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 Sucks, he will no sooner than arrive and demand to start and ruin the chemistry on the team, if we are going to give Kolb a chance, we need him not worrying about his job and focusing in on just playing well, lets draft a QB and get the learning curve going there and he can back up Kevin next season having been in the system for a season when we vick leaves— jameslaka
The "inexperienced quarterback" article was a huge waste of time reading. Team's rosters aren't set yet, so what's so interesting about it?— ej610- Comment removed.
- Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco had zero experience and took their teams to the playoffs,Aaron Rodgers sat behind a HOF QB that Never missed game and took over the position with great success..100 % confident in KK taking this team to the playoffs this season..3600 yards 30 tds pro bowl spot..wolf.— wolf 4
- dog 4 ...pro bowl spot? can i have some of those shrooms ur chewimg ...my man? lolol— BooDuhBud
- Amen.— rtaylor1220
- The QB in Carolina is Hunter Cantwell, not Caldwell. Univ of Lousville product. Not a bad arm actually.— Jaylangus100
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- Career starts?? Who cares? I can't believe I just wasted my time with this article.. Call me when they trade Vick— jc2178
- Andy is full of it, Mike Vick is the starter this season! Put that in your nose and sniff it!— BooDuhBud
- JayLangus... Im a Louisville alum. Cantwell was good. Brian Brohm was a god. If he stays in Buffalo, I think he has a small chance to win the starting job.— BammBamm
jameslaka, you're an idiot. Last time the Birds had chemistry was with Garcia in 2006.— Richard Saunders- Kolb--Super Bowl MVP-2011— Romus
