Post by EagleGene on Jul 27, 2006 18:25:52 GMT -5
Howard Set For Storybook Season
July 27, 2006
By ZACH BERMAN
First it was Sports Illustrated. Then it was Yahoo! Sports. The interview requests kept coming, and defensive end Darren Howard kept obliging.
He's happy, in a place he wants to be with a team who wants him here.
Howard and the Eagles are like a sappy teen movie, straight from the failed courtships to the eventual union. In Hollywood, it's a hackneyed script. For the Eagles, it's a necessary tale.
In 2005, the Eagles' defensive line had its most difficult season since head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson arrived in Philadelphia in 1999. They had the fewest sacks under the coaches' tenures, were banged-up and were undermanned.
Howard's 2005 seasons was the nadir of his career, too, tallying just 3.5 sacks for a New Orleans Saints team that won only three games.
One of the Eagles' first moves in the off-season was signing Howard. The star-caliber right defensive end quickly agreed.
"It feels like a child being separated from their parent and all of sudden, finding out your parent and re-joining," Howard said. "That's kind of what it feels like when there's a team you wanted and you're finally on that team."
The feeling's mutual. When the Eagles signed Howard on March 13, owner Jeffrey Lurie admitted Howard's a player the Eagles have desired since he entered the league. They considered him in the 2000 draft, when Howard was swiped with the No. 33 overall pick while the Eagles picked No. 36.
They thought about trading for Howard when he was placed with the franchise tag in 2003 and 2004. When he was an unrestricted free agent this off-season, the Eagles made him their top defensive end target.
All of this was news to Howard.
"You hear things, especially when you're on the trading block, things from number of different teams," Howard said. "But I didn't know the degree of how bad they wanted me until I got here and actually signed when they said they were thinking about drafting me in 2000 or trade for me when I was franchised. It's a good feeling."
But the Eagles weren't the only team that wanted the defensive end that has 44.5 sacks in six seasons, two for double-digit totals.
Howard wanted to win, though. After reaching the playoffs in his rookie season in 2000, the Saints mired in mediocrity for four seasons, averaging eight wins per season and failing to reach the playoffs each time. In 2005, with a team stalled in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, Howard and the Saints tanked.
The Saints went in a new direction, and Howard looked for a team that had a chance to compete for the postseason right away. Despite the Eagles' forgettable 2005 season, they reached the playoffs the previous five seasons. "It's been a long time since I had a winning season or been to the playoffs and this organization has been there since I've been in the league," Howard said. "Every time I'm home watching the playoffs, the Eagles are in it. That was an imprint in my brain and once I came here and they were willing to commit, it was an easy decision."
Two days into training camp for Howard, the deal looks like the perfect match. Howard has visibly stood out, even beating Pro Bowl tackle William Thomas around in Tuesday's practice.
"I saw him show up a couple of times around the quarterback," head coach Reid said after the practice. "That's a good thing. I thought he was productive."
He also provides the Eagles with versatility on the defensive line. Howard has the size and ability to slide inside during nickel situations, a scheme defense coordinator Jim Johnson admitted he would utilize during the season.
But his addition might be most helpful to Jevon Kearse, the star defensive end who lines up on the left side. Kearse was the Eagles' marquee free agent signing in 2004 and has had two good - but not great - seasons. Kearse is capable of more, and help on the other side could be exactly the catalyst he needs.
"Someone was listening to my prayers last season," Kearse joked.
But it's that type of happiness that's resulted with Howard's addition. Kearse is happy, Johnson is happy, Reid's happy, the team's happy and Howard's happy. No controversies or questions. The Eagles pass rush could catapult to one of the top in the league by Howard's addition, and it's up to him to combine with Kearse, defensive ends Trent Cole and Jerome McDougle and the loaded defensive tackle rotation to prove it.
"It takes a lot of pressure off everyone when there are four caliber guys on the D-line," Howard said. "And not only that, that helps the competition level. Even though you're on the same team, we all try to do outdo somebody, but we're all trying to get the same goal. Having that kind of competition and that kind of support at the same time, it's going to be big."
July 27, 2006
By ZACH BERMAN
First it was Sports Illustrated. Then it was Yahoo! Sports. The interview requests kept coming, and defensive end Darren Howard kept obliging.
He's happy, in a place he wants to be with a team who wants him here.
Howard and the Eagles are like a sappy teen movie, straight from the failed courtships to the eventual union. In Hollywood, it's a hackneyed script. For the Eagles, it's a necessary tale.
In 2005, the Eagles' defensive line had its most difficult season since head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson arrived in Philadelphia in 1999. They had the fewest sacks under the coaches' tenures, were banged-up and were undermanned.
Howard's 2005 seasons was the nadir of his career, too, tallying just 3.5 sacks for a New Orleans Saints team that won only three games.
One of the Eagles' first moves in the off-season was signing Howard. The star-caliber right defensive end quickly agreed.
"It feels like a child being separated from their parent and all of sudden, finding out your parent and re-joining," Howard said. "That's kind of what it feels like when there's a team you wanted and you're finally on that team."
The feeling's mutual. When the Eagles signed Howard on March 13, owner Jeffrey Lurie admitted Howard's a player the Eagles have desired since he entered the league. They considered him in the 2000 draft, when Howard was swiped with the No. 33 overall pick while the Eagles picked No. 36.
They thought about trading for Howard when he was placed with the franchise tag in 2003 and 2004. When he was an unrestricted free agent this off-season, the Eagles made him their top defensive end target.
All of this was news to Howard.
"You hear things, especially when you're on the trading block, things from number of different teams," Howard said. "But I didn't know the degree of how bad they wanted me until I got here and actually signed when they said they were thinking about drafting me in 2000 or trade for me when I was franchised. It's a good feeling."
But the Eagles weren't the only team that wanted the defensive end that has 44.5 sacks in six seasons, two for double-digit totals.
Howard wanted to win, though. After reaching the playoffs in his rookie season in 2000, the Saints mired in mediocrity for four seasons, averaging eight wins per season and failing to reach the playoffs each time. In 2005, with a team stalled in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, Howard and the Saints tanked.
The Saints went in a new direction, and Howard looked for a team that had a chance to compete for the postseason right away. Despite the Eagles' forgettable 2005 season, they reached the playoffs the previous five seasons. "It's been a long time since I had a winning season or been to the playoffs and this organization has been there since I've been in the league," Howard said. "Every time I'm home watching the playoffs, the Eagles are in it. That was an imprint in my brain and once I came here and they were willing to commit, it was an easy decision."
Two days into training camp for Howard, the deal looks like the perfect match. Howard has visibly stood out, even beating Pro Bowl tackle William Thomas around in Tuesday's practice.
"I saw him show up a couple of times around the quarterback," head coach Reid said after the practice. "That's a good thing. I thought he was productive."
He also provides the Eagles with versatility on the defensive line. Howard has the size and ability to slide inside during nickel situations, a scheme defense coordinator Jim Johnson admitted he would utilize during the season.
But his addition might be most helpful to Jevon Kearse, the star defensive end who lines up on the left side. Kearse was the Eagles' marquee free agent signing in 2004 and has had two good - but not great - seasons. Kearse is capable of more, and help on the other side could be exactly the catalyst he needs.
"Someone was listening to my prayers last season," Kearse joked.
But it's that type of happiness that's resulted with Howard's addition. Kearse is happy, Johnson is happy, Reid's happy, the team's happy and Howard's happy. No controversies or questions. The Eagles pass rush could catapult to one of the top in the league by Howard's addition, and it's up to him to combine with Kearse, defensive ends Trent Cole and Jerome McDougle and the loaded defensive tackle rotation to prove it.
"It takes a lot of pressure off everyone when there are four caliber guys on the D-line," Howard said. "And not only that, that helps the competition level. Even though you're on the same team, we all try to do outdo somebody, but we're all trying to get the same goal. Having that kind of competition and that kind of support at the same time, it's going to be big."