ESPN: Eagles to franchise Vick, possibly deal Kolb

Adam Schefter is reporting what we basically have known for a few weeks: the Eagles are planning to use the franchise tag on Michael Vick and will listen to trade offers for backup quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Slapping the franchise tag on Vick is a no-brainer to keep the Pro Bowl QB in an Eagles uniform. While the Eagles will have to pay a premium to keep Vick, if he can put together another season like last year, he will be worth every penny.

As for Kolb, who has already said he wants out if he isn't starting for the Eagles, this may be the perfect time to deal him. With a number of teams searching for a starting quarterback and Kolb set to make just over a million dollars next season, there should be plenty of offers for the Eagles to mull over. Expect the Birds to only make a move if they are given an offer they can't refuse, like multiple 1st and 2nd round picks, since Kolb is still valuable backup for the Eagles behind the injury-prone Vick. Should the Eagles deal Kolb, look for them to seek out a veteran backup that could be counted on to start a game or two.

Of course, none of this can really happen until a new CBA is worked out, which could be months from now, if then.

Could Jeff Fisher be the Eagles next defensive coordinator?

With Jeff Fisher and the Titans going their separate ways, it was only natural for this question to come up: could Fisher be the Eagles answer for their defensive coordinator opening? While it makes a ton of sense, from his ties to the Eagles organization to his mastery of the 4-3 scheme, don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.

Sure, Fisher would be a perfect fit for the Eagles, but you can bet there will be a few of teams willing to hand him a head coaching gig right away. Fisher also could take a year off and essentially hand pick his next coaching job. The best chance the Eagles could have to land Fisher is if he decides to take a year to figure out his next move and decides to temporarily take a less stressful assistant position.

With plenty of sources already saying that Fisher won't be taking a defensive coordinator job with the Eagles or any other team, what looked like a perfect match seems extremely unlikely to happen. You can't blame Andy Reid if he at least gives Fisher a call, though.

Seriously, this is the Phantoms new mascot

The Adirondack Phantoms, the Flyers AHL affiliate, have unveiled their new mascot, as pictured above. What it is and how exactly it is supposed to relate to a Phantom is beyond me. From the crooked teeth to the crossed eyes, just what exactly is this thing supposed to represent? This is just further proof that, besides the Phillie Phanatic, mascots suck.

Could Dick LeBeau be the Eagles next defensive coordinator?

UPDATE: Dick Lebeau himself squashes the speculation, saying that if he is coaching in Pennsylvania next year, it will be in Pittsburgh.

With the Eagles defensive coordinator search stretching into a second week and most of the top candidates snatched up, there has been speculation that the Eagles have a "mystery candidate" in mind to replace the departed Sean McDermott. Some intriguing news has emerged today that may give us a clue as to who the mystery man might be: Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's contract expires after this season.

LeBeau, who has coached one of the best defenses in the league over the last decade, would be a hot commodity if the Steelers let him become a free agent. ESPN is already speculating that LeBeau could land with the Cardinals, who have a slew of former Steelers on staff already. Of course, at age 73, LeBeau could be planning on retiring and may not even seek another job in the league.

While LeBeau employs a 3-4 scheme, I'm pretty sure the Eagles would be willing to change things up if they can land a coordinator of his caliber. While it would be a longshot at best, you can't blame the Eagles for at least trying to convince LeBeau to move across the state. After all, he has some experience with the team when he was their special teams coach way back in the early 70's.

Leonard Weaver's career may be over

Don't count on seeing Leonard Weaver in an Eagles uniform, or any NFL uniform, ever again. According to CSN Philly, Weaver just had his third major operation to help repair his ACL that he shredded way back in Week 1 of the NFL season. The report goes on to say that Weaver still can't even lift his foot and that there have been very few cases of players returning from an injury as severe as Weaver suffered. As anyone who follows him on Twitter can attest to, Weaver sounds optimistic about returning to the Eagles, but this report makes it sound very unlikely that he is going to play another down of football in his life.

On the field, the Eagles will miss Weaver, but their offense isn't one that relies on a fullback to do all that much. Sure, it would be nice to have a big back like Weaver in short yardage situations, but with Michael Vick under center, a quarterback sneak is probably a better option. Weaver was also a decent threat in the passing game, something that Owen Schmitt, his replacement for the season, never really was. Still, while there is a drop-off from Weaver to someone like Schmitt, in the Eagles offense, it really won't hurt them all that much.

2011 NFL Championship Round Predictions

After another weekend of good football, we are now down to four. Here are my picks for who will be going to Dallas. Remember, all picks are made strictly based on who I think will win and do not take the spread into consideration.

Record Last Week: 3-1, .750
Playoff Overall: 4-4, .500

Sunday Games:

NFC Championship
Packers @ Bears
You've heard it before but it bears repeating: these two teams have played each other 181 times in their long history and yet this is only the second time they will meet in the playoffs. That's remarkable. What's also remarkable is how quickly the Packers have gone from the 6th seed in the NFC to Super Bowl favorites. While everyone picked them in the preseason to go the distance, they stumbled at midseason as they dealt with injuries, losing to the lowly Redskins and the Dolphins in overtime. A late season injury to Aaron Rodgers set them back, too, which is how they became possibly the best 6th seed ever. These two teams have met twice this season and played close, low-scoring games, with each team winning at home. With the way Aaron Rodgers is playing right now and the Packers having at least some semblance of a running game, I expect them to put up plenty of points. It will be up to the Bears to keep up and I simply don't see it happening. My pick: Packers

AFC Championship
Jets @ Steelers
Despite all the bluster and all the controversy, Rex Ryan has done one hell of a job with the Jets, taking them to back-to-back AFC Championship games in his first two years as head coach. He has a way of getting his teams motivated to win games they have no business winning, like their upset over the Chargers last year and their unlikely win over the Patriots last week. If they want to pull of another upset this week, Mark Sanchez is once again going to have to play way above his ability and the Jets defense is going to have to create havoc for the Steelers banged-up offensive line. Ben Roethlisberger is going to have his hands full trying to perform his escape act against a hungry Jets defense but I like the Steelers chances of putting up some points because they have something the Patriots don't have: a deep threat. Mike Wallace should be able to spread the field, something the Pats couldn't do, and that will take the Jets out of what they did last week and force them to have some help deep. I expect this one to be close and low-scoring but I expect Pittsburgh to edge out the Jets after they put pressure on Sanchez and force him into a few bad turnovers. My pick: Steelers

Those are my picks for the Championship round of the NFL Playoffs. Check back in two weeks for my Super Bowl pick. Feel free to discuss, argue or make your own picks in the comments section!