Disappointment Domain- Philadelphia Sports

Say Goodbye

2008-01-21T23:02:00.001-05:00

I'm not closing this one, but I'm making a move. My new address is:

http://broadstblog.blogspot.com/

For reasons mentioned in the inaugural post made over there. This will stay up as an archive for what I've written before, but it was just time for a change. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you at the new blog.

2007 NFL Review: Browns and Ravens

2008-01-08T21:28:00.000-05:00

Since I'm fishing for updates, let's review my 2007 NFL previews.

Cleveland Browns:

Cheers: Their Offensive Line was very good. They improved their running game tremendously and their pass protection was much better. Not only that, they did it all without LeCharles Bentley. D’Qwell Jackson is really the only guy who delivered. Davis missed some starts, McGinest was never that good and Wimbley took a step back.

Jeers: They became very settled at the skill positions in a hurry. Derek Anderson, a guy that was irrelevant to pro football, steps in for Charlie Frye and leads one of the league’s highest scoring offenses. Braylon Edwards broke out and emerged as a star. Winslow helped out a lot, and Jamal Lewis played well. Their defense was as poor as advertised.

On second thought… they beat expectations easily. They nearly made the playoffs, and in the beginning of the year, I was really worried the Cowboys would get their pick and get an elite talent.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Jamal Lewis. He proved his tank wasn’t empty yet. He had his best YPC in three years and he set career highs in the receiving game. They want to bring him back for next year, and why not?

New guy who will meet expectations: Brady Quinn. Maybe next year. He really didn’t play that much, and there was no reason for him to with the way Anderson emerged. I figured he would play more than he did.

As for next year… they’re definitely going in the right direction now. They don’t have a first round pick, so they’re going to have to draft smartly and find a way to improve the defense. They also have a decision to make at Quarterback. Derek Anderson is a restricted free agent, so the Browns will be able to match any offer. He could be traded; without a first round pick, moving Anderson for a nice package could really help them address their needs.

Baltimore Ravens:

Cheers: Their defense was not as good, and their record, and ultimately their head coach, paid the price. The scoring defense allowed twice as many points as last year. They allowed more yards, and to be frank, their truly strong unit wasn’t good this year. If the Ravens don’t have defense, they’re in a lot of trouble and it showed. McGahee had his best YPC, but he didn’t find the end zone as much as the Ravens would’ve liked.

Jeers: It wasn’t exactly a difficult prediction, but their offense stunk. Their offense wasn’t even close to adequate. Steve McNair was banged up and not effective, and Kyle Boller was equally ineffective. Troy Smith provided a spark for a few quarters at the end of the year, but the Ravens need stability in the passing game.

On second thought… they went as far as their offense took them: not far. Todd Heap was banged up again, and Mark Clayton went to the Reggie Brown school of development. When their defense didn’t play as well as they have in recent years, it was all over. They didn’t replace Adalius Thomas’ pass rushing ability, and that could’ve been a factor in their defensive struggles.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Willis McGahee. Eh, I’d say he played pretty well, considering the circumstances. He was a decent runner and might’ve been the best player on this putrid offense. He wore down the Patriots and almost gave Baltimore a chance to pull that upset.

New guy who will meet expectations: Ben Grubbs. He wasn’t bad. He played in all 16 games and got 12 starts, which isn’t bad for a rookie. The Ravens are hoping he continues his development and helps out the running game between the tackles.

As for next year… the Ravens have a lot of questions to answer, and their head coach is one of them. I think they might’ve made a mistake firing Rex Ryan. I know they wanted to clean house, but Ryan is a quality coach that should’ve been kept on. Their offense is awful and with Suggs leaving, they have another defensive player to replace.

City Six

2007-12-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

We’re two months into the college hoops season, and frankly, it’s probably been that long since my last update. Let’s take a look at City Six basketball and see how the season is going.

Villanova 9-1

W Penn 87-61

W Temple 101-93

They’re unbeaten in the city so far, and with two games left, they’ll probably maintain their dominance. They’re just so far and away better than the rest of Philadelphia. Their only loss on the season is against NC State, a mediocre ACC team whose best player is a big guy, who you would expect to be about to beat the Wildcats. Scottie Reynolds is leading the team in scoring again, but perhaps the biggest key to their season as they enter Big East play is how well their two other experienced players do: Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark. Both of these guys having taken larger roles in the offense this year, and they’ve improved their averages from a year ago. These two juniors are really the only big plays Jay Wright has to work with, so as Cunningham and Clark go, so do the Wildcats.

Temple 6-5

L Villanova 101-93

W Drexel 64-51

Temple is in its second year under Fran Dunphy, and once again, they’re playing a pretty tough schedule. With games against Tennessee, Florida and Duke, the Owls are pretty much asking for punishment. Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale are once again providing the scoring, but they’re not getting so much from anyone else. They’re still a pretty young team, so Temple is going to go through some growing pains in A10 play. Someone besides Christmas or Tyndale is going to have to step up before this Owls team breaks through and stops sputtering around .500.

St. Joe’s 5-4

The Hawks have had a couple tough losses to top 25 teams. Besides maybe Holy Cross, all of their losses are against tough teams, so they might be a little better than their record indicates. Like Temple, Phil Martelli is working with a pretty young team. Pat Calathes, Ahmad Nivins and Rob Ferguson are veteran players, but some of the younger players on this team could help get the Hawks back onto the national scene very soon.

La Salle 4-6

I hate to just keep saying “they’re a young team” for everyone that isn’t Villanova, but the Explorers are. Unfortunately, their best player will not be back for next season. Darnell Harris leads the team in scoring as a senior. They don’t get much scoring from anyone else, so other guys need to chip in for La Salle to start playing better. Two of their others players, Rodney Green and Ruben Guillandeaux, are sophomores, so when they continue to get better, the Explorers could start winning some games.

Drexel 6-5, 0-1

W Penn 67-59

L Temple 64-51

After a strong 06-07 campaign, Drexel looked to build on their success with a potential tournament berth. Unfortunately for the Dragons, it looks unlikely. They lost three key players, and they haven’t adequately replaced their ability. Frank Elegar is the best player on the team for the second consecutive season, but he doesn’t have any help. I know Bruiser Flint runs an aggressive defensive style of play, but someone else needs to score points. Tramayne Hawthorne has been turning the ball over more than last year, and the Dragons cannot afford to make many mistakes. If their huge loss to George Mason is any indication on how conference play will go, the CAA will not treat Drexel kindly this year.

Penn 4-7

L Drexel 67-69

L Villanova 87-61

It was expected to be a down year for the Quakers. They weren’t the preseason favorite to win the Ivy League for the first time since Herbert Hoover’s presidency, but they’ve had a rougher go of things than anyone expected. Mark Zoller and Ibrahim Jaaber were great players, and it’s tough to replace guys that completely carried the team. Two of Penn’s key players, Tyler Bernardini and Jack Eggleston are freshmen, so their experience now is going to help the Quakers in the future.

There’s my uninformed outlook on City Six basketball. Look for me to continue to be uninformed in later entries.

Feeley? You kidding me, Feeley? I just hope we can complete a pass!

2007-11-19T00:41:00.000-05:00

For the first time all season, the Eagles have won two games in a row and sitting at .500. Of course, they figure to be below .500 after next week, but I’ll get to that later.

They only won by 10 points, but they outplayed the Dolphins by more than that. The defense was great. Although they didn’t sack John Beck or even force a turnover, they won the game today. With the exception of a few nice runs, Chatman was bottled up and a non-factor. Despite being kept clean most of the game, Beck looked uncomfortable in the pocket, but Rich Gannon might’ve been the most flustered QB in Philadelphia today.

Although it was late in the game, the incredible goal line stand by the defense was the backbreaker. The Dolphins had made some big plays on that drive, and it looked like the momentum was swinging back in their favor. After a Trent Cole tackle for loss, a lucky deflection by Takeo Spikes and another nice play by Spikes to stop Chatman short of the goal line, Cam Cameron made an explicitly poor play call, in which Juqua Thomas tackled Chatman 13 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a toss play. It was a dumb play to call with the game on the line, and the play design is so bad it should be tossed out of the playbook.

Brian Westbrook had one of his best games, and he was completely taken out of the passing game. He had career highs in carries and rushing yards, which we should’ve expected going into a game against one of the league’s worst run defenses. However, one might wonder if that would’ve happened if McNabb didn’t get hurt.

On a play before halftime, a DB hit McNabb hard on a blitz, and he limped off the field. After a collective groan from Eagles fans, the prevailing feeling of “here we go again,” and some x-rays, McNabb only has an ankle sprain, and he should be good to go pretty soon.

The fans calling for McNabb’s head and demanding Feeley or Kolb to play got their wish. However, A.J. only showed that McNabb is still the best option for this team. Don’t get me wrong; Feeley did enough to win, but this wasn’t a full game. I don’t trust him for a big chunk of games. He’s okay if he has to fill in, but the Eagles are looking to win games, and over the course of a month or two, he’d prove to be detrimental.

Almost immediately after he came into the game, Feeley did nothing to stop the Eagles’ turnover problems. He became part of the problem when he badly underthrew a receiver on top of making a bad decision to throw that way in the first place. It was another Dolphin red zone pick, taking more points off the scoreboard for the Eagles. He doesn’t have the arm strength to make difficult throws, and he has pretty spotty accuracy, but I have to give credit where credit is due. He made some nice plays, including a great touch pass in the seam to LJ Smith and a tough TD pass to Jason Avant, who was missing in action since the Green Bay game.

I’m not defending McNabb’s play today though. He played poorly in the poor weather conditions. His throws were off and he was taking some hard hits. The picks were bad passes and it just wasn’t one of his games. However, I’m not sure what McNabb was doing throwing so many times in the heavy wind and precipitation, which actually cleared up by the end of the game. They should’ve come out pounding the ball from the start. We shouldn’t need to wait for McNabb to get beat up and taken out of the game before we start using Westbrook. Notice how we finally used Buckhalter and Westbrook in the same formation and it worked?

That leads me into next week. The Patriots just destroyed another opponent, and the Eagles are in the crosshairs next. If the Eagles are going to do the impossible, and let me go on the record right now as saying it won’t happen, things have to be perfect, from the coaching staff all the way down to Reno Mahe.

They need to run the ball. They need to use Westbrook, Buckhalter, Stanley Pritchett, whoever. They need to throw the kitchen sink at the Patriots’ front seven. Don’t get me wrong; they can stop the run, but their best chance at beating the Patriots involves keeping their offense off the field. I’m not sure if this O-Line can hold up in pass protection long enough to give McNabb a chance to win this game himself.

Trent Cole is going to have to play the game of his life. This was his third straight game without a sack, so it’s time for him to break out again. The Eagles need to be able to generate pressure with their front four. If they have to bring the blitz, it’s going to leave too many holes in coverage, which the Patriots weapons will easily be able to exploit.

One final thing to ponder: If the Eagles were able to beat the Patriots, would this avenge the Super Bowl loss? I guess some could say that ending the perfect season is revenge for being beat in the big game, but I disagree. I never bought into the revenge game hype. I don’t think a championship loser feels any better about their loss if they emerge victorious in the regular season the next year.

Philadelphia Quick Hits

2007-11-17T00:10:00.000-05:00

I’ll get back into the blogging game with this relatively cheap entry. If I like how it goes, maybe I’ll turn this into a regular feature- as regular as I can get, anyway.

Eagles

They’ll take on the winless Dolphins on Sunday. However, they could be without Brian Westbrook, who hurt his knee lifting weights on Wednesday. Against the Dolphins, he could afford a week off, but it’s still something to keep an eye on. It’s going to be interesting to see if he does suit up but the Eagles aren’t confident in his health. Will they activate both Buckhalter and Hunt? I wouldn’t count on it.

Jim Johnson basically said this week that Juqua Thomas is the new starter at LDE, and Kearse is losing his snaps to Thomas and second rounder Victor Abiamiri. It’s about time. Kearse has lost his explosiveness, and he plays like he knows it. He doesn’t use his athleticism to rush the passer anymore, and he tries to use a bull rush to generate pressure. It’s not a very effective move for someone who lost a lot of weight.

The Eagles are struggling, but they could still have a number of Pro Bowlers. Donovan McNabb and Kevin Curtis are surprisingly close; Brian Westbrook is a lock if he remains healthy; Andrews or Runyan could get a spot; both of the starting Defensive Tackles, Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson, are playing great and have been the key to improving the defense.

Flyers

They’re clearly committed to blocking shots, which is very admirable. However, at some point, they need to start playing more soundly in their own zone. They aren’t very aggressive on the back check and they make sloppy passes resulting in turnovers. Martin Biron has been playing great so far, but I’m not sure how long he can keep up with his team constantly being out shot.

Simon Gagne continues to be out of the lineup. Getting Scottie Upshall back was a nice boost because he’s an athletic skater who can score goals. If this team can manage to stay the least bit healthy for a little bit, it will be a first.

I wasn’t so sure that Steve Downie would join the Flyers when his suspension ended, but now I think it’s possible. Ben Eager isn’t showing any offensive ability at all, and the failed 3 on 1 breakaway attempt last night was a huge turning point. Riley Cote hasn’t added much himself. You want a tough guy on the team, but shouldn’t they contribute something else?

76ers

They just completed a great comeback against Portland, and not many people were in South Philadelphia to see it. After being outplayed for the entire first half and leaving Sixers fans groaning, they dominated the fourth quarter to pull out the win. They’ve struggled early this season, but like past years, I don’t think we’ll see them tank or stop playing hard.

Believe it or not, young players helped fuel the comeback against the Trailblazers. Thaddeus Young saw significant action for really the first time all season. Jason Smith continued to play a key role in a rotation down low, and Lou Williams provided a scoring spark. It’s time for these guys to start playing a lot of minutes. Their athleticism improves the entire team on the floor.

I don’t know what’s wrong with Andre Miller, but he’s not playing as well as we saw last year. He’s been a very good PG during his career, but this year, Miller has played a different game. He’s taking more shots and not being the distributor he has been his entire career. He’s hurting any trade value he had prior to the season.

Phillies

Reports say that they have about 10-15 million dollars left in the budget to spend. At some point in the coming days, I’m going to take another look at the numbers and confirm the total.

Pat Gillick says the rest of the resources available will be spent on pitching, but as we’ve seen in his tenure, he doesn’t do what he says, and in fact, he often does the opposite. He names Brett Myers the closer, and trades for Brad Lidge the next day. Fans think the rotation is set when he signs Adam Eaton, and they trade for Freddy Garcia. Don’t take his word too seriously.

I like Shawn Green as a platoon player with Jayson Werth. He’s a very good option against righties, so a straight platoon would help both players. Green can no longer hit lefties, so that could create some matchup problems late, but they need another guy in RF.

City Six

I learned that “City Six” is the proper way to talk about Philly college hoops, and not “Big Five Plus One.” We’ll start with the one in the major conference in Villanova. They lost Curtis Sumpter, which means their front court is weaker than it usually is. Scottie Reynolds is a great player, but other guys are going to have to step up. Verdict: about the same as last year. They should get into the tournament and lose early again.

Drexel was the underdog story of the year in the city, but they lost a lot. Mejias, Mason and Crawford were some key losses, but they do get their best player back in Frank Elegar. Bruiser Flint is a great coach, and if he can get his guys to keep working hard, they could make some noise in the CAA again. Verdict: probably worse than last year. They’re inexperienced.

La Salle struggled last season after losing Stephen Smith, and I expect the same from them this year. I really don’t know that much about them, so I’m not going to pretend that I do.

St Joe’s played well in front of the nation earlier this week against Syracuse. They’re pretty young, but they could develop into one of the better teams in the A10. Pat Calathes has been around through the rebuilding since the Elite Eight run, and he could lead this otherwise inexperienced team. Verdict: they should improve on last year.

Temple is another young team looking to get better in the A10, but they’ve struggled early on this year. They’ve blown a couple of big leads and didn’t wrap up games when they should have. However, when push comes to shove, Fran Dunphy is a good coach and will get these guys ready to play more often than not. Dionte Christmas is just one player looking to continue to revive Temple basketball. Verdict: they should improve on last year.

Penn is another team I don’t know much about. I do know they lost their two best players from last year, and their dynasty of sorts in the Ivy League could be in danger.

Why I'm afraid of the Chicago Bears

2007-10-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

I return to blogging with this game day entry.

Around the internet this week, there are a lot of people calling this game in the Eagles’ favor. The Bears aren’t very good on the road, but this game is going to be a challenge. I don’t see a lopsided game like some are predicting.

The Bears defense hasn’t been very good so far, but it’s still going to present difficulties for the Eagles offense. They run a defense similar to the fabled Tampa 2 scheme. This means that, for most of the game, the Chicago corners are going to be playing physical with our receivers and jamming them at the line. The Eagles have struggled with this so far in 2007. Their record when the defense doesn’t employ press coverage: 2-0. Their record when they do? 0-3.

It throws off the timing of the passing game. If the receivers aren’t quick or strong enough to get off the line, McNabb is going to take his three or five step drops and not find anyone open. That will make McNabb hold onto the ball too long, and he ends up on his back like we’ve seen throughout the year. Chicago has a great pass rush, so the line is going to have to hold up today.

If the Cover 2 has one weakness in pass defense, it’s how the middle of the defense is open. When the safeties are splitting the field deep and the corners are staying around the flats, the linebackers are relied on to cover just about the entire field. Ask any Tight End at any level of football, and they will tell you they love the Cover 2. It leaves seams and windows open in the defense for them to roam around and make plays. Unfortunately, the Eagles can’t take advantage of this weakness. LJ Smith is out again, and Matt Schobel and Brent Celek haven’t come close to matching Smith’s production so far.

If the Eagles are going to score a lot of points, they need to run the ball. Everyone says that every week, but it’s especially true today. Chicago’s run defense has been awful, and they’re really banged up. The middle of the defense hasn’t been strong for a couple years now, mostly because Tommie Harris spends a lot of time on the sideline and they have little depth behind him. They need to find a way to get as many as 35 carries for Westbrook, Buckhalter and maybe even Tony Hunt.

The Bears have one weapon on offense and special teams. I’m not worried about Brian Griese. He’s going to make his throws, but he’ll always make his share of mistakes. Cedric Benson hasn’t played up to his draft status and contract so far in his career. Muhammad’s physical, but the Eagles can handle him. Berrian’s fast, but the Eagles can handle him. Tight Ends haven’t had success against the Eagles all year, so I think Gocong can handle Olsen. They need to find a way to stop Devin Hester.

He’s obviously a weapon in the return game. This doesn’t bode well for the Eagles, whose coverage units have been mediocre at best in recent years. Gone are the days of someone racing down the field and making a huge hit inside the 20. The kick cover unit just makes you hope the other team doesn’t run one back. They need to do whatever it takes to contain the return game, whether it be punting it out of bounds every time or popping a kickoff up to an up man.

However, last week, Hester showed that he can make plays on offense. He caught an 80+ yard TD to tie up the game against Minnesota. I’m sure the Bears know the Eagles’ corners play sides, so if Lito Sheppard isn’t completely healthy and isn’t playing every snap on defense, I’m sure they’ll try and get Hester lined up against William James. That could be bad news for the Eagles, so hopefully Sheppard can go the whole game.

After all that, I still think the Eagles will win. They’re back at home where they had a little offensive success against Detroit, so hopefully they can duplicate it, or at least score more than 16 points. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking this will be an easy game because Chicago’s record is bad though.

A look to 08

2007-10-07T20:03:00.000-05:00

After that quick end to the Phillies’ postseason chase, it’s time to look towards 2008. I’m not going to mention any specific potential free agent or trade targets, and I’m only going to look at what we have on the payroll for 2008, how much money there will be to spend and some areas the Phillies need to improve on. For players that are under team control, whether they be in arbitration or not, I’ll try and estimate what they’ll be paid, even though that’ll be pretty tough.

Players that will be under contract

Carlos Ruiz: $450,000 (second year of team control-) He emerged as a very good defensive catcher in his rookie season, and it didn’t take him long to dominate the catcher platoon. Although his hitting didn’t remain hot throughout the season, he’s not that bad of an 8 hole hitter.

Chris Coste: $450,000 (second year of team control-) He didn’t hit well down the stretch, but I still think he’s a decent backup catcher. His defense isn’t very good, but as a bench player, he has some value because he’s not a bad pinch hitter. However, I could see him getting lost in a numbers game, and he still has a couple of option years left.

1B Ryan Howard: $7.5 million (first year of arbitration-) It’s possible that he’s locked up long term and this number could be a little less in the first year of a new deal, but he’s going to get his dough this offseason. Although he set the strikeout record, he was still a huge power threat in the middle of the lineup. Miguel Cabrera got 7.4 in his first year of arbitration last offseason, and I think Howard’s 2006 season will carry a lot of weight.

2B Chase Utley: $7.5 million (second year of long-term contract-) Utley’s salary takes a big jump from 07 to 08, but he deserves every penny. I think he would be MVP if he didn’t break his hand. After 06, I didn’t think there was any way the guy could get better. He did. Hopefully he surprises me again.

SS Jimmy Rollins: $7 million (third year of long-term contract-) After predicting the Phillies would topple the Mets in spring, Jimmy was not only proven correct, he might be awarded with the MVP award after a career season. He does so much for this team, and his contract is really looking like a bargain now.

3B Greg Dobbs: $475,000 (third year of team control-) Dobbs was a nice surprise for the Phillies in 2007. He was a waiver claim from Seattle, killed the ball in spring and forced the Phillies to eventually add him to the starting lineup. He can’t hit lefties and he doesn’t play defense very well, but at the very least, he can be a part of a platoon at several different positions.

3B Wes Helms: $2.15 million (final year of FA contract-) Helms was a huge disappointment in 2007. He was expected to strengthen the bottom of the Phillies lineup and provide some much needed power from 3B. He did neither, and eventually lost just about all of his ABs. He’s a relatively cheap bench player, so I’m not going to complain about the 2 mil.

Pat Burrell: $14 million (final year of long-term contract-) After a miserable May and June which saw Pat lose a lot of starts, he became one of the best players in baseball in the second half. He ended up with 30 home runs and really did a good job picking up the slack when Utley got hurt. Some people want him traded now that he may have a bit of value after his hot finish, and I disagree. There’s only one year left on his deal and it’s tough to replace production like we got from him.

Michael Bourn: $450,000 (second year of team control-) He provided a nice spark off the bench with his game changing speed. For a few starts in June when Burrell was sat down, he collected a few hits and played good defense. You’d love to keep someone as fast as he is, but there are some teams that will be calling for him, and he could be used as trade bait to improve the pitching.

Shane Victorino: $475,000 (third year of team control-) Victorino really developed in 2007. This was his first full year of starting and he emerged as a great defender and a great base runner. He could end up having 20 home run power and if he becomes a bit more patient, he could be dangerous at the top of a lineup. As is the case with Michael Bourn, his tools could garner interest from several teams and could be used to improve pitching. However, with Aaron Rowand likely on the move, he could take over in CF for the Phillies.

Jayson Werth: $2.5 million (first year of arbitration-) Werth struggled early on in the season, but he got hot after returning from a wrist injury and did a great job of filling in after Victorino got hurt. He’s great against left handed pitchers so he could be valuable as either a platoon player or a good bat off the bench.

Cole Hamels: $500,000 (second year of team control, likely to become a super two after next year-) Cole has clearly became the ace of the staff, and had he not gotten hurt, he could’ve potentially won 20 games. He had a bit of a down period in the middle months of the season, but overall, he had a breakout year and is developing into one of the best starters in the league.

Brett Myers: $8.5 million (second year of long-term contract-) What’s Brett doing here, you might ask? I’m penciling him back into the rotation. I just think it makes sense. You’re paying him starter’s money; he’s had success as a starter; you have a huge hole at the top of the rotation. You have to do it. In this free agent market, it’s going to be easier and cheaper to find a good reliever than it will be to find a top of the line starter like Brett.

Kyle Kendrick: $400,000 (first year of team control-) The Phillies and their fans were pleasantly surprised with what they got from Kyle after a June call up. No one expected him to stick, and he made some good starts in big games down the stretch. His peripherals indicate that he might not be as good next year, but he always seemed to get out of jams.

Adam Eaton, or at the very least, his contract: 7.635 million (second year of FA contract-) I don’t know if he’s going to pitch here in 2008, but I’m going to lean towards “yes” because no one except Dave Littlefield would ever take his contract. Littlefield being out of a job, the Phillies will be stuck with him for the duration. There’s no way he can be this bad again next year, right?

Jamie Moyer: 5.5 million (final year of contract extension-) Jamie was pretty inconsistent in 2007, but he had two great starts to finish the year, and I hope we haven’t seen the last of him. He can generally throw enough innings to keep you in the game, and he’s durable, which is huge at the end of the rotation. His influence over younger guys is irreplaceable.

Tom Gordon: 5.5 million (final year of free agent contract-) He was hurt for much of the year and in April he might’ve cost the team some games, but he was big in late September. He cannot be the closer next year, but as a set up man, I’m fine with one more year of Gordon.

Ryan Madson: 2.5 million (second year of arbitration-) Losing Mad Dog to a shoulder injury really depleted the pen, and he could’ve made a world of difference. He was consistent in a 7^th inning role and has been one of the team’s best relievers the past few years. Hopefully he can come back healthy and contribute again in 2008.

Geoff Geary: 1.1 million (second year of arbitration-) I’m not positive on whether or not this is Geary’s second year, but I’ll go ahead and say yes. He got hit hard in the early and middle parts of the year, but he came back to the majors and really gave them some key innings late in the year. He’ll probably come back in a middle relief role next year.

Julio Mateo: 1.5 million (team option-) At this price, I see no reason why they wouldn’t pick up the option. He was a mediocre pitcher in Seattle, but in a bullpen that prominently featured Jose Mesa and Antonio Alfonseca, we could use mediocre in those middle innings. We didn’t see him in 2007, but he should get a shot to make the team out of camp in March.

Buyouts

C Rod Barajas: $500,000- It’s either this or pay him $5 million. I don’t think so.

3B Abraham Nunez: $175,000- I like his glove, but it doesn’t make up for how bad he is at the plate.

Jim Thome

DH Jim Thome: 5.5 million- I like the guy, but I’m sick of him being on the payroll.

That all totals up to $82,260,000. Of course, my team control and arbitration estimates could be and probably will be way off, but they’re just there to give us an idea on how much we’re spending. With that in mind, let’s look at some of our free agents and the contracts I think they’ll sign:

Free Agents

CF Aaron Rowand: 4 years, 48 million- This is a lot of cash for a guy who’s coming off a career year. I think I’m going to have to pass on him, as much as I like the guy. Money needs to be spent on pitching, and we just might not have that much cash to go around this offseason.

RP J.C. Romero: 4 years, 16 million- Game 3 aside, Romero was a shutdown reliever after joining the Phillies. He absolutely has to be re-signed. He’s effective against both right and left handed batters and despite the walks, most people were confident with him coming in the game every time.

2B Tadahito Iguchi: 2 years, 8 million- If he’s willing to come back and learn third, with no guarantee for at bats, you almost have to pull the trigger on this. Unfortunately, I don’t think he will be. He’s a good contact hitter who plays a solid all around game. He’s a great guy to have off the bench, but he’s going to want to play.

Freddy Garcia: 1 year, 9 million- Not all of that will be guaranteed, but a team’s going to be taking a chance on his health. I think he’ll end up in the AL again so he doesn’t have to hit. He wasn’t happy about being taken out because his AB was coming up, and he prefers the management style of the American League.

Jon Lieber: 2 years, 16 million- He was out of shape again, and it might’ve cost him a decent contract. However, with teams in dire need of pitching, someone’s going to spend this much on him. He probably wouldn’t be a bad guy to have at the back of the rotation, but at that price, I’m going to have to decline.

I’d like to bring back Iguchi and Romero, so we’ll add 8 million onto my payroll projection, putting the Phillies at $92,260,000. The owners like to stay around the $95 million mark, but with this year’s great attendance and additional playoff revenue, let’s say they’ll bump it up to $100 million.

I think the Phillies might look to do a few things in the offseason. Some questions can be answered internally, but some free agents or trades will have to be added or made.

They might choose to add a third catcher again. Carlos Ruiz has gotten to the point where he doesn’t need a veteran, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Jason Jaramillo gets the nod. He’s a good defensive catcher who wouldn’t be bad starting 20-30 games.

If they buy out Nunez and Iguchi doesn’t come back, they’ll probably want a defensive specialist infielder. I’m now high on Jason Donald, but he only played at High A Clearwater in 2007. He plays very good defense and could move all around the infield, but he might not be ready for the majors. Defensive infielders can be had through free agency.

If Rowand walks, they’ll want to add another OF. This guy could be a left handed bat to platoon with Werth in right, or maybe a righty to pinch hit off the bench against a left handed pitcher. That sentence did not answer any of your questions.

If they trade Bourn or Victorino, another new OF will be needed. In this case, I think the answer could come from the system in Javon Moran. Since they’d be trading one of their speedy guys, they’ll want another athlete to replace them. I don’t want to see Chris Roberson ever again.

Do they want to add another starter? Even if Myers goes back to the rotation, I think they’ll try. You obviously can’t count on Eaton, so if you can improve the back end, it would be nice. Unfortunately, cheap free agent solutions probably won’t be out there, so Gillick’s going to have to get something done with a trade.

If Myers does in fact go back to starting, you need a closer. I don’t have confidence in Gordon doing it. Otherwise, middle relief is fine. There are a couple closer options out there, both in free agency and trades. There are some teams with some pretty deep bullpens that could part with one of their relievers to upgrade elsewhere.

So after making the playoffs in 2007, there should be reason for optimism in 2008. Although we already have a lot of money committed, there aren’t that many holes to fill. With an increased payroll and hopefully smarter spending, this team could be right back in the thick of things next year.

Eagles' Passing Game

2007-09-18T22:30:00.000-05:00

The passing game is absolutely killer right now. When healthy (read: William James being able to match up against guys he’s capable of covering,) this defense will be very good. They have a good interior pass rush, and Juqua Thomas provides a spark from the outside when he’s in the game. They’ve done a surprisingly good job of stopping the run, and even Considine has been playing better.

Offensively, the running game has been good. I said this last week, but I feel I have to reiterate it. They haven’t been the problem so far. Buckhalter needs some more carries. Westbrook has been as shifty and elusive as ever. The line has gelled a bit and Tapeh is making some good blocks. However, the Eagles aren’t utilizing the running game enough, and as I review what’s wrong with the Eagles’ passing attack, the first thing I talk about is related to that.

Playcalling: I know the Eagles were down for much of the Washington game, but the pass-run ratio is inexcusable. Not only is McNabb hurt and should be eased back into action, passing the ball 70% of the time never works with any QB. Defenses won’t bite on play action when there’s no reason to react to the play fake. The Eagles thrive off play action. It was absolutely huge last year. They need that part of their offense. The D-Line can pin their ears back and aggressive rush the QB. Once you get to this point, screens and draws can reel the defense back in, but the Eagles haven’t even been doing that. If Andy Reid is waiting to flip on some switch before calling more screen plays and mixing up personnel and packages to get mismatches, there’s no more time to wait.

Receiver play: It feels like I’m watching a replay of the Carolina NFC Championship, and I’m not a fan of how that one ended. Jaws mentioned this statistic ad nauseam on the broadcast, but the Packers pressed the Eagle receivers 90+% of the offensive plays in week one, and Washington probably had a pretty high number as well. They haven’t been getting off jams and they haven’t been getting separation. What’s McNabb supposed to do if no one gets open? The offense depends on getting off the line and timing, and everything is thrown off if they get bumped at the line. I don’t know what the Eagles can do except man up, get physical and make some plays so they have to back off. There are way too many drops, and I really wish that wouldn’t develop into a problem again.

Personnel decisions: It’s a bit too early to give up on Kevin Curtis, but I’ve been underwhelmed with what I’ve seen lately. He seems to have good chemistry with McNabb, but he just hasn’t played well. I thought he was going to be able to do what Stallworth did last year except in all 16 games, but I don’t think he’s going to live up to that: not that Stallworth is doing much in Mossland anyway. He was billed as a fast receiver who can make tough catches, and although he’s displayed pretty good deep speed when he’s not being mugged at the line, he dropped a key pass last night. We have good depth; Avant has been making tough catches this year, and Baskett is a big, athletic guy to have as your 4^th receiver. Reggie Brown needs to get out of his funk and get back on track in his development.

Donovan McNabb: He’s not free from criticism. I know he’s getting back from a serious injury, and I’m sure that’s affecting him, but he hasn’t played well. His throws have been off the mark, both in the ground and too high. His accuracy is normally up and down, but he’s been all over the place so far. I’m not going off the deep end and saying his days as an elite QB are over, but he needs to settle in soon, and I’m confident he will.

Offensive Line: They played well against Washington, but protection was a bit of a problem against Green Bay, so I should mention it.

0-2 isn’t the end of the world. They finished 0-2 a few years ago, and they made it to the NFC Championship. However, I will say the offense needs to wake up fast. We’ve wasted a couple pretty good games from the defense, and the O needs to start playing up to their potential.

Big Sports Saturday

2007-09-15T11:08:00.000-05:00

Since I want to record a cheap entry, let’s take a look at what’s on my TV today. There are several sporting events staggered throughout the day, so let’s see what I’ll be watching for most of Saturday.

12:00 Temple @ Connecticut- Late addition to the schedule, because this game is on and I didn't know it. Temple's not off to a good start, as per usual.

12:00 Eastern Michigan @ Northern Illinois- I got out of the shower ready to see Temple play, but I looked at the TV Guide and I was met with this. Why? No one here cares about either of those teams. I’m not sure how much I’ll actually watch this.

1:00 Phillies @ Mets- The Phils are riding a nice winning streak against the division leaders after another wild win last night. They may not make the playoffs, but it certainly won’t be because they didn’t beat the Mets. Last night’s win clinched the season series, but it would be nice to put up a couple more against them.

3:30 Tennessee @ Florida- This is CBS’ first college football game this year, and it’s a great SEC rivalry. The Gators should be able to win at home, but this would be a great time for Erik Ainge to step up and prove that he could be a dark horse Heisman candidate and that UT isn’t as bad as they showed against Cal.

3:30 Notre Dame @ Michigan- This game looked better a couple months ago. Everyone figured the Irish would struggle a bit this year, but Michigan? They’ve lost two ugly games in the Big House, and they need to win now. Demetrius Jones chose not to make the trip with Notre Dame, so I’m not sure if they have anyone worth watching now!

3:55 Yankees @ Red Sox- This is where I get into trouble, because the Flashback feature on my remote can only work with 3 stations. The Michigan game will probably be the one that gets the boot in this time slot. The Sox have struggled against the Yankees as of late, but I don’t see them losing the division. The pitching is too good.

6:00 Lehigh @ Princeton- It’s on, so I guess I should mention it.

8:00 USC @ Nebraska- A pretty big out of conference clash to close out the night. I expect USC to win. Nebraska has been pretty average this far, and USC is the most talented and deep team in the country.

Week One Wrap

2007-09-12T22:37:00.000-05:00

We all know that committing turnovers and penalties are a recipe for losing football games. That’s a cliché, and I’m sure everyone who watches football has said that out loud at some point in their lives. We have anecdotal evidence to back it up; the Oakland Raiders, Brett Favre in the playoffs, and obviously, the Eagles on Sunday.

As most have seen by now, the Eagles lost to the Packers 16-13 on a late Mason Crosby FG. Just looking at the final score, you’d think the defense played great. After watching the game, you would agree that they were even better. They sacked Favre four times, stifled Green Bay’s running game and made clutch plays down the stretch to preserve the tie.

Unfortunately, the other two phases of the game let them down. Despite what Tony Siragusa was harping on all day, the Eagles had a good ground game. Westbrook and Buckhalter combined to chew up clock and move the ball. However, the Eagles got away from it a bit and put the game in the hands of a struggling passing attack. The Offensive Line had a tough time handling Green Bay’s front four at times, and it hurt the timing of the Eagles’ offense. McNabb also had an off day, which didn’t help matters.

Of course, there were the special teams. The two muffs that cost the Eagles the game. A couple other misplays. It was an awful debut. Some will say that a lot of times, special teams are overlooked. They stuck out like a sore thumb on Sunday.

If the Eagles didn’t commit those turnovers and Mike Carey didn’t throw the flag like Rod Barajas allows runners to score at home plate, the game probably would’ve been a bit different. Let’s put some numbers behind that.

In week 1, the team that committed fewer penalties was 12-4. The team the committed fewer turnovers was 13-3 (I used more penalties as a tiebreaker in the case of teams committing the same amount of turnovers.) It doesn’t get any more simple than that. If you’re more disciplined, you win games.

The Eagles were obviously not as focused or disciplined as the Packers on Sunday. With the offense struggling, there was no margin for error. If you score 45 points like Dallas did, then you can commit a few more penalties or a turnover or two because you figure an NFL defense can hold an opponent under 45.

Some of the calls were correctable things, such as the illegal formations. I don’t get how teams actually commit those. I also don’t get why officials are sticklers about them. Cut down on holding and now all of a sudden, the Eagles are playing a clean game and getting more chances.

I think they’ll cut down on the penalties and turnovers. Mahe should secure the special teams; who thought anyone would be saying this four months ago? McNabb will shake off the rust and get the offense going. There’s too much talent on this team to let muffed punts and jersey tugs hold them back, right?

Some final NFL Previews and predictions

2007-09-08T23:21:00.000-05:00

Cleveland Browns:

Cheers: Of all things, they actually have a pretty good Offensive Line. Joe Thomas should settle in nicely and Kevin Schaffer is better suited as a RT. Steinbach isn’t a bad guard and if Bentley can return healthy sometime, he’ll help solidify the interior. They’ve got pretty good Linebackers, with Andra Davis and D’Qwell Jackson in the middle and Kamerion Wimbley and Willie McGinest rushing off the edge.

Jeers: They’re very unsettled at the skill positions, minus K2. No one knows what they’re going to get out of QB for what seems like the umpteenth straight year, Braylon Edwards needs to break out now and who knows what Jamal Lewis has left in the tank? Their defense, besides the Linebackers, is a work in progress.

On second thought… I thought these guys would be further along with Crennel than they are, and I think he may be in danger of losing his job. They’re in a tough division, but it’s time to step up and build a roster capable of competing. Losing their 2008 first round pick won’t help, and I hate them for it because it’s going to be a great pick.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Jamal Lewis. Here’s another lateral move from a team that can’t seem to do anything but. He’s lost a step he never really had, and since he can’t run against his own team in meaningful action, he has no Cleveland to pad his stats against.

New guy who will meet expectations: Brady Quinn. It’s almost gotten to the point where he’s criminally underrated. I don’t want to hear he can’t win the big game or he’s overrated because of the system or whatever excuse Notre Dame haters want to come up with. He can throw the football, and he’s going to do it very well for a lot of years.

Baltimore Ravens:

Cheers: I think they may have a good defense this year, but that’s just a hunch. With Ray Lewis at the heart of the defense and a cast of star players around him, these guys will be forcing turnovers and delivering punishing hits for another season. There really isn’t a weak link anywhere in the unit. They should have a pretty good running game again, and the Ravens are hoping McGahee’s fresh legs spark the offense.

Jeers: Their Offensive Line isn’t what it used to be, and for that matter, neither is McNair. People say defense wins championships, but the offense has to be adequate too. They have to find a way to replace Adalius Thomas’ pass rushing ability, but the Ravens never have any problems replacing anyone, so they should be able to do it.

On second thought… this defense will carry them again, and they’ll go as far as they can go before the offense has to put up a point. They have a couple playmakers in Clayton and Heap, but they have to find the end zone more often than they did last year.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Willis McGahee. I never really liked the guy in Buffalo, and I’m not sure how much better he’s going to be with the Ravens. The line isn’t that much better and he’s still the same runner that doesn’t have much explosiveness.

New guy who will meet expectations: Ben Grubbs. He’s a big boy who’s going to be able to open holes for McGahee. They needed help and depth at guard, and at the end of the first round, they got the best guy on the board. He’s going to be able to step in and start immediately, so the Ravens will be getting an instant return on this pick.

Denver Broncos:

Cheers: They barely missed out on the playoffs last year, and they made some upgrades for 07. Even though the running game is never a problem, they picked up a back in Travis Henry that will really help. Cutler will only get better playing in a full season, so the offense is pretty set. They traded for Dre Bly to fill an unfortunate need across from Bailey, and they have some pretty athletic Linebackers.

Jeers: They could still use some help on the Defensive Line, and Jarvis Moss’ injury doesn’t help. One of these years, John Lynch is going to become a total liability, and I think it might be coming. Not many holes here, these guys have a rock solid team.

On second thought… these guys will give SD a run for their money. Like I said, they really don’t have one true weakness. They’re a pretty complete team on both sides of the ball, and they’re well coached to boot. As long as Cutler continues his development, the Broncos will be in good shape.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Dre Bly is a decent player, but he’s not as good as some people think. He’s sometimes too aggressive in playing the ball and he can get beat sometimes. He’s going to see a lot of action with Champ Bailey on the other side of him, so he needs to step up and meet the challenge.

New guy who will meet expectations: Travis Henry. He’s a good runner coming into a great system. It’s weird to see Denver pay a premium price for a RB, but that goes to show you how much they like the guy and how much they think he can succeed. As long as he stays healthy, he’s going to be great. In the past, Mike Shanahan has split RB duties when he might not have to, but I don’t see Mike Bell seeing that much action this year.

Buffalo Bills:

Cheers: They’re looking at an alright offense this year. Some of the elements are there, including a star receiver in Lee Evans, a developing QB in Losman, and the left side of their line is looking pretty good with Peters and the new G Dockery. They need Marshawn Lynch to step in right away and play well, which I think he can do. They got some nice performances out of their rookie DBs last year.

Jeers: Under Jauron, they’ve been moving laterally and they’re counting on a lot of unproven guys to play well. They’ve lost a lot on defense, and their Offensive Line is still incomplete. Peerless Price is literally 1/3 of the player he used to be, and Losman’s improvement could still be a fluke.

On second thought… they could achieve and be mediocre again. They’re a pretty unproven team and they really didn’t get much better in the offseason. Losman needs to continue to step up and lead the offense with a questionable running game, and a lot of young guys need to start on defense.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Darwin Walker. Wait.

New guy who will meet expectations: The Poz.

And that’s it. Because those four teams haven’t started the season yet, their previews still count. What a success. And now for some predictions:

NFC East: Eagles

NFC North: Bears

NFC West: Seahawks

NFC South: Saints

WC: Cowboys

WC: 49ers

Cowboys over Seahawks

Saints over 49ers

Bears over Cowboys

Eagles over Saints

Bears over Eagles

AFC East: Patriots

AFC North: Ravens

AFC West: Chargers

AFC South: Colts

WC: Broncos

WC: Steelers

Ravens over Steelers

Chargers over Broncos

Patriots over Ravens

Colts over Chargers

Patriots over Colts

Patriots over Bears

Real original.

No Eagles preview or picks this week, I'll try to start them next week. Power rankings will debut in the first week of October.

NFL Preview: Titans

2007-08-31T23:19:00.000-05:00

Tennessee Titans:

Cheers: Vince Young won rookie of the year. The Offensive Line isn’t that bad, and Bo Scaife made that one nice catch last year. Kyle Vanden Bosch isn’t a bad end and Chris Hope was great in the secondary last year. Bironas made that one long kick.

Jeers: They overachieved to reach mediocrity last year and then they got worse in the offseason. They downgraded an already weak offense and their defense wasn’t that good in the first place. Vince Young might as well be Nelson Muntz in that one Simpsons episode where he played Quarterback.

On second thought… I’m not quite sure what direction Tennessee was planning on going in this offseason. It’s puzzling. It’s like they were targeting a couple specific free agents and then missed out on them. They didn’t have a backup plan and they end up with Eric Moulds. Vince Young showed he could carry an offense for a little bit, but he can only do so much.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Ryan Fowler. The Cowboys pulled a dick move here so I don’t like this guy.

New guy who will meet expectations: He’s not a bad corner, and he’ll help out an average secondary a little bit. As long as he’s not being tackled by his shoestrings by QBs in key spots in games, he’ll be an upgrade and provide help for the pass defense.

NFL Preview: Dolphins and Redskins

2007-08-30T23:21:00.000-05:00

Miami Dolphins:

Cheers: Jason Taylor had an awesome season last year, and he should still be a great player again this year. Ronnie Brown is a pretty complete back, even though he’s yet to really put it all together. They have some other solid contributors on defense as well, including veteran Zach Thomas.

Jeers: After a bad year in which they were almost preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl, Miami isn’t horrendously overrated heading into this year. Trent Green is running on empty and the price of oil is too high to refill his tank. Chambers is inconsistent and they don’t have much going for them in the passing game, O-Line included. The secondary still needs some work as well.

On second thought… the Dolphins haven’t been able to figure it out for a while now. They’ve wasted the careers of Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas and they’ve never been able to build a complete team around them. There’s no consistency; cutting Culpepper and trading for Green just screams quick fix, and it’s not going to work. Again.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Trent Green. He’s not the same player he was a few years ago. Even before he even stepped on the field the day he got the concussion, he was on the decline. The injury only sped things up a bit. I have no idea why Miami thought this was a solution.

New guy who will meet expectations: Cory Schlesinger. He’s only a FB, but he’s a pretty underrated player. He’ll help out their running game a bit and he’ll provide an outlet, which Trent Green will desperately need a lot this year. I know he’s just a FB, but I wasn’t exactly enamored with their draft.

Washington Redskins:

Cheers: They should actually have a pretty explosive offense. Maybe I shouldn’t call it explosive, but it’ll still be pretty good. Portis is an elite back when he’s healthy, and Betts is one of the best backups in the league, who could probably be a starter in a lot of places. Jason Campbell looks like he’s coming into his own, and he has a couple weapons to throw to in Santana Moss and Chris Cooley.

Jeers: It’s unlike Gregg Williams, but the defense isn’t very good. Their pass rush is abysmal, and the run defense and secondary don’t make up for it. London Fletcher leads a pretty good group of Linebackers and they have a couple good corners, if Shaun Springs is healthy. And that’s not likely.

On second thought… Sean Taylor might be the most overrated player in the league.

They might end up around .500 at the end of the year. The defense isn’t as good as it was a couple years ago, but if their offense can put up points, the defense should be adequate enough for them to play spoiler. Someone has to step up on the DL and generate some pressure this year. It’ll make the whole defense better.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: As far as I’m concerned, Tyler Ecker. He’s buried so low on the depth chart he won’t have the chance to make bad plays costing his team the game.

New guy who will meet expectations: LaRon Landry. He hasn’t taken the field yet and he’s already the best safety on the team. He’s going to be a good one.

NFL Preview: Raiders

2007-08-29T01:00:00.000-05:00

Oakland Raiders:

Cheers: Well, they have a good defense. One of the best ones in the league, in fact. Derrick Burgess and a resurgent Warren Sapp were nightmares for QBs last year, and that allowed the secondary, particularly Nmandi Asomugha, to break out. Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison are developing into very good Linebackers.

Jeers: If I had to choose a word to describe their offense, I would say incompetent. Lane Kiffin’s a good coach, but coaching can only do so much. Their Offensive Line is weak, they didn’t do much to improve it, and not only that, they’re not blocking for anyone. The running game is weak and the QB situation is unsettled.

On second thought… they stink again, that doesn’t require another thought. They had to make wholesale changes offensively, and they got a #1 overall pick who’s MIA.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: JaMarcus Russell. If you expect him to take the field, he’s not meeting expectations. He has to end the holdout now and get into practice.

New guy who will meet expectations: Mike Williams. Yeah, I went there. Maybe back in CA under a coach he knows he’ll wise up and improve. I loved the guy at USC, I hope he does.

NFL Preview: Steelers and Patriots

2007-08-28T19:59:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Cheers: Dick LeBeau is the youngest looking 70 year old ever. He’s also a great coordinator, who despite losing an (oft-injured) Joey Porter, will be able to put together a great defense. They have some good skill position players, including Willie Parker leading another great Pittsburgh running game, and Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller providing a lot of targets in the passing game.

Jeers: They need to cut down on the mistakes, especially Big Ben. He was a weak link for their team last season, and he has to make better choices and throw fewer picks. Some players on the Offensive Line will also have to step up. After Jeff Hartings retired, they’re making some changes along the Offensive Line, so the new guys will need to step in and do a good job right away.

On second thought… don’t sleep on this team because they finished strong last year and they still have a lot of talent. If Big Ben cuts down on the picks, there will be a good passing game to compliment the run. As long as the secondary can hold up, their defense should be pretty good again.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: William Gay. If you expect him to make plays, the only play you should expect is him to line up offsides on crucial field goal attempts.

New guy who will meet expectations: Lamarr Woodley. He’s a great fit for the OLB position in Pitsburgh’s 3-4 defense. He’s a big, athletic player who has the ability to get to the QB.

New England Patriots:

Cheers: With Bill Belichick, you know you’re going to have a well coached team. Tom Brady is one of the best QBs in the league, and he has a lot more weapons than last year, if everyone can stay healthy. They have one of the best D-lines in baseball and two dangerous pass rushing Linebackers in Thomas and Colvin. They came close to returning to the Super Bowl last year, and they really worked hard to improve the team in the offseason.

Jeers: I would’ve liked to see them bring in another guy to compliment Maroney. I think he could’ve used another year of having a bigger back spell him for a bit, like Dillon did last year. Drafting Brandon Merriweather will help the secondary, but they still could’ve used a little more depth, and I think they dodged a bullet with Samuel agreeing to end his hold out.

On second thought… these guys are probably Super Bowl favorites. They’ve got great talent on both sides of the ball, and after coming just short last year, they reloaded in the offseason. If the receivers can stay healthy, the passing game could be more explosive than ever.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Donte Stallworth. He’s already hurt, hasn’t even practiced much, and he’s going to lose his snaps with all the receivers New England has. He’s essentially working on a one year deal, so his start in New England doesn’t bode well for his future there.

New guy who will meet expectations: Adalius Thomas. This is so obvious because he was a marquee free agent going to a system that’s almost exactly like the one he came from, but he’s going to be good. Tully Banta-Cain was okay, but Thomas is going to generate enormous pressure on opposing QBs.

NFL Preview: Chiefs

2007-08-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

Kansas City Chiefs:

Cheers: They have a great running game with Larry Johnson. His YPC wasn’t great last year, but he was as reliable as they come. He’s a bruising RB with quick feet who can really finish runs. The Chiefs also feature a pretty good pass rush, with veteran Jared Allen and a young up and comer in Tamba Hali. If they can stave off aging for one more year, Ty Law and Patrick Surtain should manage to stop a lot of receivers.

Jeers: They’ve always had a bad defense, and they didn’t do much to get better. They’re porous against the run, and a bit less against the pass. All of a sudden, their offense isn’t complete either. Trent Green wasn’t good even when he was healthy last year, but they have no passing game to speak of with Brodie Croyle taking over at QB. Their line is falling apart and they haven’t been able to plug in guys for retiring hall of famers.

On second thought… it was pretty lucky that they were able to sneak into the playoffs last year. I don’t see it happening again. Their offense is on the decline and the defense is moving laterally. I expected Herm Edwards to be doing a better job with these guys, but I look at the Chiefs and see a team that’s falling apart and has no direction.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Dwayne Bowe. He was a pretty good player in college, but with as bad as the Chiefs’ receiver situation has been, he’s not going to provide an immediate answer. Besides Antonio Bryant, Kennison might be the worst 1000 yard receiver ever.

New guy who will meet expectations: Donnie Edwards. The Don will dominate again back in KC. He’s been underrated his entire career, and now he’ll have a chance to make plays alongside a rising star in Derrick Johnson. He’s changing systems, but Donnie’s ability will allow him to make a seamless transition.

NFL Preview: Bengals

2007-08-26T18:52:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati Bengals:

Cheers: Here’s another team with a powerful offense and weak defense. Even after suffering a major knee injury, Carson Palmer came back to prove he’s the same great player he was before. Throwing to another deep and talented group of receivers again this year, Palmer will continue to kill opposing defenses. Let’s not forget about their running game; Rudi Johnson puts up good numbers year after year, and he really completes the Bengals’ balanced offense.

Jeers: They’re one of the most incompetent defenses in the league. They have a pretty good pass rush, but that’s where the positives end. Their Linebackers have potential, but they need experience to get better. For someone who was a defensive coach before getting the head job in Cincy, you’d expect Marvin Lewis to do a better job with these guys.

On second thought… in an average division, the Bengals should be there right to the end. Their offense is good enough to score on anybody, and in some weeks, their defense might be able to make some plays. They have to have some young guys step up and play well defensively for the Bengals to get back into the playoffs after falling short last year. The offense is a lock to be there and lighting up the scoreboard every game.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Ed Hartwell. They brought him in to bring experience to the Linebackers, but I’m not sure how much he has left in the tank. He was a heralded free agent out of Baltimore, but he got banged up a bit and struggled after signing in Atlanta. He can stop the run, but he’s a liability in pass coverage.

New guy who will meet expectations: Leon Hall. He inexplicably fell into their laps on draft day, and the Bengals came away with a good corner. He had a great career at Michigan, and he’ll provide depth to a secondary that’s lacking it. He’ll eventually unseat veteran Deltha O’Neal and form one of the better younger corner duos in the league with Johnathan Joseph.

NFL Preview: Saints

2007-08-26T01:34:00.000-05:00

New Orleans Saints

Cheers: After a rough 2005 season for obvious reasons, the Saints committed to bringing football back to New Orleans, and they did so in a big way. With Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush providing a great running game and Drew Brees leading the aerial attack, the Saints have one of the best offenses in football. Surprise performances from Marques Colston and Jahri Evans helped catapult the Saints from second to worst to almost first.

Jeers: Their defense, save a pretty good pass rush, stunk, and they sat on their hands a bit too much in the offseason. They got pretty fluky performances up the middle from Hollis Thomas and Mark Simoneau, and leaving those positions un-upgraded is asking for trouble. Their secondary got hurt by big plays last year, and they didn’t do enough to help them out either.

On second thought… they’re still one of the best teams in the NFC and a definite Super Bowl contender. The offense is so good, the defense only has to be marginal for the Saints to win games. They have a good coaching staff and they know how to get the most out of otherwise scrap heap players.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Jason David. This was their big splash or whatever to improve the secondary, and he’s an average player. He’s not going to repair a bad patchwork secondary. He’s a fresh face, and after last year, that might be something to be excited about, but I don’t see the Saints defensive backfield being any better next year.

New guy who will meet expectations: Eric Johnson. If he can stay healthy, he’s a really good, underrated player. If there was one weak spot on the Saints’ offense last year, it was their lack of production from the TE position. Johnson is a legitimate receiving threat and he occasionally showed that before being shown the door.

Eagles @ Steelers Preview

2007-08-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

The Eagles will have their dress rehearsal preseason game, in which the starters get the most playing time. Next week against the Jets, you probably won’t see any starters, and the backups will get their last shot to prove they deserve to make the cut. After the game in which the starters play a whole half or even more, you want to come away confident that they’re ready for the regular season. If these three matchups turn out successful, I’m confident the Eagles are ready to go.

Donovan McNabb vs. Pittsburgh pass rush- He did a good job in the game against Carolina, and it would be great to see a similar effort from McNabb again. He was sharp throwing the ball, his mobility wasn’t limited and he took a couple hits and bounced right up. The 3-4 can bring some interesting blitzes, so McNabb has to be ready for anything. I don’t know how much Pittsburgh will bring pressure in a preseason game, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

Jamaal Jackson vs. Casey Hampton- Jackson struggled a bit against Haloti Ngata in Baltimore’s sometimes 3-4 defense in the first game, and blocking the nose tackle is the key to success against the 3-4. This has been an Achilles heel of the Eagles of recent year, and Jackson has to be the guy to step up and help fix the problem.

Eagles’ front seven vs. Pittsburgh running game- Obviously it’s going to be interesting to see how the Eagles do without Trotter. Pittsburgh has, always has and always will have a great running game. Willie Parker is a complete back that can hurt you in a lot of ways, so the Eagles need to show that we’re watching the same movie from last year, and we didn’t like how that one ended. Omar Gaither is going to need to show the fans that he’s capable of doing the job because a lot of people are upset at letting go of Trotter.

Three more players to watch:

Nick Cole- In the replace Shawn Andrews roulette, everything’s coming up Cole this week. It’s his turn to start with the 1’s after a strong game against Carolina. He played RG very well, despite Pat McCoy making it look like he wasn’t doing a very good job. He blew guys off the ball and showed he’s a pretty good run blocker. He deserves the chance to show what he can do.

Ian Scott- If he plays, with the exception of Ramsey, who wasn’t going to be dressed on game day anyway, the Eagles will have all of the DTs for the first time in the preseason. We signed him with the intention of him playing pretty well against the run. He’s a bit bigger than our other tackles, and he’s going to have to show he can hang tough and improve the middle of the defense.

Brian Dawkins- He’s finally expected to play after dealing with a leg injury for much of camp. I don’t know how much he’ll play, but hopefully he shows he can move around and won’t be affected by the injury. Hopefully he was being held out for a while as a precaution and this won’t be something that lingers throughout the season.

NFL Preview: Jaguars

2007-08-25T01:40:00.001-05:00

Jacksonville Jaguars:

Cheers: If you believe in a strong running game and defense winning you championships, then the Jaguars are contenders to you. Maurice Drew and Fred Taylor provide one of the best running duos in the league, and they have a pretty good line to open holes for them. They have a great defense with Rashean Mathis and Brian Williams being one of the better corner pairs in the league. In addition to them, they can get a good pass rush from the outside and their tackles are huge run stuffers.

Jeers: They have to stay healthy and they have to get something out of their passing game. Between taking sacks and getting hurt, Byron Leftwich hasn’t developed into the player everyone thought he could be. His receivers haven’t helped much, but with Dennis Northcutt in the fold, the passing game has no excuse to not get better. It’s time for them to make the leap and become a good playoff team. They’ve been a fringe playoff team for a few years now, and they need to get over the hump.

On second thought… I sit here looking at the numbers from last year, and I can’t figure out why they weren’t a playoff team. They had one of the best defenses in the league and a pretty strong running game. I find it hard to believe that David Garrard was that detrimental, but I guess he had to have been. Although Dennis Northcutt obviously isn’t an upper echelon player, his speed compliments Leftwich’s ability more than the other, maybe more talented receivers do, and he’ll help out a lot.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Tony Pashos. I am absolutely baffled that this guy is getting a starting job after he was nothing but mediocre in Baltimore. Baltimore thought so little of him that they got rid of him, and they don’t have a world beating line themselves. I don’t see them getting much of an upgrade at tackle here.

New guy who will meet expectations: Dennis Northcutt. I’ve already talked about him twice, and it’s getting to the point where I’m giving him too much credit. He’s a speedy receiver who will do well with the starting job and Leftwich’s strong arm. He could be the guy that helps the slumbering pass offense wake up.

NFL Preview: Colts

2007-08-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

Indianapolis Colts:

Cheers: They’re the defending Super Bowl champs. They have probably the best offense in the league with future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, as well as the very skilled Reggie Wayne, Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark and a very good Offensive Line. These guys can put up so many points in so many ways, it’s almost unfair to line up a defense against them.

Jeers: Their run defense is still awful, and losing Cato June isn’t going to help. It didn’t stop them last year, but I don’t know if lightning is going to strike twice. They have to do something to play consistently against the run and actually stop a team or two if they want to repeat as champs.

On second thought… they’re still the top dog in an average division. Peyton’s going to score his points and the Colts will almost certainly have 11 or 12 wins. The difference between playing on Wild Card Weekend and getting a bye rests in the hands of Tony Dungy and what he can do to improve the bad defense.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Rick DeMulling. This one’s tough because I like all of their offseason acquisitions, but DeMulling won’t be the same player he was in his last stint with the team. After being a late round pick by the Colts, he blossomed into being a pretty good guard. He struggled a bit in Detroit and came back, but he has to compete for a job and I’m not sure he’ll win it.

New guy who will meet expectations: Daymeion Hughes. He was another guy who fell because of his 40 yard dash time, which is a shame because he was one of the best corners in the country in his Cal career. He’s an aggressive playmaker who could bring a spark to Indy’s pass defense and make some big plays.

NFL Preview: Texans

2007-08-22T21:53:00.000-05:00

Houston Texans:

Cheers: With veteran Ahman Green in the picture now, Houston’s running game will be a bit better and they’ll be able to control the clock. With Andre Johnson and the underrated Owen Daniels catching passes, Matt Schaub will have a chance to break out and prove he was worth the draft picks and big contract. The defense has a few young players that could provide a spark. Their return game should be set with hopefully healty Jerome Mathis.

Jeers: They’re getting younger and better on the Offensive Line, but they still have some work to do. The Charles Spencer injury was a rough blow for him and the team because in his first few games, he looked like he was going to become a great player. I don’t think Matt Schaub is all he’s cracked up to be either. Their defense still won’t be anything more than mediocre, even though Dunta Robinson is a pretty good corner and they have the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year in DeMeco Ryans.

On second thought… it’s going to be back to the drawing board again for Houston. I don’t get why they refuse to make more upgrades on the Offensive Line. They’ve had four years to figure it out and they still haven’t. You can’t win with a mediocre unit, and even though Eric Winston is going to be very good and Flanagan is a leader at center, you need more than two players. Their secondary isn’t very good either.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Amobe Okoye. He was a top 10 pick, but he’s still very young and raw. He has the potential to be a good player, and that’s why he was drafted. The Texans were looking a few years down the road with this pick and not about 2007. They should start thinking of a way to get to a few years down the road before they make plans for it.

New guy who will meet expectations: Ahman Green. He’s an underrated veteran with experience in the offense, and he’s going to pay dividends for Houston’s running game. He’s a multi talented back who can catch the ball as well, so he’ll provide a safety valve for Schaub in addition to running for over 1000 yards.

NFL Preview: Chargers

2007-08-22T01:09:00.001-05:00

San Diego Chargers:

Cheers: Any time you have someone like LT in your backfield, you have a chance to win games. Antonio Gates is a great playmaker from TE, and Philip Rivers is an efficient QB with a lot of room to grow. They feature a pretty good Offensive Line led by the super underrated Mike Goff, and we haven’t even looked at their defense yet. They have a strong line anchored by nose tackle Jamal Williams and end Luis Castillo (who probably hits better with runners in scoring position than his baseball counterpart.) Shawne Merriman is a nightmare for opposing QBs and they have a decent secondary. You don’t win as many games as they did without having a lot of talent.

Jeers: Norv Turner has never had success as a head coach. This team fired Marty Schottenheimer because of a petty dispute with GM A.J. Smith, and although he had some serious play calling problems in the playoffs, he got them to 14-2! He obviously had to do something right, and the Chargers really downgraded their staff. They also got rid of Charger defensive mainstay Donnie Edwards. Merriman was the flashier player, but Edwards made that defense go, and they’re not going to be as good as they were last year.

On second thought… these guys are a Super Bowl contender. They have a balanced offense led by an all time great in the backfield (two, if you count the guy blocking for him) and an aggressive defense that can get after the QB. I have no confidence in Norv Turner doing a good job, but there’s too much talent for anyone to waste there, right?

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Craig Davis. It was an absolute reach to take him in the first round, and even though San Diego isn’t exactly synonymous with receiver talent and depth, I don’t foresee him getting that much playing time.

New guy who will meet expectations: Paul Oliver. This is a cheap pick because he was a supplemental draft guy, but I’m surprised the Chargers were the ones who ended up landing him. Maybe there’s something we don’t know, but I don’t get why more teams wouldn’t want to spend a 3^rd or 4^th rounder on this guy. He’s got serious talent.

Trotter Released

2007-08-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

As you all probably found out by now, Jeremiah Trotter was cut by the Eagles after seven years and two stints with the Eagles. He was a four time Pro Bowler and in his prime, he was one of the best Linebackers in the league. In 2004, he was a big part of why the Eagles were able to make it over the hump and finally get to the Super Bowl. Remember, the Eagles were starting Simoneau and getting killed against the run. Trotter comes in and the defense improves. He made some pretty big plays against Minnesota and Atlanta, and he’ll definitely be missed.

From an on the field standpoint, this is a good move. Although he’s only 30 and that isn’t the doomsday year it used to be, Trotter was worn down. His aggressive, downhill style saw him receive more than his fair share of contact over the years. Combined with his serious knee injury he suffered in Washington, he just couldn’t move around well enough to be an effective player anymore.

The Eagles struggled against the run for a lot of reasons, but Trotter was one of them. I’m not going to criticize him because he was unhappy with the size of the guys lining up in front of him. He has a lot of pride and he’s not the kind of guy that’s going to take the blame when an entire team is doing something wrong. Trotter was a big believer in manning up against the other team and playing tough. That’s exactly what he did, so in his mind, he wasn’t doing anything wrong.

However, while he was playing tough, he wasn’t playing smart. While he was banging into the center “disrupting” plays, he wasn’t penetrating the gaps he needed to to stop the run. He made some key stops and made a lot of backs bounce the play outside when they didn’t want to in his day, but his style wasn’t getting it done anymore. It was time to move in a different direction.

Now, Omar Gaither will step in as the starter at MIKE. Gaither is obviously smaller than Trotter is, and a lot of people like to have a MLB that’s big. Size isn’t the only quality a MLB should have, and you don’t even need to be big to be good at the position. The MIKE has to be athletic because in the 4-3, it’s his job to cover two gaps. MLB is more than banging bodies in the middle. There’s a lot of responsibility and ability that’s required to play the position. Trotter didn’t have the athletic ability to do that anymore.

Hopefully Gaither can step up and handle the role. He’s a relatively unproven player who only started a handful of games at WIL last year. He was pretty impressive then, and the Eagles need that to translate to the middle now. We don’t know how he’ll hold up against the run, but we do know that he’s an upgrade in pass defense. He has experience playing all three Linebacker positions, and he can play both man and zone coverage. One of the problems with Trotter was he couldn’t be in the game on passing downs. When he was only in on the so-called running downs, teams could make appropriate adjustments and exploit him in the passing game. Gaither can play all three downs.

Where Trot’s really going to be missed is his emotional leadership ability. Every Sunday, you knew you were getting a guy who loves football and was excited to play every day. Teammates looked to this guy to get fired up. When you turned on an Eagles game, saw him leading the team out of the tunnel carrying an Eagles flag, saw him feeding off Dawk making big plays and getting the fans pumped, you knew the game was in good hands. Takeo Spikes should be able to bring the same fiery leadership, but the fans are going to miss Trotter on game days.

It was tough listening to that press conference. When Trotter tells you that both he and Andy Reid cried over the decision to do this, you’re reminded how tough the business can be. He was so upset; the man wanted to play football here. He loved the city, the team and the fans. Dawkins sounded drained. He couldn’t believe it. It’s tough to lose a fan favorite when it still looks like he could play a little bit. It’s something that had to be done, and I think we need to trust the Eagles’ judgment here, because their track record shows they know what they’re doing in situations like this.

Thank you, Jeremiah. You’ve done a lot for the Eagles and their fans, and this has to be one of the hardest things Reid has ever done. I really wish we could’ve won a title with you, but I bet you’ll feel like you’re there when our guys finally lift the Lombardi Trophy.

Panthers @ Eagles Review

2007-08-20T00:15:00.000-05:00

I wanted to see improvement and I got a face full of it. Let’s review the notes I talked about in my preview, and then I’ll get to my thoughts on the rest of the game.

Tony Hunt- He did what we asked him to do, and he did a good job in short yardage situations. He pounded the ball on the goal line and scored a couple of times. He really didn’t get a chance to do much else because Nate Ilaoa was getting a lot of looks in the second half.

Max Jean-Gilles- I didn’t actually see Scott Young play at all, so I’m glad that Jean-Gilles got all of the snaps with the first team. He didn’t seem to blow guys off the ball like you would like to see and expect from him, but he maintained contact to help open up holes. If Andrews is out for a significant amount of time, this is the guy I want in. He’s a big body with big potential.

Mike Patterson- He got some nice pressure on the QB in his time in the game, and it resulted in at least one sack. As long as he keeps working hard to stay low and get off the ball, he’ll be fine when he’s getting his rest.

Takeo Spikes- Spikes showed improvement in his second game. He was careful to not overrun a play when he had the opportunity to make a good tackle, and he did a great job of fighting through traffic to get to the ball. That’s what we brought him in here to do, and hopefully he can bust up screens the same way he did on Friday.

William James- He didn’t completely suck, so that’s an improvement. Dropped an easy pick, but the deflected pass is nice too.

Dirk Johnson- He had another pretty good game, but again, he was outclassed by Rocca. Dirk is doing enough to win the job in most years, but he doesn’t stand a chance against Rocca. You have to respect him for going out there and doing his job even though the writing is on the wall.

Running game- This still needs a lot of work. Either the starters are mailing home the preseason, which I guess they have the right to do, or Shawn Andrews means much more to this team than we know. Westbrook didn’t even average 3 yards a carry and they couldn’t sustain anything on the ground all night. The Offensive Line was a huge strength and advantage last year, and it’s been nothing so far.

Penetration- The Defensive Line played a lot better. The tackles had a much better game and even without Kearse, the ends weren’t bad either. Except for a couple long runs, Carolina’s ground game was stifled and the line had a lot to do with that. As Kearse and Ian Scott work their way back, things will get better.

Pass rush- I don’t know if it was Carolina’s line or Delhomme’s indecisiveness, but even just a four man rush was suffocating. Pressure came from the tackles just as much as the ends, and the Panthers’ QBs were forced into mistakes. Getting good contributions from a lot of guys is going to do wonders for the Eagles defense.

I don’t know if it was McNabb’s return or playing in front of the home fans, but the team just seemed more energized. The game was a complete 180 from what we sat through on Monday night.

McNabb looked sharp. Some of his throws were even better than what we’ve seen from him ever. He had no problem planting and throwing strikes right on the numbers. He made an awesome touch pass to Schobel between two defenders. He took a couple of hits and bounced right back up. You couldn’t have asked for a better debut. Kolb took more chances downfield and looked alright again.

NFL Preview: Bears

2007-08-20T00:11:00.000-05:00

Chicago Bears:
Cheers: One of the league’s most dangerous defenses remained largely untouched, and Lance Briggs remains in the fold. When the front four was healthy, they were able to put immense pressure on the QB and allow their defensive backs to make plays. They were strong against the run when Tommie Harris was healthy and having a great year at DT. Brian Urlacher is a great Linebacker, and as long as Briggs stays motivated in another contract year, he’ll form one of the best LB duos in the league. No one even knows who the third guy is though.

Jeers: They really didn’t do much to upgrade the offense, and it might’ve even gotten worse. They drafted Greg Olsen in the first round, but you have to wonder how much he’ll impact the passing game early in his career. Mushin Muhammad is on the decline, and although Bernard Berrian provided a spark last year, they don’t have much beyond them. After trading Thomas Jones in the offseason, they’re relying heavily on the unproven Cedric Benson, who should be playing with a chip on his shoulder for two bad years. Rex Grossman.

On second thought… they’ll probably be able to roll over the weak division again because as much crap as they take for their poor Super Bowl showing, they’re still a good team. You kind of get the feeling that they sat on their hands a bit too much in the offseason though. Rex Grossman is going to have to play more consistently for these guys to get back to where they were, because he really hurt them in some games last year.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Greg Olsen. He became overrated because he looked good without a shirt on in Indianapolis. This guy didn’t play well in big games, dropped passes and can’t block. He’s an average prospect who won’t be anything more than an average player.

New guy who will meet expectations: No one. They had the worst offseason to date in doing these, and I don’t see a single guy that I can say “you know, this guy will be pretty good.”

NFL Preview: Your Philadelphia Eagles

2007-08-18T23:57:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia Eagles:

Cheers: The guys at the top take a lot of heat for not winning a championship yet, but like the Colts, if the Eagles keeping plugging away and keep retooling, it will come. The Eagles have one of the most explosive offenses in the league, no matter who is at QB. Lead by a strong Offensive Line, skill players like Brian Westbrook, Reggie Brown and L.J. Smith put up a lot of points in a hurry. Great players on defense like Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard lead a good defense that can force turnovers and keep the team in the game just about every week.

Jeers: A.J. Feeley is a good backup, but McNabb needs to stay healthy this year. Some other injuries are a concern as well, including Dawkins, Smith and Shawn Andrews. The defense got gouged by the run last year, and they didn’t do that much to improve it. Takeo Spikes isn’t the player he used to be, and they didn’t really beef up the middle of the defense at all.

On second thought… it looks like the Eagles won’t have a problem making the playoffs again. They have a complete team, and they’re no worse than a couple other teams in the NFC competing for the Super Bowl. They were a couple games away last year, and if they can stay healthy, they’ll be able to get back over the hump with the new pieces in place.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Takeo Spikes. Don’t get me wrong, he’s going to be a good addition, but people need to dampen their excitement. This isn’t the same Takeo Spikes you remember reading about in Cincinnati. Injuries have slowed him down a bit, and he isn’t quite the explosive playmaker he used to be. He still represents an upgrade over what the Eagles had, but he’s not going to be a Pro Bowl player.

New guy who will meet expectations: Montae Reagor. I hope picking a deep sleeper here doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass, but Eagles fans are going to be surprised by this guy. He’s got a quick first step and he can get great penetration. If he’s kept fresh and can stay healthy, he’ll be a great situational pass rusher and get to a lot of QBs.

NFL Preview: Rams and Lions

2007-08-17T23:25:00.000-05:00

St. Louis Rams:

Cheers: The Rams will once again have a great, balanced offense. Stephen Jackson has emerged as an elite back and he could be producing Tomlinson-like numbers very soon. As always, they’ll have a dominant passing attack led by QB Marc Bulger. Torry Holt is Torry Holt, and although Isaac Bruce is aging, he’s still a pretty good player and Drew Bennett provides good depth. Jim Haslett will do what he can to get the most out of the defense, which is still retooling.

Jeers: They just don’t have the players on defense to get the job done yet. Tye Hill is developing into a decent corner, but they still have a weak secondary. Their Linebackers are solid and some bad picks and moves on the D-Line have set them back a bit there. Their Offensive Line is going to have to be more disciplined this year. They commit too many penalties and they have to cut down on their mistakes.

On second thought… they’re definitely contenders in a watered-down NFC West. No team has an elite roster, and the Rams should be right up there with the 49ers and Seahawks. They have a great offense and enough playmakers on defense that could swing the division balance back into their favor for the first time in a few years.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Randy McMichael. He’s probably already hit his peak, and he’s not as good of a player as he used to be. He’s not much of an upgrade over Joe Klopfenstein or Dominique Byrd, who they drafted just last year.

New guy who will meet expectations: Brian Leonard. It’s kind of puzzling that they drafted a RB this high in the draft, but they should be able to get good use out of him. He’s a versatile player that can block and catch, and he could become a valuable weapon spelling Steven Jackson.

Detroit Lions

Cheers: Jon Kitna may not throw for 50 TDs, but they still have an explosive offense. Roy Williams is emerging as an elite playmaker at receiver, and even though they don’t have Charles Rogers and Mike Williams anymore, they have good depth with Mike Furrey and top draft pick Calvin Johnson. Without Kevin Jones, they’re going to have to make due without their very good back, but Tatum Bell should be a decent fit for them.

Jeers: Although Rod Marinelli is a defensive coach, he’s going to have a tough time getting something out of his unit this year. They have a solid line that can get to the QB, but besides Ernie Sims, their LBs are lacking. After trading Dre Bly, they’re also missing a playmaker in the secondary. Their Offensive Line has to grow and get better to help make the offense work again.

On second thought… Jon Kitna’s prediction of 10 wins is probably off base. The Lions still have some work to do, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. They have the playmakers on offense, but now they need to put everything together and execute on a consistent basis. Marinelli needs to continue to bring in new defensive personnel until they get 11 guys who can play.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Calvin Johnson. I know he has better physical attributes than any other receiver since maybe Moss, but he’s going to be the slot receiver this year. Rookie receivers tend to struggle, and as good as Johnson will probably be, I don’t see him busting out and having a huge year like a lot of people think.

New guy who will meet expectations: Dewayne White. I have no choice but to say this, I couldn’t pick out any other of their new additions. He was a pretty good pass rusher in TampaBay, and Marinelli thought enough of him to coach him again in Detroit.

Panthers @ Eagles Preview

2007-08-17T00:40:00.000-05:00

Because the first game was bad and we’re inching closer and closer to the regular season, we should be looking for improvement. Let’s take a look at some players and items that need to improve against Carolina.

Players:

Tony Hunt- He’s getting carries with the first team on Friday, so he obviously has to step up his game. I don’t know how much blocking he’ll have to do on the goal line, but his overall performance was mediocre.

Max Jean-Gilles- He wasn’t that impressive against Baltimore, and he has to step up his game because he’s filling in for Andrews against Carolina. He has a similar body, so hopefully he learns to play in a similar way.

Mike Patterson- While Bunkley was hurting Baltimore’s timing on just about every play, Patterson was being neutralized at the line of scrimmage. He needs to get a push. His asset is his ability to get off the ball fast and get quick penetration, so he has to do it. A stalemate isn’t good enough.

Takeo Spikes- He made a lackluster preseason debut, and in front of the home fans, he’ll want to make an impression. He has to show the ability to fight off blocks and make the tackle. He’s a big guy, he should be able to handle it. We need him to.

William James- He absolutely deserves to be ragged on every chance anyone gets. I’m kind of worried about our depth at corner if this guy can’t get better. He looked awful against Baltimore, and although he was covering a quick guy in Mark Clayton, there’s no excuse for being beat as bad as he was.

Dirk Johnson- Normally his punting against Baltimore wouldn’t be cause for concern, but if he wants to remain an NFL player, he has to out-punt Rocca at this point. Rocca may be inconsistent, but I’ll take the inconsistency going from 40 to 60 yard punts instead of 25 to 40 like we have with Dirk.

Things:

Running game- It was absolutely dreadful against the Ravens. Two Quarterbacks were in the top 3 on our team in rushing. It starts from the coaching and it goes down to both the backs and the line. We have to try and establish the running game as a threat. We passed a lot in Baltimore and there was no reason for the Ravens to sit on the run. The backs have to get going north and south, and the Offensive Line has to execute their assignments. I wouldn’t mind seeing more two back sets and Thomas Tapeh. He was a key in the running game last year and he didn’t play much on Monday.

Penetration- Bunkley isn’t the only Defensive Tackle on the roster, right? Patterson was outplayed by Jeremy Clark. The middle of our defense was awful last year, and I know we’re missing a couple guys due to injury that hurt our depth, but Patterson has to be better. We’re going to go as far as Bunkley, Patterson, Scott, Reagor and whoever else take us.

Pass rush- I’m going after the D-Line again. McNair had too much time on a lot of passes, and I know we didn’t blitz a lot, but the front four has to be able to get the job done itself sometime. This killed us in 03 and 05. Kearse is working his way back to health and I’m confident in him for the most part, but Darren Howard was a bust last year, and Trent Cole is a situational player. Mike Patterson was drafted to get sacks and he has to do it.

Let’s look for these things in 5’s return to the field on Friday night against Carolina.

NFL Preview: Falcons, Cardinals, Seahawks and Panthers

2007-08-16T01:32:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Falcons

Cheers: Even though veteran Warrick Dunn may be slowing down, they’ll still have a pretty good running game with Jerious Norwood backing him up. Their Offensive Line can’t protect the passer very well, but they’ve done a good job of opening up holes in the running game for a while now. If their defense manages to stay kind of healthy, they should have one of the better ones in the league with a pretty good pass rush.

Jeers: Vick is no top tier QB, but they’re still downgrading to Joey Harrington. They’ve never had a strong passing game for a number of reasons. One, Vick can’t pass. Two, they can’t block long enough for him to pass. Three, their receivers were as bad as the Eagles pre-TO days. They’ve put a band-aid over the receiver problem with Joe Horn, but with his injuries, you have to wonder how much relief he can bring. Their secondary is no more than mediocre, led by DeAngelo Hall, who has to be on of the most overrated players in the league.

On second thought… here’s another mediocre team. Their strong running game will be weakened without Vick, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the offense responds without the threat of a running QB. Injuries have banged up their defense in recent years so it’s tough to get a read on how good they are, but without Patrick Kerney, who was a difference maker when healthy, they’re not going to be as good. DeAngelo Hall needs to step up and finally live up to expectations to lead the secondary.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Joey Harrington? They really don’t have any guys that have huge bust potential, but as of right now, Harrington is their starting QB. I say he won’t meet expectations because he won’t be by the end of the season.

New guy who will meet expectations: Ovie Mughelli. The Falcons have gotten decent play out of the FB position as of late, and when they had to bring in a new guy, they grabbed one of the most underrated players in the league. He’s an okay blocker and he has good ball skills. He’ll help out the Falcons a lot.

Arizona Cardinals

Cheers: They have great skill position players that can put up a lot of points in not a lot of time. Their young receivers are possibly the best duo in the league, and Bryant Johnson stepped up a bit in Fitz’ absence last year, even though he was previously a pretty big bust. Matt Leinart will continue to come into his own this year and help the passing game take the next step. Edge is better than he showed last year, and with Ken Whisenhunt in the fold, the toughness this team needs on both sides of the ball should be there.

Jeers: Their Offensive Line moved laterally in the offseason. Although they improved late in the year with some personnel changes, at this point, Levi Brown isn’t any better than Leonard Davis yet. Whisenhunt’s experience will help some. Their defense is also transitioning into a 3-4, and I don’t know if they have the personnel to do it. Of course, I also said that about the Chargers when they made the switch a few years ago, and look at what they did. I looked like an idiot.

On second thought… this may be the year the Cardinals finally break out, but I wouldn’t count on it. They’re going to put up a lot of points and be one of the best offenses in the league, but they’ll be closer to Cincinnati last year than Indianapolis the past few years. They still need to work out the players on their defense to figure out what works and who they need to bring in.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Rod Hood. When Lito Sheppard was hurt in 2005, he did a pretty good job of filling in. Last year, he became overrated. He’s a decent nickel back and okay if you need a guy to start for a game or two, but he’s not good enough to be a full time starter. The Cardinals will be relying on him for that, and that’s bad news.

New guy who will meet expectations: Levi Brown. The Cardinals had problems running the ball last year, and Brown is a guy who’s going to help with that. At Penn State, he worked in a system that relied heavily on a power running game with Tony Hunt, and his big body is going to be great for Edge too. He’s not the greatest pass protector yet, but with Matt Leinart at QB, Brown won’t be protecting his blind side.

Seattle Seahawks

Cheers: They’ve been one of the more consistent teams in the league the past few seasons, and despite several injuries that would’ve sunk a lot of teams, they made the playoffs anyway. A healthy Shaun Alexander will be huge for them, and he should be better than he was last year. Hasselbeck is still one of the better QBs in the league, and they don’t have a bad defense.

Jeers: Losing players and not adequately replacing them has to catch up to them sometime, right? They traded Darrell Jackson for a draft pick a year after losing guard Steve Hutchinson, who they visibly missed in 2006. They just never seem to do what it takes to retool and make sure they stay on top, but it’s worked out so far. They return a pretty solid defense with Pat Kerney hopefully providing an upgrade over Grant Wistrom, a free agent bust.

On second thought… They’re the leaders of a mediocre division top to bottom, but they remained stagnant while everyone else got better. It took until the final couple weeks to claim the division again, and it’s going to be another battle this year. They have to stay healthy, or someone is going to step up and take it from them.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Brian Russell. After starting to play a bit better in Cleveland, he was brought in by the Seahawks to compete to replace Ken Hamlin. He’s not Ken Hamlin, even though Ken has missed his fair share of games recently.

New guy who will meet expectations: Don’t see any that stand out, so I’ll say Deon Grant takes the FS job from Russell and does okay.

Carolina Panthers:

Cheers: They’re preseason favorites every year, and after September, we always wonder what we were thinking. Obviously when you think Carolina, you think defense, and this year is no different. They return Julius Peppers and a good cast of characters on the line as well as some pretty good players in the secondary, even though Chris Gamble took a step back last year. Steve Smith is one of the best playmakers in the game and DeAngelo Williams will come into his own and become one of the better backs in the league.

Jeers: Jake Delhomme has to play 100% better than he did last year, or he’s going to lose his job. He’s always been a bit aggressive and turned the ball over a bit, but he had a really rough year last year, in part due to injuries to him and the guys around him. David Carr is breathing down his neck and could step in at any time. The defense can’t blow late leads like they did all of last year. That’s really a luck thing and a trend I don’t expect to continue in 2007.

On second thought… after 2006 dampened people’s excitement for this team, they could sneak up on some people this year. They don’t have a bad core, but they need to stay healthy and get some good contributions from young guys and role players. Their Linebacker play has to be better and the offense’s success could hinge on Carolina finally getting a running game with DeAngelo Williams.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Jon Beason. He’s going to have to fight for his playing time and unless Dan Morgan gets hurt, he’s not going to get it. So in other words, he will get playing time. Very quickly. Hopefully he fares better than the last Miami LB they drafted.

New guy who will meet expectations: Dwayne Jarrett. He slipped because of his 40 time. His stinking 40 yard dash. He was a great player at USC and he’ll be a great player in Carolina. He’s a pretty big guy with good hands, kind of in the mold of Anquan Boldin. He should be able to get playing time right away and develop into a good player. One of the better steals of the draft for Carolina.

Eagles @ Ravens Review

2007-08-15T01:32:00.000-05:00

The Eagles had a pretty rough go of things, so this is going to be more critical than positive. I’m just going to throw my thoughts down the way I put them down on the piece of paper I had.

Jeremy Bloom’s night started off poorly. I didn’t like his first return because he cut outside right into a coverage guy when it looked like he had a lane inside. He calmed down and made nice returns after that. He got upfield fast and showed explosiveness not seen in the Eagles return game in forever. What interested me most was what he showed at receiver. He caught the ball with his hands and quickly turned upfield to get yards after the catch. He has potential there, and that’s going to make his value skyrocket.

I was a bit worried about the play calling again this year when we got a delay of game on the first series, but that didn’t develop into a problem over the game. Nevertheless; get the play in on time.

Chris Gocong had a nice start to the game, and I think the first play is a preview of what we’ll see a lot of this season. The Eagles lined him up on a classic high school lightning blitz and turned him loose against McNair. He didn’t get the sack, but he was explosive. I’m going to be using that word a few more times, because it’s something I was impressed with and will get to later. He had a great burst and good closing speed and nearly chased down McNair, who was rolling the other way. He got crossed up in coverage, but he’s learning a new position. He’ll get better.

William James, for all the trash talking you did over the offseason, you’ve disappointed me so far. I haven’t heard good things about you in training camp, and seeing you against Baltimore You were very clearly a step behind your man all night, and it didn’t look like you were up to the task of handling fast receivers. This isn’t good for someone who declared himself a starter. didn’t help.

They need to find the ball better. The Ravens ran two naked bootlegs and Jevon Kearse was the only player to catch on to either of them. The Eagles went with the flow of the play and didn’t find the ball, allowing for easy yards for the Ravens. Teams can do that up and down the field all game long, they need to pay attention.

I wasn’t a Sean Considine fan last season, but it’s clear he worked hard to get bigger and improve against the run. He made a nice hit early in the game and was good in run support. However, it looks like his man caught the TD on Baltimore’s early long drive. The D-Line didn’t get a great push so he had to cover for a long time, but it’s still not something you want to do. Being good against the run and bad against the pass is an upgrade over being bad against both last year. If he can be Michael Lewis this season, I’ll take it.

It would’ve been nice to see Takeo Spikes make a better debut. He struggled a bit fighting off blockers, and that was our problem last year. It has to be fixed. That’s why he was brought in here. He flies to the ball, but on one play, he just completely overran Todd Heap and missed a tackle. He has to play under control and make the plays.

The second team Offensive Line was dreadful. I’m pretty sure the talent is there. I even said last week four of our second string linemen could start on some teams, but they certainly didn’t show it. To me, it looked like they just showed up five minutes before the game, put on the pads and took the field. Like they never played with each other before. They played as individuals and not as a unit. That’s more important than having one standout talent. If they don’t play as a group, things fall apart, and that’s exactly what happened. Guys didn’t know their assignments and there were missed blocks. On one running play, two defensive linemen were double teamed. I’m not an expert on the Eagles’ blocking schemes and playbook, but that can’t be right. Several players came free and clogged the hole. In pass protection, blitzers came free with regularity. The tackle has to be able to trust the guard to get a guy so he can handle someone else. They just needs reps working together.

Whether or not the Ravens blitzed more than everyone expected or what the Eagles game planned for, they have to be better on Friday. Have to be.

The QBs were sharp. Holcomb did a good job of completing passes and for the most part, he got rid of the ball fast. That’s one thing I noticed all three of them did; they dropped back, made their reads and threw the ball. A couple problems I noticed with Holcomb; he stares down receivers, and he turns into Drew Bledsoe when someone isn’t open. He’ll hold onto the ball and just get pummeled. I know some guys can’t run, but you have to try.

While I’m on the QBs, Kevin Kolb impressed me. This was the first time I’ve been able to see him play, and he did a good job meeting expectations, despite the lackluster stat line. He showed a lot of confidence and poise. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve said he was a 5 year vet. He stepped up and fired bullets to his receivers regardless of tight coverage. He could get into trouble with that sometime, but you have to love seeing that from a rookie.

Omar Gaither had an on and off night. On some running plays, he did a great job of filling the gaps, which is what you want to see from your MIKE. On a scramble by Kyle Boller, Gaither ran him down on the sideline and just kind of stopped expecting Boller to run out of bounds. You have to play to the whistle.

Another backup Linebacker, Tank Daniels, probably won’t make the roster this year, if this game was any indication. He played a bit in the Atlanta game last year and did well. However, he looked bad in all facets of defense. He wasn’t good in coverage and missed tackles. You can’t do that when you’re one of the guys competing for the last spot on the roster.

Rashad Barksdale might’ve been the player of the night, at least defensively. The second day draft pick might’ve been a longshot to make the roster when we first heard about him, but he was impressive. He reminded me of Sheldon Brown. He was aggressive and did a great job coming up and supporting the run. His one play early on when he ran step for step with his receiver into the endzone and knocked the ball down showed good coverage ability. He’s only played football for a year or two, and it’s a possibility that the Eagles uncovered a real gem here.

If Barksdale was the defensive player of the game, Brent Celek was the player of the game on the offensive side of the ball. His college highlight was his 80+ yard catch and rumble to help knock Rutgers off, and he showed some of that ability against Baltimore. He made a lot of catches and if I remember correctly, only missed one ball. After he caught the ball was when he really shined, which is a good quality for tight ends, obviously. He broke tackles and showed some shifty moves. L.J. Smith shouldn’t be watching his back quite yet, but Brent Celek could make the Eagles’ decision on Smith easier depending on how he plays. I don’t really advocate letting Smith go unless we plan on making a splash with Cooley though.

Matt McCoy. Probably should’ve talked about him with the other linebackers a few blocks of text ago, but here we go. He’s the same player as last year, except going into this season, we have that bad taste in our mouths because of him while he was fresh last year. He didn’t bulk up at all and he still gets manhandled by blockers. He can fly to the ball and he’s a great athlete, but he can’t stand up to blockers and stop the run.

Stewart Bradley saw his share of playing time at SAM and MIKE and he did okay. On one play, he made a nice read and fought through traffic to make a tackle on a play to the weak side. On another, he took an awful angle and helped contribute to a big gain. He’ll learn. I don’t think he gained any ground on Gocong in the battle for SAM though.

The backup RBs, and the running game in general, were bad. It’s a shame Moats got hurt, but now he can be on IR for a year and not get cut. Nate Ilaoa attempted to get running north and south quickly which he should. Hopefully next time he touches the ball, there isn’t instant penetration knocking him back. Tony Hunt was pretty smooth catching the ball and suffered from the same O-Line problem as Ilaoa, so it’s tough to get a read on him. He needs to block better or he’s not going to play. Period.

Remaining in the backfield, Reid didn’t show his hand related to the FB battle. Tapeh hardly played. The first team offense didn’t run many two back sets, so if there is a fight for the job, Tapeh wasn’t given a fair shot. Jason Davis got his money’s worth and played pretty well.

I’ll say it right now. Give Sav Rocca the job. Dirk’s been alright and he’s had his moments, but you know what you’re going to get for him. He’ll generally give you some okay punts and then occasionally a huge dud that hurts you in the field position battle. Rocca nailed some great punts, took a big hit and showed his potential. I don’t see how NFL teams don’t get this. Aussie players can kick the football better than everyone else. I don’t know why there aren’t more of them in the league. Dorenbos can’t be taking points off the board, and I really hope he doesn’t make us miss Bartrum.

I was more impressed with individuals rather than the unit. Some guys had some good performances. Lately, we’ve drafted some good athletes and guys that can make plays, and I mentioned that with Bloom and Gocong. Those guys just have abilities you don’t normally see from their positions and they can really be weapons.

Carolina preview will be up later today, and I’ll try to continue my NFL previews. I have some ready to go, I just need to post them.

Pardon the Interruption...

2007-08-12T23:28:00.000-05:00

ESPN, but I made arrangements to tune into your network on Sunday night, and I didn’t get what I expected.

I looked at my TV Guide on Saturday, and written into the program at 8 PM was “Fresh Pizza” with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan: hard hitting analysis, news updates and exclusive interviews. I can’t believe you guys try to squeeze this into just three hours, they need a huge block for their insight.

Compounding the problem is your desire to cut into their show with a baseball game. I believe the Phillies and Braves were playing. I didn’t tune in to see America’s pastime tonight. The NL East had little to do with the topics at hand, it’s inexcusable to cut away from Joe Morgan’s thoughts to show Buddy Carlyle throw a curveball.

The John Smoltz interview ended far too soon. This guy does it all: he talks about Pedro Martinez, and he even has a bet with Tiger Woods! What’s that poorly executed double play attempt by Atlanta got to do with the PGA Championship? When I see Martin Prado hitting the links with Woody Austin, then show him botch a one hopper. You’re lucky you had the time to talk with John. He’s a busy man, especially on a day like today when he’s doing his rigorous workouts in the dugout to stay in top shape. Couldn’t you have chatted with him just a little bit more?

In case you haven’t noticed, ESPN, but Barry Bonds made history this week. He hit his 756^th career home run, which made him the all-time leader in dingers. He passed the legendary Hammerin’ Hank Aaron, who although didn’t want to attend the game in which Bonds set the new bar for taters, was able to film a moving congratulatory tribute speech. Frankly, your lack of coverage to the tribute was deplorable. Next take Aaron takes his own time to put together a video, you better show the entire thing. Not only that, I want fan reaction and the democratic rebuttal.

Ryan Howard? He’s had his moments, and he’s knocked a few out of the park, but come on. We’re talking about two incredible players here. I don’t need to be bothered to see Howard put one in the 5^th row of a small stadium. You saw Bonds’ record breaker; he destroyed it into the gap in right center. Once Ryan Howard hits 755, then we can show his bombs.

Run scoring plays? Who cares? I need Sports Center 30 and 30 updates from an anchor that’s so good, he’s not available at a set time like prima donnas such as Stu Scott. Scott shows up at the studio at the same time every night and does the same show at the same time. Not 30 and 30. He needs to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, whether it’s 8:29 or even the unfathomable 9:31. This guy deserves all the air time he can get, not meaningless RBI doubles in the 7^th inning.

Joe Morgan, there’s a guy you want on your TV. He knows the game inside and out, the ups and downs and any other cliché you can use. Why should his commentating prowess be contained to just one thing? Why are Jon Miller and Joe Morgan just talking about a single baseball game when they know so much about stuff off the field? Did you know that Hank Aaron is a good citizen? No one would have had this team not brought it to light.

So ESPN, I hope you reconfigure your Sunday night lineup after tonight’s abomination. You have three prime hours on Sunday night that could be put to much better use than pennant race baseball.

NFL Preview: Buccaneers

2007-08-11T23:38:00.000-05:00

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Cheers: For as long as anyone can remember, they’ve had a good defense. With mainstays such as Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, they’ve always had some pieces to make them a dominating group. They’re aging a bit and they’ve lost some guys over the years, but they’ve always managed to be solid. They have a young-ish O-Line that’s developing, and they can always count on Matt Bryant to pull a long field goal out of his ass.

Jeers: They can’t pass the ball and they have a tough time running it. Jeff Garcia isn’t the answer, Jake Plummer isn’t the answer and no one else Gruden brought in or attempted or bring in would be either. Gruden pulled a rabbit out of his hat once with Brad Johnson, and I don’t think he can do it again with any of these guys. Cadillac Williams really struggled in his sophomore year, but his technically sound game should lead him to a little more success. Joey Galloway can’t keep it up and Mike Clayton forgot how to play football.

On second thought… it’ll be more of the same for the Bucs in 2007. They just don’t have any standout area on the team that you can hang your hat on. Their offense has potential to be mediocre and that’s it. Their defense will be alright, but they’re not the group they used to be. The NFC South isn’t the competitive division it’s cracked up to be, so they still might have a shot to win a few games against their rivals.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Jeff Garcia. If this guy is being counted on to get the Bucs back to the playoffs, there are going to be some pretty disappointed people. He’s good in the WCO, but the talent isn’t there like it was in Philadelphia. He could really lean on Westbrook and he had some good receivers to throw to, and those luxuries aren’t in Tampa. He’s going to be counted on to make plays, and he can’t do that anymore. That’s of course if he wins the starting job.

New guy who will meet expectations: Cato June. What a great fit for TB. They had a hole at Linebacker, and they went out and got a guy who’s played his entire NFL career in the system they run and succeeded at it. He may be small, but in the Tampa 2, he can fly around and make plays. He was one of the best players on Indy’s defense, and even though that doesn’t say much, he’ll be athleticism and experience the Bucs could use.

Preseason Preview at Baltimore

2007-08-11T14:18:00.001-05:00

These won’t be as elaborate as my regular season previews, but I’ll still talk about the preseason games. I’ll list some players and things to look out for. With all the injuries, some younger guys and backups are going to have the chance to show what they can do, for better or worse.

Draft picks: Obviously, Kevin Kolb is going to get quite a bit of playing time, probably about a whole half. It’ll be his first real game action in his career, and against a team with a deep defense like Baltimore, he might not play so well. Cooler heads should prevail and realize that he’s not a bust yet. Victor Abiamiri will get plenty of time to play, especially if Howard’s groin pull keeps him out of the game. He’ll get a chance to rotate in with the 2’s with McDougle, so he’ll be playing on and off for much of the game. Tony Hunt, C.J. Gaddis and Rashad Barksdale should see a lot of time, especially if Westbrook and Dawkins don’t play.

Second year players: Last year’s draft has potential to be one of Reid’s best, but certain guys need to step up this year. Brodrick Bunkley, Chris Gocong and Jeremy Bloom figure to play pretty big roles in this team’s success, and the rest of the guys provide depth. Winston Justice and Max Jean-Gilles are one snap away from playing, and Avant, Gaither and Ramsey all saw their share of snaps last year. These inexperienced guys all have to be ready because the Eagles are counting on them to help get back to the Super Bowl.

Position battles: Baskett and Avant will be on the field at the same time for much of the game on Monday, but whoever plays better will be the guy on the field when opening week rolls around. They’re battling each other for the slot receiver position. Baskett has more upside, so I expect him to get the job again. The FB job is apparently up for grabs again, which kind of surprises me because Tapeh did a good job last year. On the D-Line, a bunch of guys are battling to get snaps, including the new DTs Ian Scott and Monte Reagor, as well as former draft picks Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley. No spot is secure inside. Two spots at Linebacker aren’t decided yet; Chris Gocong and Jeremiah Trotter currently get the starting nods, but Stewart Bradley and Omar Gaither will be challenging them. Dirk is battling Rocca to be the starting punter.

Guys fighting to make it onto the roster: We have more RBs than we can carry, so guys like Nate Ilaoa and Ryan Moats are playing for their jobs. Greg Lewis leads the large pack of receivers trying to stay on the roster, and there have been a number of impressive young guys catching passes in camp. There’s a bit of a logjam at TE. Fortunately (for the backups, not the Eagles,) LJ Smith is hurt, so there are plenty of snaps available for them to prove themselves. Matt Schobel’s job is probably safe, but with Brent Celek and Lee Vickers, he still has to work hard. Jerome McDougle is probably out of time, but he’s been good in practice so far, and he needs to translate that into games without committing several penalties on every play.

Offensive Line depth: Almost every guy on our second team line could start for several teams in the league, and it’s fun to watch these guys block. With Andrews most likely out, Max Jean-Gilles will get a good chance to prove that he will be a starting lineman in this league. Winston Justice and Nick Cole will get a lot of time at LT and C respectively, and Pat McCoy is another good backup at RT. The running game shouldn’t miss a beat when the backups enter the game.

There are a few things to watch. I’ll breakdown and talk about some of the action on Tuesday after the game.

NFL Preview: Giants and Packers

2007-08-11T13:32:00.000-05:00

New York Giants

Cheers: The Giants have an Offensive Line that can block pretty well. Even though Luke Pettigout went elsewhere in the offseason, their interior line makes up for the loss. Plaxico Burress was a pretty big playmaker this year, and if he can hang onto the ball, he can be even better. Their front seven is deep, with out without Strahan. They have a bunch of guys that can get to the QB, including end Osi Umenyiora a couple of quick tackles, and Mathias Kiwanuka, who may be playing end or LB this year.

Jeers: Tiki Barber retired, and now it’s up to Eli Manning to lead the offense. He had a tough time playing consistently with one of the best backs in football, so I’m not sure what he’s going to do without him. Brandon Jacobs will wear down if he has to carry a full load, and Reuben Droughns doesn’t help matters. Their secondary is still subpar, and that can really bring down their defense at times. Tom Coughlin is still their coach, and he’s still likely to screw things up.

On second thought… they took a step backwards from last year’s marginal playoff team. For some reason, these guys can’t close out a season after a hot start. Their offense is significantly worse, and their defense isn’t any better than last year. Tiki Barber was a huge part of that team, and they’re going to miss him dearly this season.

New guy that won’t meet expectations: Reuben Droughns. If you’re the Giants and you were determined to get another back to help out Jacobs, Droughns might be the one that makes the least sense. He’s not fast so he doesn’t really compliment Jacobs at all. He doesn’t represent a significant upgrade either. It’s like they added a guy for the sake of adding him, regardless if he’s actually good or not. He’ll be mediocre just like he was in Cleveland, and that’s if he even gets carries.

New guy who will meet expectations: Aaron Ross. It’s easy to say their first round pick will play well, but he’s going to get immediate playing time. In the weak Giants’ secondary, particularly at corner, he’ll start right away and have the opportunity to match up against some big play receivers in the NFC East. He was a very good corner at Texas, and his ability should translate well to the NFL.

Green Bay Packers:

Cheers: They have a few good defensive players, and if some others step up, it might be tough moving the ball against them. They have a strong secondary featuring one of the better corner duos in the league, and an underrated young safety in Nick Collins. With Nick Barnett and A.J. Hawk leading the Linebackers, they have a pretty good unit there too. The wild card is the play they get from the tackles; they need to get better this year to help out the defense.

Jeers: They don’t have a running game. They let Ahman Green walk without a sufficient replacement to fill the void. They have two good receivers in Driver and Jennings, but Favre has to completely collapse more than he already has at some point, right? Their defense should be pretty good, but it won’t be good enough to cover for an offense that’ll have problems putting points up on the board.

On second thought… Clark Harris is white. The Packers are a mediocre team, up and down their roster. The Driver injury is a bit of a concern because they don’t have much depth behind him and Jennings, but he should be fine. The defense is average with the potential to be pretty good, but without a running game, they don’t have much of a chance.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Brandon Jackson. I think they reached for him, and I don’t think he’s going to play well in their poor RB by committee. The Packers had a ton of draft picks and they did very little with them.

New guy who will meet expectations: For lack of a better player, Mason Crosby. He’ll win the kicker job and do an okay job for them. What a bad offseason.

I should get another one of those up later.

NFL Preview: Vikings

2007-08-08T10:45:00.001-05:00

Minnesota Vikings:

Cheers: They have a damn good defense. Led by tackles Kevin and Pat Williams, they’re one of the most stingy units in the league against the run. Some high picks at end haven’t panned out, but their Linebackers and secondary are pretty good. The left side of their Offensive Line is one of the best in the league, but the right side leaves something to be desired. Throw in a couple of good backs, and the Vikings have a strong running game as well.

Jeers: They can’t pass. They have one of the worst starting QBs in the league and their receivers aren’t anything to write home about, or even discuss. Brad Childress should know better because of the Eagles’ struggles before they made a commitment to being deep at the position. Williamson isn’t ever going to get it done, and they really don’t have anyone else at the position.

On second thought… Tavaris Jackson is going to need to get much better quickly for the Vikings to get anywhere. Their offense is so one dimensional, and teams are going to be able to stack the box to stop Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson. The receivers aren’t good enough to make plays on his own, so Jackson needs to get to the point where he can make the guys around him better, and I’m not sure if he’s ever going to do that.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Bobby Wade. It’s easy to say that their average FA acquisition won’t do anything, but what else am I supposed to say? They got this guy with the intention of improving their receivers, and he’s not any better than what they have now. He’s an adequate depth player and the Vikings need to do better than that when upgrading receivers.

New guy who will meet expectations: Marcus McCauley. He was only a third round pick, but he should get some playing time right away. He fell a bit further in the draft than he should have, but he’s going to be a good player. He’ll eventually challenge Cedric Griffin for a starting spot, and he’ll continue to earn more and more playing time as the season wears on.

NFL Preview: Cowboys

2007-08-08T00:35:00.000-05:00

Dallas Cowboys

Cheers: Dallas will bring back one of the better defenses in the league from last year, and they added some depth with guys like Ken Hamlin and Anthony Spencer. Not only do they have a good defense, they have some talent on offense. If TO can fit an entire season into his schedule, they have two pretty dangerous receivers and a good ground game. They’re a pretty complete team, and not many rosters in the NFC can go toe to toe with them in terms of overall talent.

Jeers: Wade Phillips isn’t going to be able to control the team. Owens is going to be running the show by week 10, and the locker room is going to fall apart. Phillips is so much of a players’ coach that no one respects and no one is going to work hard for him. They weren’t disciplined under Parcells, and their problems are only going to snowball with the new coach. Their front seven isn’t strong enough to dominate teams, and their Offensive Line is still pretty mediocre, even with the addition of Leonard Davis.

On second thought… as much as I dislike them, they’ve got a talented team. They don’t have many holes, and they’re going to battle for the division until the end of the season. If Romo can cut down on the picks and distribute the ball to everyone to keep the receivers happy, their offense will be in good shape. Wade Phillips knows the 3-4 defense, and he should help the Cowboys’ defense prolong their stay as one of the better ones in the league.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Leonard Davis. He got paid a huge contract, and he was average at best in Arizona. He was a top draft pick that didn’t live up to his potential. Even though he had to adjust to position after position in his career, he never proved himself to be very good, and it speaks volumes that Arizona was so unwilling to re-sign this guy considering how bad their line was. He doesn’t represent that much of an upgrade over what they have now.

New guy who will meet expectations: Ken Hamlin. He’s battled a serious injury in the past couple years and hasn’t been on the field so much, but he’s a good player. His skills compliment Roy Williams very well, and his cover ability will add a lot to their secondary. He’ll allow Williams to do what he does best, and that’s line up in the box and kick someone’s ass.

NFL Preview: Jets and 49ers

2007-08-07T01:22:00.000-05:00

It was tough for me to do those camp write-ups, so those are scrapped. I can’t commit to series things like that, so allow me to try another series. I’m going to do team by team previews in this “cheers and jeers” format. The cheers will talk about why you should like this team this year. The jeers will talk about why you should dislike this team this year. I’ll deliver a final verdict and talk about some of their offseason acquisitions, in a segment I’ll call “New guy that won’t meet expectations and new guy that will meet expectations.”

The teams will be done in a random order, and since I need to do two teams today to get on my schedule that will culminate with kickoff to the first game, I’ll start with two breakout teams of sorts, the Jets and 49ers.

New York Jets

Cheers: Under first year coach Eric Mangini, they managed to make the playoffs last year and beat everyone’s expectations. Considering they did it with almost no running game and an overall inexperienced team, there’s reason to be optimistic in 2007. With Thomas Jones in the fold and the Offensive Line having a year under their belts, the Jets really have a complete offense. They added depth to an average defense with draft picks Darrelle Revis and David Haris. If Chad Pennington can stay healthy for another year, this team could do good things.

Jeers: They stood pat when they should’ve taken the offseason to try and get over the top and get better than the Patriots. Thomas Jones worked best when Cedric Benson got a carry here and there, and the Jets don’t have anyone as good as Benson backing up Jones. They’ll need to get more out of Chad Pennington this year. He needs to find a way to get the ball to his playmakers in Coles and Cotchery again.

On second thought… I thought they overachieved a bit last year, and I don’t know if they’re going to make the playoffs again. I don’t think Pennington will stay healthy, and their QB situation behind him is unsettled. Their defense was solid last year, with some guys rejuvenated in new roles in the new hybrid 3-4 defense. They’ll still be a solid team.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Darrelle Revis. One of three remaining holdouts, Revis needs to get to camp. He needs to get to practice and get some reps in the Jets defense, because they’ll almost certainly ask him to do more from corner than Pitt did. He has a lot to learn in the NFL, and he’s not helping himself by missing out on his chance to prove himself.

New guy who will meet expectations: Thomas Jones. The Jets had a bad running game last year, so they went out and got one of the most consistent producers over the past couple years in Jones. He’s an immediate upgrade over the slop the Jets already had, and he’ll bring a strong backfield presence that’ll help out the whole offense because he can catch a little too.

San Francisco 49ers

Cheers: Alex Smith will lead a generally young offense with one more year of experience, and he should be ready to break out. Along with star RB Frank Gore and an emerging talent in Vernon Davis, the 49ers should have a pretty good offense in 2007. Darrell Jackson is an experienced playmaker that should help out Smith in the passing game. They went out and got help for their defense with guys like Nate Clements, Michael Lewis and first round choice Patrick Willis. Although some will say they overpaid for their free agents, you have to spend money if you want to get better.

Jeers: They made some nice defensive improvements, but they weren’t good enough. They’re still pretty mediocre up front, and they could still do a better job at stopping the run. They still need more depth in the front seven of the 3-4 defense, and it’s their third year in the system, so they should be getting there by now. Offensively, it’s possible that Norv Turner was the key to their success. Without him there getting messages across to Alex Smith, he might falter in his third year.

On second thought… they could surprise some people this year, if they’re expecting the 49ers to be the 49ers of a couple years ago. This is at least an 8-8 team, and they could walk away with the weak NFC West this year. They’re a young team, and they’re pretty good across the board. They really opened the wallets in the offseason, and they’re hoping that the new faces can get this proud franchise back into the playoffs.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Michael Lewis. I like the guy and thought he got a raw deal with the way Considine played last year, but he doesn’t fit in their defense. They needed to improve their pass defense greatly, and Lewis isn’t the way to do it. He can play the run well, but he’s not very good in coverage. He’ll do some good things for him, but he’s not upgrading their biggest area of need.

New guy who will meet expectations: Darrell Jackson. After TO got his way out, the 49ers have been really unsettled at receiver. Rashaun Woods was a bust, Antonio Bryant didn’t work out and they couldn’t nab Donte Stallworth. On draft day, they made a trade with the rival Seahawks to get Jackson. Despite some injury and drop problems, he’s a very good receiver who’s going to make a lot of plays for Alex Smith and the 49ers.

Deadline Deals

2007-08-01T11:47:00.000-05:00

Let’s take a look at the “deadline” deals. I use deadline loosely because I’m going to review trades that happened all the way back dating to July 1^st. The asterisk indicates the guy is a prospect with no ML experience.

Tigers receive: RP Jose Capellan

Brewers receive: LHSP Chris Cody*

Capellan never reached his potential with Milwaukee, so they figured he could use a change of scenery. He throws the ball really hard, so he’s going to keep getting chance after chance. He’s still pretty young, so if he ever gets it together, he could be a valuable part in someone’s bullpen. Cody was just drafted very recently, and he’s in High A now. He started this year in Low A, and he struggled in A+ before the trade. I don’t expect him to become much. Neither team gave up much, and neither team got much.

Cubs receive: C Jason Kendall

A’s receive: C Rob Bowen and LHRP Jerry Blevins*

Kendall was having an awful year, and his contract is even worse. Frankly, it’s amazing that Billy Beane actually got something for him. Rob Bowen is already on his third team this season, and he’s nothing special. Blevins was dominating AA before the trade, but he’s struggled a bit in his first few innings in Oakland’s organizations. The Cubs made a low risk trade. After trading Michael Barrett, they weren’t getting much production from catcher. Now, they have a guy that’s at least been okay before.

Pirates receive: SS Cesar Izturis

Cubs receive: PTBNL

I don’t get the Pirates’ logic here. What do you get from Cesar Izturis that you don’t get from Jack Wilson? Certainly not his bat, he’s even worse at the plate. He plays outstanding defense, but his offense doesn’t make his defense worth it. Not only that, but he actually gets paid a little bit of money. I doubt the Cubs’ acquisition ever becomes anything, but it was good for them to be able to rid themselves of Izturis and his salary.

Yankees receive: C Jose Molina

Angels receive: RHRP Jeff Kennard*

Backup catcher isn’t that important, but the Yankees had to get more out of the spot than Wil Nieves. Despite his ability to kill Casey Fossum and Brian Stokes, Nieves was bad. Molina gives them an experienced player with a strong arm and good defensive ability. The Angels got a guy who’s probably never going to make a difference for them. He’s a 26 year old reliever in AA, so obviously something is holding him up. He was decent in Trenton before being traded. Anaheim didn’t have much of a need for Molina with Napoli and Mathis healthy and in the majors, so they got what they could for him.

Brewers receive: RHRP Scott Linebrink

Padres receive: RHSP Will Inman*, LHRP Joe Thatcher and LHSP Steve Garrison*

Milwaukee was in 2005 or 2006 when they made this trade, because they gave up a lot for a guy who’s struggling right now. You have to give them credit though. They see they have a shot to do good things this season, so they took a chance on a pretty good reliever. The Padres have a deep bullpen, so they could afford to trade away one of their guys for some prospects, despite what Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy think. Inman was Milwaukee’s third best prospect, so there’s some potential there. Thatcher jumped to the majors with the Padres, so the jury’s out on him. Garrison is 20 years old and in High A, but he’s been pretty mediocre. Both teams made a good deal.

Indians receive: OF Kenny Lofton

Rangers receive: C Max Ramirez*

Believe it or not, Kenny Lofton is back with the Indians. It didn’t take much to get him either. Lofton will settle in to a platoon with former Phillie teammate Jason Michaels in LF. The Indians have a pretty deep outfield and bench now, and their offense is geared up for a postseason run. In Max Ramirez, they gave away an okay prospect who’s a bit old for his league. They got him for Wickman last year, but with three guys on the ML roster that can play catcher, there was just no future for him in the Indians organization. The Rangers have a bit more depth in the minors now.

Phillies receive: 2B Tadahito Iguchi

White Sox receive: RHRP Michael Dubee*

After the Chase Utley injury, Pat Gillick did well to not sit on his hands and let Abraham Nunez take over. Iguchi plays okay defense, and despite having a down year in Chicago, he has some nice pop in his bat. When Utley comes back, they could potentially experiment with Iguchi at 3^rd, and if it doesn’t work out, you’ve still got a nice righty bat off the bench. Ask a Phillies source, and there’s a good chance they tell you that Dubee was taken because his dad is the pitching coach. He wasn’t having a particularly outstanding year at Lakewood, and he’ll probably never end up as an ML player. The Phillies upgraded their ML club without really hurting the depth of the farm system, which is lacking as it is.

Padres receive: OF Scott Hairston

Diamondbacks receive: RHRP Leo Rosales*

First of all, Rosales is on the minor league DL, so I’m not even sure how the Padres traded him. There’s a reason no one talked about this trade: both guys are pretty irrelevant. Hairston has had a shot at a utility role in Arizona for a while now, and he’s never really come through. He’s not a good hitter, and San Diego’s bench has to be pretty bad for him to get a shot. Rosales hasn’t pitched since early June, and he was pretty average when doing so. He’s 26, so I see no reason for him to become a player to get excited about.

Devil Rays receive: RHRP Grant Balfour

Brewers receive: RHRP Seth McClung

These teams exchanged relievers that just weren’t going to get a chance in their former organizations. McClung had stunk in Tampa, and after a spring in which he didn’t try hard because he thought he was out of options, it was discovered he had one more year left and got sent down. At AAA Durham, he had some ups and downs, but he walked too many guys. Balfour had surgery once. He also has a clever “Ballfour” moniker. Pretty even swap. Both pitched well at AAA this season.

Astros receive: 3B Ty Wigginton

Devil Rays receive: RHRP Dan Wheeler

The Astros pen has been a bit of a mess this year, and this trade doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for them. The offense is struggling and they just designated Ensberg for assignment, but Wigginton is only an upgrade for them because their offense is so bad. He’s a pretty good player, but good relievers should carry a premium price since there are so few of them, and for some reason to Houston, Wheeler didn’t. His ERA may be high, but his peripherals indicate that the number should be coming down pretty soon, assuming he doesn’t come down with Brian Stokes Strike Deficiency Syndrome.

Reds receive: 2B Jorge Cantu and OF Shaun Cumberland*

Devil Rays receive: RHRP Calvin Medlock* and LHRP Brian Shackelford

Cantu was pretty upset with being sent down again, and for good reason. He was hitting .207/.277/.224, so it’s hard to believe the Rays weren’t getting him his at bats. I don’t see him getting very far with Cincinnati either, since Brandon Phillips has second base locked up for the next few years. Looking at Cumberland’s stats, I can’t find a good thing to say about him. Medlock was overmatched at AAA Louisville after dominating AA for much of the season, and he’s already 25, so there’s not much of a ceiling for him. Shackelford is old and not very good, but I guess we’ll call them AAA bullpen depth guys.

Braves receive: 1B Mark Teixeira and LHRP Ron Mahay

Rangers receive: C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus*, LHSP Matt Harrison*, RHSP Neftali Perez* and LHRP Beau Jones*

Here’s the big deal that no one expected to happen. The Braves got the best player on the block at the deadline, and they really bolstered their offense. Teixeira makes them one of the most powerful lineups in the league, and when Andruw Jones walks after next year, they’ll just have him step up in the middle of the order. Mahay is a decent reliever. Although he’s left handed, he’s not a dominant guy against lefties, like what the Braves were hoping to get when Mike Gonzalez went down. Nevertheless, he’s a solid reliever and good addition to the bullpen. Texas really bolstered the farm with this trade; they added the Braves top three prospects, in addition to a couple others. Saltalamacchia gives them the franchise catcher they’ve been looking for, since Rod Barajas didn’t quite fit the bill. Andrus is another top prospect, and even though Texas’ middle infield looks to be set for a few years, they’ll find a way to make room for him. He has great defensive ability, and Texas is hoping he learns how to hit. Harrison was the 3^rd best Braves prospect who was having a decent year at AA before the trade. Perez is an interesting guy. He’s a Dominican teenager playing rookie ball this year. It’s too early to project him, but right now, he’s playing pretty well. Beau Jones probably won’t be much. He tried out High A this year and failed. He’s back in Low A where he’s older than most of his competition. Both teams made out well here. Texas knew they weren’t going to be able to re-sign Teixeira, so they got some help for the future. Atlanta understands that their core guys like Chipper and Smoltz are getting up there, and they need to make one last run before they lose these guys. They may have mortgaged the future, but this is how you build a team. The goal of every organization should be to win games at the major league level, not hang on to prospects for the sake of having a highly touted farm system.

Phillies receive: RHSP Kyle Lohse

Reds receive: LHSP Matt Maloney*

The Phillies went out to add rotation depth because you can’t count on Durbin, and to a lesser extent, Kendrick. You obviously can’t count on Eaton as well, but they can’t move him anywhere because of his contract. Lohse has been up and down all season, but lately, he’s been up. He becomes a free agent after this season, so he’ll probably be out the door over winter. Matt Maloney is like Randy Wolf, except not as good. And if you pitch like Randy Wolf and you’re not as good as him, you’re probably not going to have too much success. If he reaches his ceiling, he’ll be a back end of the rotation guy but not much more.

Mets receive: 2B Luis Castillo

Twins receive: OF Dustin Martin* and C Drew Butera*

The Mets got an average player in exchange for prospects that probably won’t see the light of day. Castillo isn’t the same guy NL East fans remember when he left the Marlins, and that doesn’t bode well for the Mets. He’s not as fast or as good defensively as he used to be, and those were huge parts of Castillo’s game. It’s a lateral move for the Mets, but it’s not like they had to give up much for him. Martin is old for his league, and he’s pretty above average. Butera isn’t even as good as Martin. He started the season in the FSL and struggled when he got bumped up to AA. The Twins just got what they could for him, and it wasn’t much.

Cardinals receive: Joel Pineiro

Red Sox receive: PTBNL

Pineiro is a unique guy in that he got worse every year of his career. Boston was pretty close to making him their closer this season, but fortunately, common sense prevailed and Papelbon stayed the closer after a brief stint in the starting rotation. He struggled all year for Boston, and the experiment didn’t work, so they designated him for assignment. The Cardinals, looking to add anything to their pitching staff, acquired him. Dave Duncan has worked well with reclamation projects before, so let’s see if he can do it again.

Dodgers receive: RHRP Scott Proctor

Yankees receive: 3B Wilson Betemit

This trade doesn’t make sense for the Yankees. The bullpen was a weak point for them, and then they trade one of their better relievers. I know Torre wears Proctor out and he’s going to become ineffective soon, but it’s almost like they made this move to appease the fans who didn’t like Proctor. Not only that, but they acquired an infielder, one of the last things they needed. What are they going to do with Betemit? Can he play first base? I’m interested to find out if this move was actually made because Cashman is worried about A-Rod leaving. If that’s the case, Betemit has some pretty big shoes to fill.

Braves receive: RHRP Octavio Dotel

Royals receive: RHSP Kyle Davies

The Braves made another good trade here. They bolster their bullpen even more by getting Dotel. He’s struggled a bit lately, but otherwise, he’s had a good year returning from injury. Although Wickman is inconsistent, taking a lead back from Atlanta in the 7^th inning or later is going to be tough now. Davies wasn’t ever going to be anything with Atlanta. He was a pretty highly-regarded prospect in previous years, but after his first few ML starts a couple years ago, he hasn’t regained his confidence and stopped walking guys. Maybe things will work out on a new team.

Padres receive: OF Rob Mackowiak

White Sox receive: RHRP Jon Link*

The Padres need offensive help in the worst way, and adding a guy like Mackowiak to your bench can only help. He’s not a bad utility guy, and at the very least, the Padres got a guy that’s not a bad pinch hitter. The White Sox will probably consider sending Link to their AA team. He was in High A for San Diego, but he’s old for the league, and he was dominating a hitter’s league. Not much else to say here. The Padres improved their big club without giving up much.

Red Sox receive: RHRP Eric Gagne

Rangers receive: LHSP Kason Gabbard, OF David Murphy and OF Engel Beltre*

This was probably the second biggest deadline deal, and the Red Sox made a great trade. Eric Gagne makes an already tough bullpen that much better, and you can forget about beating these guys if they have a lead after six. They’re deep, and they have top end talent in Papelbon and Gagne. They had to pay him a couple million to convince him to waive his no trade clause, but they can afford to do that. Gabbard was having a nice couple weeks for Boston, but he’s never going to be more than a back end of the rotation guy, and the Red Sox have no problems filling that role elsewhere in the organization. Murphy is a 4^th or 5^th OF at best, and Beltre’s a guy to watch. He’s not very projectible right now because he’s 17 years old and in the rookie league, so only time will tell if Texas actually got anyone of worth here.

Padres receive: 3B Morgan Ensberg

Astros receive: PTBNL

Morgan Ensberg had that one good year, and for the rest of his career, he’s been disappointing. He plays good defense, but the Astros were hoping for him to hit the ball a lot better. The Padres are desperate to improve their lineup, and they haven’t gotten anything out of 3B this year, so they’re hoping they can do something to fix Ensberg’s swing. They didn’t give up much, so it’s a no-risk trade for San Diego.

Phillies receive: RHRP Julio Mateo

Mariners receive: IF Jesus Merchan*

You can’t beat this move for Julio Mateo. He abuses batters with his fastball, and his breaking ball has some nice bite. Now that I’m finished making light of domestic abuse, this was a good move by Gillick. Mateo has contributed at the ML level before, and he could help this bullpen down the stretch. Merchan is organizational filler, and even though he’s having a very good year, he’s not going to be an ML player. The Phillies could afford to lose him to try and upgrade the bullpen.

Braves receive: LHRP Royce Ring

Padres receive: LHP Wilfredo Ledezma and LHRP Will Startup

I don’t know what the Braves plan on doing with Ring, but it was a pretty nice move to get him, considering they only had to trade a guy they didn’t want anyway. He’s having a decent year, and he can be a good middle relief guy in a deep bullpen. Ledezma has struggled since the Braves picked him up from Detroit, and Atlanta can’t afford to lose games down the stretch because of him. Startup’s credentials start and end with his cool name. He’s actually having a decent year in AAA.

Pirates receive: RHSP Matt Morris

Giants receive: OF Rajai Davis* and a PTBNL

The last trade of the day was the most hilarious one. The Pirates of all teams are the ones taking on Morris and his entire contract. Just last week, the Morris talk was about which contending team he’s going to. This doesn’t make any sense for Pittsburgh. Their payroll is pathetically low and they should be rebuilding, not getting significantly older. The Giants were lucky to get anything for Morris with the way he pitched lately. I can’t believe someone is actually taking on his contract.

What's ahead

2007-07-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

I don’t want to blame the Phillies’ struggles this season on injuries. I don’t want guys being hurt to be a crutch for this organization. But what are they supposed to do?

I know every team has injuries. I know the Mets have had their share this season too, but I think the Phillies take the cake for players on the DL. Pitchers they were counting on, role players, and their two biggest bats in the lineup. I’m amazing they’ve been in contention for so long this season.

The last two months are going to tell us a lot about this team and the guys on it. Do we have guys that shrink when the pressure’s on, or do we have guys that rise to the occasion and fight adversity? I hope we have more of the latter. I want to see how these guys respond.

I want to see how Charlie Manuel responds. He’s facing his toughest test yet in his third year of managing the Phillies. Forget having a bad bullpen or hole in the lineup to deal with. His job now is to convince 25 guys that they can win ball games without Chase Utley, who was in the middle of one of the best seasons for a 2B of all time. That’s no easy task. He has to motivate these guys to come to the ballpark every day and keep working hard, no matter how bleak it looks, even though guys like Rod Barajas checked out two months ago, but that’s beside the point.

I don’t know what this team is going to do. It’s going to take a junior mint falling from the sky to rescue this team. Let’s take a look at the trade deadline, and why it matters to some of our Phillies.

C Rod Barajas: If anyone expresses any interest in him, do the deal. He’s not needed. We have two guys that can catch, and if you’re hell bent on having that extra catcher on the roster, you might as well give Jaramillo a shot. If there’s a market for Jason Kendall and Jose Molina, there is for Rod Barajas.

IF Greg Dobbs: He’s an interesting name. I don’t think the Phillies will trade him with the injury, but you have to figure that a team is calling about him. He can play at least four positions, and he’s a good lefty bat against right handed pitchers. He has some power and he makes good contact. Probably wouldn’t get much for him, so he has more value as a player with us in 2008 than as a trading piece.

IF Wes Helms: I doubt anyone would want him because of his struggles. He can hit lefties pretty well, which is something teams always love to have off the bench. He can’t play defense, so he would be best served as a pinch hitter, DH or maybe even a first basemen. There probably won’t be too much interest in him, with superior guys like Wigginton still on the block.

CF Aaron Rowand: Can’t trade him now. You can’t give up on the year. You’d like the team to have a plan and direction for 2008, and that could involve trading Rowand, but you’d be giving up on 2007. This team, this city can’t do that. The deal would have to be great to get him, but to get someone to take Rowand, you have to give them an X amount of time to negotiate an extension, and I don’t think he wants to do that.

OF Michael Bourn: He’s the kind of guy a lot of teams are interested in. He’ll be under team control for five more years after this one, obviously inexpensive, and he has some nice potential. We all know about the speed and defense, but if he ever develops gap power, he could be a dangerous guy at the top of the lineup. His eye at the plate makes him even more valuable at the top, and if the Phillies were in a position to buy, Bourn could be a good piece to move.

OF Pat Burrell: No one wants him, even with the hot bat. His contract is just that awful. Hopefully we can squeeze two more months out of him and try it all again in the offseason.

Shane Victorino: You’d have to blow me away with an offer to get me to move this guy. I know you have to give something to get something, but his unique blend of speed and power is great in the lineup. He’s a great base stealer and great defender at all three outfield positions, and like Mark McGwire, he can sock some dingers.

SP Jamie Moyer: It wouldn’t surprise me if a team or two has called about him. He gives you innings and experience. He’s invaluable to the younger members of the pitching staff, so the Phillies should try to keep him around.

SP Adam Eaton: File this guy under the category of “Pat Burrell: Why would anyone want him?”

RP Ryan Madson: I save the most intriguing option for last. He’s entering his second of arbitration, so a team still has a couple more years of his services. That’s huge this year, at the deadline, teams don’t want rentals. They want guys for more than one season. Madson not only provides that, but he’s a talented pitcher. He has three good pitches, and when he’s clicking and has command of them, he’s as good as any other reliever in the league. After the Scott Linebrink trade which saw Milwaukee send a top prospect along with two other farmhands to acquire the reliever, Madson could have some value. The question becomes whether or not you want Madson as a part of your bullpen for years to come, or do you want to try again with some fresh faces? If we move Madson, I don’t know if you can pencil anyone into the 2008 bullpen for the Phillies. We need a big shakeup.

Yeah, that amounted to a whole lot of “keep this guy because we can’t afford to lose him.” That was probably the least insightful thing I’ve ever written, and I’m not exactly Jayson Stark in the first place.

I don’t know where the Phillies are going from here. It’s going to be a tough two months, and I hope these guys can fight through it. Everyone’s going to have to step up. It won’t be easy.

I rarely feel sick to my stomach or upset about losses, especially in baseball where you lose 70 games and you’re in the playoffs. I remember the NFC Championships losses to Tampa BayCarolina, the Super Bowl. Game 7 to the Lightning before the lockout was tough. If I had been a bit older and paid more attention to baseball in 1993, I’m sure I would’ve felt that too. and

However, this one is tough to swallow. Utley’s one of the most beloved athletes in this city right now, and maybe of all time. Losing a talent like him is tough. I can’t believe it. It’s just another blow. I don’t know how much more everyone can stomach before one of our teams finally breaks through. I don’t know what’s going to happen next. This is getting frustrating.

Training Camp Preview: Backfield

2007-07-24T23:04:00.000-05:00

With Marty Mornhinweg expected to call the plays the entire season, the backfield can expect the increased workload to last from September to hopefully February this year. In training camp last year, Andy Reid talked about having a big running game and balanced playcalling, but he simply didn’t follow through. Mornhinweg made it happen, and he should have the opportunity to have control for the entire season.

1. Brian Westbrook. This Pro Bowl snub will get back at it in 2007. Despite missing a game due to an injury and not playing week 17 due to clinching the division, Westbrook was among the league leaders in yards and touchdowns. His great receiving ability makes him one of the most unique threats in football today. He was huge for the Eagles late in the season when McNabb went down, and hopefully he still has a key role when McNabb is back in the lineup. He played great in the playoffs and really carried the offense. Westbrook’s goal in camp should be to make sure he’s in shape and ready for the season and get off the football field without hurting himself. He’s the unquestioned starter and there aren’t any major differences in the offense to learn. Get your reps and get ready to go.

2. Correll Buckhalter. After remaining healthy for an entire season for the first time in what seems like forever, Buckhalter added a little bit to the Eagles offense, especially down the stretch. He’s a good back between the tackles, and he also has some good speed. His receiving skills have improved greatly, and he doesn’t fumble the ball as much as he used to.But here’s something Buckhalter has to do: he has to stay healthy for a second consecutive year, which would be the first time in his career. He’s had three serious, season ending knee injuries that have prevented him from stringing together two straight years. He might not get that many reps during the preseason games, both to keep him out of the trainer’s room and to get the younger guys reps. However, he’s still going to have to work hard to keep his carries up. He showed loyalty to the Eagles by re-signing, but draft pick Tony Hunt is looking to touch the ball too.

3. Tony Hunt. I called the Eagles picking him well over a year before the draft. His abilities and style made complete sense for the Eagles, and they made a good pick in the third round. He’s very physical. He can be the bruising RB people have been clamoring for for years, and he’ll be a great compliment to Westbrook. He was able to catch out of the backfield for PSU, and he can also block, so he can do everything Andy Reid asks of RBs. Eventually, he’s going to get his carries, and I think he’ll start to get involved more and more as the season wears on. Potentially, he could be used as a guy late in games to wear down defenses, and even work into a goal line back role, if the Eagles should choose to go down that road. However, history isn’t on rookies’ sides in the backfield. They generally don’t play early under Reid, so Hunt is going to have to show great progress in camp.

4. Nate Ilaoa. He’s only a 7^th round pick and he’s going to have to work hard on special teams to make the roster in his rookie season, but he has some pretty good talent. He might’ve slipped to the 7^th round because he was underexposed not only because he plays several time zones away from everyone, but Hawaii is a pass happy offense that isn’t exactly known for producing runners. Despite his diminutive height, he’s very strong and can run over guys in open space. Obviously, playing in June Jones’ offense has helped him develop an ability that’s key in the Eagles’ offense: he can catch the ball. He used to be a WR until being converted to a RB. Also, because of the heavy use of the shotgun formation, if he wasn’t going out to catch a pass, he would be blocking. He has good ability, but he might just not be good enough to make the roster this year. As a 7^th round pick, he should be able to make it through waivers to the practice squad.

5. Ryan Moats. He was drafted to be Westbrook-lite in case we had trouble getting Westbrook re-signed, but there was no trouble. Westbrook is an Eagle for the next few years, and Moats is toiling at the bottom of the depth chart. At the end of his rookie season in 2005, he showed some promise with a couple long TD runs, but he just hasn’t done anything since. Ever since the preseason last year, he’s been tentative. He’s not explosive, and he doesn’t get going north and south quick enough. There are places he could succeed. Someone like Mike Shanahan could discipline him and Moats would fit in their offense. Here, he just doesn’t have anything to add. He brings no unique skill to the offense, and he’s been nothing but a liability on special teams. He was simply a draft pick that got caught in a numbers game and doesn’t have a place here.

6. Reno Mahe? Hopefully not, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.

1. Thomas Tapeh. Tapeh won a three way battle for the spot in camp last year, after missing all of 2006 with a serious hip injury. Known as a ball carrier when drafted out of Minnesota, he showed absolutely none of those abilities in 2006. Instead, he became a great blocker, opening up holes for Westbrook all season. His game was literally a 180 degree turn from what everyone previously knew about him. It would be nice if he showed improvement in his ball handling ability. He never picked up any yards running the ball and appeared to be clumsy catching it. If he improves his ball skills just a little bit, he’ll be one of the most complete fullbacks in the league.

2. Jason Davis. A training camp injury forced this rookie season to end abruptly, which was nice for him because it prevented him from being cut. He was undrafted out of college, and he was involved in a pretty good battle for the position before his injury. Even with a broken finger last year, Davis did not want to miss a snap in practice. He’s one of those throwback players that take the field even when he’s hurt, and he wants to make a difference on the field every play. He’s a good blocker, but other than that, not much is known about him. It’ll be interesting to see if this is a serious competition, or if Davis is just there as a camp body.

3. Jeremy Cain. I don’t know anything about the guy. He’s listed as a FB/LS on the website, so I’m assuming he’s here for his special teams, not his fullback ability. He’s also from UMass, making it easy to assume he’s not that good at football. Camp body.

Position Battles: Buckhalter v. Hunt for C.O.P. back, Ilaoa, Moats v. roster limits, Tapeh v. Davis

I expect Buckhalter to assume the same role as last year without Hunt taking away many carries. However, later in the year, I think a guy with talent like Hunt is going to have to be on the field. The Eagles for the most part keep their draft picks on the roster, so Ilaoa has a good shot to hang on this year with the Eagles possibly carrying four backs. I expect Tapeh to keep his job, considering the nice job he did last year recovering from his injury. There’s definitely a lot more to be decided in camp here than there was with the QB’s, so the RB situation is something to keep an eye on.

Training Camp Preview: Quarterbacks

2007-07-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

In less than one week, rookies and selected veterans will settle in to the dorm rooms at Lehigh University, ready to either begin their Eagle careers, or get them started on the right foot. They may be back in dorm rooms again, but this isn’t college ball anymore. They have to work harder, longer and impress more people to get the playing time they’ve had their entire lives. Even though it’s still baseball season, I think there’s going to be a lot of football on here starting now, and lasting for the duration of the season. We’ll see how it goes.

I’m going to be taking a position by position look at the Eagles heading into the season. I’ll talk about each and every player, their goals in camp and status on the team, highlight position battles and take a look at a projected 53 man roster. Let’s start with the Quarterbacks. Guys will be listed by their ability now, not necessarily who will and won’t make the team. An example of this will be seen later in this QB review.

1. Donovan McNabb. After suffering a serious knee injury against the Titans in 2007, McNabb looks to return healthy in time for 2008. It looks like he’ll be ready to go in camp, but he’s still going to need some rest. There’s still plenty of time before the season starts, so there’s no reason to rush him back. Andy Reid’s not pulling any punches with the offense, it’s going to be the same as it always is. The core of the offense is also still relatively the same, so it’s not like McNabb has to adjust to a new cast. With all the weapons around him, the Eagles can afford for him to take it slow and ease back into action. He’s worked hard to rehab and make it back, so hopefully he can keep that up and start the season. The most important thing for McNabb in camp is to get some reps, especially throwing to Kevin Curtis, and stay healthy.

2. A.J. Feeley. With Jeff Garcia in Tampa, Feeley’s only one play away from getting into the game now. Last year in his limited action against Indianapolis and Atlanta, Feeley did a pretty good job. Playing with mostly backups who don’t see the field much, he threw for a bunch of touchdowns and minimized mistakes. Even though he struggled in his brief stint as a Dolphins starter, he’s always been decent with the Eagles. Gone are the days of McNabb going down and guys like Koy Detmer and Mike McMahon costing the team games. Feeley is more than capable of filling in should McNabb not be ready or if he gets hurt again. He’s going to get some reps with the first team, since McNabb won’t be taking every snap in practice and in the preseason. It’ll be valuable experience.

3. Kelly Holcomb. Acquired in the Takeo Spikes trade as a salary dump from Buffalo, everyone figured he just wouldn’t dress at all this season. Those were the banner days for Holcomb in his Eagle career, because when the team drafted Kevin Kolb, it all but assured he would be cut. He’s an experienced veteran whose statistics indicate he’s very, very mediocre. His career highlight is tearing up the Steelers in a playoff game, which they ended up losing anyway. He would’ve been a good guy to have around for a year, because he provides even more insurance than we already had with Feeley. He’ll be a camp body to take reps while McNabb gets back up to speed, and he’ll probably work closely with Kevin Kolb, helping him get acclimated to the league. If there’s an injury to another QB early, the Eagles could hope a team panics and trades a conditional late round pick for Holcomb or something.

4. Kevin Kolb. The controversial first pick of the Eagles is the worst QB on the roster at the moment, but they’re obviously not going to cut their alleged QB of the future. Kolb will be no more or no less than a clipboard guy this year. He’ll have a chance to get a lot of reps with McNabb recovering from an injury, and that’s a good situation for Kolb. This is the first time in his life he won’t be playing in the spread offense, so taking snaps from behind center will be valuable practice. He’s not going to have to worry about starting a meaningful game for a couple years, so he can take his time on learning the offense and improving his skills.

5. Koy Detmer? No. He won’t be joining the team again this year.

Position Battles: There aren’t any. Everyone’s roles are already defined.

The Eagles have a settled QB situation. As I just mentioned, everyone knows exactly what’s expected of them this season. They have a top of the line starter in McNabb, a good backup, a kid for the future and insurance. This is one of the least interesting positions heading into camp because there isn’t competition for any roles.

Allocation of Resources

2007-07-20T00:55:00.000-05:00

If you’re a Yankees or Red Sox fan, this won’t really apply to your teams. For a large majority of the rest of Major League Baseball, it does. The reality is most teams are on a budget. Whether it’s justified or not, a lot of owners have a self imposed salary cap that they do not like to spend over.

This puts General Managers in a tough position. They have to worry about re-signing their own guys, bringing in free agents to help the club, and all of those guys have to be signed to economical contracts. Making trades to put your team over the top can be tough if the team is right up against the budget.

Building a strong farm system is key for teams in this situation. If you can always have a good prospect to bring up to fill a hole, you get inexpensive talent. This allows you to spend your money on a position of need. Having prospects can also allow a team to make trades and not have to break the bank to make a splash in free agency. This is where the Phillies fail.

They actually have a number of problems. First, as mentioned above, the Phillies might as well not have minor league affiliates. Carlos Carrasco is our best prospect, so you can’t trade him. Other than him, there’s nothing left in the upper levels of the organization. Our prospects are all still in the low minor league levels, which means they have no trade value.

The ownership group is also handcuffing Pat Gillick and keeping the Phillies back. There’s no flexibility for Gillick to go out and improve the team, so he has to do what he can. That puts him in a bad position, but he’s not free of criticism.

The Phillies don’t like to spend any more than about 90-95 million dollars. A few years ago, that’s one of the top payrolls in baseball. However, with increasing player salaries, it’s barely in the upper third of the league now. For a team that can’t seem to figure out how to scout and develop talent, you have to start spending more than that to field a winner.

Gillick isn’t free from criticism though. Let’s take a look at the players the Phillies have under contract and compare their salaries to what they’re producing. I’m going to throw out arbitration eligible and all guys under the Phillies’ control because they have set salaries. Contract information is courtesy of www.mlb4u.com

RP Antonio Alfonseca- 1 year contract worth $700k with up to $800k more available in bonuses: Gillick took a flier on Antonio, and he made the roster out of spring training. His peripherals aren’t the greatest, but he’s been pretty reliable, and he’s done a great job filling in as the closer. He’s unlikely to collect more than half of the bonus money, so he’s still coming pretty cheap. I didn’t like the move at first, but Alfonseca is a bargain now.

C Rod Barajas- 2 year contract, worth $3 million in 2007, and either $5 million in 2008 or a $500k buyout: I hated it then, I hate it even more now. This is money not well spent. With Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste already in the organization, you have to take a chance with what you already have. Barajas adds nothing to the team, and the money spent on him could’ve been used elsewhere. There’s no reason to spend 3 million on a backup catcher.

LF Pat Burrell- 2 years remaining on his contract, worth $13 million in 2007 and $14 million in 2008, features a full no trade clause, more available in bonuses that he will never achieve : This obviously wasn’t Gillick’s signing, but Burrell’s contract is absolutely crippling. He’s owed 27 million over the next two seasons, making him the highest paid Phillie. This presents a problem because Burrell obviously isn’t the best player on the team. After his huge year in which he signed the contract, it didn’t look so bad. Unfortunately, sometimes bad things happen when you backload a contract and the player doesn’t work out. The Phillies may be able to unload Burrell the player, but his contract is unlikely to get off the books until after 2008.

SP Adam Eaton- 3 years remaining on his contract, worth $6.875 million in 2007, $7.635 million in 2008 and $8.5 million in 2009, with up to $500k more per year in bonuses, mutual team option in 2010 worth $9 million or $500k buyout: This was a bad, bad signing. It might be a bit of revisionist history because I kind of liked Eaton when we signed him, but looking back on it, the contract doesn’t make sense. There was no way Eaton could be any more than a 5^th His career proves that, and his 2007 backs it up even more. There’s no reason to pay 8 million a year for a 5^th starter, because there’s a dozen guys in the organization that would get paid the league minimum to give you the same thing Eaton does. starter.

SP Freddy Garcia- $10 million in 2007: Someone who only won one game is not worth 10 million. Garcia struggled with injuries since camp opened, and now he’s trying to get off the DL after taking a couple months off. The big offseason acquisition turned out to be a huge bust, and it’s part of the reason the Phillies are struggling. Garcia was a huge reason for the optimism coming into the year. When the guy you bring in to solidify the rotation goes down and does nothing, it’s a huge blow.

RP Tom Gordon- $7 million in 2007, $5.5 million in 2008, team option in 2009 worth $4.5 million or $1 million buyout: Another ugly signing. The Phillies definitely needed a closer after Billy Wagner walked, but it would’ve been nice if they could’ve done better. Gordon is an old, injury risk and for three years, it’s a contract that didn’t have a high chance of looking successful. He’s missed just about the entire 2007 season, and with his injury apparently being a torn labrum, no one is hopeful for a strong finish to the year, even though he’s off the DL.

3B Wes Helms- $2.05 million in 2007, $2.15 million in 2008, team option in 2009 worth $3.75 million or $750k buyout: Helms didn’t get a huge contract, but it’s still money that could’ve gone to some bullpen help. He’s traditionally a second half player, so there’s still hope that he picks it up down the stretch. He didn’t handle the transition from going to utility player to full time starter well, and now he’s been relegated to pinch hitting and spot starts. It never seems like the Phillies can land a decent third bagger, and Helms is just more wasted money at the position.

SP Jon Lieber- $7.5 million in 2007: It’s too bad he got hurt and wasn’t pitching effectively. Usually he can give you some decent innings, especially in the second half. At 7.5 million, he’s almost a cheap, experienced back end guy. Unfortunately, getting paid 7.5 million to get surgery isn’t a very good investment. It would’ve been nice if the Phillies could’ve traded him while they had the chance, and now they can just hope that he’s a type A free agent this offseason.

RP Jose Mesa- I’m assuming he’s playing for the minimum: Because nothing else would make sense. If this guy is getting paid any more than the minimum, it’s money that should not be spent. He actually hasn’t been as frightfully bad as a lot of fans would have you believe, but he’s still not very good. It’s a slap in the face to the fans that he was brought back. Not that you can let fans make your decisions, but bringing back Mesa was unfathomable when he left the Phillies.

SP Jamie Moyer- $6 million in 2007, $3.5 million in 2008, with bonuses based on IP: Pretty nice price for an experienced veteran who’s not only a decent pitcher on the mound, but he’s a great mentor as well. Moyer’s struggled as of late, and that’s actually raised questions about whether or not he’ll retire. Even if he’s not very effective, at a price tag of 3 million, you’re getting great value at the back end of the rotation. If he does decide to hang em up, hopefully the Phillies can get him to hang on as a coach.

P Brett Myers- $5 million in 2007, $8.5 million in 2008, $12 million in 2009 with some performance bonuses: I can go two ways with this deal. I have no problems with Brett Myers the pitcher, but this contract sucks if he’s in the bullpen. It’s way too much money. In his final year, barring huge free agent signings, he’ll have the highest single year salary of any reliever of all time. Myers is a good pitcher, but he’s not worth that kind of money. As a starter, you’re getting a top of the rotation guy for a pretty decent price. He has to be back in the rotation.

IF Abraham Nunez- $2.1 million in 2007, team option in 2008: For 2.1 million, you’d like more than a utility infielder who can’t hit. His glove is nice to have in late inning situations and when we have ground ball pitchers on the mound, but his bat is a liability that we can’t have in the lineup very often. We signed him after a contract year in which he filled up admirably for Scott Rolen, but he’s just not a very good player. Someone like Jason Donald could fill in his role next season, and he’s cheaper and probably has a better bat.

SS Jimmy Rollins- $7 million in 2007, $7 million in 2008, $7.5 million in 2009, $7.5 million in 2010, team option in 2011 worth $8.5 million or $2 million buyout: This looked like a bad extension when Wade inked him to it a few years ago, but right now, it’s looking great. Rollins is a great player who almost has about 4.5 tools. He’s signed to a cheap contract, especially considering the deal Michael Young signed last year. Rollins is a part of the core of this team, and his price makes him even better.

RP J.C. Romero- Minor league contract: This is a bargain for someone like Romero. He’s not as good as he once was, but he’s as good as we can get in the bullpen. He allows a lot of baserunners, but he always seems to get out of jams. He’s pretty effective against lefties, and Manuel is getting confidence in him against righties as well. He could be a part of this pen for a few years if we choose to bring him back.

2B Chase Utley- $4.5 million in 2007, $7.5 million in 2008, $11 million in 2009, $15 million in 2010, $15 million in 2011, $15 million in 2012, $15 million in 2013, has the most ridiculous no trade clause I’ve ever seen: It’s ridiculously back loaded, and if Utley falls off towards the end, it’s going to be another Burrell situation, but I don’t think we’ll have that problem. Utley’s a more consistent hitter and doesn’t seem like he’ll have a career where he falls off a cliff. For one of the best hitters in baseball, it’s almost a discount, and hopefully the Phillies can become contenders before that salary jumps up to 15 a year.

OF Jayson Werth- can earn up to $800k: He’s pretty meh. As a utility player, he has a decent glove at the corner outfield positions and he’s an okay pinch hitter. He’s not getting paid much at all, so that’s a plus. His wrist injury is bothering him again, so he’s going to be on the DL a bit, but hopefully he can come back and contribute.

So there’s a huge chunk of the payroll. Let’s take a look at a few things.

- $20.375 million on 4-5 starters (why do we have three of these guys?) 21% of the payroll

- $12 million on the last two innings of the bullpen, 13% of the payroll

- $3 million on Rod Barajas, 3% of the payroll

- $30.3 million on players that have been on the DL, 32% of the payroll

It looks like some better decisions are going to have to be made to get this team moving in the right direction.

Looking back and subsequently looking forward as well

2007-07-12T22:01:00.000-05:00

At 44-44 at the All-Star Break, the Phillies define mediocre. They’re inconsistent; they had that period where they swept Atlanta and the Mets in their stadiums, and they’ve also looked bad against bad teams. They’ve had some rough injuries, some rough breaks and some great highlights. There’s reason for pessimism, and I’ll get into that, but consider this: last year, the Phillies were 7 games under .500 and 12 games behind the Mets. This year, they’re at .500 and only 4.5 games back. There’s less ground to make up, and with the Phillies being a traditionally strong second half team, there’s still a chance they make the playoffs.

Here are my ratings for the first half, and predictions for the second half. I’ll give a player a letter grade, that’s arbitrarily based on how they’re doing, and what their expectations are. Position players are sorted by number of plate appearances, and pitchers are sorted by innings pitched.

SS Jimmy Rollins

B+

.286/.329/.518 71 R 16 HR 53 RBI 15/19 stealing

Projection: .282/.330/.505 130 R 25 HR 95 RBI 28/34 stealing

After declaring the Phillies to be the team to beat, Rollins has done his part to back that up. He’s hitting the ball with more pop than ever before, and with the exception of a few lapses, he’s played solid defense. He’s making consistent contact, but his plate approach from the spring in which he was more patient and took some walks is gone. He’s also not as efficient stealing bases as he has been in year’s past.

Chase Utley

A+

.325/.401/.571 64 R 15 HR 68 RBI 6/7 stealing

Projection: .320/.390/.560 120 R 30 HR 120 RBI 11/13 stealing

Every time you think this guy stops growing, he finds a way to get a little better. Utley is going to shatter career highs in almost every offensive statistic, and he’s playing great defense this year to boot. He’s on pace to break the previous ML record for doubles, but Magglio Ordonez is also on pace to do it, but he’s going to hit more than Utley. He’s going to see a big of a dip in his rates, but it’s tough for anyone to keep up what he did. He’s definitely an MVP candidate if the Phillies are in the race.

Shane Victorino

B+

.277/.346/.429 55 R 11 HR 37 RBI 27/29 stealing

Projection: .275/.345/.440 95 R 20 HR 80 RBI 51/55 stealing

Shane gets a higher grade because he’s doing better than anyone anticipated. When he was hitting at the top of the lineup, you would’ve liked to see him get on base more, but if he’s going to keep hitting 5^th and 6^th in the lineup, his power is going to be a useful tool. Davey Lopes has done a great teaching Victorino how to become a better base runner and stealer, and his athletic ability is really paying off.

Aaron Rowand

A-

.310/.385/.478 52 R 11 HR 43 RBI 5/6 stealing

Projection: .310/.380/.465 110 R 23 HR 90 RBI 9/11 stealing

In his contract year, Aaron Rowand brought his bat back to the table. He was hitting very well before his injury last year, so fans are left wondering what could’ve been. This year, healthy, Rowand’s having probably his second best season, only behind his breakout 2004 campaign. He comes from the frustrating Eric Byrnes school of defense, but his highlight catches are still fun to watch.

Ryan Howard

.256/.377/.555 39 R 21 HR 67 RBI 0/0 stealing, thankfully

Projection: .275/.400/.585 90 R 43 HR 130 RBI 0/0 stealing

Not exactly an outstanding follow up to a 2006 MVP season, but leg injuries have dampened Howard’s effectiveness. He’s been crushing the ball since coming off the DL, and that’s why he’s the first guy here that’ll see a significant jump in his numbers. He’s still struggling against breaking balls thrown from lefty pitchers, and hopefully he starts seeing the ball better soon.

Pat Burrell

D-

.215/.378/.408 32 R 11 HR 37 RBI 0/0 stealing

Projection: .225/.385/.430 55 R 20 HR 75 RBI 0/0 stealing

Ah, Pat. If his at bats made you cringe last year, you probably vomit in the 2007 season. He’s obviously having a rough year. His strike zone judgment is questionable, and he has a tough time making contact sometimes. He’s got a lot of power. He works hard. He just can’t do it right now. It’s hard to see him play like this because he’s just as frustrated as everyone else, and Pat really is a nice guy. His contract is an abortion and you expect your highest paid player to do more than this.

Carlos Ruiz

B-

.272/.329/.401 24 R 3 HR 29 RBI 2/3 stealing

Projection.275/.335/.420 50 R 5 HR 60 RBI 2/3 stealing

Ruiz has been a streaky hitter, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. He stole back the catching job that should’ve rightfully been his to begin with, and he’s been a decent bat at the bottom of the lineup and decent behind the plate. His plate discipline could stand to be a bit better, and that would lead to him hitting some more pitches hard, but after the production we’ve been getting from C in recent years, I’ll take it.

Wes Helms

.267/.327/.382 14 R 3 HR 24 RBI 0/0 stealing

Projection: .275/.335/.420 35 R 13 HR 60 RBI 0/1 stealing

They say Wes has always been a second half player, but it would’ve been nice for him to show a pulse in the first 80 games. It took 150 some ABs for his first home run, and from a guy who signed a contract with the expectance of him to hit for power, he hasn’t done it. He should be a better player from here on out and earn some more starts at third, but he’s been a disappointment so far.

Abraham Nunez

C-

.263/.317/.323 18 R 0 HR 13 RBI 1/1 stealing

Projection: .260/.315/.325 30 R 1 HR 20 RBI 1/2 stealing

He hasn’t been as bad as last year, but that’s like saying James Thrash didn’t drop as many passes as last year. At one point this season, he was hitting close to .300, but that lasted as long as Bill Barber’s tenure as coach of the Flyers. I guess his defense as good, but the defense doesn’t even have to be on the field when he bats. That’s not good. I’m not even sure why I’m projecting him to hit a home run. Maybe it’ll happen in the 10,000 loss.

Greg Dobbs

.288/.320/.529 25 R 7 HR 34 RBI 1/1 stealing

Projection: .290/.330/.520 15 HR 72 RBI 2/2 stealing

The Natural has been one of the biggest surprises in baseball. After being claimed off waivers from Seattle over the winter, Dobbs hit the cover off the ball in Clearwater and earned a roster spot. Because of other players’ struggles, he started getting more and more at bats, and now he’s showing what he can do. His fielding leaves something to be desired, but he’s a good bat to have in the lineup.

Rod Barajas

.213/.341/.389 15 R 4 HR 9 RBI 0/1 stealing (why was he attempting a steal?)

Projection: .211/.340/.387 16 R 4 HR 9 RBI 0/1 stealing

That’s right. I’m calling the DFA. He was supposed to provide the vaunted pop at the bottom of the lineup. He hasn’t. He was supposed to be a solid defensive catcher. He’s not. He was supposed to be a veteran leader. Strike three, you’re out, like many of your at bats. It’s a shame that fans have to deal with this clown and his tomfoolery behind the plate. I don’t know how a catcher that’s afraid to block the plate lasted more than two weeks in the majors.

Jayson Werth

C-

.235/.333/.353 13 R 3 HR 10 RBI 0/1 stealing

Projection: .250/.345/.365 20 R 5 HR 18 RBI 1/2 stealing

It’s tough to evaluate Jayson because he came off a serious injury and he’s landed back on the DL with the same injury in the past couple weeks. He’s been okay as a pinch hitter and a decent spot starter in the OF. He had a rough time in the field in the Florida series, but he’s been better as of late. Hopefully he can come back healthy and contribute off the bench some more.

Michael Bourn

C+

.256/.337/.329 17 R 0 HR 5 RBI 13/13 stealing

Projection: .265/.350/.350 40 R 1 HR 20 RBI 30/31 stealing

Hopefully Michael can keep getting some more playing time. After a strong spring, he was the last player on the 25 man roster when the team came up north. His outstanding speed is an annoyance to teams on the bases, and he’s an incredible in the outfield. You can’t teach the good eye he has, and whenever he moves up a level, he’s always been able to adjust. There’s a possibility of a trade.

Chris Coste

.364/.391/.500 2 R 1 HR 1 RBI 0/0 stealing

Projection: .315/.350/.490 20 R 4 HR 25 RBI 0/0 stealing

Everyone’s favorite utility player should be back for good this season. Each time he was called up, he showed the same bat that made him a fan favorite last year. He’s not as bad behind the plate as a lot of people want to have you believe, and we all know he can hit the ball. The rest of the team loves the guy and he can play, so there’s no reason for him to be in Ottawa or Reading anymore.

Cole Hamels

10-4 3.72 ERA 118.2 IP 1.21 WHIP 124 K 29 BB

Projection: 17-8 3.80 ERA 210 IP 1.22 WHIP 216 K 50 BB

There has been no sophomore slump for this All-Star. Hamels dominated right out of the chute in 2007, and despite some June progress, he’s given Phillies fans hope for the next decade. His command has been better this season, and his strikeouts are up. His one problem this year has been allowing the long ball, especially against right handed bats. Sometimes his change can get elevated, and it’s an easy pitch to hit. He’ll learn. He could have a cabinet full of Cy Youngs before his career is over.

Jamie Moyer

7-7 4.43 ERA 113.2 IP 1.30 WHIP 66 K 35 BB

Projection: 14-12 4.30 ERA 214 IP 1.25 WHIP 110 K 65 BB

Souderton’s own has done exactly what the Phillies expected when they brought him in. He’s not going to strike guys out, and he’s not going to throw complete game shutouts. He’s going to go out, give you 6 innings, keep you in the game and be a decent pitcher. Moyer’s only had a few rough starts, and otherwise, he’s kept the Phillies in games. Guys like Cole Hamels can learn a lot from Jamie.

Adam Eaton

8-5 5.69 ERA 104.1 IP 1.50 WHIP 67 K 48 BB

Projection: 13-12 5.50 ERA 195 IP 1.45 WHIP 100 K 90 BB

A lot of people said he was overpaid to begin with, and his first half has done nothing to dispel that notion. I don’t know how the Phillies have won with him on the hill so much. In Spring Training, if you would’ve told me that he would’ve been one of three starters to make all of his starts, I would’ve called you crazy. I think his record is going to catch up to his actual performance, and he’s going to be a problem coming down the stretch.

Jon Lieber

3-6 4.73 ERA 78 IP 1.45 WHIP 54 K 22 BB

Projection: Out for season

Lieber started off the year on the DL, and then came off the DL in the bullpen, due to our, at the time, surplus of starters. That seems like a long time ago. He stunk in the bullpen, so the Phillies swapped Jon and Brett Myers. He had a couple nice starts, and then besides his game in KC, things went downhill from there. Everything culminated in a foot injury that’s keeping him out for the rest of the season. His Phillies career is over.

Freddy Garcia

1-5 5.90 ERA 58 IP 1.60 WHIP 50 K 19 BB

Projection: 4-6 5.40 ERA 1.45 WHIP 80 IP 70 K 25 BB

The Phillies big offseason acquisition proved to be the biggest bust in baseball. He was hurt in spring training, came back hurt and didn’t tell anyone, and Charlie Manuel finally got him to admit his shoulder was sore. Garcia is about to begin a throwing program on his way back, but it’s difficult to tell when he’s going to come back. I think he’ll give us 4-5 starts down the stretch and be just a little better than before.

Ryan Madson

B-

1-2 3.66 ERA 1 save 46.2 IP 1.31 WHIP 39 K 20 BB

Projection: 3-3 3.50 ERA 3 saves 88 IP 1.30 WHIP 70 K 37 BB

Madson is a mystery. He has three good pitches, but at times, wildness gets the best of him. Sometimes, he’ll walk guys at the least opportune times, and it hurts the team. Since the first series of the season, he hasn’t lost a game, so I guess that’s a positive. Otherwise, he’s been pretty reliable in middle relief, and he’s a durable guy that I’m glad we have in the pen.

Geoff Geary

D-

1-2 5.31 ERA 39 IP 1.51 WHIP 24 K 16 BB

Projection: 1-2 5.15 ERA 50 IP 1.45 WHIP 30 K 20 BB

Geoff just got worn out. Although his peripherals indicate his ERA probably should’ve been a bit higher last year, he was a reliable guy out of the pen. Early in the season, he did a great job with inherited runners, but Manuel went to the well a few too many times. He’s a pretty good pitcher, but the wear on his arm is a bit too much. Hopefully he can get straightened out and come back soon, because he can contribute.

Brett Myers

1-2 5.50 ERA 6 saves 36 IP 1.47 WHIP 51 K 18 BB

Projection: 2-2 5.10 ERA 21 saves 56 IP 1.35 WHIP 70 K 25 BB

After moving from the rotation to the bullpen, a move that’s still very controversial among fans, Myers was a great closer before he got hurt. Now, we’re waiting and waiting for him to start rehab and come back. It’s been pushed back several times, so the optimism of Myers returning and being effective is dwindling. If he’s back and healthy, he’s going to be a huge part of the pen down the stretch.

Antonio Alfonseca

3-1 3.93 ERA 6 saves 34.1 IP 1.66 WHIP 12 K 12 BB

Projection: 3-3 4.50 ERA 10 saves 60 IP 1.60 WHIP 20 K 18 BB

A couple things make Antonio hard to project. His peripherals don’t match his ERA at all. That’s a problem. He’s injured. That’s been affecting his performance. Finally, he’s not even supposed to be the closer. At any rate, he’s been one of our better pitchers, and hopefully he can continue to keep the screw ups to a minimum. His sinker is nice in CBP.

Kyle Kendrick

B-

3-0 4.40 ERA 30.2 IP 1.40 WHIP 10 K 10 BB

Projection: 7-5 4.50 ERA 100 IP 1.40 WHIP 40 K 25 BB

The Phillies have only lost one of Kendrick’s starts since making the jump from Reading. His moving fastball and breaking pitches make him a good fit for CBP. He gets into some tough jams with a lot of baserunners, but he doesn’t back down, and he finds a way out of trouble. He’s tough to project because he doesn’t have a great body of work so far, and if the Phillies trade for a starter and Garcia comes back, he’s the first to go.

Francisco Rosario

0-3 6.64 ERA 20.1 IP 1.97 WHIP 17 K 11 BB

Projection: Stats stay the same because I think his reign of terror is over.

Rosario was a reclamation project taken on by Pat Gillick very early in the season. He has an electric fastball that may or may not be close to the strike zone. He has no command of it and has even less command of his breaking ball, whatever it may be. He looked outstanding in some outings when guys couldn’t catch up to his fastball, but otherwise, he stunk. He’s on the DL where he should stay until next year.

Clay Condrey

3-0 7.36 ERA 18.1 IP 1.75 WHIP 12 K 8 BB

Projection: 3-0 7.30 ERA 20.1 IP 1.75 WHIP 13 K 9 BB

After being the luckiest man since Lou Gehrig last season, Condrey has been neither lucky nor good this year. He’s been up and down from Philly to Ottawa all year, and he’s cleared waivers every time. No one wants the guy. He allows too many runners and walks too many guys to be anything close to effective. He’s going to be a waste of a 40 man roster spot next year if he’s still around.

Mike Zagurski

C+

1-0 4.70 ERA 15.1 IP 1.37 WHIP 14 K 7 BB

Projection: 2-1 4.40 ERA 30 IP 1.35 WHIP 30 K 12 BB

He started off in Clearwater this year like everyone else, but he was a Thresher, not a Phillie. After a promotion and a cup of coffee at Reading, Zags was up in the bigs. This large, jolly character has been a solid addition to the bullpen, but sometimes he struggles with his command. If he cuts down on the walks, he’s going to be an effective major league reliever, who will hopefully be able to get righties out as well.

Yoel Hernandez

C-

0-0 5.02 ERA 14.1 IP 1.26 WHIP 13 K 1 BB

Projection: 1-0 4.65 ERA 20 IP 1.25 WHIP 18 K 3 BB

I wish all of our relievers would attended a Yo-el seminar on throwing strikes, but unfortunately, he was hit around a couple times and finds himself back at Ottawa. I expect to see him back at some point this year because his command really was pretty good when he was here, even if he was pitching over his head a little. He’ll probably be back in September.

Jose Mesa

D-

0-1 4.73 ERA 13.1 IP 1.28 WHIP 4 K 6 BB

Projection: 0-2, 4.65 18 IP 1.30 WHIP 6 K 7 BB

All fans need to bite the bullet and admit he hasn’t been that bad since we got him. He walks too many guys, but he doesn’t give up hits, and he might even be a bit unlucky this year. I still think he’ll be one of the first to go when push comes to shove, and we won’t have to deal with him much longer. I still can’t believe we brought him back. We’re that desperate.

Brian Sanches

D-

1-1 4.22 ERA 10.2 IP 1.31 WHIP 5 K 9 BB

Projection: 1-1 4.20 ERA 15 IP 1.30 WHIP 6 K 11 BB

I can’t imagine this guy gets that many more innings this year. It’s just not possible. He walks way too many guys, and you just can’t have that from a relief pitcher. Every outing is an audition for the role of Casey Fossum in some sick Broadway musical about the Rays. His K rate isn’t good at all. I can’t believe he was a former second round pick. It’s unfathomable.

Tom Gordon

1-1 4.82 ERA 5 saves 9.1 IP 1.71 WHIP 11 K 4 BB

Projection: 2-2 4.50 ERA 30 IP 1.50 WHIP 35 K 15 BB

It was a bad contract to begin with, and Gordon has really struggled since the All-Star game last year. His fastball has lost velocity and his curveball has no break. He’s not healthy, and the Phillies really hurt the team by allowing him to pitch in April and not letting him get healthy. Hopefully he can come back and contribute, but I have my doubts.

J.D. Durbin

0-2 7.56 ERA 8.1 IP 1.92 WHIP 8 K 5 BB

Projection: 0-2 7.50 ERA 10 IP 1.90 WHIP 9 K 6 BB

Here’s some more shit that won’t stick. He was bad in his start after he lost confidence in his curveball, which was actually being thrown for strikes. He lost command of everything, walked guys and he just hasn’t been very effective. I see the potential, but until he can reach it, he has to get his confidence back in the minors. I just don’t know if we can get him through waivers.

Zack Segovia

D-

0-1 9.00 ERA 5 IP 1.80 WHIP 2 K 1 BB

Projection: We won’t see him again this year, for the good of the Phillies and his future.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen him, but you may wonder why I didn’t give him an F. Just refer back to a column way back in April, and you’ll get my thoughts on that game. Segovia has bombed in the minors since then. His already alarming K rates were down even more, and he’s walking guys. He’s back at Reading now, where hopefully he can get his career moving on the right path.

J.A. Happ

0-1 11.25 ERA 4 IP 2.25 WHIP 5 K 2 BB

Projection: 1-2 5.50 ERA 20 IP 2.00 WHIP 18 K 6 BB

He had an awful ML debut against the Mets, and he was sent back to Ottawa when we didn’t need him any longer. Next week, we will need him until we acquire another starter. He’s going to be a decent pitcher eventually, but he could use a little more seasoning. His sinker is going to be a good asset at CBP, if he’s not traded before he can settle in here.

Matt Smith

0-0 11.25 ERA 4 IP 3.75 WHIP 1 K 11 BB

Projection: Surgery.

After a solid month in which he got some key outs in key situations last year, Smith sucked in his brief stint this season. His pitches were all over the place and his walks were obviously very frequent. After doing poorly in the minors as well, it was discovered that he had elbow problems, and TJ surgery was imminent. He’ll wind up taking next year off, and maybe he can contribute in 09.

Fabio Castro

0-0 12.27 ERA 3.2 IP 2.46 WHIP 5 K 5 BB

Projection: 0-0 12.00 ERA 5 IP 2.30 WHIP 6 K 5 BB

The young lefty who sat at the end of the pen for much of last year didn’t make the cut when the team came up north. After Matt Smith failed, he joined the team and picked up where Smith left off. He allowed too many runners and too many runs to score. He has pretty good stuff, but he’s still really young and needs some refinement. He could be a decent pitcher in the future.

J.C. Romero

B-

0-0 0.00 ERA 3 IP 1.67 WHIP 4 K 3 BB

Projection: 1-1 3.50 ERA 25 IP 1.50 WHIP 20 K 12 BB

Romero was a scrap heap pick up from the Red Sox. He had a good ERA in Boston, but he had a problem with walking guys and allowing base runners in general. With Mike Timlin coming off the DL and Boston having a deep bullpen in general, Romero was expendable. He’s been okay so far. He’s again allowing runners, but as long as they don’t come around to score, he’s as good as it gets in our bullpen.

Joe Bisenius

0-0 0.00 ERA 2 IP 2.00 WHIP 3 K 2 BB

Projection: 0-0 0.00 ERA 4 IP 1.50 WHIP 4 K 2 BB

He was on the roster until one of our pitchers got back, and he pitched two innings without messing up. That’s all we could ask for. He pitched well during the spring, and he was a candidate to earn a spot on the roster right out of Spring Training, but he didn’t. He got hurt and struggled a bit in the minors, but when September call ups roll around, he should get another shot.

Anderson Garcia

0-0 13.50 ERA .2 IP 3.00 WHIP 0 K 0 BB

Projection: Same numbers.

I don’t think we’ll see much of this conspicuous character. He’s a retread from some other organizations, and he isn’t good. We brought him in to stop the bleeding, and he only caused more of it. He’s not a very good pitcher, and hopefully he doesn’t even give us innings in September. The Phillies are in the race. We can’t afford to be running out Anderson Garcia’s.

There you have it. The first, and hopefully second half Phillies. There’s potential to make the playoffs there. We have the roll and the meat, we just need to bring in the cheese from somewhere to complete our proverbial cheese steak. Yeah, I went there.

Flyers Future- Boom or Bust?

2007-07-09T00:30:00.000-05:00

Alright, that’s a bit extreme, but before the off-season began, the Flyers had a few different roads they could head down.

1) Develop a young nucleus that can compete now and in a few years. This would’ve been great. Some of the pieces are already there. The Flyers could add some more young talent through smart drafting with a couple pretty good picks, and then along the line, add a free agent or two to fill holes and complete your team; continue heading in the positive direction they started when Paul Holmgren took over.

2) Aggressively fill holes with free agents and trades to get back into the playoffs immediately. This would be taking the Bob Clarke approach: using veterans to make the team better now with no regard to even the very next year. This was when the Flyers had the worst farm system in the league. It allowed for some competitive teams, but now, with the salary cap, it’s hard to build a team with promise this way.

3) Blow everything up, scrap the rest of the decade and try again in 2010-11. This was pretty unrealistic from the get go, and completely unacceptable. It’s unacceptable for every organization, especially for one like the Flyers that has been historically pretty successful with a great fan base. This would involve putting a lot of faith in your scouting and development departments and hoping you can get a few new superstars.

A mix of one and two is the way to build a team. Obviously, as Paul Holmgren, you don’t want to take a while to get this team back on top. Ed Snider and the fans aren’t patient enough for that. You don’t need to take as long to do it as Pittsburgh did, because there are already a lot of young pieces in place. With Gagne, Carter, Umberger, Richards, Upshall, you’ve got a good mix of forwards. There’s some scoring potential, playmakers and even a little physical play. Defensively, Pitkanen, Coburn, Parent and even Kukkonen to an extent provide hope for the future. Throw in a couple draft picks and prospects and you’ve got a young core that’s only getting better.

Obviously, the Flyers sucked last year. Everything went wrong. Beyond the injuries, this team had a couple fatal flaws. They had no forecheck. They couldn’t sustain attacks, they couldn’t fire enough shots, and they couldn’t score goals. They were awful defensively. They weren’t physical, they were caught out of position and they couldn’t clear the puck. They couldn’t close out games. They couldn’t score on the power play. Who knows how it would’ve been if their penalty kill wasn’t so good?

From the time Bob Clarke “stepped down” to the end of the season, the Flyers took positive steps. They traded guys that weren’t contributing like Alexei Zhitnik and Kyle Calder, and picked up guys like Braydon Coburn, Lasse Kukkonen and Martin Biron. Holmgren had to suck it up, and admit that the team wasn’t good enough to win this season. He had to move some guys and set up for a better future when he had the chance.

The Peter Forsberg trade was the ultimate sign of going in a new direction. Holmgren traded away a great player, a great guy and a fan favorite for pieces for the future. The Flyers got a future 2^nd pair defenseman, a winger who needed a change of scenery and a couple draft picks. This trade absolutely helped the future of the team, and there was still a chance Forsberg comes back in the offseason.

Fast forward to the offseason. John Stevens, Holmgren, Brett Hull, everyone sees the holes on the Flyers. They need a top line center to set up Gagne. They need to add a forward or two that can play physical in the offensive zone. Most importantly, they need to upgrade their defense.

Holmgren gets a head start on everyone when he trades for the rights to Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. I already talked about these guys, I’m not going to waste space and do it again. Refer back to a previous article of mine from June if you want my thoughts.

The draft comes and goes, and to a lot of people’s surprise, myself included, the #2 pick isn’t traded. With it, the Flyers select James Van Riemsdyk, a big winger from the US team. He’s attending New Hampshire in the fall, and he’ll probably play there a couple years, and then get into pro hockey. It’s tough to draft for need in the NHL draft, but when there’s a bunch of prospects equal to each other and no one really stands out, the Flyers opted for depth at a position lacking it in their system.

With only one huge need left to fill, Holmgren set his sights on the top three centers available, like about two dozen of the NHL GMs: Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Briere to the Flyers was logical; he fits a huge need and he has several friends on the team. Holmgren made it happen. Briere signed quickly for 8 years and 52 million.

Is the contract a bit long? Yeah. Is that a lot of money to commit to one guy? Certainly. But that’s how you improve your team through free agency. That’s how you get out of the gutter. The Flyers needed a marquee player to play with Gagne and get him the puck. Considering that Briere probably took less money to come here, the Flyers made a great move. It speaks volumes to your organization and commitment to winning when a top free agent is willing to leave a great team and take less money to play for you.

Are the 07-08 Flyers set at this point? No. You don’t want your GM to be done adjusting the team on the first day of free agency, but unfortunately, Holmgren does the first thing I disagree with: He trades Joni Pitkanen.

The Flyers acquired Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul for Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson. Don’t get me wrong. Smith will be able to contribute. He’s a tough guy that brings more physical play to the defense. If we can find a place for Lupul, he’ll be able to score some goals too. I don’t have a problem with the guys we’re getting themselves.

I don’t see how you can trade away Pitkanen. Yeah, I know he struggled. He had a bad +/-, he was out of position on defense, he didn’t take enough shots, people have a laundry list of complaints about him. The fact remains he’ll only be 24 when the season opens and he has great potential. He’s a big body that can skate well, and those kind of guys don’t grow on trees. Trading someone like him because of a bad year is very shortsighted.

Another thing that doesn’t make sense is the salary we’re taking on. We’re on the hook for Jason Smith for a couple more years before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. We’re on the hook for Joffrey Lupul for a couple more years before he becomes a restricted free agent. Both of these guys are making more than Pitkanen was scheduled to make this year. We’re getting older and taking on salary. These aren’t things you want to do as a retooling team, especially one with key players such as Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and R.J. Umberger looking for big raises next year.

Take it for what it’s worth, but Eklund has a couple sources saying that Teemu Selanne might be interested in joining the Flyers. I know Eklund doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to a lot of hockey fans, but he hasn’t been that bad this offseason. If this is true, and Selanne signs with the Flyers, there’s going to be a lot of excitement for this team. Of course, it means moving someone like Knuble to make room for Selanne on the roster for both salary and ice time reasons, but it’s an on-ice upgrade, so it would be a nice thing to do. It was great of Knuble to re-sign here while he was injured when he could’ve just finished the year and walked, but sometimes, you have to throw away loyalty and improve the team.

Not that there wouldn’t be excitement if the Flyers are Selanne-less going into the season. They made some moves and they’re clearly out of the basement. There’s some potential for the Flyers this year. They should be back in the playoffs, where they belong. That’s the bottom line.

Accountability

2007-07-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

If the President commits a crime, he’s held accountable by Congress, through the impeachment process.

If I’m stocking shelves as a grocery store and I put in a pint of vanilla ice cream with the tomatoes, I have to be accountable for my mistake.

If things go wrong, a leader has to be accountable for what happened. Accountability exists everywhere. Everyone has to be accountable for their decisions. If a person screws up, it’s there responsibility and they have to own up to it. Sports are no exception.

Everyone in every sports organization has accountability. The peanut vendor has to sell his peanuts. The assistant to the traveling secretary has to book hotels on road trips. The grounds crew has to take care of the field every day. Most importantly, to the fans anyway, the players have to play. The players have to do their job.

When an athlete is drafted and pushed through the minor leagues (if applicable), and gets playing time, he’s expected to play his sport competently. Goalies have to stop the puck. Power forwards need to rebound. Catchers need to block home plate (wait, what?) Quarterbacks need to throw touchdowns.

“For who? For what?”

This immortal quote in Eagles history from Ricky Watters embodies the athlete that doesn’t feel accountable for his actions. Watters ended up having a good career for the Eagles, but he’ll be more known for short arming a pass in his first game. There are plenty of guys like him that don’t for responsible for wrongdoings. Rod Barajas couldn’t care less that he can’t block the plate, as long as he gets his paycheck at the end of the week.

On the other hand, there are the leaders. The guys that put it all on the line every game, and if something doesn’t go their way, they take the blame. No shrugging it off or pointing fingers. These are the Donovan McNabb’s, The Jamie Moyer’s. Hell, even Jon Lieber owns up when he makes a bad start, in which the defense and bats completely fail around him. Teams should strive to get more of these players.

Teams can practice accountability too. The Phillies do a little bit, and Pat Gillick is certainly better than Ed Wade with accountability. Gone are the days of Mike Williams getting opportunity after opportunity and doing poorly in each one. Gone are the days of Doug Glanville batting leadoff.

In are the days of Ryan Franklin getting cut. In are the days of Alex Gonzalez being forced into retirement. In are the days of Rod Barajas being… well, Pat’s almost there.

The Devil Rays are a team learning accountability. Last year, guys like Travis Lee, Tomas Perez and Travis Harper had multiple chances to prove they aren’t major league players, but it took until the end of the season for Tampa to finally say, “You know what? We can’t have this.” That was the end of Lee’s career.

In 2007, more changes are being made. Jae Seo and Casey Fossum were kicked out of the rotation. Ben Zobrist was optioned because he couldn’t draw a walk. Before, these performances would’ve gone largely unnoticed and ignored. Now, these guys are getting the playing time at the level of baseball they deserve.

That’s a concept in the same vein of accountability: a player gets what they deserve. This was something Ed Wade failed on. It didn’t matter how many doubles Chase Utley hit or how many homers Ryan Howard smashed. These guys were going to have their hands held through the system, and it ended up costing both of these stars a year or two in their careers. Hell, Phillies fans are lucky Howard’s even on the team.

Teams can improve the atmosphere of their ballclub by practicing these. Fans are appreciative when a hot prospect is called up or when a struggling player loses playing time or gets optioned. Not that teams should be letting the fans make the decisions, but it makes everyone that much more excited and interested in the team. Teams win more games when they use this balls to the wall style and don’t wait too long to cut their losses.

So we’ve gone over accountability in sports and the real world. However, something’s missing…

… Where is it for MLB umpires?

I can’t say that all sports officials aren’t accountable for their jobs, because David Stern disciplined an out of line official when he challenged Tim Duncan to a fight. I applaud Stern for what he did. Joey Crawford was an instigator that Sunday afternoon, and he has been his whole officiating career. He wants to make himself a part of the game, when he should merely make sure the game moves along smoothly and fairly.

Bud Selig needs to take a page from Stern’s book. Just this page, though. We don’t need Selig to try and change the way baseballs are made or institute a dress code policy. What he does need to do is sit down with his umpires and say, “Guys, you gotta do a better job. You have to bear down, focus and make the right calls, or there are going to be consequences.”

In the past month, the Phillies have had two incidents that stand out among others. Against the Tigers, Phillies starter Adam Eaton and a host of relievers were absolutely squeezed, but the Tigers’ staff had a strike zone as big as Joey Eischen. I’m going to keep the bellyaching to a minimum, but the strike zone was simply not consistent. The walks weren’t there, but in constant 2-0, 3-1 counts, a pitcher can’t throw the pitches he wants to. The Phillies ended up losing, with Catcher Carlos Ruiz, Charlie Manuel and Steve Smith getting ejected along the way.

In the 8^th inning, one inning after the bullpen exploded, Carlos Ruiz loses his cool. He starts a discussion with umpire Bill Welke, has a few choice words for him and gets ejected. Charlie Manuel predictably (and correctly) comes out to stand up for his player. Steve Smith, in the smartest thing he’s done all year, has seen what’s been taking place, and he has some words for the crew as well.

The point is umpires have to do their damn job! I don’t care if the strike zone is big or small, but it has to be the same thing for both teams. If a pitch six inches off the plate is a strike for Justin Verlander, then it better be for Yoel Hernandez. If a pitch down the middle is a ball for Cole Hamels, then it better be for Todd Jones.

Carlos Ruiz was suspended a game, Steve Smith three. That’s completely unfair. These guys hung in there for 7 innings against a great starter and a great team, and after taking another punch in the face, they couldn’t take it anymore.

I can’t say if the Phillies would’ve won the game if Welke was a better umpire, but take a look at this one:

On Tuesday night, the Phillies nursed a one run lead. It’s impressive they were leading this game in the first place, after walking batter after batter and showing an inability to get guys out. In the 9^th with one out, Carlos Lee was batting against Antonio Alfonseca with the bases loaded. Ground ball to short. Rollins flips to Utley and that’s one. Throw to Howard and that’ll end the ball… wait, no. He was safe?

Howard clearly caught the ball a step before Carlos Lee crossed the bag. However, for whatever reason, Lance Barksdale, the first base umpire, called him safe. This isn’t a judgement call. It’s not like the strike zone, which I guess can be open to interpretation. This is black and white! He was out, or he was safe! You can’t mess that up, it’s inexcusable!

The Phillies ended up losing the game. You can say that maybe they shouldn’t have put so many guys on base, or you could point to other opportunities the Phillies didn’t capitalize on earlier, but the fact is, Lance Barksdale blew the game. He flat out messed up. I can conclusively say that he cost us the game. The last out was recorded. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. The Phillies had a win. He took it away.

What does Barksdale do? He apologizes. He talks to Charlie Manuel, and says he’s sorry for making the wrong call. Well, you can stuff your sorrys in a sack, mister. That doesn’t do us any good. That’s not going to give us the win back. We can’t go back and allow the Phillies to slap hands in the middle of the diamond to congratulate each other on the victory.

Where’s the discipline? Nowhere to be seen. Both guys were back on the field the very next day. For those scoring at home, they displayed gross incompetence at their job, and they were allowed to continue with no punishment.

If I make a mistake on the job, I get in trouble. If Dhani Jones misses too many tackles, he gets cut. If MLB Umpires blow a call, they get a pat on the back. Something isn’t right. Sorry, but the world could stand to lose the second coming of Don Derkinger umpiring first base.

And by the way, thanks for the kind words left on an earlier entry. I’m glad to see someone’s reading.

NBA Draft Running Commentary

2007-06-28T19:16:00.000-05:00

30. Philadelphia 76ers: That Finnish PG- I like it.

29. Phoenix Suns: Alando Tucker, GF, Wisconsin- Solid player. He'll be able to give them a few minutes when they need them.

28. San Antonio Spurs: Tiago Splitter, FC, Brazil- I can't get any foreign guys. This is real frustrating.

27. Detroit Pistons: Arron Afflalo, SG, UCLA- This is a pretty good pick for their system. Afflalo can play some good defense.

26. Houston Rockets: Aaron Brooks, PG, Oregon- Bit early for him, I think.

Is Rashard Lewis still on Seattle or not?

25. Utah Jazz: Morris Almond, SG, Rice- My mock sucked, I get it.

24. Phoenix Suns: Rudy Fernandez, SG, Spain- He plays on Fran Vazquez' team, so you can count on him being good. Apparently traded to Portland.

23. New York Knicks: Wilson Chandler, GF, DePaul- Don't know much about him.

22. Charlotte Bobcats: Jared Dudley, SF, Boston College- Michael Jordan likes him, so he must be good.

21. Philadelphia 76ers: Daequan Cook, SG, Ohio State- Now Miami's property. Don't know what they're going to do with him.

20. Miami Heat: Jason Smith, PF, Colorado State- I wanted him. McRoberts is still on the board. This isn't good. This is not good. Now Sixers Property. Great move.

19. Los Angeles Lakers: Javaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech- There goes that idea. Damn.

18. Golden State Warriors: Marco Belineli, SG, Italy- Damn, gave them the wrong foreign player. Either way, good pick.

What if the Sixers take Crittenton too? Think of the possibilities.

17. New Jersey Nets: Sean Williams, FC, Boston College- Dammit. He would've been nice for the Sixers. He's really talented as long as he's past his problems.

Is it time to stop calling Francis "Franchise?" He's going on to his fourth team.

16. Washington Wizards: Nick Young, GF, Southern California- Good pick. They needed a second scorer and someone to help out Gilbert (and next year, replace him as the primary scorer.)

15. Detroit Pistons: Rodney Stuckey, G, Eastern Washington- I'm stunned. Absolutely floored. This pick is so anti-Pistons, I can't believe it.

14. Los Angeles Clippers: Al Thornton, F, Florida State- Thornton is ready to contribute now and he'll really help out the Clippers looking to return to the playoffs.

13. New Orleans Hornets: Julian Wright, F, Kansas- He's falling down the board, so it makes sense to take the best guy.

12. Philadelphia 76ers: Thaddeus Young, SF, Georgia Tech- Hm. Whatever. I would've preferred Thornton or maybe even Wright, but Young has a lot of potential and he's going to be a good player.

11. Atlanta Hawks: Acie Law IV, PG, Texas A&M- They've needed a point guard for a few years now, and they finally address the need. Good draft for them so far.

10. Los Angeles Kings: Spencer Hawes, C, Washington- Glad he's not a Sixer. J. Wright or Thornton guaranteed to be a Sixer now, and I can breath easy.

9. Chicago Bulls: Joakim Noah, PF, Florida- A lot of people don't like him, but he's a tough defender who will give Chicago an outstanding 4/5 rotation.

8. Charlotte Bobcats: Brandan Wright, F, North Carolina- He’s probably the BPA at this point, and the local factor is cute.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves: Corey Brewer, SG, Florida- He’s a good defensive player, but his offensive game has to develop.

6. Milwaukee Bucks: Yi Jianlian, PF, China- He slipped a little further than most would’ve expected, and it’ll be interesting to see if Yi comes over to America now.

5. Boston Celtics (traded to Seattle?:) Jeff Green, F, Georgetown- The Celtics got Paul Pierce his veteran, let’s see if him and Ray Allen can combine to take Boston far.

4. Memphis Grizzles: Mike Conley, PG, Ohio State- I am not happy about Kyle Lowry being immediately replaced, but Conley’ll be good.

3. Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford, PF, Florida- Widely considered to be the third player on the board, Atlanta passed on Yi, who they were very interested in.

2. Seattle Supersonics: Kevin Durant, SF, Texas- Also a no brainer. Who else were they going to take?

1. Portland Trailblazers: Greg Oden, C, Ohio State- No brainer. They really improved their frontcourt and added a guy that’s going to sell a lot of jerseys.