NFL schedule release set, Garcia, DeSean's popularity
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
NFL schedule release set, Garcia, DeSean's popularity
Daily News staff
Lots of odds and ends today ...
The long-awaited release of the NFL schedule will come next Tuesday, April 20, at 7 p.m., the league says.
The schedule will be released with a special on the NFL Network and on NFL.com.
And among the questions on Eagles fans minds will be when Donovan McNabb and the Redskins will play the Birds.
Here are the Eagles opponents with 2009 records:
At home: *Cowboys 11-5, Giants 8-8, Redskins 4-12, *Packers 11-5, *Vikings 12-4, Falcons 9-7, Texans 9-7, *Colts 14-2 .
On the road: *Cowboys 11-5, Giants 8-8, Redskins 4-12, Bears 7-9, Lions 2-14, 49ers 8-8, Jaguars 7-9, Titans 8-8.
Plus, if you attend our Daily News Press Box Pre-Draft event at McFadden's, you will get to hear about it as soon as it is released. More on the event is available by clicking here.
Note, because of the Flyers playoff game that night, we will now start at 6 p.m., one hour earlier.
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The Eagles have 69 career starts among the two quarterbacks currently on their roster. Kevin Kolb has two and Michael Vick has 67, all with the Atlanta Falcons.
We bring that up because of some interesting research done by Charles Chandler in today's Charlotte Observer. He found that the Panthers have fewest number of starts among the QBs on their roster with eight -- all by Matt Moore. Backup Hunter Cantwell has zero. As the offseason continues and with the draft, some of these numbers might point to potential upcoming moves.
The figure for the Eagles puts them relatively close to the middle of the pack, although since Vick is not viewed as a true quarterback with the Birds, their experience is relatively thin in comparison across the board.
In Dallas, Tony Romo has 55 career starts, Jon Kitna has 115 and Stephen McGee has zero. With the Giants, Eli Manning has 87 starts, and backups Jim Sorgi and Rhett Bomar have none.
Here is Chandler's list of the fewest starts the way the rosters are situated at the moment:
1. Carolina -- 8 starts (Matt Moore 8, Hunter Cantwell 0)
2. St. Louis -- 19 starts (A.J. Feeley 15, Keith Null 4, Mike Reilly 0)
3. N.Y. Jets -- 24 starts (Mark Sanchez 15, Kellen Clemens 9)
4. Detroit -- 27 starts (Matthew Stafford 10, Shaun Hill 16, Drew Stanton 1)
5. Green Bay -- 32 starts (Aaron Rodgers 32, Matt Flynn 0, Chris Pizzotti 0)
6. Baltimore -- 38 starts (Joe Flacco 32, John Beck 4, Troy Smith 2)
7. Kansas City -- 39 starts (Matt Cassel 30, Brodie Coyle 9, Matt Guiterrez 0, Tyler Palko 0)
8. Atlanta -- 42 starts (Matt Ryan 30, Chris Redman 12, D.J. Shockley 0, John Parker Wilson 0)
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Jeff Garcia confirmed to his hometown paper, the Gilroy (Calif.) Dispatch that his agent and the Eagles have been in contact, as we reported on Eagletarian over the weekend. Garcia also confirmed that while there is interest, no offer has been made. An Eagles source has told the Daily News that nothing is imminent.
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Another indication of DeSean Jackson's popularity and his rising national profile. Jackson's jersey ranked 15th in sales on NFLshop.com for the fiscal year that ended March 31, according to CNBC's Darren Rovell.
Jackson was the only Eagle in the top 15. The top 5: Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Troy Polamalu and Adrian Peterson.
As far as teams, the Super Bowl champion Saints were first on the merchandise sold list for the first time, followed by Pittsburgh and Dallas.
The Eagles were ninth. The Birds topped the list in the fiscal year that ended in 2005 when they were in the Super Bowl and finished second the following year.
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For those of you looking ahead, the Eagles will have a minicamp the weekend after the draft and have announced the dates for organized team activities: May 19-20, May 24-27, June 1-4 and June 7-10. The team then breaks for training camp at Lehigh. A start date for camp has not yet been announced.
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Former Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard is still looking for work after being released by the Jets. Sheppard is visiting the Lions tonight and tomorrow, according to Jason LaCanfora, of the NFL Network. He also reports that the Bears, Vikings and Raiders could be interested.
Comment removed.
Jeff Garcia would ruin the chemistry on the team? What chemistry? Garcia would be a great mentor to Kolb. Comments well said Cicero.— bjps1353
That guy who USED to post on here named lonewolf 10 [after he called himself lonewolf, lonewolf 69 and lonewolf 4] thought KK would get over 4000yds. Guess the current poster, whoever he is, isn't quite so optimistic. Oh well, at least we ran that lonewolf 10 idiot off the blog. Good riddance. Or maybe there are no computers at Betty Ford? I hear they like to keep the inmates caaaaalm. If that was him predicting something, my response would be Duuuuuke! Man, that guy couldn't pick a game if his life depended on it. Hey, mabe his life DID depend on it and he really IS "gone"? Bye bye wiff. [sniff] R.I.P. buddy. [sniff] Wonder if he predicted he would go to heaven? Well, you know how 99.9% of his predictions went. Maybe the heat will help him sweat off about 300 pounds? Are there jelly donuts in Hades?— tpizza- Man you guys just love Garcia, cant wait to break out that rocky garcia shirt can you. Who cares. Hed be 3rd string, but Id say a good one at that but throw out all the stats you want, garcia is a lot like mcnabb actually. They both can win a playoff game here or there, but naither can or will ever win it all. I think at his age hed just be happy to get a contract, so I dont think he would cause a problem wanting to start. He would make a good mentor.— peteike
- Wolf's mancrush on KK continues...— philadelphiachild51
I agree with peteike. Except I'd use more apostrophes. BRING BACK GARCIA!— Richard Saunders- The last time Garcia was a starting QB he got Gruden fired... But I won't be surprised if the Eagles trade Vick and Garcia becomes the backup that he'll be the starting QB for the Birds after game 6.— EL Zorro
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- CiceroSpuriousDeodatus Garcia was run out of town? Was he run out of town in Tampa and Oakland as well? How many pro bowls for Garcia? He one won playoff game and lost to the Saints. That Garcia? McNabb was not threatened by Garcia as he was not threatened by Kolb and Vick. he will have a very nice run with the Redskins.— ornoluvr
- McNabb gone, Garcia might be back, Kolb put your mouth piece in and tighten your chinstrap. Jeff Garcia will only be content, if you set the world on fire. If I were Vick, I'd come into camp, in shape and sharp because this is going to be a wild ride this season. Pickup Garcia and we'll have the third ring, all that's needed is to start the season...I mean circus.— AJW2009
- Changing Boz Skaggs lyrics a little (Lido to Lito) tells Lito's story: Lito missed the boat That day he left the shack But that was all he missed He ain't comin' back Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh.... He's for the money, he's for the show Lito's a-waitin' for another go Lito, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.... "one more job oughta get it" "One last shot, and we quit it" "One more for the road"— Sponge
- Draft Tebow with a low draft pick and make him a project .— thin slice of life
That season end run with Garcia was great- it was fun to root for the guy for sure. I think he would make a fantastic backup for KK, who I think is going to be just fine...name one QB Reid has had here that hasn't won games for us. Kolb is going to be just fine, imo. He is going to put up a ton of yards and throw a bunch of TD's. The defense is a much bigger concern than KK at this point- I'm not sold on McDermott, although he knows JJ's system inside and out.— kjuggs77- Lonewolf is back under a new name everyone. Rejoice!! Wolf, I'm glad you've proclaimed Kevin Kolb as the next savior of the Eagles...but please let him play a FULL season first. You're an idiot if you compare Kevin Kolb, at this point, to Aaron Rodgers. Yes, they both played behind great QBs...but Aaron Rodgers came from CAL and played against NFL caliber competition in college. KK played for Houston. Not trying to downplay his ability, but they're not even close in terms of how they've been tested prior to taking the starting slots. Remember, Kolb threw 4 tds to 7 interceptions last year. While he threw for 300 yards twice, against the Saints the Eagles had no choice but to throw the ball in order to keep up. The other team was the Chiefs...not exactly the best D in the league. I hope KK does well because I'm an Eagles fan first, but seriously your love affair with this kid has gone over the top. You have no idea what you're talking about, and I wish you would just go away for good instead of just changing your screenname.— anshah8323
