Eagles falter once again, slip out of division picture

You can forget about all of that NFC East title talk, Birds fans.  The Eagles flaws all came to the forefront once again at they lost to the Bears, 30-24, and fell three games behind the Giants in the division.  Here are my thoughts on another tough loss for the Eagles:

-This game erased nearly all of the good feelings from the Cowboys win.  Bad turnovers, poor defense, dumb penalties and a ton of head-scratching plays.  The way their final drive ended, with Maclin falling down when he appeared to have a first down in his sights, completely sums up the Eagles season.  Despite all of the talent on the roster, they just aren't good enough to overcome their many, many mistakes.

-ZERO sacks by the Eagles vaunted pass rush?  ZERO?  Jay Cutler had all night to find open receivers thanks to the Eagles inability to put any pressure on him.  It's tough to win games when you can't pressure the quarterback and can't stop the run.

-Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is terrible.  When the Eagles acquired him from the Cardinals, I knew he had flaws but DRC hasn't added anything to the Eagles secondary.  He can't cover anyone, he can't tackle and he never looks like he knows what he's doing.  I'd just assume he take a few weeks off and figure this thing out.  Thank goodness the Eagles also got a second rounder from Arizona for Kevin Kolb.

-Speaking of the Eagles secondary, they sure did a great job making Earl Bennett, who hadn't played since Week 2, look like a Pro Bowler.  Much of the blame goes to DRC but Asante Samuel and Nnamdi Asomugha also had their chances and couldn't slow him down.  Bennett is apparently an Eagles killer as he had two TD's against them last season.

-The one positive on the night was the continuing dominance by LeSean McCoy, who continues to make things happen with the ball in his hand.  It's too bad the rest of the Eagles are wasting his talents.

-Besides the worst punt return I've ever seen and one nice catch along the sidelines, DeSean Jackson was completely invisible tonight.   You have to wonder how much money he has left on the table with his mediocre play this season.

-Asante Samuel had a lacerated groin in the first half.  It hurts just typing that.

The positives and negatives from the Eagles third preseason game

Now that's more like it. A week after looking lackluster, the Eagles bounced back in their third preseason game, beating the Browns 24-14. I don't have time to get too in depth on the game but here are some of the positives and negatives I noticed:

Positives:

Secondary: Yeah, these guys are pretty good. From Asante Samuel's pick to DRC's blocked field goal to Nnamdi covering like glue and drawing a penalty, is there nothing they can't do?

Special Teams: Two fumble recoveries on punts and a blocked field goal, their second of the preseason, means Bobby April has plenty to smile about tonight.

Running backs: This group is stacked. With LeSean McCoy catching everything in sight, Ronnie Brown looking like the best backup in the league and Dion Lewis looking like a dynamic threat, the Eagles have a ton of weapons in the backfield. Heck, even the quarterbacks are good running backs on this team.

Kurt Coleman: A great game and a big hit mean he could be targeted to start at safety in Week 1.

Negatives:

The offensive line: Rookies Danny Watkins and Jason Kelce were a nightmare from the start, letting the Browns D-line have free shots at Michael Vick. They shaped up as the game went on but the Eagles, and Vick specifically, will be in serious trouble if they don't improve quickly. I think its time to give Jamaal Jackson his job back.

Wide Receivers: The running game was working and so were the dump-offs to McCoy so the receivers were a complete non-entity tonight, with none picking up more than 2 catches. This group really just needs to get healthy and the line needs to give Vick more time to look downfield.

Eagles land Nnamdi Asomugha

Whoa. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Eagles have landed one of the best cornerbacks in football, signing Nnamdi Asomugha to a 5 year, 60 million dollar contract. Widely regarded to be the best available free agent this offseason, the Eagles swooped in seemingly out of nowhere and significantly upgraded their secondary with one of the best cover guys in the league.

With Asomugha joining Asante Samuel and the recently acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the secondary, the Eagles suddenly have the best set of corners in the league. With three receiver sets becoming more and more common these days, having three Pro Bowl caliber corners will make things very difficult for opposing teams to move the ball through the air. You could argue that having three corners on that level is overkill but its hard to argue with grabbing a corner that can take half of the field away from the offense.

The Eagles secondary has gone from a big question mark to probably the best around. With the addition of Jason Babin to aid the pass rush and a secondary now filled with playmakers, the Eagles defense as a whole has taken a major step this offseason. First the Kevin Kolb trade and now this; the Eagles have executed an absolutely masterful plan this offseason. To come almost out of nowhere to grab Nnamdi is their second brilliant move. More to come?

Guest Post: Eagles must show Desean Jackson the money

The great Mark Trible gives his thoughts on the Eagles front office and DeSean Jackson:

With the trade of Kevin Kolb for a second round pick in next year’s NFL draft and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Philadelphia Eagles front office continued to improve their reputation as one of the finest in the league. They’ve earned the reputation in part with their understanding of when to let older players go, drafting well, and most importantly, extending their best young players early in their contract.

When they do the latter of those things, they often end up with a successful player that makes far less than he is actually worth. In the past, this has caused problems with contract renegotiations and fair market value from the player’s point of view. Sheldon Brown is one of the most recent cases of such a strategy and consequential conflict. But, in fairness to the franchise, Brown and players like him have the option of not extending early in their contract.

The payoff can be huge down the line if they continue to stay healthy and exceed expectations on the field. However, the cushion of falling into a large sum of money at an early age and having security seems to win out. Most players aren’t successful enough in their first couple years to make a significant dent in the Eagles’ checkbook. It works for the franchise the majority of the time, yet this year they’re in a different ballpark playing a different ballgame. DeSean Jackson has finally become the aberration that throws the front office’s intention out the window. Already a two-time Pro Bowler in just three NFL seasons, he’s due for a gigantic payday, and he knows it.

If he was just a serviceable receiver at this point in his career, the Eagles likely would have extended him by now. Obviously, that’s not the case and the aftermath of Jackson’s aberrational ways is now a quandary that the team must deal with. The first option is to reach deep into their wallets and pay the man what he’s worth. While biting the bullet will certainly cost them, it will get everything taken care of and keep number 10 in green for a while.

Behind door #2 is the option of waiting the receiver out when it comes to his participation in training camp. At this point, there’s no indication that Jackson will show up, yet under the brand new collective-bargaining agreement, he’ll be fined extensively for each day he misses. He may miss a week to send a message, but it’s unlikely that he holds out forever. He simply can’t afford to, he doesn’t make enough money. There’s some irony.

Jackson’s agent is Drew Rosenhaus, a man who has tried to call the Eagles bluff before and found out the hard way how they respond to such treatment. It’s safe to assume that at some point the two sides will get together and hammer something out. The lifting of the lockout and the pressure packed few days afterward certainly didn’t make things easier for either side to work on an extension.

In the span of a couple of days, the Eagles found out that there would be a new season, signed 10 of 11 rookies, signed undrafted rookies, began training camp, and completed a blockbuster deal for quarterback Kevin Kolb. In the scheme of things, signing DeSean Jackson to an extension should fall beneath those on the priority checklist.

From the franchise’s point of view, Jackson must be signed not only for production and roster reasons, but also because he can quickly let his frustrations show. For a team that places significant value on players being ‘company men’, there’s no room to let a malcontent rub off on the rest of the roster. This is especially true in Philadelphia because they have such a large contingent of young players.

In the end, it would be shocking if the Eagles failed to negotiate an extension for Jackson in the near future. Over time they have found a way to avoid the big payday and pinch some pennies through early extensions. Yet, their most successful pick recently is standing with his hands open and a burlap sack that’s empty. He’s deserved the money and while the Eagles may regret having to fork it over, it’s tough to complain about the results they see on the field.

Follow Mark on Twitter (@Mtrible) for more great Flyers and Eagles thoughts.

Eagles finally deal Kolb to Cardinals for DRC, pick

Earlier today, the Eagles finally pulled the trigger on the Kevin Kolb trade, dealing him to the Cardinals for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round pick. While it had been rumored to be happening for weeks, I'm still shocked the Birds pulled this one off.

No matter how you look at it, the Cardinals were robbed. Not only were the Eagles able to get a second round pick for their backup quarterback but they were also able to pry away a Pro Bowl cornerback? Sure, Kolb isn't your average backup quarterback, but he has only 7 career starts and already has a concussion on his resume. He was the Eagles quarterback of the future just one year ago but we have seen enough of him on the field to know there is more than a decent chance he isn't a franchise quarterback.

Rodgers-Cromartie (DRC) will immediately step into the starting cornerback spot opposite of Asante Samuel and give the Eagles one of the best 1-2 corner combos in the league. While DRC hasn't fully lived up to his potential in his three years in the league, he's only 25 and he has already shown plenty of playmaking ability. At the very least, DRC should solidify the second corner spot that was so shaky last season.

The Eagles front office deserves a ton of credit for pulling off such a lopsided trade. Kolb may yet be a stud quarterback but he wasn't going to have any impact on the Eagles as long as Michael Vick stays healthy. Turning him into a Pro Bowl corner and a lottery ticket in the draft is nothing short of a brilliant move.