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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Evaluating the offseason so far

There is plenty of roster shuffling to be done between now and the start of the season, but the issue of the Eagles' relative place among the competition in the NFC East that was raised in the comments associated with another entry made us wonder how the moves the Eagles made compare to those made by the rest of the NFC East.

As you know, the Birds finished last in the division at 8-8 and were the only one of the four teams not to reach the postseason.

From among the returning players, having Donovan McNabb and LJ Smith at 100 percent makes them much stronger than they were last year, as does the seeming emergence of Stewart Bradley at middle linebacker.

Here is a list of free agents signed, trades made and players drafted, along with the players lost for each of the four teams, with some help from Fox Sports.

Have they done enough to get better?

EAGLES

Additions
Free agents
LB Rocky Boiman
DE Chris Clemons
DT/FB Dan Klecko
K/P Richmond McGee
CB Asante Samuel
TE Kris Wilson
Trade
RB Lorenzo Booker
Draft
DT Trevor Laws
WR/KR DeSean Jackson
DE/OLB Bryan Smith
OL Mike McGlynn
S/KR Quintin Demps
DB Jack Ikegwuonu
OT Mike Gibson
LB Joe Mays
LB Andy Studebaker
OT King Dunlap
Subtractions
CB Will James
DE Jevon Kearse
DT Ian Scott
LB Takeo Spikes
FB Thomas Tapeh

COWBOYS
Additions
Free agent
LB Zach Thomas
Trade
CB Pacman Jones
Draft
RB Felix Jones

CB Mike Jenkins
TE Martellus Bennett
RB Tashard Choice
CB Orlando Scandrick
DE Erik Walden
Subtractions
LB Akin Ayodele
S Keith Davis
TE Anthony Fasano
DT Jason Ferguson
FB Oliver Hoyte
RB Julius Jones
CB Nathan Jones
CB Jacques Reeves

NEW YORK GIANTS

Additions
Free agents
QB David Carr
LB Danny Clark
G Jacob Hobbs
S Sammy Knight
DL Brian Soi
Draft
FS Kenny Phillips
CB Terrell Thomas
WR Mario Manningham
LB Bryan Kehl
LB Jonathan Goff
QB Andre’ Woodson
DE Robert Henderson
Subtractions
K Shane Andrews
DT William Joseph
LB Kawika Mitchell
S Andrew Shanle
LB Reggie Torbor
S Gibril Wilson
DL Manuel Wright

WASHINGTON
Additions
Free agent
QB Derek Devine
CB Patrick Ghee
WR/KR Jerome Mathis
Draft
WR Devin Thomas
TE Fred Davis
WR Malcolm Kelly
T Chad Rinehart
CB Justin Tryon
P Durant Brooks
S Kareem Moore
QB Colt Brennan
DE Rob Jackson
S Chris Horton
Subtractions
QB Mark Brunell
WR Reche Caldwell
WR Brandon Lloyd
CB David Macklin
S Pierson Prioleau
OT Kevin Sampson

Posted by Josh Barnett @ 1:04 PM  Permalink | 18 comments
Comments
Posted by mikeb 04:29 PM, 05/15/2008
of course they got better. mcnabb came back too early last year. he'll be much better this year. hopefully everything works out with lito, or he gets traded in return for a player in the league and not a draft pick for next year. i'm sure everyone will say they didnt do enough, but who really did more than the eagles besides teams that lost 12+ games last year?
Posted by senseirandy 08:46 AM, 05/16/2008
Honestly, I don't think any of the 4 teams did much. That being said, I think the Eagles and Dallas did the most. Unfortunately, I think all that's happened from an gain\loss perspective is that Washington has leap frogged the Birds into last place. Besides all of this, who's really afraid of Eli Manning? One "chuck and duck" pass and he's Joe Montana? We've got the best group of corners in the business. So, unless David Tyree can channel Lynn Swann and Jesus again the Giants got nothin'. So I guess that makes us second in the division. Now, should we get some receiving help and Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo get back together, then I think we may need to revisit this discussion....
Posted by Stephen_Niksa 09:09 AM, 05/16/2008
I don't think any of the four lost much, although I'm left to wonder who is going to man the interior of the Cowpokes defensive line, who will rush the passer in Washington, and who will replace Strahan if he calls it a career and gets his teeth fixed. The Eagles clearly gained the most; Samuel is head and shoulders above any other free agency acquisition within the division. In fact, with the likely exception of Zach Thomas, not one of the other free agency acquisitions within the division even projects as a starter (and who doesn't relish the thought of a Zach on Westbrook matchup a la 12/15/03 in Miami on Monday night). In terms of the draft, the Eagles wisely put themselves in a position where they did not need to draft for immediate starting contributions on offense or defense. Nevertheless, at least three of our draft day acquisitions would appear to be well suited for significant contributions as leading reserves and/or special teams players. Birds win the off-season sweepstakes by 4 lengths.
Posted by johne118 09:45 AM, 05/16/2008
senseirandy - Romo and Jessica Simpson have been together this whole time. Also, that Eli Manning that you ask who is afraid of is 5-1 against the Eagles in his 3 full years as starter. Or did you forget the 17 point fourth quarter comeback he had two years ago or his two wins this year? Or the fact that he outplayed Garcia, Romo, Favre and Brady in the playoffs last year? The division should be as tight as it was last year, and it's up in the air still. I don't think though that you can just assume that the Eagles now have the "second best" or best team in a division that features a 13-3 squad and the reigning Super Bowl champ.
Posted by mikeb 10:15 AM, 05/16/2008
johne, let's not lose sight of how the giants made it to the super bowl. their defense was the biggest part of their team, evidenced by holding the highest scoring offense ever to 13 points in the super bowl, and leading the nfl in sacks. the eagles did not really have to do too much to improve, like kansas city, miami, carolina, ny jets did. they had the toughest schedule in the nfl. seattle had the easiest schedule and cleveland had the 2nd easiest, they both went 10-6. those 2 teams only had 6 games each against teams with winning %'s of .500 or above, cleveland won 2 and seattle won 3. the eagles had 10 games, winning 3, and only lost 1 game against a sub .500 team. they werent as bad as everyone makes them out to be.
Posted by senseirandy 10:36 AM, 05/16/2008
johne118 - regarding Simpson\Romo: TMZ.com reported on May 13th that the two have officially called it quits. Manning: He's 5-2 versus the Eagles (playoff loss in 2007). I still think you're giving him more credit than he deserves. Yes, the Giants won those games, but I'm not convinced he was the biggest reason. Like I said, let's see how he does against our corners this year.
Posted by tagryn 10:42 AM, 05/16/2008
The Giants and Redskins finished with 13 and 10 players on IR, respectively, and are getting most of those guys back; examples: DE Kiwanuka & TE Shockey for NYG, OT Jansen for WASH. That's an upgrade that Josh's post doesn't take into account.
Posted by MikeNice 11:07 AM, 05/16/2008
"Have they done enough to get better?" They signed the top free agent. How could they not be better? The Eagles had the best offseason of any team in the NFL.
Posted by dksurf 11:53 AM, 05/16/2008
Who knows? Come on...until we see this team "gel" this summer/pre-season's 1st Q play in games 2, 3, 4 and then after a game or three this fall... But, if #5 is 100% healthy, Westie stays healthy, the "D" plays well as a unit and the dang STs give good field poisition but don't give up the same...
Posted by songsrme2 01:44 PM, 05/16/2008
Pacman Jones is a better a more proven returner the DeSean Jackson. T.O. is better than all our recievers combined. While I'll like to hope for the best the reality is the Eagles spin how great they are every year compared to the year before but we as fans have witnessed a glaring decline all and followed this team form the Superbowl to the basement of the NFC east. if this team would have made T.O the highest paid reciever he would have been happy and woe would not be looking at these bums play receiver orlooking to get a T.O. caliber to reoplace him. Dallas will be better. So, the most we can hope is to ;eap frog over the Redskins. Eagles are a joke.
Posted by terp 03:10 PM, 05/16/2008
They had a good draft and signed a great corner. They also got a decent insurance policy for Westbrook in Booker (which is not to say he's anywhere near as good, but you get my meaning). They have a lot of defensive line depth, good linebackers. Their secondary is great even if their safeties aren't. The only concern I have is at offensive tackle. William Thomas and Runyan are older players and if one is injured for a awhile, their depth at those positions is dubious.
Posted by chgtown 03:56 PM, 05/16/2008
defensively; I feel that the Eagles are now ready to go head to head with anyone in the NFL. I still feel that they are at least one big playmaker away from a championship team. They have good receivers; but not great. I feel that Andy Reid still thinks that McNabb can still do the things he used to do with his legs; so he represents that playmaker. I think those years are behind him. Now he needs people he can get the ball to that can make plays.
Posted by davetheherman 07:17 PM, 05/16/2008
The G-men won the Super Bowl with a par offense and arguably the best D in the league. Granted, the Birds couldn't stop the run but look at our line up across from Eli, Romo and...well...whomever and it is frightening now! All we need is Reggie to step up, LJ to return to form and McNabb and the ultimate weapon (#36) to keep cruising and this team can take this division. AND GO FLYERS!!!!!
Posted by snakeplissken 07:24 PM, 05/16/2008
the eagles should be solid and their takeaways should jump big-time with samuel in the fold. hopefully jackson can help the return game and make the occasional big play on offense. problem is dallas was better last year and is still better now. outside of westbrook, they are better at every position on offense. and the only reason i think romo is better than mcnabb is because he has talent to throw to, where mcnabb has been sandbagged by reid by not getting him any playmakers. we saw what mcnabb did with owens in '04.
Posted by bobbyuk 02:38 AM, 05/17/2008
I've been reading the comments, so I'll make my own: 1. Pacman Jones hasn't been even reinstated by the league yet. As far as Owens goes, he's 35 and in the last 2 playoffs he's disappeared. Plus, Wade Phillips is a lame duck. 2. Eli Manning is actually 5-3 since he became a starter--2nd Giants game in 2004; 2nd game in 2006 and the playoff game in 2006. 3. The Skins have already cut Jerome Mathis. 4. As far as the Eagles go, we just have to wait until July and August.
About The Daily News' Eagles Blog
Les BowenLes Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.

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Paul DomowitchPaul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 26 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, where he spent 3 years as the sports editor of the school paper and zero semesters on the dean's list, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some very bad Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, who is a University of Oklahoma grad and is dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 27 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 23, who attends Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 21, a sports marketing major at Clemson. When he's not writing about football, Domo enjoys reading Robert Parker, John Sandford and Harlan Coben novels and playing pickup basketball when his arthritic hip doesn't object.