Post by EagleGene on Apr 17, 2005 9:35:03 GMT -5
Birds will be tested with more bumps
By Bob Brookover, Inquirer Staff Writer
Since their Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots on the first Sunday in February, the Eagles have listened to a handful of players gripe about their contract situations, while Freddie Mitchell has provided the background music by playing the part of the perpetually chirping Bird.
Brian Westbrook, Hollis Thomas, Corey Simon, Tra Thomas and, of course, Terrell Owens all believe they are worth more than the Eagles are willing to pay them. Though none of those players has informed the Eagles that he plans to boycott the team's first minicamp after next weekend's NFL draft, it would be tremendously naïve to think that all of coach Andy Reid's Birds will be in the NovaCare nest.
It's not the first time the Eagles have dealt with such distractions, and it won't be the last. But there definitely seems to be more turbulence than ever as the Eagles prepare to get ready to make another run at a Super Bowl title. It's also quite possible that many of these headaches will linger into training camp, presenting Reid and the Eagles with perhaps their greatest challenge since they became perennial title contenders four years ago.
"I am confident we'll be fine, because of the character of this team," Eagles president Joe Banner said. "We've had to overcome some of these problems each year. But for the betterment of our team and for the purpose of preparing for the season, those guys should be here."
The Eagles have indeed dealt with these types of matters quite well in the past. See Duce Staley, Bobby Taylor and John Welbourn for proof.
"Every team has some bumps and obstacles to overcome," Banner said. "The true challenge for the head coach, the team leaders, and the whole organization is to prove you're strong enough to overcome those obstacles. Sometimes it's injuries, sometimes it's a bad schedule, and sometimes it's contract situations. On all of those fronts, we've proven we're strong enough to overcome them."
Some shelter from the storm of contract complaints should arrive for the Eagles this week as the focus turns to the draft, which is arguably the most important off-season exercise for any NFL team.
The acquisition of Owens before last season definitely helped get the Eagles to the Super Bowl for the first time in 24 seasons, but he and free-agent defensive end Jevon Kearse were only the final bricks in the building. Without the drafts that brought the Eagles such players as Westbrook, Donovan McNabb, Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis and Brian Dawkins, the Baltimore Ravens probably would have been a far more attractive team to Owens a year ago.
When a team has won its division four straight seasons and been to the playoffs five years in a row, the draft can become an obstacle to sustained success. One big reason why the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys eventually became dynasties in decay is that they stopped having success in the draft.
Look at the list of players the 49ers selected after they won their fifth Super Bowl, in 1995, and it's easy to figure out why they have the No. 1 pick in this year's draft and have won just four playoff games in the last decade.
Likewise, the Cowboys' draft board is filled with a lot of failed players since they won the Super Bowl in 1996, which explains why they've won just one playoff game in the last nine years.
The Eagles, however, have a chance to strengthen themselves for the future. For just the fourth time in the franchise's history, they have five picks in the first three rounds. They also found themselves in that situation in 1993, 1994 and 1995 but failed to take advantage.
Thanks to four compensatory picks, the Eagles have a total of 13 picks, a team record since the draft was reduced to seven rounds in 1994.
"Every draft is big," coach Andy Reid said during the owners' meetings in Hawaii last month. "You need to draft well to make the salary cap go... and these next couple [years] can help us do that. It gets you back to where you can spend some money [to sign or keep veteran players]."
Given the unstable situation with Simon, who was nearly traded to Baltimore earlier this month, and the contract complaints and Hollis Thomas' advanced age, it's likely that the Eagles will invest one of their early picks in a defensive tackle.
"My track record says that I like looking at offensive and defensive linemen, so I can't say no to that with a straight face," Reid said. "But is it necessarily because of them? No. I'll always look at those positions early in the draft."
Banner said the Eagles will not let any of the contract issues alter their draft plans.
"You can't let those things affect the draft," he said. "You do that and you run the risk of overvaluing a player just to fill a need. When you have a need, if you have two players on the board with equal value, then it makes sense going for a need. But you can't be driven by need."
Banner also agreed that the success or failure of a draft drives the success or failure of a team's salary-cap management.
"The draft is key to staying good," he said. "You can't manage the cap well if you're not drafting good players. If we didn't draft good players, people would be asking me why I screwed up the cap so bad.
"More credit for a strong cap goes to the personnel people than the people managing the cap. With this many picks, we have a unique opportunity and we want to take full advantage of it."
Where the Eagles Draft
Round Pick How Obtained First 31
Second 35 Acquired from Miami in 2004 trade for A.J. Feeley.
Second 63
Third 77 Acquired from Kansas City with 2004 fifth-round pick (Thomas Tapeh) in 2004 trade for John Welbourn.
Third 94
Fourth 132
Fifth 146 Acquired from Washington in 2004 trade for James Thrash.
Fifth 167
Fifth 172 Compensatory pick awarded from NFL for loss of free agents in 2004.
Sixth 211 Compensatory pick.
Seventh 245
Seventh 247 Compensatory pick.
Seventh 252 Compensatory pick.
Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
Updated on Sunday, Apr 17, 2005 3:31 am EDT
By Bob Brookover, Inquirer Staff Writer
Since their Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots on the first Sunday in February, the Eagles have listened to a handful of players gripe about their contract situations, while Freddie Mitchell has provided the background music by playing the part of the perpetually chirping Bird.
Brian Westbrook, Hollis Thomas, Corey Simon, Tra Thomas and, of course, Terrell Owens all believe they are worth more than the Eagles are willing to pay them. Though none of those players has informed the Eagles that he plans to boycott the team's first minicamp after next weekend's NFL draft, it would be tremendously naïve to think that all of coach Andy Reid's Birds will be in the NovaCare nest.
It's not the first time the Eagles have dealt with such distractions, and it won't be the last. But there definitely seems to be more turbulence than ever as the Eagles prepare to get ready to make another run at a Super Bowl title. It's also quite possible that many of these headaches will linger into training camp, presenting Reid and the Eagles with perhaps their greatest challenge since they became perennial title contenders four years ago.
"I am confident we'll be fine, because of the character of this team," Eagles president Joe Banner said. "We've had to overcome some of these problems each year. But for the betterment of our team and for the purpose of preparing for the season, those guys should be here."
The Eagles have indeed dealt with these types of matters quite well in the past. See Duce Staley, Bobby Taylor and John Welbourn for proof.
"Every team has some bumps and obstacles to overcome," Banner said. "The true challenge for the head coach, the team leaders, and the whole organization is to prove you're strong enough to overcome those obstacles. Sometimes it's injuries, sometimes it's a bad schedule, and sometimes it's contract situations. On all of those fronts, we've proven we're strong enough to overcome them."
Some shelter from the storm of contract complaints should arrive for the Eagles this week as the focus turns to the draft, which is arguably the most important off-season exercise for any NFL team.
The acquisition of Owens before last season definitely helped get the Eagles to the Super Bowl for the first time in 24 seasons, but he and free-agent defensive end Jevon Kearse were only the final bricks in the building. Without the drafts that brought the Eagles such players as Westbrook, Donovan McNabb, Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis and Brian Dawkins, the Baltimore Ravens probably would have been a far more attractive team to Owens a year ago.
When a team has won its division four straight seasons and been to the playoffs five years in a row, the draft can become an obstacle to sustained success. One big reason why the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys eventually became dynasties in decay is that they stopped having success in the draft.
Look at the list of players the 49ers selected after they won their fifth Super Bowl, in 1995, and it's easy to figure out why they have the No. 1 pick in this year's draft and have won just four playoff games in the last decade.
Likewise, the Cowboys' draft board is filled with a lot of failed players since they won the Super Bowl in 1996, which explains why they've won just one playoff game in the last nine years.
The Eagles, however, have a chance to strengthen themselves for the future. For just the fourth time in the franchise's history, they have five picks in the first three rounds. They also found themselves in that situation in 1993, 1994 and 1995 but failed to take advantage.
Thanks to four compensatory picks, the Eagles have a total of 13 picks, a team record since the draft was reduced to seven rounds in 1994.
"Every draft is big," coach Andy Reid said during the owners' meetings in Hawaii last month. "You need to draft well to make the salary cap go... and these next couple [years] can help us do that. It gets you back to where you can spend some money [to sign or keep veteran players]."
Given the unstable situation with Simon, who was nearly traded to Baltimore earlier this month, and the contract complaints and Hollis Thomas' advanced age, it's likely that the Eagles will invest one of their early picks in a defensive tackle.
"My track record says that I like looking at offensive and defensive linemen, so I can't say no to that with a straight face," Reid said. "But is it necessarily because of them? No. I'll always look at those positions early in the draft."
Banner said the Eagles will not let any of the contract issues alter their draft plans.
"You can't let those things affect the draft," he said. "You do that and you run the risk of overvaluing a player just to fill a need. When you have a need, if you have two players on the board with equal value, then it makes sense going for a need. But you can't be driven by need."
Banner also agreed that the success or failure of a draft drives the success or failure of a team's salary-cap management.
"The draft is key to staying good," he said. "You can't manage the cap well if you're not drafting good players. If we didn't draft good players, people would be asking me why I screwed up the cap so bad.
"More credit for a strong cap goes to the personnel people than the people managing the cap. With this many picks, we have a unique opportunity and we want to take full advantage of it."
Where the Eagles Draft
Round Pick How Obtained First 31
Second 35 Acquired from Miami in 2004 trade for A.J. Feeley.
Second 63
Third 77 Acquired from Kansas City with 2004 fifth-round pick (Thomas Tapeh) in 2004 trade for John Welbourn.
Third 94
Fourth 132
Fifth 146 Acquired from Washington in 2004 trade for James Thrash.
Fifth 167
Fifth 172 Compensatory pick awarded from NFL for loss of free agents in 2004.
Sixth 211 Compensatory pick.
Seventh 245
Seventh 247 Compensatory pick.
Seventh 252 Compensatory pick.
Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
Updated on Sunday, Apr 17, 2005 3:31 am EDT
