Cowboys Outlast Eagles

A late Donovan McNabb fumble while the Eagles had the ball in Dallas territory proved to be the pivotal play in a wild, back and forth Monday Night Football game that the Eagles dropped to the Cowboys by a score of 41 - 37.

When McNabb fumbled, the Eagles were leading by 3, and had just had a long kickoff return from rookie Quinton Demps put the ball into Dallas territory. Just as it looked like the Eagles were poised to at least put up another field goal, a botched handoff lay on the turf to be picked up by the Cowboy defense.

The Cowboys then took possession and drove the ball right down the field, eventually scoring the winning touchdown on a 1 yd Marion Barber run.

This game between 2 bitter rivals started out innocently enough, with the Eagles taking the ball and driving for a field goal, and then got goofy on the next possession where Tony Romo hit Terrell Owens with a 72 yd bomb to put the Cowboys ahead 7 - 3.

After another Akers field goal, the Cowboys returned the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown as rookie Felix Jones took it to the house to make it 14 - 6 Dallas.

Late in the 1st quarter, the Eagles benefitted from Asante Samuel's first Eagle interception as well as a fluky pass interference penalty to give the Eagles the ball at the 1, where, after a false start, Brian Westbrook caught a 6 yd pass from Donovan McNabb to pull within 1.

The next possession, after a botched Dallas kickoff return that pinned the Cowboys deep in their own territory, Tony Romo somehow managed to drop the football all on his own in his own endzone. Romo gathered the ball in his own endzone and was looking at his options, when Brian Dawkins busted in and knocked the ball away from Romo, causing a fumble ultimately recovered in the end zone by Chris Cocong for a touchdown and a 20 - 14 Eagles lead.

The next possession, the Cowboys methodically drove the ball down the field for yet another Terrell Owens touchdown, this time from 4 yds out to go up by a point.

The following possession by the Eagles could have been one of the most controversial ones of the year had they not scored on it. Eagles' rookie DeSean Jackson gathered in a Donovan McNabb pass and was coasting in for a touchdown, when, he inadvertantly flipped the ball before he went into the endzone. The ruling by the officials gave the Eagles the ball at the 1 yd line where Brian Westbrook took Jackson off of the hook, by punching the ball into the endzone for a 27 - 21 Eagles lead.

The two teams traded field goals as the half ended, with Eagles leading 30 - 24.

After an exchange of punts to open the 2nd half, the Cowboys struck first on a 17 yd pass from Tony Romo to Marion Barber. Barber earlier had a 20 yard burst to go with a Trent Cole roughing penalty that put the Cowboys in position in Eagle territory. The Eagles answered with a drive of their own that culminated in another Brian Westbrook touchdown as the 3rd quarter was ending to make the score 37 - 31 Eagles.

After the Cowboys drove and settled for a field goal to start the 4th quarter, the Eagles could have really salted the game away with another touchdown. Instead, we got the McNabb fumble and a hearty handshake.

Notes:

- Yup, still hate TO.

- Brian Dawkins....burnt on the TO slant for a TD and again on a post route from Jason Witten on the winning Cowboy drive.

- Sean Considine.....bit HARD on the Tony Romo shoulder fake on the 72 yd bomb.

- Speaking of the TO bomb....hey LEE-toe...what happened?

- Donovan....please learn to throw the ball away a little sooner. This indecision twice cost them on their final drive.

- DeSean Jackson....we love you and all, but don't EVER pull that stunt again.

Burrell Powers Phils; Lito A No-Show

Pat Burrell, in his march to have someone overpay him next year, hit a 2-run bomb in the bottom of the 6th inning to break a 1-1 tie to propel the Phils to a 3 - 2 win.

Adam Eaton (!) pitched 6 2/3 strong innings to pick up his second win of the season. Eaton struck out 5 and didn't walk anyone. That Eaton didn't walk anyone is nothing short of amazing, since he averages a little over 3 walks per 9 innings pitched this year. Brad Lidge came in and saved it for Eaton and picked up his 15th save in the process. Both Eaton and Lidge were bailed out at a couple of points in the game (Eaton in the 7th, Lidge in the 9th) by a pair of esthethically pleasing 5-4-3 doubleplays.

Chase Utley was, again, in the middle of the proceedings, knocking in the Phils' first run with a broken bat single and scored on Burrell's homer after doubling off of the Reds' Aaron Harang (who took the loss for the Reds).

As it is currently raining pretty hard outside of my office window right now (a mere 10 minute drive down the Schuylkill from CBP), who is to say if the series will continue tonite or not. Since Thursday's game is a day game, there is always the possibility of a double header tomorrow. But if the series does continue, the Phils will send Brett Myers against one of the best young pitchers in baseball in Edison Volquez (7:05pm - CSN-TV).

Lito A No-Show

Lito Sheppard blew off an optional OTA yesterday and it made big news across the area.

The fact is, with Sheppard unhappy with his situation, you can't be surprised he blew an entirely optional team activity. He did attend the mandatory mini-camp last month, but the operative word is "mandatory". I doubt Sheppard is dumb enough to miss events that will get him fined. To do so, would only further deteriorate his already non-existent leverage in this situation.

If Sheppard decides to be a no-show at training camp, that will an entirely different matter. But the fact is, if he were to miss any training camp, you wonder if he'll be committing some sort of bizarre career suicide. Who will want a small, injury-prone CB who holds out of camp, who is pissed off about an extension he signed in good faith just under 4 years ago? Furthermore, what makes Sheppard think anyone will give him the contract numbers he's looking for even when healthy?

The best move for Sheppard is to do what he's told with respect to team activities and it's possible (though not likely) he'll be traded. In this scenario, Sheppard would be the team's nickle corner and if he has the year he thinks he's capable of if he's healthy, there may be more demand for his services. Only by performing on the field will Sheppard get what he's after (i. e. -- a renegotiated contract).

Odds and Ends

For a variety of reasons, I haven't been able to write as I've alternately been sick or have been watching my son as my wife has been travelling. So, needless to say, I'm exhausted even today, but at least I'm feeling much better and am almost done being the sole care giver of my son.

Needless to say, I've gained a new appreciation of the parent who stays home with the kids; that's a lot of work and don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise. Take care of your mom this Mother's day and your Dad next month for Father's Day. Sure, they're Hallmark holidays, but the fact is, taking care of kids (especially, young ones) is hard damn work.

Now, back to the local teams making me nuts:

- I've done almost no baseball, but I have been following the Phils, albeit a bit more passively than normal. I'm working on a "by the numbers" article for the Phils in the month of April. Also: When will Uncle Cholly move Ryan Howard around in the batting order? We're six weeks into the season; I think RyHo has been given plenty of leeway here.

- Sure, I'm proud of what the Sixers did this year as getting to the playoffs was most unexpected. But did anyone feel a teensy bit pissed about the way the Sixers seemed to sort of rollover for the Pistons in Game 6? Just a little?

- Lito Sheppard: Still an Eagle. Don't think this will end well.

- Finally, onto to the Flyers, who have advanced to the finals of the Eastern Conference to face the Pittsburgh Penguins. A couple of things immediately come to mind. One is that you will get Crosby and Malkin force fed down your throat for the next two to three weeks; especially on national telecasts. This is going to be annoying on several levels, but mostly because we already played this team 8 times and will play them a minimum of 4 more times. We've heard all of the stories, so it's going to make us hate them even more as fans.

The second thing that we're going to have to get used to as fans is the complete lack of respect for this Flyers team. The fact that they are the Eastern Conference finalists after almost missing the playoffs (remember, it wasn't a lock going into the final two games of the year) has been a fantastic ride. But, if you've read the stories after the Flyers snuffed Montreal in 5 games, you'd think the Flyers cheated or did something unseemly to keep the stately and graceful Montreal Canadiens away from the playoffs. Want proof? Check out this Scott Burnside article, where he analyzes (correctly) where Montreal went wrong in this series, but one thing he fails to do is to point out the things the Flyers did right. Remember; this series was over in 5 games. Has a team, like the Flyers, ever disposed of the regular season conference champion in 5 games and been given so little respect? Fact is, this is just a preview of what you, as a fan, can expect from the media in the coming weeks.

The 2008 NFL Draft and Your Eagles

It's funny, but this time of year, there is alot of back and forth about the NFL draft such that some folks like it (like me) and some folks don't (like Michael Wilbon).

The NFL draft is when your team shows their hand as to their eventual strategic direction as a franchise, so I question your NFL fanhood if you're not into the NFL draft on some level.

That said, I'm not Ron Jaworski or even his lesser known cousin, Wasyl Jaworski. I don't have some draft board with names of players and teams. I don't watch miles of tape and hunker down in the warroom with Ray Didinger furiously scribbling notes (although it sounds like a good gig if you can get it).

No, I pretty much rely on the hours and hours I sit on my fat ass, drink beer, and watch college football during the season and a fairly obsessive amount of thinking about NFL football. Cliche alert: the NFL is now a year round sport. When is the first Iggle OTA (if you don't know the acronym, you ain't a fan)?

My shot at prognistication will proceed as follows: First, what I would do if I were the Eagles' GM and then, what the Eagles will probably end up doing.

What I would do:

1.) Trade Lito Sheppard and a draft pick for a front line receiver. I know I'm not alone here. There are several either disgruntled receivers (Ocho Cinco or Anquan Boldin) or receivers for whom it may be best to just move on because of a new kid in town (Detroit's Roy Williams). Take Lito and get one of these three receivers and we're pretty much back in the NFC East picture. Somehow, you need to counteract the Dallas acquisition of Pacman Jones. Throw in a pick as well if you have to. To be told by Eagles management that this group of receivers is championship calibre is insulting.

Furthermore, if we're seeing this year as Donovan McNabb's last year as an Eagle (highly probable), they MUST get an elite receiver to play with or I believe they're setting him up for failure. Unless that's the goal or something.

2.) With the 19th pick......I'd take either Miami's Kenny Phillips or find a way to get Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Both would fill a big need for the Eagles, defensively. Phillips would become your eventual Brian Dawkins replacement (although no one can truly replace Dawk....a HOFer in my book) and Rodgers-Cromartie would be the young, up-and-coming future shutdown CB, in addition to solving your problems in the shortterm in the return game. Either of these moves fit short to near term needs the Eagles will need to address to ensure success.

What the Eagles will probably do:

1.) Trade Lito Sheppard for a draft pick and a box of hammers. At least that's what Jay Glazer is already reporting.

2.) Take some of the surplus draft picks they get from the Lito Sheppard deal and move up and get one of the top offensive linemen. My guess? Ryan Clady from Boise State. Face it; this draft has a ton of linemen and if we know anything about Big Red, he loves him some offensive linemen (Max Jean-Gilles, Winston Justice, Todd Herremans, Scott Young, Shawn Andrews, and I could go on and on).

3.) The Eagles, throwing a bone to the fans, will draft this year's Jason Avant or Hank Baskett, whoever that happens to be.

Other predictions, both for some PSU guys and prominent college players:

- Dan Connor will slip to the late 2nd, early 3rd round. He's not as good as Poszluzny was, and Poz was an early 2nd rounder.

- Justin King will go much earlier than expected, making people like me who think he should come back to PSU for his senior season look stupid....I'd even say 2nd round. For the record, I can see King being a pretty good pro, despite never fulfilling some of the promise at PSU.

- Matt Ryan will end up in Atlanta and my head will explode when the Cowboys find a way to end up with Darren McFadden.

Useful Link: Eagles draft history

Eagles Dive in Deep End in Free Agency Pool

The Eagles decided to play with the big kids in the free agency pool signing DB Asante Samuel to a 6 year, $57 million dollar deal as well as signing DE Chris Clemons to a free agent contract (couldn't find terms).

The Asante Samuel signing was widely anticipated, although I profess myself stunned that the Eagles would commit so much money to a defensive back.

The move essentially moves Lito Sheppard out of his familiar left corner back spot and probably makes him trade fodder. It's a shame because Sheppard has been a good player for the Eagles, but he simply can't stay on the field for any length of time, missing 14 games over the past 3 years. I doubt they'll cut him; worst case scenario is that they keep him on the team and he's an extra CB. Best case scenario has Sheppard going in a trade for either the WR we all want the Eagles to obtain (Roy Williams from Detroit? Larry Fitzgerald?) or to package up Lito and their first round pick to move up in the draft.

The Chris Clemons signing is a bit more straightforward. He will move directly into Jevon Kearse's spot in the DE rotation. As a matter of fact, he can probably have Kearse's number 93 if he wants it; it's not like anyone is using it anymore. Clemons fits in with the small, fast DEs that the Eagles seem to prefer over those DEs that are built a bit more stout to handle the run on 1st and 2nd down, but are quick enough to speed rush on 3rd down.

Next of the shopping list for the Eagles should be a WR. By the way, the one player I thought the Eagles might reach out to for a return, Donte Stallworth, signed a 7-year deal with Cleveland last week. As most of the free agent WRs have signed, it looks like a trade or the draft will probably be the way to go, unless they want to go with someone that has been hurt recently, like Javon Walker.