Here’s a quick sports quiz for you. Who’s going to take the shot for the Dallas Mavericks with the game on the line? Who’s going to take the shot for the Los Angeles Lakers with time running out on the clock? Who is Tom Brady going to on third down and four to ten yards?
Everybody knows that the Colts and Packers spread you out and put the ball in the hands of their best player and let them make the decision of where to go with the ball. The Bulls got the ball to Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson got the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the post when the Lakers were winning championships. Sixers point guard Maurice Cheeks was going to get the ball to the Boston Strangler or Doc when the game was on the line.
The Eagles need to be able to go into a game knowing that there are certain things they can do regardless of what the other team’s defense does. We know that they’re not going to make running the football the foundation of their offense, so it has to be a pass play or series of pass plays. They can’t be deep pass plays because it has to be something you can complete eight out of ten times.
The need for a play the defense can’t stop is the reason I want to see Michael Vick and Brent Celek establish a chemistry that can’t be stopped. If I were Andy Reid, I would have spent all of the preseason games working on Vick to Celek. We know that Vick can get the ball deep to DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin, but he can’t live off of the deep pass because nobody can complete a high percentage of them. Last year when defenses took away the deep ball, the Eagles offense sputtered to a halt. They never established a short to intermediate game.
Celek is never going to be double-teamed. A defensive coordinator can’t double Celek with Jackson and Maclin on the field. The 
tight end should be able to beat a linebacker in a one-on-one matchup. He has to be able to win this battle.
If Vick and Celek can’t get it going then maybe Vick’s guy might be Steve Smith or Jason Avant. They need to have a play or two that they can complete with their eyes closed and it needs to be a short to intermediate throw.
In basketball you can’t live off of jump shots, you need a low post game. Like LeBron James, Michael Vick needs a low-post game. The Eagles can’t be like the Miami Heat and find themselves launching a 25-footer with the clock running out.
If you think back to the Donovan McNabb era, one of the best things he did was establish a great chemistry with his tight end Chad Lewis. Yes Chad Lewis couldn’t run any faster than the Eagles two offensive tackles during that stretch, Tra Thomas or Jon Runyan and accuracy wasn’t McNabb’s strength but they could keep the sticks moving on 3rd and four to seven yards to go.
Lewis knew how to screen off defenders and McNabb was able to get the ball to him at all times. If McNabb was greeted by a blitzer a split second after he took the snap, he knew where Lewis was. Number 89 was his safety valve at all times.
Vick and Celek should be able to establish the same chemistry. Celek is a better athlete than Lewis. Vick is a more accurate thrower than McNabb when he’s operating his fundamentals correctly. Smith was the guy for Eli Manning so he could fill that role, if needed. He was so good that up in New York, they starting calling third and long, “Third And Smith”.
Vick seems to have that confidence in Avant, but he’s got to develop it with Celek because he’s nearly always on the field, but Avant isn’t. Last Thursday, Vick felt pressure in his face and got the ball to Avant who he knew was going to be one-on-one.
Celek, Avant and Smith will likely be one-on-one in blitz situations and Vick has to go in the huddle and tell them I’m relying on you to get open and I’m coming your way with the football.
I know the Birds offense will have explosions, but I’m concerned about the droughts. You and I know the main reason the Phillies have been so consistent this season. It’s been those starters. If they lose a game or two, they’re handing the ball to an ace nearly all the time. They lose a game then they’re handing the ball to Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels.
Vick needs an ace play or two to rely on.
Now that Vick has his deal and we have freed up a little money, it makes me think again about the money that is still left over to be created. I will be the first person to admit I do not like Juqua Parker. Never have. Just something about him. Maybe its the way he disappears late in the year when we need him most. Maybe its the pot thing. But I’m developing a new reason not to like him. This guy has been out for like five months now with a calf strain! Seriously?? This is a guy that knows his days are numbered, that he’s 33 years old and that he’s not getting $3.5 million from anyone that picks him up. This guy is trying to take this “calf strain” straight to the IR so he can sit on his ass and get paid since he can’t EARN a spot on this roster. One more reason I really don’t like Juqua Parker. And he is going to screw us and Desean Jackson with his malingering behavior. This guy is a piece of work!
What Micheal VIck needs to do is stop playing football like its basketball.
Agree on the TE and QB combo
I still say the SB against NE was lost in the NFC Championship Game when Chad Lewis went down
He was McNabb’s go to guy in the 4th quarter
Vick no longer has to think about his creditors. No longer has to think about his families financial future.
To get burdens like that off your mind is only going to make him better as a football player.
Sounds very logical Birdo, but not so fast my friend,
Think all of the Athletes who have signed big deals and then put too much pressure on themselves to prove that they are worth the big $$$ and then actually begin to struggle instead of staying the course to whatever made them successful in the first place…I am not suggesting that this will happen with Vick,but it is a possibility..
See how everything in life always has 2 sides to it… even something as meaningless as an Athletes Contract…
Eh, I doubt it with Vick. He had it all and lost it all. He sat for two years in a jail cell thinking about all the wrongs he committed. He worked construction after being the face of the NFL. That’s extremely humbling. I think he knows what the next step is. He needs to solidify himself as an ELITE QB now, and you can only do that by winning a ring.
I agree, I think Vick will handle the big signing/contract with no problems for the reasons you just mentioned and is focused on being a Top QBb and winning Championship.. HIs internal Competitive Drive is off the charts and he wants to the best in the NFL which is why many players want to play with him…
(Wonder what the Eagles could have accomplished if McNabb had half the Competitve Fire that Vick has..but that’s water under the bridge now.)
Now that Vick has his contract he can focus on football. I think he has to do a better job in his passing game and make the right decisions when to run. These preseason games haven’t been good, however, I feel he will be fine by opening day. We need to pay Jackson so he can stop going through the motions while he’s playing. We don’t need to carry these problems into the season. Now since you created some cap space lets sign him and move on. I do agree with G that Vick must improve his short passing game. The coaches must do their part to put him in a better position to be successful,
Vick can handle being paid, now sign Jackson, cut parker and lets get ready for opener! Preseason don’t mean shit, you can go undefeated in preseason and then lose so lets put all that behind us. Now we’re ready to come out with guns blazing! Vick must develop chemistry with Celek! G don’t compare us to miami heat or lebron, i live in Miami and the hype, those guys dancing around like idiots and predicting 6,7…titles was a joke. Those cats are immature and worry more about parting on south beach, silly rats! Vince Young should have never talked that shit and he needs to keep his mouth shut, no more miami heat comparisons! Vick, jackson, maclin, celek and mccoy will be your go-to guys when it comes down to crunch klutch time!
Interesting that we still have 81 players on the roster with about four hours to go. Surely it is not that hard to decide which one of these guys to cut. We still have a lot of grocery baggers on the roster. That tells me to look out for a trade today since they have not cut loose one camp body that should be like throwing a dart. Is it time to say goodbye to Hanson? Lets hope so. We need the money.
paulman…no comment on Parker?
I think JParker will be rleased.. It really comes down to whther the Eagles keep 5 or 6 CB’s, If they keep 6 CB’s (which most project) then they will only keep 9 DL (which means 1 less DE) and Paerks appears to be the odd-man out due to his age and Salart trhough he’s been a Coach AR Favorite for years.. If Washburn really thinks that Hunt and Teo have legitimate upside, then Parker is a goner.. Parker did play under Washburg years ago,but knows his system and wouldn’t take him long to get acclimated,but at 32-33 years old and miss most of camp, this doesn’t bode well for him or Trevo Laws in my opinion… I Think Coach Ar is letting the position coached determine who the best players are now and for th efuture and that’s who will make the club, not based on what a player did last year or 3 years ago, etc,etc..
I’d like to see Laws gone to. Four seasons. Hurt for three camps, slow start, disappointment. I really do hope AR lets Wash and Mudd do it their way because HIS way has not led to great success in the trenches. Poor pass rush from front four and mediocre interior O line play have been a staple of his tenure. He needs to let guys who obviously know WAY better make these choices and stop worrying about who you drafted in what round. Teo was a fifth round pick. They traded down 50 times, lost the OG to KC and panicked and reached. Laws you gave four camps. Thats enough for anyone. I don’t care if he was the first pick of the entire draft. Let it go Andy!
What are they doing?!? 2.5 hours to go. Something is up. These guys are bums. Its not that hard! It has to be a trade or maybe grinding their teeth over whether they want to put Graham on IR. Decisions, decisions. They certainly make things interesting. I thought this would be a non-story until Saturday but I’m sensing something is cooking. A trade, an IR move, or parting with a guy they hate to cut but want to give him time to show up on his next team’s film. Like Colt Anderson or Eldra Buckley.
I agree with you about Laws,
The tricky thing here is that most of the regulars will most likely not play in Jets Final game, so you can’t go releaseing a bunch of guys beforehand because you want to make sure you have enough coverage and 2nd/3rd Stringers for the game itself.
Buckley & Anderson will play a lot this game so to get some good film so they can hook up with someone else..Probably a 3rd/4th String lineman
regarding guys like Laws and Parker (reserves who fans on here seem to want to go). I don’t see where how long he’s been on the team, money, past injuries, expectations etc… all fits in. To me the coches evaluate talent/most recent conditioning/performance in practice and games and then ask this simple question: Would keeping the guy make the chances of the team succeeding better or no? That’s all that matters. If they think Laws will play well this year, they keep him. They don’t say ‘well he’s been here for so long and this and that”. It’s a matter of what they expect to get out of a guy this year.
the Problem with Both LAws/PArker is that they have not been able to participate the last 2-3 weeks of Camp.. So now Coaches of course can watch film of last year under differernt coaches and old schemes..
Most coaches are going to go with teh Knoiwn.. Give me a player who is here every day busting his butt for I know what this player can and cannot do rather than a player who I have no idea what he can do in my new scheme or is hurt every other day.. I thought Laws to me on the very 1st day of Camp
looked fat and out of shape.. I bet he was up to 325-330 lbs.. Ove rhis 3-4 Season here, He has missed a lot of time, I think it’s way beyond time to cut the chord and give me a hard-nosed blue collare player like Hargrove and Landri any day for they bring it every play and practice every day.. This Laws has been a typicla NOtre Dame underachiever like Abiamri, B Quinn, J Claussen, R Mirer, Golden Tate and on and on and on …
Good points paulman. Schill I’m not sure what your point was. Laws has always been hurt. And, yes, money is a factor when you have one guy thats a 74 making league minimum and another thats say a 76 (hypothetical grades) making 3.5. It is especially important when there is very little difference, the more highly paid player is old and you need money to lock up a key player (D Jack) for the future. How can you say Money shouldn’t be a factor?? Hi Schill, I’m jbird. Welcome to America!
I’d keep Trevor Laws…..he was making some noise at the end of last year…
but as the saying goes…Can’t make the Club from the tub
J, yes, I was overexaggerating, money should be a factor, but not a bigger one than ‘can the guy play the position well’. It seems that in every opinion/analysis/arguemtn I’ve seen regarding Parker and Laws people discuss everything EXCEPT play on the football field.
Schill….I see your point. But we have other players that are good enough to replace Parker who is also coincidentally over paid. And I think he and his agent are cooking up a plan to get him on IR with this “calf strain.” Laws is always hurt and I see Landri as better fit that will stay healthy and Hargrove can play DE or DT and has a ring. Are those better reasons to want them cut?
Paulman I like the way you think man!! Really quick I agree with the notion of having Celek involved more. The problem that I see is that Vick will have to get back to the Retro Mike Vick in scrambling around to make plays. He obviously can’t afford to sit there in the pocket. I love his accuracy in the pocket but what gives.. Hopefully moving herremans over will help but Im not sure if that’s the answer… What’s up with not having Jamal Jackson help out with tackle and keeping Klece at center.. Jackson was moved to center from center when whats his face went to Cleveland.. And what about signing Gerode to the squad..? it’ll be good to have a excowgirl ready to turn it up when we do play his old team..
Thinking about Vick and this O-line reminds me of Randall Cunningham and WHY he had to run for his life!
J – I see 8 sacks consistently from Parker, and I don’t see that from other playeres (obviously exculding Cole, babin, Jenkins. But hey, this is why fans don’t make the decisions. You and I can talk back and forth all day long and still the coaches are the ones making the decisions. We will see when they trim the roster down.
let me rephrase that.. jackson was moved from guard to center..
Eagles cut CB Truffant. Why did that take all day? Seriously. These cuts are easy. Jeez! The drama!
Schill….that is true. Still hope they cut him. As I stated at the top, I just don’t like him.
j – why did that take all day? What’s the rush – do they get an extra draft pick or allowance to keep extra guys on the roster for getting their cuts in early?!
Dude, that’s what I’m talking about ‘cut the guy cuz I don’t like him’ – Um, I’d rather football players on my favorite team play well them me like them. If you like all the guys on the team are you cool with them losing?
Any deals (if any) will occur this weekend, Teams will have to cut from 80 players to 53 By Tuesday 9/6 I believe.. so that’s like 600-700 players out of jobs.. But I expect no deals and the Eagles will simply have to release some of the older,higher paid players who are Back-ups/Rotational players (Hanson,Paker,J JAckson, maybe a Laws..) and every other team has players in the same catregory..
I will give High Draft Picks 3 Season to develop but sooner or later, the word Potential or Upside has to deal with reality and production on the field and you can’t produce if you can’t stay healthy and participate. So players like Laws,Ingram,M Jackson,V Abiamri,Parker all got to go..
Now this Season it’s time for players like N Allen, Harbor, Cooper, Clayton,Chaney, Teo all the step up and prove they belong or next Summer camp we will take about them being on the bubble .. Time and Production on the Football Field waits for no one.. and the coulda, shoulda and woulda’s just don’t work after a while.. ..
Schill…. I don’t like him because he fades down the stretch and I think there is something thuggish and punkish about him.
Paulman…you of all the geeks like myself should know the deadline is Saturday at 6 not 9/6.
paulman….Clayton, Harbor, Cooper I agree. Teo should be gone now. Third rounders should get two camps to step up or get cut. Allen is a second rounder so he will get until the end of his contract. Thats just how they operate. Chaney is going to be the next low round/UDFA Eagle star. PB in 2012. Mark it.
j – Yeah, he faded as a starter but he ain’t starting. And now we have better DL/depth so given that, why should he go?
I think D Tapp and P Hunt combined is a better combination that Parker at this stage of his career.. I think both players can get 5-6 Sacks each,bring more energy and obvioulsy have lower Salaries that Parker and can also contribute on SPecial Teams (kick off coverages,etc) which Parker does not.. These Back-up/Rotational players must be able to contribute on Special Teams somehow, someway and at the end of the Day, that’s what it may come down to.. .
To Jbird,
Your right, as a Football and Eagle geek, I should have know the final Roster cutdowns were due by Sat 6pm
I am suspending myself for the remainder of the week (With full pay and benefits of course)
Schil…why do you see “8 sacks coming consistently” from Parker. He’s hit that number just once in the past 5 years.
Over the past 5 years he’s averaged 26 tackles and 6 sacks. How would you describe that? OK I suppose…but just ok. He’s a guy. A 33 yr old guy at that. Nothing more. His production can be replaced.
Tapp has rolled out very similar #s. He’s 7 years younger, and according to his bio…20 lbs heavier.
Good-bye Parker.
‘
think its gonna be rough to establish qb te chemistry early with this makeshift o line
i think celek will be asked to stay in and block quite alot more
vinnie – see I say keep both Tapp and Parker. Why subtract when more is better? I was wrong with 8, but 6 is the average of 5 years, as you posted, and with an overall better OL (Washburn + all the additions/new system)…. I’m just saying….. I know I’ve used this metaphor before, but if you go to the ATM, do you trash the bills you already had in your wallet? HELL NO
Look, if they cut parker, fine, but I say keep the man, he produces – not a ton, but I’d rather have his production than not have it.
I hear that. ‘cept I would have to drop a fiver if my wallet had a maximum amount limit.
Cole, Babin, Jenkins, Dixon all locked…Patterson & Tapp not going anywhere….that’s 6…how many spots left? Hunt they keep ’cause of the Cameron Wake CFL intrigue, Te’o-Nes – 3rd round pick invested, he stays….that’s 8….I think they keep a tackle (Laws) over an end so that’s 9…..
The only way Parker hangs around is if they keep 10 DL
Vinni – I hear YOU, but you know what, they’ve kept 10 DL for the majority of Reid’s tenure…
It’s either 5 CB and 10 DL or 6 CB and 9 DL
I think they go with the 6 CB is the now pass happy NFL and 9 DL
CB- Asmo,Samuel,DCR, Lindley, Hughes, & Marsh,
DL – Cole,Babin,Tapp,Hunt and Teo and Dixon,Jenkins,Patterson , Hargrove
If CB Marsh comes up with a mysterious injury to sandbag on the IR for the Season (which I would not be surprised reading about Fri MOnrning) and the
Eagles keep 10 DL, then the last spot would go to DT Landri..
Parker is a goner as is Hanson and Center J Jackson..