Eagles Analysis & More...January 3, 2006 column

Maurice Clarett is a disaster. You would have to have been asleep as long as Rip Van Winkle to not see this one coming. Maurice Clarett going to the dark side was as inevitable as Hulk Hogan going to the dark side when he started growing the dark beard. Do you think this guy, or any of his remaining friends or relatives, are even smart enough to realize if this guy kept his head down and mouth shut, played two years more at Ohio St and stayed out of trouble, he would have been a first round draft choice and had an initial contract worth like $20 million with a $5-6 million signing bonus. Now he is holding guys up at gunpoint for his share of a hundred bucks. What a putz.

Dick Clark is an American institution. Dick Clark is everything that is good in the World. Dick Clark is the Angel in that scene in Animal House while Maurice Clarett is the Devil. Dick Clark should not be hosting the New Year's Eve telecast at this point. His inability to speak properly was sad and depressing, and the exact opposite of his intended effect. I am hopeful that through therapy he can get back to where he belongs - on that telecast, but until then, Dick, please do not do this to yourself again.

We have had seven head coaches get fired or retire in the NFL so far in the two days since the season ended - Tice, Sherman, Martz, Turner, Vermeil, Capers, and Haslett. The only one of these that I disagree with, and I would not have believed I would say this ten weeks ago, is Mike Tice. I thought he actually did a great job this year. His team got off to a 2-5 start, got off in general on the lake, and lost their franchise quarterback, only to win 6 in a row and 7 of their last 9. His players could have quit on him but played really hard. He held a team together against impossible odds. I would have let him have another shot, in spite of the off the field problems.

The Redskins are paying their defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, $8 million over three years (head coach money) to stay on their staff and not interview for any head coaching jobs this season. You can say what you want about Dan Snyder, and I usually do, as you are all aware if you read this blog on a regular basis, but the guy is willing to do whatever it takes to win. Good move here by fat Dan.

Lynn Swann is running for governor. I will have more to say of Swann as a candidate when I get to know his platform. I will, however, say, that there are way too many athletes/rich guys/actors who are trading on their name and running for public office. I guess they are attracted by the power of authority, although they all say to is to serve the public. We need to figure out a way to get out best and brightest to commit to public service from the beginning, instead of stepping in late and thinking they can do the job. Could a 50 year old just decide to be an NFL at age 50 and sign up? Can you decide to be a Fortune 500 CEO at age 50 and just sign up? NO! You have to work your way up the ladder one way or the other. The same should hold true for politics. We need professionals in these important roles, not glamorized amateurs with a few bucks and some name recognition.

OK, now onto Birds analysis....

The Eagles have finally finished their dreadful 6-10 season, so time to take stock of where they sit to see if they can be closer to the team than won 59 games over the previous 5 years or the disaster that was 2005. Before I get into that, Andy Reid did his best to keep Dallas out of the playoffs by gift wrapping a game the Eagles should have won to the Skins this week. I mean, who could possibly justify bringing Koy Detmer into a game in which McMahon did not actually look all that bad (which for him is the equivalent of fantastic). Anyway, I digress, let's look at where this team is heading:

• Quarterback. Donovan McNabb should be back and healthy. It is very easy to forget that four months ago McNabb was universally considered (and rightfully so) one of the three best quarterbacks in the game. He has always won and won consistently, and last year brought is game to an elite level every week. There is no reason to think that McNabb will not return to be one of the top quarterbacks in the game if he can stay healthy. On the flip side, enough of Koy Detmer and Mike McMahon. They need to bring in a legitimate backup quarterback (see Brad Johnson in Minnesota) that can come in and perform if need be. Andy Hall is fine as a third QB.
• Running Back. Brian Westbrook, Ryan Moats and Bruce Perry are all good elusive scat backs who can run well and catch the ball. What they really need is a complimentary bruiser (Duce Staley??) to get about 8 carries a game as a change of pace. They should discard Lamar Gordon and Reno Mahe.
• Receiver. They are right back where they started before T.O. came to town. Actually, they are a bit better. Reggie Brown is a better #2 than James Thrash, and Todd Pinkston (assuming he is healthy and regains his speed after achilles surgery) is a better #3 than most. However, they are still stuck without a #1. Maybe they will mend fences with T.O. and give him the roster bonus they owe him March 1st. Yeah, right. I expect they will make a play for Reggie Wayne, but I also expect Indy to keep him (if Alvin Harper and Peerless Price taught people anything, it is that #2 receivers OFTEN do not translate into goodd #1 receivers.) In other words, Indy will want to keep him, and why would anyone want to leave Indy as long as they money is comparable, and teh Eagles do not often overpay.
• Offensive Line. This area is up in the air and a potential mess. Runyon and Tra Thomas are old, Hank Fraley is done, and Artis Hicks was a stopgap to start with. So they have an up and coming Pro Bowler in Shawn Andrews and not much else. I expect them to either re-sign Runyon or keep Thomas (probably the former if he will take a hometown discount), plug in Jarious Jackson at center (he filled in OK while Fraley was out), plug Herremens in at Left Tackle, and try to draft or sign a free agent to play left guard.
• Defensive Line. Another mess. Javon Kearse has not lived up to expectations since he arrived from Tennessee two years ago. I believe this is because the rest of the line sucked so bad, and not necessarily because Kearse has nothing left in the tank. Trent Cole was a nice surprise as a 5th rounder. Look for him to start next year, with MacDougle and Kalu as backups. This would be a potential area for the Eagles to try to improve through the draft with Kiwanuka from Boston College or Mario Williams from N.C State potentially sitting there when the Birds pick in the first round at #14. They need to get more production at the tackle position from Mike Patterson, who started strong then utterly disappeared in the second half of the season.
• Linebackers. The inside is set with Jeremiah Trotter as good as anyone in the league as long as his gimpy knees hold up. I expect them to replace Keith Adams at one OLB spot and stick with Dhani Jones at the other, despite not much output this year.
• Defensive Backs. Brian Dawkins is a hall of famer, one of the best ever at his position, and the heart and soul of this defense. He should have 1-2 more good seasons, but they need to groom a replacement for 2008 at the latest. One has to hope the rest of the secondary, which all stunk out of nowhere, will return to form next year.
• Salary Cap & Management. The Eagles management has for years effectively managed the salary cap to the point where they have some money to spend to improve this team. For the first time in about six years, there are major holes to fill instead of just a tweak here or there. This was a great run by management. However, if this team next season is significantly under the cap again, that is a blunder by management. There are simply too many holes to fix now to get there without spending some money. A #1 receiver, and offensive lineman and a defensive lineman should top the wish list this off season. We will see if management takes advantage of the mulligan afforded by a five year great run, or if this is the beginning of a slide that fans will not forgive.
• Coaching Staff. Andy Reid had an off year this year. I think if you could ever get him to speak openly he would freely admit it (honestly, as opposed to all the "I take all the responsibility, I have to do a better job" stuff he says every week). That being said, I think Reid is a good coach and a good play caller, and he should be better next year. The coordinator positions will be interesting to watch. Brad Childress, despite being on a 6-10 team, seems to be a hot commodity and will likely leave for a Head Coaching job. On defense, it seems the league caught up to Jim Johnston this year, as the defense just was not well coached this season. It will be interesting to see if Johnston can pull a Joe Paterno and do some successful changes this late in the game to get the d back on track next season.
• Overall Assessment. I think overall, this was a debacle. Brutal injuries and the circus that was T.O. made this year an impossible situation from the start. I think the Eagles will make some but not enough good moves in the offseason, and a healthy McNabb should lead them back to a winning record and a playoff berth. However, in a town that has not won a professional championship in any sport since 1983, playoff berths are not enough. We, as Philadelphians, want and need to compete for a title. It is early still, way too early to make final or even initial judgements for next season, but I do not forsee this team getting to or winning the Super Bowl. Initial prediction: 10-6, loss in Division playoff round (round before the championship game weekend).