Wellness

[teganslaw]

I saw the news about Irsay. He was arrested for intoxicated driving and possession of four controlled substances. Irsay did admit that he was addicted to pain killers several years ago, but he claimed that he overcame it. Has been sober for 15 years. I guess no longer. Apparently, he failed some sobriety tests, although there was no mention of his alcohol level. He's held on $22,000 bond. The NFL probably will take further action against him. I wonder if he will step down and let a family member take over; not sure what is going to happen. No matter, it's very bad judgment on his part. It's a good thing that he wasn't in an accident or that no one got hurt. The Colts were doing so well, now Irsay goes and does something this stupid. Bad setback for the organization.

[gardenman]

SPURT. I don't think the DeSean Jackson issues have anything to do with money on the Eagles' part, but DeSean is a tough guy to live with. He's always got an edge to him that helps him as a player, but makes him a bit of a pain to have on your team. I don't think the Eagles are actively shopping him, but if anyone comes asking, I suspect the Eagles would listen. There are a lot of teams that need a top receiver who might come asking. For the right price (and it may not be that high) I suspect DeSean would be gone. The Jets and Chiefs would be obvious landing places for DeSean. The Eagles have good depth at receiver and should be fine if he goes.

More good news for the Eagles and Redskins is that the Giants have signed Dominic Rogers Cromartie. DRC is a good pass defender, but he can't/won't tackle. Run to his side of the field and more often than not he'll whiff on the tackle. They signed him to a five year deal, so they apparently don't care about stopping the run game.

That Irsay situation is bad for the Colts. Drug addiction is a vicious problem though. Everyone's smarter to never try it that first time. If you never try it you won't get addicted. Once you're addicted it's a fight that few people ever win.

[Spurt]

On 3/17/2014 gardenman said:

SPURT. I don't think the DeSean Jackson issues have anything to do with money on the Eagles' part, but DeSean is a tough guy to live with. He's always got an edge to him that helps him as a player, but makes him a bit of a pain to have on your team. I don't think the Eagles are actively shopping him, but if anyone comes asking, I suspect the Eagles would listen. There are a lot of teams that need a top receiver who might come asking. For the right price (and it may not be that high) I suspect DeSean would be gone. The Jets and Chiefs would be obvious landing places for DeSean. The Eagles have good depth at receiver and should be fine if he goes.

More good news for the Eagles and Redskins is that the Giants have signed Dominic Rogers Cromartie. DRC is a good pass defender, but he can't/won't tackle. Run to his side of the field and more often than not he'll whiff on the tackle. They signed him to a five year deal, so they apparently don't care about stopping the run game.

That Irsay situation is bad for the Colts. Drug addiction is a vicious problem though. Everyone's smarter to never try it that first time. If you never try it you won't get addicted. Once you're addicted it's a fight that few people ever win.

Hey GARDENMAN,

So DeSean has a bit of an attitude/behavior problem....eh? Interesting...well Andy Reid can ring up his old front office and make an offer....good fit he knows the guy...

Great news on the Giants pick up with DRC....and I heard they got a Special Teamer Trindon Holliday when he's not running back touchdowns he's a fumbler.....WTG Giants

Well Cowboys got Weedon.....(the Cowboy faithful around these parts are absolutely "thrilled" with their QBs....)

I'm excited that Robert and our WR's are going to Phoenix next week and work out....thats what they need to do....!!!!

And Redskins decided to keep Safety Brandon Meriweather...cheaper option and hope Thomas emerges....

Alcoholism/drug addiction is a difficult battle and destroys so many lives. Well I hope Irsay gets in a good treatment program, definitely bad news for the Colts as it leaves an uncertainty within the organization....Spur's owner Peter Holt is an alcoholic he has shared his story many times....but he got his life on track and he's a good businessman and a great NBA Owner. He hires good people pays them well and let them run the team...

[gardenman]

DeSean is a bit strong-willed. Last spring he was a bit slow in picking up Chip Kelly's system. He didn't want to learn all of the routes for all of the receiver spots, so Chip demoted him to the second team. They had a talk about that and DeSean came around and had a great year.

Something to watch is that DeSean Jackson was more of a Mike Vick guy than a Nick Foles guy. He made it clear last off-season that Mike Vick would win the quarterback competition if it was a fair competition. Guys like Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper weren't so sure about that. Maclin's been a pretty big Foles supporter from day one of Foles' rookie year. We're seeing a bit of a transition taking place among the receivers from a Mike Vick group to a Nick Foles group. Jason Avant excelled under Mike Vick and then slumped a bit under Nick Foles. Jason Avant was waived.

Mike Vick would throw the ball to Avant whenever he'd get in trouble and more often than not Avant would make a play, but Nick Foles will instead rely on the check-down and take what the defense gives him, so the running backs and tight ends get more attention from Foles. Nick Foles is less likely to throw the ball to a covered Jason Avant in the middle of the field and hope he makes a play on the ball if there's an open guy elsewhere, so Avant was let go and replaced with a Darren Sproles.

The Eagles only have six picks in the upcoming draft and I suspect we'll see a trade or two take place to get a few extra picks. I think DeSean might be dealt for a few picks. (Maybe a third and fifth round pick this year with a conditional pick next year depending on how DeSean performs.) Brandon Graham (our 4-3 defensive end we've been trying to convert to a 3-4 outside linebacker) is another guy who's likely to leave. If we don't bundle him with a pick to the Dolphins for Dion Jordan (their 3-4 outside linebacker they've been trying to convert to a 4-3 defensive end) then expect to see him traded to the highest bidder for whatever draft picks we can get back. This is a deep draft this year and the Eagles will want more picks in it.

Brandon Weeden to the Cowboys is an interesting move. They really seem to avoid any backup who could challenge Romo for the job. They haven't drafted a kid up high for forever. They pick up guys who might be able to hang in there for a few games in a pinch should Romo get hurt, but who won't pose a real threat to him. I'm not sure I agree with that approach. I prefer having a stable of solid quarterbacks who are comparable and then having the option to move one of them for draft picks down the road. Picking up older (Weeden is 30 years old) castoffs from losing clubs isn't necessarily ideal. There will be quarterbacks in this year's draft that are available in the second, third or fourth round who could develop into good starters. A couple of them are wounded (Aaron Murray from Georgia and Zach Mettenberger from LSU both with torn ACL's) but give those guys a year or so and they could be pretty impressive. I'd take a chance on one of them if I was the Cowboys instead of someone like Weeden. If the kid develops, let him challenge Romo for the job. If Romo beats him out then you can always trade a good young quarterback to a desperate team and get your pick back and then some. If Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger drop to the third or fourth round, I'd expect the Eagles to pick one of them up. You should never pass up a possible starting quarterback.

The big names are pretty much gone now from free agency, so the fill-in guys will be getting signed over the next few days/weeks. We're likely to see a few more big names get cut after June first which could spark another buying frenzy, but we'll have to see what happens then. I'm betting we'll see a few trades go down over the next few weeks leading up to the draft which is just about six weeks away now. I'm betting the Rams and possibly Texans will look to drop down a bit and pick up more picks. I'd love to see the Eagles find a way to sneak up and get a Jadeveon Clowney. (DeSean Jackson and our 22nd pick in the first round to the Rams for the second overall pick? That's probably not enough, but you never know.) Things should be calming down a bit now though until the draft.

[gardenman]

And the latest on DeSean Jackson is that the Niners and Patriots are the top contenders for him and that the Eagles are asking for a third round pick in this year's draft for him. I'm not sure how much of that is true and how much of that is an attempt to get other teams in their divisions involved in the bidding war to drive up the price, but that's the current hot rumor. If the Eagles can get the Jets/Dolphins/Bills to enter the bidding process to try and keep DeSean from the Patriots then it's good for the Eagles. If the Cards/Seahawks/Rams try to keep DeSean from the Niners then that's also good for the Eagles. Rumors at this stage of the season are often just a way to try and drive up prices. DeSean Jackson is a special player when he's on his game, but he does tend to be off his game fairly often.

[Spurt]

On 3/19/2014 gardenman said:

And the latest on DeSean Jackson is that the Niners and Patriots are the top contenders for him and that the Eagles are asking for a third round pick in this year's draft for him. I'm not sure how much of that is true and how much of that is an attempt to get other teams in their divisions involved in the bidding war to drive up the price, but that's the current hot rumor. If the Eagles can get the Jets/Dolphins/Bills to enter the bidding process to try and keep DeSean from the Patriots then it's good for the Eagles. If the Cards/Seahawks/Rams try to keep DeSean from the Niners then that's also good for the Eagles. Rumors at this stage of the season are often just a way to try and drive up prices. DeSean Jackson is a special player when he's on his game, but he does tend to be off his game fairly often.

Hey GARDENMAN,

I saw on NFL Network AM that Eagles were listening to offers for DeSean...they praised his abilities but mentioned his behavior.....

BTW don't you think Cam made a BIG mistake waiting until now to have surgery....he wont be able to get back to football until July when training camp starts....and he is going to have to get used to some new receivers it appears....guess he didnt learn a thing from RGIII and missing OTAs and practices.....

[gardenman]

SPURT. I'm not a big fan of guys waiting to get surgery done. A lot of players like to take their vacation time first, go golfing, travel the world, have some fun, then have the needed surgery. As a fan it drives me a little crazy. Pretty much every year you find a guy who has surgery now (or later) who won't be ready until the start of the regular season. It's great for them that they get to skip training camp, but for the team it's typically very bad. There are very few guys who can perform well after missing a significant part of the off-season program.

I don't know if you saw it yet, but the Redskins just signed Akeem Jordan. He's a competent linebacker who the Eagles drafted a few years back. He's hung on around the league but has never been overly impressive. He fills a linebacker spot and is a good special teams player, but don't expect too much from him.

[Spurt]

On 3/19/2014 gardenman said:

SPURT. I'm not a big fan of guys waiting to get surgery done. A lot of players like to take their vacation time first, go golfing, travel the world, have some fun, then have the needed surgery. As a fan it drives me a little crazy. Pretty much every year you find a guy who has surgery now (or later) who won't be ready until the start of the regular season. It's great for them that they get to skip training camp, but for the team it's typically very bad. There are very few guys who can perform well after missing a significant part of the off-season program.

I don't know if you saw it yet, but the Redskins just signed Akeem Jordan. He's a competent linebacker who the Eagles drafted a few years back. He's hung on around the league but has never been overly impressive. He fills a linebacker spot and is a good special teams player, but don't expect too much from him.

GARDENMAN, And they said that Cam's surgery is an iffy thing and he still might not be ready to go in July.....

Thanks for the news about Akeem Jordan I think he will fill a need on special teams this was a big area of concern last year...our special teams were absolutely horrible!, and he will probably be a backup LB.

So Vick is visiting the Jets and the Eagles old OC.....so are the Eagles going with Matt Barkley as backup or will they draft one in later rounds....

[teganslaw]

Jim Irsay has checked himself into a rehab facility. His daughter, Carlie, is taking over day to day operations for now. There is a court hearing March 26, but the prosecution hasn't decided about any charges. The Colts organization put out a statement thanking everyone for their support, but won't comment until after the court hearing. There were rumors about the Colts losing a draft pick because of the situation, but that seems unlikely. Whatever action Goodell takes will probably be after the formal hearing.

DE Dwayne Allen says that he is 100% now. He missed most of last season, but will be back. That's good to hear; he is one of the best players.

Chip Kelly has told Desean Jackson "not to worry." That probably means Jackson is on his way out.

Oh, for those interested, Tom and Gisele have put their L.A. mansion up for sale at 50 million. It has a nice pool and a moat. I might consider it, but I don't want to live in L.A.

Something I'm curious about: how did Denver come up with all that money for free agency? They are paying Manning a high salary, yet still have tons left over. How did that happen? Maybe Jerry Jones could learn something from them about handling the cap in free agency.

[Spurt]

On 3/20/2014 teganslaw said:

Jim Irsay has checked himself into a rehab facility. His daughter, Carlie, is taking over day to day operations for now. There is a court hearing March 26, but the prosecution hasn't decided about any charges. The Colts organization put out a statement thanking everyone for their support, but won't comment until after the court hearing. There were rumors about the Colts losing a draft pick because of the situation, but that seems unlikely. Whatever action Goodell takes will probably be after the formal hearing.

DE Dwayne Allen says that he is 100% now. He missed most of last season, but will be back. That's good to hear; he is one of the best players.

Chip Kelly has told Desean Jackson "not to worry." That probably means Jackson is on his way out.

Oh, for those interested, Tom and Gisele have put their L.A. mansion up for sale at 50 million. It has a nice pool and a moat. I might consider it, but I don't want to live in L.A.

Something I'm curious about: how did Denver come up with all that money for free agency? They are paying Manning a high salary, yet still have tons left over. How did that happen? Maybe Jerry Jones could learn something from them about handling the cap in free agency.

Hey Tegan....

well that Brady house is worth every penny, afterall it comes with a moat..... I'll think I will pass on it too.....my Redskins play on the opposite coast, and even living in LA and going to Spurs/Laker games won't be as fun because the Lakers STINK and won't be making the playoffs anytime soon...

Glad to hear Irsay is getting some help....so what's his daughter like.....I remember when Eddie DeBartelo got booted from the NFL due to gambling and his sister took over and the 49ers went down hill for a while ....and only recently emerged as a contender when Harbraugh came in....and they don't want to pay him...go figure that....

As far as the cap....cant answer that...all the forumulas they use and exceptions and signing bonusues backloading contracts etc....makes my head spin!

And they shouldn't penalize the Colts by taking away a draft choice because the NFL set a precedent when some of the Broncos front office folks had a DUI...they just suspened them without pay ....of course that's the Broncos with St. John Elway and St. Peyton..and front office folks and not the owner.

ttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130715/denver-broncos-suspensions-dui.ap/