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      Philly writers weigh in on Vick

      August 14, 2009 /

      Here is what some of the local beat writers, columnists and bloggers are saying about the Eagles’ signing of Michael Vick.

      Philadelphia Inquirer:
      – Phil Sheridan writes that Vick isnt’ worth the trouble for the Eagles.

      – Paul Domowitch says that controversy aside, the Vick signing is a perfect move by the Eagles.

      – John Gonzalez is “astounded” by Philly signing Vick.

      – Bob Cooney highlights the pros, cons and total shock of the signing.

      – Jeff McLane writes that Vick’s role with the Eagles is still unclear.

      Philadelphia Daily News:
      – Unsurprisingly, animal activists and readers are shocked by the signing.

      – The Eagletarian (the PDN’s blog) discusses what kind of impact Vick will have on Donovan McNabb.

      Blogs:
      – BLEEDING GREEN NATION details who Pro Football Talk made up another story (I say “another” because this certainly isn’t the first time they’ve reported fake news) about how McNabb wasn’t pleased by the signing of Vick, yet as the blog notes, McNabb actually lobbied for the team to sign Vick.

      – BLEEDING GREEN NATION also has a live blog dedicated to Vick’s first press conference with the Eagles.

      – IGGLES BLOG writes that they’re proud of the Eagles for signing Vick.

      – EAGLES PERCH is still in shock over the signing.

      NFL

      Brady outstanding in return to live action

      August 14, 2009 /

      It was only one preseason game, but Tom Brady put the rest of the AFC East on notice: He’s back.

      In his first game action since tearing his MCL and ACL in Week 1 of the 2008 season, Brady completed 10-of-15 passes for 100 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Patriots’ 27-25 win over the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night.

      More importantly than his stat line, Brady exhibited command in the pocket and seemingly had no trouble with his restructured knee. After a pass interference call on Randy Moss set up a touchdown to Chris Baker on New England’s second offensive possession of the game, Brady engineered a 10-play, 75-yard drive right before half that culminated in a nine yard TD pass to Baker to give the Pats a 21-6 lead. On the drive, Brady scrambled for a key first down on a third-and-one, which offered further proof that his knee is holding up after months of rehab.

      Again, it was only one preseason game and it’ll be interesting to see how Brady’s knee responds the morning after playing. But all indications are that he’s completely healthy and that New England’s high-powered offensive attack is ready to keep opposing defenses coordinators up at night again.

      NFL

      Russell solid in preseason debut

      August 14, 2009 /

      Reports coming out of Raiders training camp surrounding JaMarcus Russell have been mostly negative as the third-year quarterback continues to struggle with consistency and trying to get his timing down with his receivers.

      But in Oakland’s 31-10 win over Dallas in the Raiders’ preseason opener on Thursday night, Russell showed the poise that once made him the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He completed six of his nine pass attempts for 50 yards and while his average pass only went for a messily 5.6 yards, it was a promising start for a player who is expected to turn the corner this year as a quarterback.

      Granted, one preseason game in which he only threw for 50 yards isn’t going to tell us whether or not Russell is finally developing. But he has looked so poorly at times during his short career that it’s worth mentioning when he resembles a NFL quarterback.

      Of course, Russell wasn’t the key performer in Oakland’s first preseason win and neither was former first round pick Darren McFadden, although he did rush four times for 63 yards (15.8 average).

      That distinction goes out to former seventh round pick Chaz Shilens, who hauled in five passes for 52 yards. Shilens, who has a nice blend of size, speed and hands, is starting to emerge as a nice go-to receiver for Russell in the passing game and could turn out to be the Raiders’ best playmaker this season.

      NFL

      Five reasons Vick makes sense for the Eagles

      August 14, 2009 /

      To the surprise of many, the Eagles went out on a limb and signed free agent quarterback Michael Vick to a one-year, $1.6 million deal with a $5.2 million team option for 2010. Below are five reasons why this move makes sense for Philadelphia.

      1. The Eagles are going for broke this season.
      This offseason, Philly traded a first round pick to Buffalo in exchange for Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jason Peters and also signed lineman Stacy Andrews. They also added playmakers Jeremy Maclin and LeSean “Shady” McCoy via the draft, so it’s clear that the Eagles are stocking their roster with as much offensive talent as they can. Vick was once highly regarded as the best athlete in the NFL and at $1.6 million, Philly is willing to take the risk in hopes that they just added even more talent to their brimming roster.

      2. The Eagles offer a solid support system.
      The Eagles have always been a model organization and they wouldn’t have made a move like this if they hadn’t first consulted Tony Dungy (who is mentoring Vick) and weighed all of their options. Vick leaves a lot to be desired as a human being, but Andy Reid, Joe Banner and Tom Heckert must believe that he can turn around his life and are willing to take him in. Plus, one would assume that Vick will be on his best behavior and Reid isn’t going to put up with an attitude. Another key to this situation is Donovan McNabb, who has the respect of his teammates and will certainly take some of the attention away from Vick’s arrival.

      3. Kolb’s knee injury maybe worse than the Eagles are letting on.
      While Vick doesn’t pose a threat to McNabb’s starting job, he does put pressure on backup Kevin Kolb, who was carted off the practice field at the beginning of the week after spraining his left knee. While reports state that Kolb should be fine, the signing of Vick may indicate that Philadelphia wants some insurance behind McNabb and Vick, despite his two-year playing absence, was the best QB on the market.

      Of course, it’s entirely conceivable that the Eagles were working on a contract with Vick before Kolb’s injury, in which case maybe Philly just isn’t that high on Kolb’s development after two years. It’s a shame to think that a team would give up on a 24-year old former second round pick after just two years (especially a quarterback), but maybe the Eagles just don’t see much of a future in Kolb.

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      NFL

      2009 Fantasy Football Preview: PKs

      August 13, 2009 /

      All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings

      When the topic of fantasy kickers come up, it makes us feel like Allen Iverson when someone asks him about practice: “Kickers? You want to talk about kickers?”

      Still, championship-caliber fantasy teams usually have a good kicker, so it is important to stay awake in the final rounds of your fantasy draft to ensure that you get someone decent.

      We generally approach the kicker position with the following strategy:

      1. Pick players that kick for teams with a good offense.
      Good offense means touchdowns, and with TDs come extra points. Players who kick a lot of extra points are generally more consistent week-to-week than kickers who get more of their scoring from field goals. It’s better to have someone who is going to score four XPs every week than it is to have a guy that may or may not get 2-3 field goals.

      2. Pick players that kick in good weather (or indoors).
      There are plenty of good players who kick in bad weather. It’s fine to draft Mason Crosby or Robbie Gould, but do you really want to run them out there in Week 16 when there are 30 mph crosswinds in Green Bay or Chicago? If you want to pick a kicker and pretty much forget about the position, grab a guy that plays in warm weather or, better yet, kicks indoors. If you do pick a bad weather kicker — and we’re going to recommend two good ones — be prepared to make a change late in the season.

      The top 10 offenses of 2008 belonged to the Saints, Broncos, Texans, Cardinals, Patriots, Falcons, Giants, Packers, Eagles and Panthers. Eight of those teams had kickers who finished in the top 13: Stephen Gostkowski, David Akers, John Carney, Jason Elam, Mason Crosby, Kris Brown, John Kasay and Matt Prater. The Saints had three kickers throughout the season and the Cardinals were in the bottom 10 in field goal attempts.

      The other kickers in the top 13 – Rob Bironas (TEN), Rian Lindell (BUF), Matt Bryant (TB), Ryan Longwell (MIN) and Josh Brown (STL) – played for teams that fought through suspect play out of the quarterback position. These are teams that didn’t have a very dynamic offense, so they had trouble punching the ball into the endzone. Moreover, Tennessee and Minnesota were both in the top 7 in total rushing yards, while Buffalo and Tampa Bay were #14 and #15 in that category, respectively. These teams could move the ball, but they couldn’t finish off drives very well.

      Keeping all of this in mind, here are a few guys that should have top 10 years but won’t cost you much on draft day. Savvy fantasy owners shouldn’t even think about the kicker position until the 15th round, so we’ll limit this list to guys that are going that late.

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      Fantasy Football

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