Couple of Thoughts

* Shawn Andrews

PE.com has an interview with Shawn that is good to listen to. Go to the Eagles Live archive for Saturday and fast forward to about the 3/4 mark. Shawn is part of a conference call with reporters.

I've talked about some of his issues on here. If Shawn is excited by the presence of Stacy, as he sounds like in the interview, that is a great thing. He is a Pro Bowl RG. He could play RT while Stacy recovers. Shawn also indicated in the interview that he's been taking some reps as a LT and feels comfortable there.

No matter where Shawn plays, he gives the Eagles a huge boost with his presence up front. He joked about him and Stacy being the "Great Wall of Philadelphia". I love the attitude. I hope...I pray that Shawn comes back to the team and is 100% in '09.


* Cover LB

Someone asked about the need for a cover LB. He mentioned the importance of Ike Reese in the past. Cover LBs are few and far between. They aren't like 3rd down backs or something like that. Not every team has a true cover 'backer.

Akeem Jordan has shown good cover ability. He understands the importance of hitting a receiver early in the route to throw the guy off his path. Jordan is quick and fast enough to cover a good amount of ground. I don't have a good feel yet for his instincts and ability to play the ball in the air. We'll have to see how that comes.

As you look over draft prospects, check out the number of INTs and PDs (passes defensed). Those numbers can help you to see which players make coverage plays. Obviously they don't account for how often a guy blitzes or covers so well that the ball doesn't come to his area.

In a recent mock draft I had the Eagles take LB Mortty Ivy in the 7th round as a SAM LB. He had 3 INTs and 6 PDs this year. He's also 6'1, 248.


* Salaries

Dealing with the ever changing world of NFL salaries is tricky. Joselio Hanson is due to make more in 2009 than Sheldon Brown. However, Brown signed a better deal than Hanson and Sheldon did that several years ago. Trying to balance keeping everyone under contract and everyone happy is tricky. It requires flexibility while also the ability to be cold and business like. You can't upgrade every player's salary every year. Someone is always going to feel underpaid based on the new market.

Shawn Andrews made some noise about wanting more money last year. His brother is now earning probably close to twice what he does. Shawn is the better player. Stacy just happened to make it to FA. Shawn made more in his first 4 years than Stacy did.

The Eagles might be willing to redo Shawn's deal, but that will only happen if he comes back to the team and there are no issues. If they feel that he's trying to take advantage of them, they will not give him an extra nickel. The Eagles are brutally tough negotiators...for better or worse.

If Shawn were to take over the LT spot, the team would be able to give him a raise and not feel bad about it. That could be a really interesting development. Stay tuned.

* Slow Start to the Offseason

Zack is concerned that the team lost the RT, LT, FS, and some key backups while only adding an injured RT. That is one way to look at things.

Tra played poorly in the NFC-CG. I was ready to send him to the South Pole when I re-watched that game. He really pissed me off. Runyan was playing on one good leg in the last couple of months. He was a shell of his old self. Dawk was a very good player for 6 weeks, an inconsistent guy for the first 10 games.

We didn't lose Trent Cole or Westy or DeSean or Asante. Herremans is the best OL. McNabb is still here. You can argue that Mikell was the better Safety over the course of the year. The DTs and LBs were terrific for most of the year.

The core of the Eagles is in place. We do need to add some players, but don't mistake past glory for current ability.

A couple of solid FA additions and a good draft class will have this team back in the hunt for the NFC title.
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