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I don't have an update at this point. I'm assuming that negotiations are ongoing. The Eagles have been talking to multiple teams. You have picks and possibly multiple players involved. This quickly becomes a complicated scenario. One of the keys is that one or more players will need to talk to their new team about a contract extension or a raise. As much as we all want this over now, we have to be patient. There are a lot of moving parts to the deals being looked at.
Let's talk about a few things. ProFootballTalk had several posts on the McNabb situation. One report they posted had us sending McNabb and Asante Samuel to the Raiders for CB Nnamdi Asomugha. Don't worry. That won't happen. I don't doubt that someone told Mike Florio this was on the table. All that means is that the Raiders said it as one of their offers. The Eagles wouldn't touch a move like that. Now, Sheldon Brown and McNabb for Asomugha? That is a different story. That could be talked about. I haven't heard that as a definite proposal. I'm simply speculating.
PFT also talked about an AP report that the Eagles were requiring at least a top 42 pick. I don't doubt this is true. PFT focused on the fact that the article involved picks as low as 42. Their conclusion was that the Eagles weren't getting 1st round offers and would have to settle for a 2nd round pick. The actual AP article got the key point right. The Eagles will only accept a pick in the 2nd round if the other teams is also adding veteran players to the deal. There is no way that McNabb is dealt straight up for a 2nd round pick.
I'm still hearing that teams are willing to give up 1st round picks. I could be getting bad information, but I trust the sources. Hopefully we'll get a deal done soon and we can find out who really knew what was going on. As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.
33 TALK
A lot of people have made one big false conclusion regarding Andy Reid and the McNabb trade. He was talking to reporters at the coaches breakfast the other day when someone asked him about the new draft format. Big Red said that the new set-up is going to be interesting. He said that he'd love to have pick 33. That is the first pick of the 2nd round. The 1st round is Thursday night. Whoever has pick 33 then gets a whole day to look at the situation. They can shop the pick. They can rshuffle the board if they want. They can make a pro move to fill a hole and then draft some player who has slid out of the 1st round. There are lots of options. This is why Reid said he wanted pick 33.
All kinds of people assumed that Andy said this because he wanted the Rams #33 pick in a McNabb trade. No. Andy was giving a generic answer about the format.
BERRY IS GOD
Eric Berry is my favorite player in the upcoming draft class. He was a star Safety at the University of Tennessee. He's expected to be a Top 10 pick. The Eagles are bringing him in for a visit prior to the draft. Great news, right? Sort of.
The Eagles are arguably the most thorough team in the league when it comes to pre-draft preparation. They look under every rock in hopes of finding a hidden gem. The Eagles will bring some guys to Philly that don't always make sense. They bring in underclassmen to get a better feel for them. Scouts spend all summer and fall studying Senior prospects. Underclassmen don't get really looked at until they declare in January. Berry is a player I'm sure the Eagles like, but don't read too much into the visit. The Eagles are trying to figure out how much they like him. Is he worth trading up for? How big a price should we be willing to pay?
The Eagles also use visits to Philly as a smokescreen. They know that other teams around the league track who goes where. The Eagles bring in a few guys every year that they have no interest in. Zero. Guys not on the draft board at all. The goal is to make the other 31 teams unsure about what we really want to do.
If we do land a Top 10 pick in a trade, the Eagles had better not pass on Eric Berry if he's available. I'm prepared to lead the Eagles Fan Militia to storm the gates of the NovaCare Complex. Hopefully bringing Eric to Philly is a sign of genuine interest and not just a smokescreen. Berry would be an ideal FS for us.
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28 comments:
So what do you consider your "ideal" realistic trade scenario? That means you're not allowed to include Megan Fox or Zoe Saldana or Angelina Jolie.
Marty Mornhinweg can't be traded either. Sorry.
If they're going to trade Donovan to Oakland, do you think he's gonna sign an extention? The O-line is kinda suck there. And maybe not enough "weapons".
Re: "The Eagles will only accept a pick in the 2nd round if the other teams is also adding veteran players to the deal. There is no way that McNabb is dealt straight up for a 2nd round pick." This is what I said in an earlier post and really for a couple of months, never meant to imply he would be dealt for ONLY a top 42 pick...
@Kerkrit,
Maybe I'm in the minority that doesn't think Donovan (like the 99.9% of other NFL players) doesn't value winning over money. But I don't think for a second if Al Davis is willing to give McNabb the kind of last contract he wants, that McNabb would turn it down. Money is money - a Super Bowl ring won't pay for your kids, kids, kids college funds.
The point in favor of McNabb's position is Brett Farve in Minny. If he plays one more year, a one year deal would suit McNabb anywhere. Though he can't bank on that, a good indicator has been laid down by Farve. Try Oakland, skip to Minny 1 year later.
I'm not sure a smokescreen could be in play with a sure top-10 talent like Berry. I don't feel like his agent would let him go work out for teams not in the top 10 unless he had some pretty solid reason to believe that a team like the Eagles had the ammunition and was serious about trading way up.
Berry's agent would want Eric to go work out for as many teams as possible. That makes it look like he's a coveted commodity and could help his value.
Agents understand that there are plenty of smokescreens going on. They might keep a player back if they feel a situation is ridiculous (like the Panthers who have no 1st round pick).
The beauty of bringing in a guy like Berry is that teams now have to wonder if he's the apple of our eye or if we really prefer Earl Thomas. Reid talked up DEs the other day. Is that true or do we push that agenda because we really want a CB at #24?
Lots of lies being told this time of year. And Tom Heckert has said in interviews that the team does in fact bring in players that they have zero interest in. This isn't just a theory.
RE: McNabb, Brown for Nnamdi... would we also be receiving a pick in this scenario? I mean, Nnamdi's not worth a upper-mid tier QB and an upper-mid CB is he?
@Cliff
Ideally and realistically, I would want a mid-first rounder for McNabb straight up or a good defensive player (lb or fs) and a second rounder. Of course, I am not sure that trading him is the right thing to do, but at this point a trades seems to be a matter of time.
Of course, the deal may be sweetened by throwing Kate Beckinsale or Bar Refaeli.
Hey Tommy,
I just read a report on ESPN.com by Sal Pal, stating that the Eagles have really made a mess of this situation, and haven't received an offer of more than a 3rd rounder for McNabb. What do you make of his assessment, and why is it so different from the sources you're hearing from?
Here's the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=paolantonio_sal&id=5030358
How likely do you think it is that McNabb get's traded at this point? 60%? 85%? Or it's not if he gets traded, it's when.
Also how much does Nnamdi's contract hurt the chances that the Eagles want him? I've heard NO ONE would want to even touch his contract, no matter how good he is.
Sal is an idiot. Period.
Likelihood of trade? I still think it will happen. Bringing McNabb back just doesn't make much sense at this point.
T-Diddy,
Do teams usually work on deals of this nature over the weekend, or is that where Mrs. Banner & Mrs. Reid Honeydo lists get taken care of?
The only way you can keep McNabb is if you extend him AND trade Kolb. That way Reid can legimiately say "We addressed the long-term needs of the QB position and received compensation in the short-term"
Apart from that, no way you can keep Status Quo
Tommy, I was watching a video on NFL.com wherein Mike Mayock talks about "second round value players that will start on day 1" and he mentioned Tyson Aloualu (sp), Sean Lee, and Daryl Washington. He said that Tyson was miscast as a 3-4 DE but he'd be a stud as a 4-3 DE, and that sounds intriguing. He also mentioned that Lee and Washington are perfect, instinctual 4-3 WILL linebackers that will become great players in the NFL, and due to size or injury concerns will be a steal in the second round. I personally hope the Eagles grab one of the two linebackers (Lee or Washington).
Also, regarding Eric Berry - it's not entirely impossible that the Eagles have a plan in place to nab him. I mean, say they pull off some kind of trade in which they obtain the Raiders #8 pick. At that point, all they need to determine is whether he falls past the Chiefs, Seahawks, and Browns and whether or not they would need to trade up even higher than that, and whether they are willing to pay that much money for a safety.
One other thing to note about safeties in this draft: the Eagles' DC (McDermott) was a safety in college and was around to see a Hall of Fame safety in his prime (Dawkins) and the effect it had on the defense. The new DB coach (Jauron) was a Pro Bowl safety in the NFL before he became a coach. Combine those two points with the fact that free safety is a huge need for this defense right now. I personally think that if there is any position that will be coveted and analyzed in this draft, it will be safety. If Jauron and McDermott truly identify a safety they believe to be an elite prospect in this draft, I wouldn't doubt that they'd make a strong push to obtain him. And given their credentials, I don't think there are two guys who would be better at a grading safeties.
Oh crap, Sal Pal's entered the fray?
And Minnesota as a suitor?
This offseason the weekends have been pretty quiet. Maybe it was that way last year as well.
This year is really weird because of the McNabb situation. You know how pregnant women get heightened senses? That's the way I feel this year about the offseason. I'm constantly checking my email, hoping a scoop has come my way. I click on PFT at least 30-40 times a day (sadly, no exaggeration). I'm desperate for news about the McNabb deal. Normally an offseason is like a rollercoaster, with ups and downs.. This year is different. There are brief glimpses of hope or relief followed by days of endless misery and suffering. This is worse than attending a Steven Segal film festival.
Sounds like things are in a holding pattern for now. I'll let you guys know the minute I hear something, good or bad.
I share your misery Tommy. I've always thought how incredible PFT is with the constant updates, but not it just does not seem to be enough.
Should this all fall apart, any remote chance Reid still goes with Kolb as the starter and has Donnie as the #3? That would seem so very bizzare, but if they aren't extending McNabb, they have to get the presumed one down season out of the way with Kolb at some point.
I'm in the exact same kind of bind you are in, Tommy. I feel frustrated in this offseason for some reason.
My worst fear is this all ends in some anticlimactic fashion - no trades, no big news, nothing. McNabb, Kolb, and Vick all stay for the 2010 season and the Eagles end up drafting somebody ho-hum like Maurkice Pouncey @ #24.
As you click on PFT dozens of times a day, I click on Eagles Blitz just about the same amount... hoping for a Tommy Lawlor update or a report from one of your sources.
All of this waiting and anticipation is killing me... c'mon Tommy, can't you interrogate your sources and pry some new info out them? I need something. Anything.
So in this wane, any thoughts on Alex Daniels of Cincinatti?
That would be the ultimate killjoy, no trade and a predictable pick at #24.
We're all sort of assuming if the Eagles acquire the #8 or #9 pick through a McNabb trade that we'll go hard after Berry, but is that possible? We'll need to spend considerable resources to move up the necessary 2 or 3 spots.
Considering this, I'm trying to think "out of the box" with our selection. If we're the #8 or #9 pick and Berry is unattainable, who would we pick? Do we still go for a DE? Could we move back a couple of picks (12 to 15 range), pick up an extra pick, and draft... CJ Spiller?
My point is, if we can't get to Berry, what's the point of being in the top 10? Kyle Wilson or Earl Thomas can both be available later in the round.
I agree with ya Cliff. There's no one besides Berry that seems like a strong top 10 pick for us, unless Reid has his sights on a stud O lineman. I also doubt the Birds want to pony up for 2 first round contracts. If we somehow end up with 2 first round picks, I would think trading one would be a near certainty. For this reason. I almost feel it'd be better to get a proven vet (not Asomugha, too old) + a 2nd rounder in a McNabb deal.
McClain?
From what I've read, McClain is considered more of a 3-4 ILB. Not sure he fits on our defense, especially with Stew locked down at MIKE.
Jeff McLane is reporting that the Eagles are reluctant of doing a trade "McNabb for Asomugha straight up" as at the moment. However they would apparently consider if if the Raiders throw in their second rounder as well. (Of course the Eagles would only do it if they can sign Nnamdi to a contract extension.)
But at second sight such a trade wouldn't be that far-fetched at all. We all know the Raiders are stuck with Nnamdi's current contract (one year left @16 Mio $ and huge restrictions on franchising him). Their chances of giving him a contract extension are slim to none. Given the fact they've traded 2 1st round picks for a washed-up 30+ years-old DE last year I could really see them giving up Asomugha (and maybe another draft pick) for McNabb.
McNabb might not want to sign a contract extension in Oakland but at least the Raiders could give him the franchise tag after next season, i.e. "renting" him for at least 2 years. And given Al Davis' history of signing vets to huge contracts (see Javon Walker for example) I am not so sure McNabb wouldn'd sign his last big contract with the Raiders.
Because we all know: it all comes down to money in the end.
That being said I have still got hope that such a trade may happen finally.
Cheers
Tobi a.ka. GermanEagle
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