Another of GCobb.com’s loyal readers. Daggolden, put together the strategy for the Eagles 2011 offseason. He lays out all the money the Birds have saved in the last few years by ridding themselves of veterans, now he wants the Eagles to sign Oakland cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
I know the Birds were interested in him a couple of years ago. A little Birdie told me that somebody expressed that interest to the cornerback before the Raiders decided to slap the franchise tag on him. They still may have that interest.
Daggolden’s Post:
In case you’re unfamiliar with Nnamdi Asomugha, he plays cornerback for the Oakland Raiders, or at least he used to. This past season, in 14 games played, NFL quarterbacks only threw Asomugha’s way 33 times. In other words, they don’t even bother looking his way. Just 13 of those passes were completed for 205 yards, and no touchdowns. That translates to 0.9 catches allowed for 14.6 yards per game. That’s just stupid good. Looking at his stats is actually comical. He only had 19 tackles and no interceptions, because again, NFL quarterbacks want no part of him. Compare his numbers to little-used Eagles rookie Trevard Lindley, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think Lindley had a better season. That’s not to pick on you, Trevard… I have high hopes for your career here, but I digress.
We all know why Asomugha would be a great fit – The Eagles have a big fat hole at RCB, and Asomugha would fit into that empty spot ever so snugly. He and Asante Samuel would form the best corner tandem in the NFL… by far. If QB’s continued to throw away from Asomugha and target Samuel, then Samuel may just be a candidate to break interception records. The Eagles could send the house and be confident that they’re unlikely to be burned badly on the back end if blitzes don’t immediately get to the QB. BLAH BLAH BLAH, YADA YADA YADA.
Here’s the rub – Precisely 31 other teams league-wide can also come up with compelling cases to sign Asomugha and make it seem like a no-brainer. He’s that good – a rare talent that’s on the open market and an absolute sure thing at an extremely important position in today’s pass-happy NFL. He’s even far more of a sure thing than Samuel was when he was a free agent back in 2008. So why should Asomugha sign with the Eagles over any of the other 31 teams that could greatly benefit for his services?
The simple answer: The Eagles are in a perfect position to be able to pay, or rather, overpay him without dire consequences.
Here are the Eagles’ players salaries for 2011 and beyond:
*It’s important to note that NFL contracts are very complex. The following table lists salaries only, and while mostly accurate, the figures may not be 100% accurate for every player. They don’t show the signing bonuses various players may have signed. For example, Brandon Graham’s rookie contract was for 5 years, $22 million. Roughly $15 million of that was in signing bonuses. Sometimes signing bonus money is paid all upfront , other times it’s stretched over several years (although even in those cases the bulk of the signing bonus is typically paid upfront). The purpose of this table is to show the structure of the players’ salaries, all aggregated by hand from NBC’s rotoworld.com. If you’re so inclined to see the figures with some signing bonuses included, I’d recommend checking out eaglescap.com, although it’s not quite up to date. I included the most relevant Eagles. There were 59 that I felt were worthy of mention (obviously they will not all be with the team next year as many are unrestricted free agents):
Position Player 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
QB Michael Vick UFA
QB Kevin Kolb 1,392,000
QB Mike Kafka 405,000 490,000 575,000
RB LeSean McCoy 480,000 565,000
RB Jerome Harrison UFA
RB Eldra Buckley RFA
FB Leonard Weaver 2,500,000 2,500,000
FB Owen Schmitt UFA
WR Jeremy Maclin* 3,100,000 3,100,000 3,100,000
WR Jason Avant 1,250,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 3,250,000
WR DeSean Jackson 565,000
WR Riley Cooper 405,000 490,000 575,000
WR Chad Hall 405,000 490,000
TE Brent Celek 1,215,000 1,909,000 3,256,000 4,000,000 4,725,000 4,925,000
TE Clay Harbor 405,000 490,000 575,000
OT Jason Peters 5,900,000 7,900,000 10,400,000 9,650,000
OT Winston Justice 2,700,000 3,225,000 3,750,000
OT King Dunlap 555,000
OT Austin Howard 405,000 490,000
OG Todd Herremans 1,900,000 2,200,000 2,600,000
OG Max Jean-Gilles UFA
OG Nick Cole UFA
OG Reggie Wells UFA
C Jamaal Jackson 1,575,000 1,775,000 1,875,000
C Mike McGlynn 555,000
DE Juqua Parker 3,500,000
DE Trent Cole 2,900,000 2,900,000 3,400,000
DE Darryl Tapp 2,250,000 2,575,000
DE Brandon Graham 405,000 827,000 1,250,000 1,670,500
DE Daniel Te’o-Nesheim 405,000 490,000 575,000
DE Ricky Sapp 405,000 490,000 575,000
DE Bobby McCray UFA
DE Victor Abiamiri UFA
DT Mike Patterson 1,400,000 2,100,000 2,900,000 3,650,000 4,900,000 6,250,000
DT Brodrick Bunkley 635,000
DT Trevor Laws 470,000 555,000
DT Antonio Dixon 480,000
DT Jeff Owens Undisclosed
LB Stewart Bradley UFA
LB Ernie Sims UFA
LB Moise Fokou 480,000 565,000
LB Jamar Chaney 405,000 490,000 575,000
LB Akeem Jordan UFA
LB Omar Gaither UFA
LB Keenan Clayton 405,000 490,000 575,000
CB Asante Samuel 5,900,000 8,400,000 10,400,000
CB Joselio Hanson 1,680,000 2,700,000 3,100,000
CB Ellis Hobbs UFA
CB Dimitri Patterson UFA
CB Trevard Lindley 405,000 490,000 575,000
CB Jorrick Calvin 405,000 490,000 575,000
S Quintin Mikell UFA
S Nate Allen 405,000 490,000 575,000
S Kurt Coleman 405,000 490,000 575,000
S Colt Anderson 405,000 490,000
S Marlin Jackson 2,000,000
K David Akers UFA
P Sav Rocca UFA
LS Jon Dorenbos 800,000 800,000
Obviously, re-signing Michael Vick is priority numero uno, and the Eagles also need to do something about DeSean Jackson’s grossly under-market contract. If the Eagles can’t get a long term deal done with Vick, they’ll franchise him and be forced to pay him a hefty salary in 2011. Just as a reference, the salary figure for quarterbacks that were tagged was roughly $16.4 million. It should be slightly more in 2011. Let’s pretend for a minute that the QB franchise tag number jumps to $18 million 2011. Since Vick made $4,500,000 last season, that would be a raise of $13.5 million. Kevin Kolb, meanwhile made over $10 million in 2010. In 2011, he’ll make $1,392,000, which means the Eagles will save over $8,500,000 off his contract. Therefore, at the worst, the Eagles will only have to pay their QB’s $5 million more in 2011 than they did in 2010.
Otherwise, there are a grand total of ZERO Eagles that will make in excess of $6 million in base salary in 2011. None. Only 2 will make over $5 million – Samuel is set to make $5,900,000 in salary. He’ll make $8,400,000 in 2012 and $10,400,000 in 2012. The other highly paid Eagle, Jason Peters, will also only make $5,900,000 in salary, as his contract is also backloaded. Only SEVEN others will make as much as $2 million in salary – Leonard Weaver, Jeremy Maclin, Juqua Parker, Winston Justice, Trent Cole, Darryl Tapp, and Marlin Jackson. Marlin Jackson’s chances of seeing that $2 million are somewhere between slim and none, and depending on the roster moves the Eagles make this season, it’s debatable whether Justice will see the $2,700,000 that he’s scheduled to earn, and if Juqua Parker will see his $3,500,000.
It’s utterly remarkable that as of today, only 9 Eagles are scheduled to make at least $2 million in salary in 2011. So how did they get there? Well, as we all know, they purged a boatload of veterans this past offseason, and with them their lofty contracts. Here’s a quick list of all the players that the Eagles got off their books within the past 12 months:
– Donovan McNabb – In 2009, the Eagles redid the last 2 years of McNabb’s deal, which was $24.2 million over 2 years. They dumped that contract when they traded him to the Redskins.
– Brian Westbrook – The Eagles saved $7.5 million when they decided to release Westbrook in February.
– Stacy Andrews – The Eagles traded Andrews and his awful 6-year, $38.9 million contract to the Seahawks. He would have made $5,250,000 in 2011 with the Eagles, which would have been the 3rd highest salary on the team.
– Shawn Andrews – Signed a 10-year, $35.5 million extension in 2006. The Eagles released Andrews in March of 2010.
– Kevin Curtis – Signed as a free agent in 2007 for 6 years, $26.7 million. The Eagles released Curtis in March of 2010.
– Darren Howard – The Eagles signed Howard in 2006 as a free agent for 6 years, $32 million. Just like with Kevin Curtis and Shawn Andrews, the Eagles released Howard in March of 2010.
– Chris Clemons – Signed for 5 years, $13.5 million in 2008. The Eagles traded him to Seattle, although they received a similar contract back in return in Darryl Tapp.
– Reggie Brown – Signed a 5 year extension “worth as much as” $27 million in 2006. The Eagles traded Brown to the Buccaneers in March 2010.
– Sheldon Brown – Signed a 9 year contract extension worth $25.4 million in 2004. The Eagles traded Brown to the Browns in April of 2010.
– Chris Gocong – Gocong was also traded along with Brown, and would have made $1.7 million in salary in 2011.
That’s TEN veterans with significant contracts that the Eagles got off their books in one offseason. They were replaced by young players (15+ rookies played for the Eagles this season) that are mostly making near the league minimum. If the Eagles like Asomugha (and how can they not?), there’s really little excuse not to back up the Brinks truck for him, especially when the team is loaded with such an impressive young nucleus that should be a serious contender as it is in 2011.
Howie Roseman, look at me. You and Uncle Joe have done an amazing job managing the cap and building a fantastic young core through the draft, making prudent decisions and not going hog wild on garbage like some of the other crazy GM’s in your division. And I applaud the work you’ve done. (Clapping). However, now is the time to get aggressive and add a true difference maker, even if you have to overpay. The money is there – I see it. So again, look at me:
this guy has too much time on his hands
It should be a no brainer but the price will probably be too high for this team and they will likely say Patterson is good enough while drafting defensive backs. Maybe pick up a bottom tier CB for depth or compete for starting. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked either way.
Agree with scorpio on this one. He will command too much money and we already are going to have to pay a lot of money to Vick and most likely DeSean Jackson. In hindsight, it’s too bad we didn’t make a move on Julius Peppers last year and then use our number 1 pick to grab Devin McCourty. But like I said, hindsight is 20/20. Can you imagine how drastically different and improved this defense is if we had Peppers and McCourty?
How about last year everyone clamoring for DE’s VanBoshman and Kampenen who both did very little and Kampenen tore his ACL again and is probably done for his career..
I think it’s more a matter of Coaching these Young D/L then signing
and overpaying for older and sometimes injured players…
Missing on CB McCourty last Draft was a mistake, who I would have stayed at #24 and taken, but if I was going to trade 2 3rd Round picks to move up 11 Spots lto the 13th Pick , then Safety Eric Thomas had to be that pick and not Brandon Graham…which was another mistake
this is the scouting report on our current CB.
Former Eagles CB Troy Vincent once critsized the front office for not drafting his replacement sooner because of the complexities of learning the defense. He did good in training camp and pre season games with vanilla defensive scemes. Maybe he will be ready to start next season.
Trevard Lindley, CB, Kentucky
When Lindley decided not to go pro after his junior season at Kentucky, this is probably not what he had in mind. The cornerback did not miss a single start since the beginning of his freshman year, but he suffered a high ankle sprain early in 2009 against Alabama and missed the next four contests. Lindley returned to action on November 7 against Eastern Kentucky and the Wildcats promptly went on a three-game winning streak. They ended their regular season with a loss at Tennessee to finish 7-5 (3-5 in the SEC). Despite playing in just eight games, Lindley made 24 solo tackles, was second on the team with seven pass breakups, and he also returned an interception for a touchdown. Still, it was not been an ideal conclusion to a stellar career for Lindley. He was named a Freshman All-American by countless publications in 2006, led the Wildcats in interceptions and pass breakups and finished second in total tackles in 2007, and was a consensus All-SEC First-Team performer in 2008. Lindley has adequate size (he stands 6’0′ and 179 pounds), but it is his speed and technique which set the cornerback apart as one of the best in the nation. He has been clocked at 4.40 in the 40-yard-dash and he is almost always in perfect position defending the pass, whether it’s against the deep ball or a short route. Lindley’s experience is hard to beat, and his durability was never an issue until this season’s ankle injury. He has the ability to be a shutdown corner at the next level, but he is not quite as fast nor as physical (especially at the line of scrimmage) as the NFL’s best cornerbacks. He also has not done a ton in the offseason to help his draft stock, whereas a host of other players at his position are on the rise. Lindley ran a 4.53 at the combine and times of 4.50 and 4.51 at Kentucky’s pro day. That’s decent, but not fast enough to make up for a relative lack of size. As such, Lindley will probably slip beyond the third round of the upcoming draft.
@ bsm….I can tell you now Lindley will be taking over Samuels spot when his salary jumps from 5.9 to 8.4 or 10.4. He is being groomed like Lito and Sheldon were back then. Hopefully, he can beat out that stiff Hanson for the nickel DB.
The other guy I’d look hard at is Champ Bailey who should be available. Might have to give him a 3rd year on his contract but even in his declining 3rd year, he’s better than anyone on this roster now.
It seems that most free agents under perform after being traded and getting the big payday. There is always a reason a team lets a player walk and it’s not always about money. Some just don’t have a good work ethic until their contract is up. Or they are appoaching a bonus clause in their contract. Last year RB grant for the packers told Aaron Rogers not to check out of any running plays until he reached his signing bonus.
Why would the Raiders let a CB this good walk? The Eagles are real good at letting “good players” walk. Corey Simon, McNabb, Trotter, Westbrook. It’s the guys that were not so good here that are good with other teams. Burgess, Clemons and Babin. Even Joe Mays was starting for another team this year.
This Raider CB is at the Eagles (30 year) cutoff age. Like the Great Merrill Reese once said. The NFL is the one sport were you go from All-Pro to all nothing in a second. Look at Dawkins. Superb to Scrub. The Raiders finished strong and should want to keep this guy. It’s just seems odd that they don’t want him. Could be drugs or he’s not a team player or disrepects coaches. Or a combination.
Or he is talented and the Raiders are dumb for letting him go. It seems as dumb as the Eagles letting McNabb go to a division rival. It turns out maybe the Eagles knew something that the Redskins did not. That’s what concerns me about the CB. Just seems too good to be true.
I love the magical ‘ESPN’ like terms – or as I like to call it – crap people make up – Difference maker, disruptive force, shutdown corner, #1 WR, prime time player.
But enough abou thtat – the off-season plan from NavyEagleFan –
Hire an offensive assistant who has the sole purpose in life to work on the running game. Duce Staley would be fine – just someone who is a full time advocate for running the football. This coach must maintain and have some input into the play selection. It is clear that without some sort of divine intervention, our run to pass ratio will be out of whack – You can’t go into the biggest game of the year and only give the ball to McCoy 12 times.
High Priority – a 2nd CB to compliment Samuel. I happen to like the draft – but if this guy from Oakland comes – so be it. We need to go into next year VERY deep at CB.
Linebackers – SONGS had a valid point about the misses on D drafting – we need a better LB corp. Not happy with Sims at all, and Fokuo was hit or miss. I like Chaney in the middle – how about Bradley to Sam, Chaney in the Middle andfind us the Will of the future?
Right Guard – Need to solidify that position – not since Shawn Andrews in his good days has this been a strentgh – remember when you run behind Andrews and Runyan… Peters, HErmanns and McGlynn are good to go –
Medium Prior –
RT – not sure if the answer is to move Justice down to guard – but do that and find a stud for RT – this is Vick back side so needs to be high caliber. Maybe a whole camp for Howard – Maybe Dunlap puts on another 20 pounds.
Start looking for new Strong Safety
A 280 lb Blocking TE – maybe an old veteran with a year left who can actually run block Tuck or an LB for 2 secs
Find another run stuffer to compliment Dixon. A big ol’ nasty 330 lb fill the middle, blow the center up on a QB sneak guy to compete
Low Priorty –
Another big WR to compliment Cooper – then you have 5WR – JAx, Mac, Avant, Coop and next big guy (sorry Hall – good on you for the effort )
I don’t think JAckson can make it back after two major injuries – find a Center/Guard who can fill in if McGlynn goes down
Big RB – Like McCoy and Harrison – but after that want a 225 pound bruiser. After McCoy dances, he can run them over. (Buckley gone)
QB – If Kolb goes (or Vick for that matter) Not sure if Kafka can do that well. Maybe find a 1AA (FCS) QB that can run the practice squad team and be groomed for down the road.
Paulman, for some reason I remember you being a proponent of Vanden Bosch.
This is the difference between Green Bay and the Eagles. After nearly getting Rodgers killed, they began to call plays differently.
drummerwinslow says:
October 13, 2010 at 5:05 am
ANDY REID’S TWIN – UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!
If you saw any of Green Bay’s 16-13 loss at Washington, you saw an offense that would make Graham Harrell and Colt Brennan jump in the air like Rocky and Apollo did in the ocean. The Packers spread the field and threw … and threw … and threw.
By game’s end, they had called 53 pass plays and only 14 runs. While Rodgers threw for almost 300 yards, calling a pass on 53 out of 67 plays has its downside:
a) The offense is slightly one-dimensional. The dudes out in front of Abercrombie have more layers than that.
b) No time is burned off the clock when protecting a lead (Green Bay led by at least a touchdown for a good portion of the second half).
c)The quarterback is susceptible to getting killed.
Let’s start with the last point. Rodgers is tough, but passing or attempting to pass on nearly every down has its risks. That risk was realized on Sunday when Rodgers suffered a concussion late in the game on a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Quarterbacks don’t suffer helmet-to-helmet blows, much less injuries, when they hand off the ball. Brett Favre might get tennis elbow from one of those ridiculous throwing fakes on running plays, but that’s about it.
The other thing injured from constantly passing was Green Bay’s chance of winning, which brings us to the first two points. Due to the one-dimensional attack, the Packers only scored 13 points against a defense they should’ve riddled for twice that many. Personnel-wise, Jim Haslett’s defensive unit doesn’t match up against McCarthy’s offense. Even without running back Ryan Grant, Green Bay had favorable matchups running the ball; Washington was constantly spread out trying to defend the pass, and Albert Haynesworth, the team’s best defensive lineman (in theory), wasn’t playing.
And still, the Packers had a comfortable 13-3 lead when they took over the ball with 6:42 left in the third quarter. Time to run some clock. So what did McCarthy order up on the next two series with a two-score advantage? Seven passes, three runs. One of those passes came on a third-and-1.
Let’s review: 10-point second-half lead, third-and-1, on the road … and they pass the ball! They had to stay on the ground in that situation. Why? Even if they don’t get the first down, more clock gets chewed in the process of running the ball.
It wasn’t just during the second half that McCarthy abandoned the run. The Packers ran Brandon Jackson out of a three-receiver set on their third offensive play of the game. Jackson, starting in place of the injured Grant, navigated his way through the front line maelstrom, made a brilliant cut, and wasn’t caught until he was 71 yards down the field. Jackson’s scamper led to Green Bay’s only touchdown.
So how many times did Jackson get to run the ball the rest of the half after getting 71 yards on his first carry? Two — two! In fact, the drive after his big run the Packers ran six plays: Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, punt.
Fox analyst Troy Aikman said during the broadcast that McCarthy had mentioned in a pregame production meeting that “we want to maintain some type of balance,” and he didn’t want to go through another season where his quarterback got hit all the time (Green Bay allowed the most sacks in the NFL in 2009 with 51). That’s what makes McCarthy’s play-calling in this particular game all the more puzzling, because maintaining any type of balance is precisely what the Packers didn’t do.
Ummmm….unless Daggolden is also named JimmyK, the post is not his.
Its a cut and paste job from “Bleeding Green Nation” another eagles’ blog.
Vinnie
You’re still hating. What difference does it make? Dag brought it to GCobb.
G
Will you please post something from Vinnie? He’s obviously feeling left out.
You all know that I charted plays during the season, and since about 12:00 minutes into the 2nd quarter of the Titans game (with Kolb as his QB), Reid has fallen into a passing frenzy unequalled in the history of the NFL.
After his first 15 scripted plays, Reid has called passing plays no less than 77% of the the time and as much as 93% of the time (averaging 88% of the time). These numbers exclude the 2nd Dallas game and the Green Bay game (which I haven’t charted yet.)
Why did McCarthy change his play-calling and why did Rodgers fail so miserably?
More importantly, after 12 years, why does Andy remain unchanged?
Vinnie
Didn’t we all get out info/stats from someplace?
I still say the best off-season strategy would be to bring in Buddy Ryan as a talent evaluator and defensive coordinator, with expressed permission to treat Reid like Kevin Gilbride after the first 15 scripted plays.
I’m going to post something from vinnie and you drummer tomorrow. If you are writing a long piece that you want me to consider posting. Send it to me at Garry@18.208.40.39
G
Thanks, I don’t really have anything at this point. I’d like to do a little more research and, perhaps down the road, I’ll have something.
I commend you for posting others comments. It makes for a great forum and keeps us all interested.
I love this site and I feel like I have an extended family in these guys (including Vinnie, whom I always single out because we see things so differently.)
I look forward to a thought-provoking, informative and entertaining off-season on GCobb.com!!!!
Uhhh G im not hating and dont claim to know anything about American law but shouldnt you credit the source somewhere in the article as Bleeding Green Nation since this was copy and pasted right down to the blah blah blah yada yada yada part. Its one thing for us posters to bring info from other sites (which I do too) to inform fellow eagles fans but when you post it yourself arent there plagurism rules that need to be ahered to?
Drummer, does your chart show how many times Jackson and Maclin have caught a ball for less than 10 yards to convert a 3rd down? Just curious…
Well….I better get to writing then.
Yes Vinnie I never said it was mine. I never intended on it being mine. It was something I found and wanted to share with other eagle fans. Never knew G-Cobb would post it. I dont care who writes what honestly. Just like to pass on info.
I thought it was a good article with alot of information that others would like to see. Didnt know I had to rewrite it to make it in my own words. I dont have time for that shit.
will they land the guy?? i dont know but contrary to pop belief…. the birds will pay to add talent. They went and got kerse and owens. They went and got asam. they went and got peters. After years of begging…. they went and got a FB that in the end DID cost alot for a FB. They will spend the money AT TIMES. I debate myself all the time if they really tried to land Moss back in the day or just tried to look like they did but the DID offer a deal. So…. if they want this guy they will try and get him. Now…. there are for sure a bunch of other teams that are going to try too and the birds (if they want him) will draw a line in the sand but expepct them to offer him something. I scream when they dont land the guy i want but soometimes…..sometimes,, they were right. I can remember being pissed that the Cowbpys landed Roy Williams and was saying to myself…… a first an a third????? We could have given that up. Thank you eagles that you did not!! btw… i will be screaming in 3 months when they dont land this guy.
Great job daggolden.
Sure they sometimes pay out big money, Stevo, but how has that worked out? Owens ended up doing pushups in his driveway, kerse was a total bust, samuel’s been good, peters is overrated, and weaver shredded his knee. The eagles have terrible luck and judgement in their big investments.
Owens on the field was exactly what we needed. Kerse was crap, asam played great this year. Peters is overrated but is fine. Weaver is injured but played great last year. But anyway…. The birds are cheap crap is crap and they have shown a willingness to spend when they like the talent. Now… tlent evaluation is another topic all together. But… Let’s remember the guys we didn’t get that we beggen for…. Jevon walker, roy williams, the giants small) that went to bucs. I’m not a fo guy but sometimes I’m glad they don’t listen to us.