THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
If you look at that elbow punch Dwight Howard threw at Sam Dalembert on Tuesday, it's clear the NBA had no choice but to suspend the Orlando center. That's as clear a violation as you can have and while the official who was right there called a technical right away, the rules called for immediate ejection.
Howard has a history of using his elbow in tight quarters or to shake himself loose when an opponent is hanging on him. Understandable, but not allowable.
Why wasn't Howard thrown out of the game against the Sixers? Probably a combination of things. Conspiracy theorists will tell you that the league would prefer Orlando advance, but that's not what's at play here.
The home player is going to naturally get a benefit of the doubt, that's just human nature. That's part of what a homecourt advantage is all about. Also, even though it shouldn't, justification will play a part in the punishment. Howard has been mugged all series and Sammy was hanging on him on that play. Howard got a break because his retaliation was provoked over a long period of time. If the refs make a big deal out of the retaliation by chucking Howard, then the Magic would have made a bigger deal out of what led up to it. And nobody in officiating likes that kind of spotlight.
The league cleaned up the mess with the suspension for Game 6, but here's a prediction you can bet on. If the series goes back to Orlando for Game 7, the Sixers will be called for a foul every time they breathe on Howard. Remember where you heard it first.
Is the day gone, or did it ever exist, when professional players were willing to take less money -- even if "less" money is a pretty good living -- to stay with an organization where the likelihood of winning is better than whatever options are out there?
The New England Patriots traded cornerback Ellis Hobbs to the Eagles on Day 2 of the draft for a pair of fifth-round picks, apparently because the team and the cornerback weren't going to come to an agreement about a contract extension. That's a two-way street, of course. The Pats made their decision and Hobbs made his, and was honest about it.
If there is any team that, over the last decade, might expect that players would be willing to stay put for a few dollars less, it is the Patriots. Doesn't work that way any more, though, as Hobbs told the Boston Herald.
"There are a lot of ones that are coming up that are going to need to be paid," Hobbs said. "...There is a lot of guys out there who are not going to take the (lesser) dollar for the win. Guys really want to get what they deserve and each one of those guys that are coming up in the next year or so deserve every dollar they are going to get."
We tend to look through the wrong end of the binoculars here in Philadelphia occasionally, believing that the Eagles' way of doing business is unique. They sign good players to contracts that give them security when they are young and then don't see any need to redo those deals when the players outplay the contracts.
As Joe Banner explained last week, Sheldon Brown was happy to take the money when it was offered, getting financial security for life, and the back end of the bargain is that his signature is still on that piece of paper.
The Eagles have been a successful, winning franchise under Andy Reid, and there is every reason to expect that will continue. With the right luck, they could be Super Bowl champions before the reign of Donovan McBlog comes to an end.
That doesn't keep the players from moving on if they can get a better deal, however, something that goes for Brown, Lito Sheppard, and goes for Brian Dawkins, too, for that matter. Same goes in New England.
Hobbs is here and will probably be a productive player, but he's here because New England wasn't willing to give him what he wanted and shipped him out of town before that became a bigger problem.
"At the end of the day, we're all dollar signs," Hobbs told Sporting News Radio.
And, at the end of the day, that is how the players view the teams, too.
Of course, it's possible that you already know the truth about Freddie Mitchell, which is that he keeps saying hello long after it was time to say goodbye.
Nevertheless, believing that mass communiation is a good thing for us all, the online guru staff here at Post Patterns feels obligated to direct you to Freddie's new blog.
It looks legitimate. For one thing, it's crazy and it correctly lists the proprietor as a Sagittarius born in the year of the Horse.
The blog tells readers it was started so FM fans can get "the REAL information." That's a good thing because there's just so much FALSE information out there about Freddie. Just the other day, there was that story that.... no, wait, that was about someone else. Or the one that was in the New York Post that said... hold it, that was someone else, too.
Come to think of it, no one is saying too much about FredX. Except FredX, naturally.
Earlier, Post Patterns wondered why the Eagles are thrilled to get disgruntled players from other teams, but would rather dismiss their own.
Why is it that the Eagles seem to have no problem making players happy who are dissatisfied with their contracts or looking to better their situations as long as they are on someone else's team.
In getting New England cornerback Ellis Hobbs (left) on Sunday, a solid and understandable acquisition, the Eagles sent a message to Sheldon Brown that he might be on the way out for the sin of wanting to have his contract redone.
Now, with four years remaining and very little leverage, Brown may have spoken and acted out of anger rather than reason, but he was being honest.
Just as honest it turns out as Hobbs was being with New England when he said he wanted his contract improved. Hobbs may have a better case since there is only one year remaining on his contract, but nevertheless he spoke his mind, too.
The same goes for tackle Jason Peters in Buffalo, and for fullback Leonard Weaver in Seattle. The Eagles gobbled them up with the same speed that, in the past, they have dismissed their own disgruntled players.
The long list includes Derrick Burgess, Lito Sheppard, Corey Simon and Michael Lewis recently, and stretches back for as long as Andy Reid and Joe Banner have been doing the contact-and-contract work for the Eagles.
It just seems odd. The Eagles don't mind players who are offended by the business side of the game. They just don't like players who are offended at them.
After getting offensive weapons Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy in the first and second rounds on Saturday, the Eagles get to sleep on what they would like to target for their remaining seven picks.
They hold: one third-round pick (85), four fifth-round picks (141), (153), (157), (159), one sixth-round pick (194), and one seventh-round pick (230).
It is unlikely they will use them all. More likely at least one or two will be either packaged this year, or swapped for picks in upcoming drafts.
There are some interesting players still on the board, including several tight ends who might rate the third-round pick. All are better receivers than stud blockers -- thinking of Jared Cook from South Carolina, Shawn Nelson from Southern Mississippi and Cornelius Ingram from Florida -- but the Eagles could use some depth there.
Couple of defensive ends are hanging around as well, Michael Johnson of Georgia Tech and Lawrence Sidbury of Richmond, but no one who is a sure thing. That's why they're hanging around.
Earlier posts from the Post Patterns staff of underpaid interns:
You want weapons? Andy Reid gave the offense weapons on the first day of the draft, adding Pitt running back LeSean McCoy in the second round after taking wide receiver Jeremy Maclin from Missouri in the first round.
McCoy is a 5-foot-11, 210-pound Brian Westbrook clone from Harrisburg who gives the Eagles more depth and versatility. He isn't described as a power rusher, but one who can burst outside and catch the ball well out of the backfield.
Put McCoy together with Westbrook, Maclin and DeSean Jackson and you can expect the Eagles to jump fully into the "Wildcat" trend of quick-hitting offense, with quick, multiple-position skill players capable of game-breaking plays. McCoy took snaps from center often for Panthers.
McCoy has been compared to former Pitt star Tony Dorsett, who said of him, "This is the first player who has come along who truly reminds me of me."
McCoy, the brother of former NFL receiver LeRon McCoy, is, like Maclin, only 20 years old. He turns 21 in July.
From the Quick Study department, one of the Post Patterns specialties:
* Jeremy Maclin didn't do well in his 40-yard dash times at the NFL Combine, but that was partially the result of a tumble during passing drills in which he suffered a hyperextension of his left knee and a bruised hip. He was timed at 4.45, but was given unofficial clockings that morning, before the fall, of 4.35 and slightly better.
* He was given a medical hardship prior to his 2006 redshirt season, after tearing the ACL in his right knee at the start of camp. He didn't miss any time because of the knee during either the 2007 or 2008 seasons at Missouri.
* Consensus first-team All-American this past season. The NFL Draft Report named him the National Special Teams Player of the Year. Andy Reid said Maclin was drafted as a receiver, not a returner, but "we'll look at him, see how he does. He is pretty good at that, though."
* His 99-yard kickoff return in 2007 against Kansas State was the longest in NCAA history by a freshman.
* Maclin is just the third player in NCAA history to average more than 200 all-purpose yards per game in his career.
* He'll be a fine addition to the Eagles charity hoops team, too. He was an all-conference guard in high school.
So far, the Bob Brookover Quote of the Day is: "Jacksonville's drafted two offensive tackles so far. Tra's back must be hurting."
If you wanted a top tight end from the first round of the draft for the Eagles, or a running back, you were disappointed.
But if you were standing in the long time waiting for an elite receiver to pair with DeSean Jackson, the selection of Jeremy Maclin of Missouri with the 19th pick of the first round is a good one.
Combined with Jackson, Maclin will give the Eagles amazing versatility and another top return threat. Several draft boards and rankings listed Maclin as high as the 5th or 6th best prospect in the draft.
The Eagles obviously agreed with that assessment, tossing a sixth round pick to Cleveland in order to move up two spots and grab him.
"He fell a little bit and fell into our lap," Andy Reid said. "We thought he was the best player available and completely trusted the board on that."
Maclin, 6-foot-0 and 200 pounds, came out after his sophomore season with the Tigers.
You can envision Maclin, and/or Jackson, being interchangable in the slot, out of the backfield or split wide.
"He's run a ton of reverses and all the little gadgets things that go with it. There are a lot of things you can do with him."
More to come.
Knowshon Moreno, the running back from Georgia thought to be coveted by the Eagles, or at least by those who thought the Eagles should be coveting a running back, went to Denver with the 12th pick in the draft.
Will he stay there, or did the Broncos draft him for another team? The only real reason to wonder is that was a little high for Moreno to be taken, and the Broncos have already acquired running backs Correll Buckhalter, J.J. Arrington and LaMont Jordan during the offseason. Are they trying to collect the whole set?
Previous NovaCare posts today:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/bob_fords_post_patterns/Live_From_NovaCare_Bunker.html
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/bob_fords_post_patterns/Eagles_A_Boldin_Opportunity.html
View gallery