ABOUT ME 

Phillip Crossland is a syndicated writer for Bleacher Report, and his blog features many published articles that have been featured on Bleacher Report, Yard barker, CBS Sports, USA Today and many more. In a recent interview, Phillip announced his start of his new Seattle Seahawks Blog.

Note from Phil:

I’m so excited about the 2010 Seattle Seahawks season that I decided to put my creative juice to work. I will be posting articles, photos, videos, tweets and podcast.

Phillip Crossland played Football as a player and had a full scholarship to Texas Tech in till the third game of his senior year when he was clipped and tore his ACL and MCL, now a fan of football and now a Sports Writer.  Since he was a kid in the 80′s and 90′s he been a die-hard Seahawks fan including all the ups and downs. Come join Seattle Seahawks Blog as the season unfolds.

Feel free to post interesting, friendly and well thought-out comments. GO SEAHAWKS!

 

 

 

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Last season: 11-5 

2010 Preview:

In a very strong division, the Eagles are the odd team out. The decision to trade Donovan McNabb may long great in the long term for the Eagles, but in the short term, it really hurts because not only do they make themselves a little worse at the quarterback position, they make a talented division foe, which was a quarterback away from being a playoff contender, a lot better at the quarterback position. I’m not saying Kevin Kolb will be bad at all, but he won’t be McNabb, at least not this year. Kolb is essentially going to be a rookie quarterback this year. He has the experience on the bench, but there are simply some things a quarterback can’t fully learn until he’s been in an NFL game or twelve.

Not to mention, this offensive line isn’t great. They were middle of the pack in terms of sacks allowed last year, but they allowed a ton of pressures. McNabb and his ability to get the ball out in the nick of time made them look a lot better than they were. Kolb probably won’t be able to do that as well, at least not right away. They were abused by the Cowboys late last season. They have to face that time twice again this year. They also have to face the Giants twice, whose pass rush I already said should be revitalized this year, and the Redskins twice, who have a good pass rush that will be able to blitz more this year, thanks to the addition of McNabb. All this spells a rough year for Kolb behind that line and that’s not going to help the young signal caller out in his first year.

Defensively, they should be a good team. One of the three defensive ends they drafted should be able to step up across from Trent Cole this year and give them another pass rusher, but the loss of Sheldon Brown, who wasn’t really replaced, in the secondary hurts. I think those two things almost cancel each other out, unless someone like Graham has a monster 10+ sack breakout year, which is unlikely. And remember, a downgrade at quarterback hurts the whole team, including the defense. They may not be able to blitz as much as they like this year if Kolb isn’t producing like McNabb was.

Projection: 7-9 4th in NFC East

Power Ranking: 21 

Draft:

#13 DE Brandon Graham (Michigan)

Brandon Graham is a fine player and a future starting left end and all that, but when the Eagles moved up to 13 from 24, I thought it would be for a player they couldn’t have gotten at 24. Earl Thomas fills a bigger hole for this team than does Graham and Graham probably would have been available all the way until to 19, if not later. The Eagles had the picks to get this done and Graham is a decent player, but they could have done something better with this pick. I don’t even think he was best available DE, that would be Derrick Morgan, and this is coming from someone who was higher on Graham than most.

Grade: B-

#37 S Nate Allen (South Florida)

I thought this pick would be Taylor Mays, but I’m so glad it wasn’t. Mays was higher rated on my board and has the speed the Eagles like, but Allen is much more of a natural fit at free safety for the Eagles. Several teams reportedly had 1^st round grades on him, so this is well in his draft range and he allows the Eagles to get an upgrade at free safety despite passing on Thomas at 13. Nate Allen has a lot of pressure on him, as the free safety that has to replace Brian Dawkins, and also as the player drafted with the pick the Eagles got for Donovan McNabb, but if anyone can handle it, it’s this kid.

Grade: A

#86 DE Daniel Te’o-Neshiem (Washington)

Okay, one defensive end was a need, but not two. The Eagles have a ton of depth at defensive end now, but there’s only so many ends you can use. Te’o-Neshiem is a solid player, but a bit of a reach here as well and doesn’t fill a need.

Grade: C-

#105 CB Trevard Lindley (Kentucky)

Lindley got destroyed in the Senior Bowl, but when healthy he’s a starting caliber cornerback. However, he does lack athleticism. He fills a need, but I don’t know if he fills it in the way they needed the need filled. He’s not an immediate starter type player like they needed to replace Sheldon Brown, but he does fill a position of need and it’s better that the Eagles do that now then never.

Grade: B+

#121 OLB Keenan Clayton (Oklahoma)

I very rarely give Fs to mid-to-late round picks, but everything I saw of Clayton last year suggests that he should not be drafted. He’s not instinctual. He’s basically a big safety playing linebacker without elite speed or athleticism. If he’s anything more than a solid special teamer, I’ll be shocked.

Grade: F

#122 QB Mike Kafka (Northwestern)

Kafka shows a lot to like, but he’s a project. Quarterback may not seem like a need for the Eagles, but Vick is a free agent next offseason and if Kolb struggles, they may want a backup plan, so taking one with one of their many mid round picks was smart. However, Kafka is a bit of a reach by my book and when are they ever going to fix that offensive line? Didn’t they learn anything when the Cowboys blew up their line last season? Having essentially a rookie signal caller in Kevin Kolb behind a bad offensive line with a coach who refuses to run the ball is a recipe for disaster.

Grade: C+

#125 TE Clay Harbor (Missouri State)

Hard to bash this pick because I like Harbor as a mid round sleeper, but they need offensive line help and Harbor doesn’t really fill a need. He’ll probably be an H-back type player for them who alternates between fullback and tight end, but they needed other things.

Grade: C

#134 DE Ricky Sapp (Clemson)

Sapp has 3^rd round talent so it’s hard to argue, but seriously, another defensive end? What do they have like 8 defensive ends on the roster now? Sapp is also a bit undersized for a 4-3.

Grade: C-

#159 WR Riley Cooper (Florida)

Cooper is a solid value and fills a bit of a need as the 4^th receiver, replacing Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis, albiet not much of a need, but you have to wonder when they’ll fix that offensive line. Deep threats like Cooper won’t do much if Kolb doesn’t have time in the pocket. Contrary to popular belief, Jason Peters is one of the worst left tackles in the league.

Grade: C

#200 RB Charles Scott (LSU)

Scott would be a great value and a great short down back for the Eagles if they ever ran the football on shortdowns. Still, maybe this year will be the first time.

Grade: B

#220 MLB Jamar Chaney (Mississippi State)

Chaney probably should have been drafted 3 rounds earlier, so he makes a lot of sense for the Eagles here. If he pans out as a starter, Stewart Bradley can move to the strongside and he can take over the middle. If not, he’ll still be solid depth, which is important because last year when the Eagles needed depth, they had to wake Jeremiah Trotter from the dead.

Grade: A

#243 DT Jeff Owens (Georgia)

Not a huge need, but there’s no denying Owens’ physical upside here in the 7^th and for the Eagles who have a ton of picks, it’s not a bad move. Owens is one of the most physically impressive players in this entire draft class.

Grade: A-

#244 S Kurt Coleman (Ohio State)

Doesn’t fill an obvious need, but he probably should have been off the board in the 5^th and he offers good safety depth, as well as leadership on special teams.

Grade: A

Overall:

The Eagles had 13 picks and didn’t take one offensive linemen? The Eagles got destroyed by the Cowboys week 17 and week 1 of the playoffs last year because they couldn’t stop the pass rush. With Kevin Kolb at quarterback, they are taking a big risk not drafting an offensive lineman. The Eagles did make some decent picks and upgrade their pass rush, albiet, a little excessively, and their last 3 picks in the 7^th round were brilliant steals, but overall I think the Eagles could have done a lot more with this draft. They upgraded the safety position nicely, but not the more valuable cornerback position.

Grade: C+

Key undrafted free agents

CB David Pender (Purdue)

DT Charles Alexander (LSU)

Positions of need: 

Defensive End:

Trent Cole was again among the best in the league last year, but opposite him at left end, the Eagles struggled to find consistency at the position. If they could add another pass rusher to this defense, it would make their entire unit that much better. You know this will be high on the Eagles’ list this offseason because Andy Reid likes to upgrade in the trenches. Brandon Graham, Everson Griffen, and Jason Pierre Paul could all be options at 24.

Traded for Darryl Tapp, Drafted Brandon Graham (#13)

Outside Linebacker:

The Eagles got Will Witherspoon in a midseason trade from St. Louis and Stewart Bradley will be back next season after an ACL injury to solidify the middle of the defense once again, but they need one more outside linebacker. Andy Reid doesn’t take linebacker early almost ever, but Sean Weatherspoon would be a perfect fit for his scheme and could be available at 24. Daryl Washington could make sense in the 2^nd if they choose to wait.

Traded for Ernie Sims, Drafted Keenan Clayton (#121) 

Offensive Guard:

Shawn Andrews might not play again and given how much Andy Reid enjoys upgrade the trenches, he could look for big guards early. Mike Iupati could be an option at 24, but more likely they’ll look at guys like John Jerry in the 3^rd.

Offensive Tackle:

Jason Peters and Winston Justice gave up 13 combined sacks last year. Peters has too big of a contract to be benched, but they can upgrade Justice fairly easily. A big run blocking right tackle like Ciron Black could be targeted in the 3^rd round to fill this need.

Safety:

Sean Jones struggled in his first year in Philadelphia. They at least need some more young depth at the position to push for his job.

Drafted Nate Allen (#37) 

Center:

Jamaal Jackson was strongly missed late in the season when he got hurt and the Eagles lost two in a row, pretty badly, to the Cowboys to eliminate themselves. In both games, they got outplayed in the trenches and in both games, Nick Cole looked really uncomfortable at center. They should take a young center to provide depth in case Jackson isn’t ready for the start of 2010.

Wide Receiver:

Seemingly always a need, the Eagles still lack that big goal line wide receiver and with guys like Danario Alexander and Seji Ajirotutu, this could be the year they address that need.

Drafted Riley Cooper (#159) 

Running Back:

After cutting Brian Westbrook, they need depth at the running back position. Their name has been linked to LT.

Signed Mike Bell, Drafted Charles Scott (#200) 

 

Free agents:

RB Brian Westbrook

FB Leonard Weaver (restricted)- resigned 3 years 11.5 million

WR Jason Avant (restricted)- resigned 5 years 18 million

WR Kevin Curtis 

TE Alex Smith (restricted)

OT Shawn Andrews 

G Nick Cole (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million

G Max Jean-Gilles (restricted)- resigned 1 year

G Shawn Murphy 

DE Darren Howard 

DE Max Hall- signed with Giants 

OLB Chris Gocong (restricted)- signed 1 year 1.1 million

OLB Omar Gaither (restricted)- signed 1 year 1.1 million

OLB Will Witherspoon- signed with Tennessee 3 years 11 million 

MLB Akeem Jordan (exclusive rights)- resigned 1 year 1.6 million

MLB Jeremiah Trotter

CB Ellis Hobbs (restricted)- resigned 1 year 2.8 million

S Sean Jones- signed with Buccaneers

P Sav Rocca (exclusive rights)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million

Offseason moves:

Eagles trade MLB Joe Mays from Broncos for RB J.J. Arrington and 2012 conditional pick

Eagles waive DE Alex Hall

Eagles claim OLB Simoni Lawrence 

Eagles waive G Shawn Murphy

Eagles re-sign P Sav Rocca

Eagles acquire Ernie Sims (Detroit) for a 5th rounder (Denver) 

Eagles re-sign G Max Jean-Gilles

Eagles trade QB Donovan McNabb to Redskins for 2010 2nd-rounder and a 2011 conditional mid round pick

Eagles Trade CB Sheldon Brown, RLB Chris Gocong to Browns for DE Alex Hall, 2010 4th, 5th rounders 

Eagles re-sign OLB Omar Gaither

Eagles re-sign CB Ellis Hobbs

Eagles re-sign OLB Chris Gocong

Eagles sign RB Mike Bell

Eagles re-sign G Nick Cole

Eagles re-sign MLB Akeem Jordan

Eagles cut DE Darren Howard

Eagles cut WR Kevin Curtis

Eagles cut OT Shawn Andrews

Eagles acquire DE Darryl Tapp from Seahawks for DE Chris Clemons and a 2010 4th-round pick

Eagles sign WR Hank Baskett

Eagles sign CB Marlin Jackson

Eagles re-sign WR Jason Avant

Eagles cut MLB Will Witherspoon

Eagles re-sign FB Leonard Weaver

Eagles tender OLB Chris Gocong

Eagles tender G Max Jean-Gilles

Eagles tender P Sav Rocca

Eagles tender C Nick Cole

Eagles tender CB Ellis Hobbs

Eagles tender MLB Akeem Jordan

Eagles tender OLB Omar Gaither

Eagles cut RB Brian Westbrook 

 

 

Manning gets 5 years at 18 million per, an amount that equals what Tom Brady got last offseason on a 4 year deal. I don’t see how anyone can have a problem with this. He is one of, if not the best at what he does in the league and deserves to be paid like it. Anyone worried about his age and or neck injury is just nitpicking. Most likely, Manning will play similar to his entire career for the next 5 years and will retire a Colt and make the Hall of Fame 5 years later, holding every major passing record that Brett Favre currently holds.

Interesting side note, Peyton Manning was offered 100 million over 5 years, which would have made him the single highest paid quarterback in the league, but he rejected it, in favor of 90 million over 5, so that the Colts could afford to resign other guys in free agency. You can’t hate this guy. You just can’t.

Grade: A

 

 

I love Tim Tebow, but if I were the Broncos, I’d do the exact same thing. Peyton Manning is reportedly healthy and free agents like him just don’t hit the open market ever. He would have been a good signing for any team without a proven top 10-15 quarterback and as much as I like Tebow, the Broncos count as one of those teams.

The Broncos are getting him at very reasonable rate (19.2 million per year over 5 years) and they’ve given themselves the necessary injury protection. They certainly have other needs, but they have plenty of cap room and will be the favorites to sign some of Peyton’s old teammates like Jeff Saturday, Dallas Clark, and Joseph Addai, all of whom would fill needs. There’s also a chance to decide to sacrifice the 25^th overall pick to sign Mike Wallace.

The Broncos have set themselves up as perennial favorites in the AFC West as long as Manning is healthy and playing football. It’s not every day you have the chance to do that. It’s also not every day you have the chance to sign a future Hall of Fame quarterback. The Broncos absolutely had to make this move once Manning showed interest in them.

Grade: A

 

 

Peyton Hillis had a huge 2010 season before a disappointing 2011 season. However, this is such a cheap signing, 3 million over 1 year, and the Chiefs have a need for a power back compliment to Jamaal Charles. I love it.

Grade: A

 

 

This is a bit of a surprising one. With the Dolphins switching to a 4-3, a 355 pound run stuffer like Soliai didn’t seem to have a spot, especially with Randy Starks and Jared Odrick penciled in as starters, with free agent Kendall Langford potentially back in the mix. This move might suggest that they may still keep the 3-4 around in the form of a hybrid and they need a big run stuffer like Soliai and also that Langford, who has drawn interest from Atlanta and New England, won’t be back.

I still think they overpaid. Soliai had a great breakout season in 2010, ranking 10^th among defensive tackles and nose tackles on ProFootballFocus, 4^th against the run. He was franchised for the 2011 season to prove his 2010 season wasn’t a fluke and he didn’t quite do that, ranking 38^th among defensive tackles and nose tackles, and 24^th against the run. Given that, I think the Dolphins overpaid (2 years, 18 million), even if they do stick with a 3-4 or a hybrid front.

Grade: C

 

 

 

My name is Paul Smythe. I am the creator/writer of the blog Dolphin Shout, which is a blog about my absolute favorite team, the Miami Dolphins. I love following Miami’s every move and voicing my opinion for everyone to hear at Dolphin Shout. You can read my blog here: www.dolphinshout.com.

I have been a Dolphins fan all of my life. I have been writing about the Dolphins for just over three years, and I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. If I am not writing about the Dolphins I enjoy playing basketball, fantasy football, and reading about the Dolphins.

I can be reached or followed in many different ways. Here is a list of them for those of you who don’t like long paragraphs like me:

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The Jaguars were not expected to make a huge splash in free agency. They are not a premium destination for free agents and they have a bit of financial trouble, plus they drafted a quarterback in the first round which shows they’re focused on the future. However, they did need a linebacker and Posluszny was one of the best linebackers out there, but I think they overpaid a little bit giving him 42 million over 6. It’s not like he was the missing piece of a playoff team or anything after they just used their first 2 draft picks to move up and draft a quarterback who probably won’t start for at least a year.

Grade: B

 

By Cormac Eklof 

Patriots @ Steelers (Late Sunday night)

If you were to go by the hysterical reaction to the Patriots loss last week, and the Steelers win against the awful Bungles, you would completely understand and indeed endorse the current six point line the Patriots are being given heading into Pittsburgh this weekend. The line that Vegas comes up with is basically trying to tempt the gambling populace at large into backing the peoples favourite, in this case Pittsburgh . This is a game you have to dig a little deeper to come up with a selection, however. For a start, did you know Tom Brady and the Patriots have dropped consecutive games twice in the past eight seasons? Think about that for a second. Twice, in eight seasons. That is phenomenal. Also, did you know the Steelers have given up an average of 272.8 yards through the air the past four weeks? They are very susceptible through the air. Most recent results? The Steelers were delighted to get out of Cincinnati with a 27-21 win, thanks to a last gasp defensive stand. The Patriots are no Bungles. Hey, there’s no doubt about it, the Patriots have a few issues of their own. Bear in mind though, they are not coming off a big losing streak, their loss, shocking as it was, left them with a pretty decent 6-2 record. This isn’t some bunch of schmucks heading into Pittsburgh for a beat-down, as the 6 point line would suggest. Looking for an X-Factor? Pittsburgh has as many turnovers as touchdowns (six) the past three weeks. You would not know that judging by how the pundits are all picking the Steelers to win easily. They ignore those kind of facts in situations like this. Finally, add to all this the fact that the Steelers played Monday night, and are working on a short weeks preparation. With all that in mind, would you rather have the team with (almost) a touchdown head-start, or the team with a (somewhat) hidden host of question marks against it? Plus, a complete douche-bag quarterback, who everyone in Ohio bar the most vociferous Steelers fans hates. Let’s not forget that. 

The pick: Patriots 27-24

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