Bleeding Green Nation

How Good Can the Philadelphia Eagles Defense Be?

2012-05-26T12:25:52Z

How Good Can the Philadelphia Eagles Defense Be?

2011 was a roller coaster ride for the Eagles defense. That needs to change in 2012. Adjustments to the staff, the lineup, and the scheme offer a sense of optimism. If things pan out as hoped, how good can the defense be?

By Tommy Lawlor

The Linc - Todd Bowles Simplifies

2012-05-26T10:00:21Z

DRC thinks Bowles' Ideas Will Help Secondary
"He brought a lot of clarity," Rodgers-Cromartie said of Bowles, fresh from a stint as the Dolphins’ interim head coach. "He really zoned in on the man thing, that we’re really going to do. I think there’s going to be a lot of pressing, not too many zones." This is definitely what DRC wants, knowing when he lines up "that’s your guy … way simpler."

Paul Domowitch: Things really clicking for Eagles' Kelce
Kelce said it took about four games for everything to really click for him last year. He points to the Eagles' 34-7 win over the Cowboys in Week 8, when he outplayed Pro Bowl nose tackle Jay Ratliff, as the day the boy center became an NFL man.

Eagles' Jarrett 'motivated by pride' in year two
Disappointed? Yes. Discouraged? No way. After a year on the sidelines, Eagles safety Jaiquawn Jarrett is eager to show his worth.

Phil Sheridan: Knowing Eagles players is as important as knowing playbook
In which we are introduced to the word, "Asantectomy"

Don't Let The Franchise Tag You; Bomani & Jones, episode 19 - YouTube
Wes Welker is just the latest NFL player to seem surprised the club he plays for doesn't gleefully hand out lucrative, long-term contract extensions. It may not make you popular with the fans, but it's like this: hold out, get paid; go play, get played. Just ask Matt Forte.

'American Idol' Loses TV Ratings Crown to Football - Yahoo! TV
For the first time in a long time, "Idol" won’t finish as the top-rated program in primetime. According to preliminary numbers, NBC’s "Sunday Night Football" will go down as this season’s top-ranked program. The NFL game of the week averaged around 20.7 million viewers, while "Idol's" Wednesday edition averaged 19.7 million viewers this season.

Caption Contest: Jim Washburn's Stare

2012-05-25T19:07:57Z

A string of profanity? Making another young guy quit football?

What is Jim Washburn up to this summer? Captions in the comments.

Garcia: Have Howie give me a call

2012-05-25T18:14:09Z

Garcia: Have Howie give me a call

At 42 years old, Jeff Garcia isn't quite ready to call it a career.

And he wouldn't mind a third stint with Andy Reid and the Eagles.

Speaking to 94 WIP's Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow, Garcia said he's in the best shape of his life and will be ready if a team calls.

"Philly's the team my wife will let me go back and play for," he said. "She's the only one that will approve the move, so to speak. Our experience there in Philadelphia in 2006 was just, for me as a player, one of the best experiences that I've had.

Eagles Ranked At #7 In ESPN Future Power Rankings

2012-05-25T16:52:50Z

ESPN has, for some reason, decided to do power rankings for the 2015 NFL season. They had 4 different pundits grade where they think 5 different areas of a team will be in 2015, then added up those grades for an overall grade. The Eagles came in at 74 out of 100 points, just a fraction behind the Detroit Lions. Below is a general summary of their thoughts on each area.

Roster 7.25/10 - It's very young and talent. Almost all key skill players outside of QB on offense are early to mid-20s, they've got a bunch of young pass rushers and a young LB corps.

QB 5.75/10- This was their lowest score looking ahead to 2015. Vick will be 32 this year and we know that the guaranteed money will be pretty much up in his contract after this season. So 3 years into the future the QB situation is certainly a question.

Draft 8/10 - They loved the 2012 draft and Mel Kiper generally likes their draft approach overall.

Front Office 8.25/10 - The highest graded area on the team. They like the Roseman/Reid combo, like how they are aggressive in free agency when they want and like how they lock up their young players.

Coaching 8/10 - They are very high on Reid, but wonder whether he might retire by 2015.

Andy Reid Assesses Team After First Week Of OTAs

2012-05-25T14:15:07Z

Andy Reid sat down with the media yesterday to discuss the Eagles first full team OTAs this week. He talked about a few specific players, so let's just go through one by one.

On the rookies Fletcher Cox, Vinny Curry & Mychal Kendricks.

"They are. You've seen them - maybe not so much with the defensive line because they can't [make contact], but with a linebacker, you're able to see [Mychal] Kendricks make plays and cover people, which is good. This is really more of a passing camp than it is a running camp, so we're not in any team periods running the football."

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

"Really just kind of picking up from where he left off last year, which he's doing. He's getting a good feel for it, and it's a little different because we're not asking him to play the inside slot position right now. He's playing strictly corner right now, so he's honing in on that and perfecting it."

Nick Foles

"Lots of little things. He's completing balls and his completion percentage is way up there. He's doing a good job with that and knowing the limited amount that he knows right now. He's a smart kid and we're throwing a ton at him right now. We really like his attitude."

Brandon Graham

"I think he's done well. It looks like he's in really good shape and there is zero effects of the knee right now. He's moving fast. I don't know if you'd call it a chip on your shoulder, but he wants to do well. He wants to prove that he's a quality NFL player and I think he's on a mission to do that."

As Reid noted, this is a non contact passing camp. So obviously its important for QBs, WRs, DB and even LBs as far as coverage goes. But for lineman and blitzers there's not a whole lot to see. Offensive lineman really can't block effectively without being able to hit someone.

Giants WR Hakeem Nicks Fractures Foot At OTAs

2012-05-24T19:49:14Z

The Giants got some bad news today as it was revealed that WR Hakeem Nicks fractured the 5th metatarsal of his right foot during a morning drill at their OTAs this morning. Nicks was running a route during individual drills when the injury happened.

He will now have surgery tomorrow to have a screw inserted into the broken bone. He's expected to miss 12 weeks. That means he'll miss the entirety of the Giants offseason workouts and probably won't be ready for Giants training camp, which begins on July 26th.

He should be ready by the start of the season.

Nicks was not the only casualty of the Giants camp, CB Brian Witherspoon tore his ACL yesterday. It was the second straight year he's torn the ACL prior to the season. The team waived him today. Life in the NFL is not always glamorous.

Keenan Clayton Injury Update: Eagles' Linebacker Undergoes Successful Surgery

2012-05-24T17:24:31Z

Keenan Clayton Injury Update: Eagles' Linebacker Undergoes Successful Surgery

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced that linebacker Keenan Clayton underwent successful surgery to repair a sports hernia.