Archive: January, 2010
Paul Domowitch and Les Bowen
Eagles fans once again are going through the grieving process of yet another Super Bowl-less season. Some are dealing with the Eagles’ early departure from the playoffs by increasing their alcohol intake. Some are dealing with it by calling talk radio and making their annual empty threat to stop rooting for the team. Some are drawing devil horns on pictures of Joe Banner and Andy Reid and Jeff Lurie.
Most of you are numbing the pain by looking ahead to free agency and the draft.
A word of warning about free agency: don’t get your hopes up. Even under normal circumstances, the free agent market hasn’t had a lot to offer the last several years. The hefty annual increase in the salary cap pretty much allowed team to hang on to any guys they really wanted to hang on to.
Daily News staff
The Eagles added depth at running back by signing Martell Mallett, the Most Outstanding Rookie in the Canadian Football League this past season.
Mallett starred for the BC Lions, from whom he rushed for 1,280 yards and six touchdowns on 214 carries and had 43 receptions for 342 yards and two touchdowns. He was named to the West Division All-Star team.
He was signed after a recent workout with the Birds.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
In the wake of Howard Eskin's speculative report on Channel 10 Sunday night, saying Brian Westbrook's left knee is in such bad shape that he might not pass a physical with another team, and that Westbrook is unlikely to have a future with the Eagles, so he might retire, we've heard a chorus of responses through various media. Everyone I've read or heard is saying something like "that wouldn't surprise me."
Well, right now, it would kinda surprise me.
First off, alllow me my perfunctory lament that we live in an age where somebody says something on a TV show -- without citing Westbrook or the Eagles as a source -- and instantly, everyone else has to analyze this "development" as if it were established fact.
Daily News staff
It looks as if Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is about to be invited to his sixth Pro Bowl and first since 2004.
As previously noted, players whose teams are in the Super Bowl cannot play in the Pro Bowl, now that it has been moved to a week before the Super Bowl instead of a week after.
The three NFC quarterbacks selected are New Orleans' Drew Brees, Minnesota's Brett Favre and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. McNabb was chosen as the first alternate.
Daily News staff
Before we get to the staff predictions on today's playoff games, and let's hope they are more competitive than yesterday's, a few notes to pass along ...
* Eagles coach Andy Reid received one vote for NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. A 50-member national media panel makes the selection. Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis won the award with 20 1/2 votes, followed by the Saints' Sean Payton (20 1/2), San Diego's Norv Turner (9), Indy's Jim Caldwell (7) and Reid and Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt with one piece. In case you were wondering, our Paul Domowitch is on the panel and cast his vote for Turner.
* The Michael Vick to Rams speculation continues with today's Bernie Miklasz column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He cites a reader poll with 62 percent in favor of Vick becoming a Ram. His bottom line:
Daily News staff
No Eagles game to pick this weekend, but here is how members of the Daily News sports staff see today's two NFL Divisional Playoff games.
First, the Saints are a 7-point favorite over the visiting Cardinals at 4:30 p.m.
Les Bowen: Cardinals
Daily News staff
We usually don't recap radio interviews here on Eagletarian, but we thought the conversation that WIP's Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano had with NBC's super analyst, Cris Collinsworth, this week, regarding Donovan McNabb was worthy of some attention.
Collinsworth is among the best analysts out there, despite his candor often rubbing some fans the wrong way.
Collinsworth was asked about McNabb's future and the possibility of the Eagles' turning over the offense to Kevin Kolb. He pointed out that Kolb's most impressive performance actually might have been the much-criticized appearance last year against Baltimore when McNabb was benched for the second half. Collinsworth said Kolb went on the road, against a great defense, with no practice reps and took the offense down the field in a "West Coast, Bill-Walsh style."
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Updated:
The Eagles have fired special teams coordinator Ted Daisher after one season in his second tour with the Eagles and replaced him with Bobby April, who spent the last 6 years with the Buffalo Bills.
April opted out of the final year of his contract with the Bills, effectively deciding he would rather take his chances on the market, as the team searches for a head coach. He has the kind of reputation that makes a move like that less than suicidal. April joined the Bills in 2004 under Mike Mularkey as the special teams coordinator and then was promoted to assistant head coach/special teams when Dick Jauron was hired in 2006.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
One of the chief criticisms of the Eagles organization during the Jeffrey Lurie-Joe Banner years has been that management doesn't really understand or embrace Philly fandom. Lurie and Banner are both from Boston, and there have been a series of missteps -- remember Hoagiegate? Or the blue-and-yellow "throwback" unis in a town that still reveres the kelly green? -- that would seem to validate the perception.
From your Eagletarian's viewpoint, that's one interesting thing about the hiring of Tim McDermott yesterday as senior 
vice president and chief marketing officer. McDermott is an area native, played at North Penn (and then at Cornell), parents still live in Lansdale.He's also the older brother of defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, which is the other interesting thing about the hiring.
Tim McDermott said today he was thrilled to come back to the market with "the best, most passionate fans in the country."
Daily News staff
Cowboys safety Ken Hamlin was fined $12,500 for his hit on defenseless Eagles tight end Brent Celek in the first quarter of Saturday's wild-card game, according to reports in Dallas.
Hamlin was assessed a personal foul penalty on the play. Celek said he did not see Hamlin coming and ended up with a swollen lower lip.
HONOR FOR DeSEAN
