Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Quiet Time

This is probably going to be a quiet week for the Eagles. They don't have any visits scheduled as of now. My sources haven't alerted me to any new info or rumors.

I think the team has their eyes on some 2nd tier FAs. They could start talking to these guys late this week or possibly early next week. I expect the team to pursue a backup TE and a #3 Safety. I'm curious as to whether they'll add a backup RB or OL in FA.

One thing to keep in mind is that agents like to use the Eagles in the rumor mill. It got floated that the Eagles were interested in DE Antonio Smith. Really? He signed a 5-year deal worth over $30M. No way we were talking to him with Abiamiri and Clemons in place at LDE already. Plus Juqua Parker. Derrick Ward's agent must have been really trying to use us. It was reported all over the place that he visited Philly. That didn't happen. The Eagles don't keep visits quiet. They show those guys to the fans and media. Housh and his agent tried to get us involved in that deal. We had no interest. We were linked to Jim Leonhard. Apparently that was false.

Agents see the Eagles as a top shelf organization. They list our name as a team of interest when floating information to reporters. That is done for a couple of reasons. The first hope is that extra competition will push a team to come forward aggressively and overpay. The second goal is simply to get teams interested. People think of the Eagles as a quality organization. If we're interested, they should be as well. Most teams are rationale and well run and this stuff doesn't work too well. I'm sure it has worked on some occasions or agents wouldn't be doing it.

JASON TAYLOR

One player we haven't been linked to is Taylor. He just hit the market yesterday, but I'm still surprised we aren't being thrown in as a suitor.

I have real mixed feelings on Jason. He is my favorite non-Eagle of the last decade. I loved watching him play. He really struggled last year, although he did have a good game against us late in the year. I prefer to stick with Abiamiri and Clemons at LDE, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit part of me would be interested in Taylor. When he's playing well, Jason is a very disruptive force.

In the end the smart thing to do is pass on him, which we'll likely do. I wish we could have landed him in a deal 5 or 6 years ago. He'd have been a lot of fun to watch in Eagles green.

TRA

Tra Thomas is down talking to the Jags. That makes a lot of sense from their perspective. The Jags didn't let Khalif Barnes go because he was a terrible player. They let him walk because he was a so-so player with baggage. They are trying to get more character guys on that team. Tra is still a solid starting LT and he is a very high character guy. He's not the kind of run blocker that the Jags prefer, but the move would be smart for both sides.

JABARI GREER

The weird rumor of the last 48 hours was that the Eagles were interested in CB Jabari Greer. The news came from Adam Caplan of Scout.com. Caplan is very connected and knows his FA stuff. I do question this rumor. Seems like another case of an agent mentioning us with his client. Notice our name came up right after Lito was dealt? I bet the agent thinks we have a need for a CB and then floated the rumor.

I could be wrong. The Eagles do love CBs. Adding Greer just doesn't make sense unless you trade Sheldon or move him to FS. We've talked about that move for years, but I think Sheldon wants to stay at CB and will stay there. We'll see...
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