So when a visitor pointed out the malaise that has taken hold in some of the Eagles fan base, Howard could only chuckle and shake his head.

    "I can tell you, they have no idea what a horrible season is, man," Howard said. "Every time they say that stuff about last year being so bad, I think, yeah, 6-10 is bad. But we went through Hurricane Katrina and we went 3-13. We played four home games in front of like 5,000 people, man. Go through a season like that, and you can appreciate everything that you overlooked before.

    "This is a good team. It's nice being in a place where there is a lot of talent and everyone is focused on football and winning. Like somebody told me a long time ago, you never know how sweet the sweet is until you taste the sour. Well, I've tasted sour. I'm out here tasting the sweet right now and looking for all the cavities I can get."

  • #2
    Wow. Now that's a thorough article. ESPN and Sports Illustrated, take note...........
    "Philly fans are great....It's the only place where you pull up on the bus and you've got the grandfather, the grandmother, the kids and the grandkids - everybody flicking you off. At other stadiums, they give you the thumbs-down. Here, they give you the middle finger.”
    — Michael Strahan

    "No one likes us, no one likes us, no one likes us, we don’t care, we’re from Philly, F—-ing Philly, No one likes us, we don’t care!”
    - Jason Kelce with the best championship speech ever

    Comment


    • #3
      2 things struck me about the article. One was that camp was an absolute circus last year and guys couldn't concentrate at all. Second, we will see that play this year. Andy shows the crowd a trick play the first day of camp and it always shows up later in the season. Usually it is done juring the 7 on 7 drills. This is the first one that I've seen during the live scrimmage. Both the players and coaches went nuts on that score.
      "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

      Comment


      • #4
        "I can tell you, they have no idea what a horrible season is, man," Howard said. "Every time they say that stuff about last year being so bad, I think, yeah, 6-10 is bad. But we went through Hurricane Katrina and we went 3-13. We played four home games in front of like 5,000 people, man. Go through a season like that, and you can appreciate everything that you overlooked before.

        "This is a good team. It's nice being in a place where there is a lot of talent and everyone is focused on football and winning. Like somebody told me a long time ago, you never know how sweet the sweet is until you taste the sour. Well, I've tasted sour. I'm out here tasting the sweet right now and looking for all the cavities I can get."


        Man you have to love the level-headed approach Howard is bringing to this team. I hope some of this rubs off on the other players who might still be harboring a little TO-residue from last year.
        Official Driver of the Eagles Bandwagon!!!
        Bleedin' Green since birth!

        "Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." - Mike Willey

        ”Enjoy The Ride!!!” - Bob Marcus

        Comment


        • #5
          What I like the most about the artilce, is that Mr. Robinson gave no "outlook". He just wrote about the atmosphere, threw in a play or two to shw that he was there and interviewed a couple players. He took all of that and made it work into on story line.......everything went wrong, but as bad as us Iggle fans think it was, it could have been ALOT worse.

          This writer, like some others out there, noticed how the Iggles addressed what seemed to be the problems. Well, at least the problems that they are capable of addressing. They'll never be able to stop the run of injuries that seem to hurt us EVERY FRINGG'N YEAR.
          Pedro

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Pedro
            What I like the most about the artilce, is that Mr. Robinson gave no "outlook". He just wrote about the atmosphere, threw in a play or two to shw that he was there and interviewed a couple players. He took all of that and made it work into on story line.......everything went wrong, but as bad as us Iggle fans think it was, it could have been ALOT worse.

            This writer, like some others out there, noticed how the Iggles addressed what seemed to be the problems. Well, at least the problems that they are capable of addressing. They'll never be able to stop the run of injuries that seem to hurt us EVERY FRINGG'N YEAR.
            Yes, it could have been a LOT worse. Think about it. We had the 14th pick. That means 13 teams (in theory) had a worse season than we did.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by YourPalChrisMal
              Originally posted by Pedro
              What I like the most about the artilce, is that Mr. Robinson gave no "outlook". He just wrote about the atmosphere, threw in a play or two to shw that he was there and interviewed a couple players. He took all of that and made it work into on story line.......everything went wrong, but as bad as us Iggle fans think it was, it could have been ALOT worse.

              This writer, like some others out there, noticed how the Iggles addressed what seemed to be the problems. Well, at least the problems that they are capable of addressing. They'll never be able to stop the run of injuries that seem to hurt us EVERY FRINGG'N YEAR.
              Yes, it could have been a LOT worse. Think about it. We had the 14th pick. That means 13 teams (in theory) had a worse season than we did.
              Thats right and 13 teams that probably didn't have the kind of injuries and distractions that we did, still with everyone healthy there are those who see us getting swept in the division and finishing as bad, I don't get it. But I'll take the postives from it anyday.

              Comment

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