Tag: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Something Happened? Guess I gotta write about it

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So I know I said that I wasn’t going to talk Eagles anymore after last week. The team has been completely deflated and it was just a waste of time to talk about these guys. Well, this week is a different story.

The Eagles actually won a game today.

Going into today’s game, the Eagles’ last win was on September 30th, which is over 2 months ago. That’s a long time in the NFL. The last 2 months have been increasingly depressing. Loss after loss, the Eagles just looked sloppier and sloppier.

Today was our day as rookie QB NICK FOLES (sorry I’m still excited), led the Eagles to a 4th quarter comeback, bringing the team to victory after suffering an 11 point deficit.

There are a lot of things to talk about after a game like today. There were a ton of highlights. Let’s talk about them.

First, I want to give the defensive player of the game to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha, who looked like the players we thought they were when they came to Philly. The two gelled very well today as the team has completely eliminated the wide 9 formation from their playbook. The only times I saw either get seriously beat was on zone coverage once again. However, on man coverage, the two were superhuman. DRC didn’t allow many catches today at all. Nnamdi allowed another touchdown pass, but he needed to make a split decision on his coverage. He made the right call, but noticed it just a bit too late. He also suffered a neck injury early in the game. He returned later on and finished up.

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Birds Gettin’ It Goin’ Again

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Well, the Eagles looked pretty good again tonight. I’m very pleasently surprised to see new quarterback Nick Foles play with a LOT of poise in the pocket tonight. He’s made a lot of smart plays and really looks like a seasoned veteran tonight. I wouldn’t change a whole lot that has gone on. The team looks pretty solid. The offensive line is holding their own against a Cowboys defense that doesn’t rush the quarterback all that much, but keep in mind that DeMarcus Ware is still on that defense.

You are never safe on offense with THAT guy on the defense coming to find you.

The Eagles defense looks weak once again. It’s a disgrace. Tonight, however, the problem isn’t Nnamdi Asomugha or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The problem with the passing defense is the zone defense calls and the safeties Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman. These two are complete garbage. To be honest, I’m in complete shock that Coleman has a job. He doesn’t look to be good enough to play for a Pop Warner team. He goes for the big hits and 9 times out of 10 he misses. He’s a disgrace. I’m not as hard on Allen. He has played well for a long time but is completely overshadowed by the disgusting play of Coleman. Kurt Coleman is a big guy but at this point, I’d rather have Gary Coleman over Kurt.

No, there’s no relation.

While the outcome was not a victory, there were some highlights.

Minus his fumble resulting in a Dallas touchdown, Bryce Brown had a flawless night in LeSean McCoy’s absence. We now know that we have two running backs worth playing and third option, Dion Lewis, that could be used in specific situations. We knew coming into the season that the running back core was going to be deep. But we were never certain as to how well Bryce was going to play.

So far so good for the rookie.

Another big play was when another rookie, Damaris Johnson, took a punt all the way to the house. A 98 yard return from a rookie is something I haven’t seen the Eagles do since DeSean’s rookie season.

It was a good night for the most part. Only thing missing was the win. But we will get back at it next year. I only have to bare through four more Eagles games.

Hopefully, next season will be without that fat sack o’ losses we call Andy Reid.

I sure screwed THAT up!

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In my last blog, I began praising the rookie quarterback Nick Foles for taking the reigns and looking like a pretty solid performer during his first regular season action of his career. Vick went down with a concussion and Foles was looking pretty good. I was really excited. It was now time for the new era to begin.

Foles played great ball, but the Cowboys put up 21 points in less than 3 minutes with a Romo touchdown pass to Dez Bryant, a punt return touchdown and a pick six that I don’t blame on Foles. The ball bounced off BOTH hands of DeSean Jackson. The throw wasn’t great but in the NFL, if you get both hands on the ball, you better flippin’ catch it. We didn’t give him a contract to screw up.

That isn’t me trashing DJax. The guy has played well this year despite the crap going on with his team. But there are definitely problems with this team.

There are only a couple bright spots for the offseason this year.

1) The Eagles are only faced with one player who they may want to resign. Last year, the Eagles resigned just about everyone that needed to be resigned. The Eagles are entering rebuilding mode. But that doesn’t mean losing everyone. Defensively, I’d resign DRC if they can. Is it the end of the world if we don’t? No. But that’s a fast guy with almost sure hands and pretty good vision. Plus, he’s only 26 years old. He’s got time to develop, cut down on penalties and improve his skill set as a top 10 cornerback. He’s got incredible potential. However, the Eagles will be cleaning their defense up this offseason. In my eyes, the only defensive starters I would keep are DRC, Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman, DeMeco Ryans, Mychael Kendricks, Trent Cole and I would bump Fletcher Cox into the starting lineup over Mike Patterson.

A lot of you guys are probably wondering why I left Nnamdi Asomugha, someone I was obsessed with coming into Philadelphia, off the list.

Quick answer, look at his stats over the past two years. Actually look over the past three years.

He’s over 30 and somewhat washed up. If not for how massive his contract is, I’d hold onto him. But he’s scheduled to make about 15 million dollars next season. I believe only 4 million is guaranteed money, and now there are murmurs that Nnamdi might be released if they can’t negotiate his contract. I’m disappointed at this thought, but that’s what you get from being a free agent bust.

2) The Eagles will be under new management. The team is going to have to find a new group of coaches that can mold the new-look Eagles. Andy Reid is finished, that much is for sure. Is Vick gone too though? The answer appears to be yes at this point. Only time will tell. Foles will start this weekend against Washington. It’s his first pro start. I’ll be watching with excitement of course.

That’s all the good we got. There isn’t much else. Nothing to see here. We just suck.

Here We Go Again!

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Well, this sucks. The Eagles, once again, are underachieving. Despite the firing of ex-defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, the Eagles have once again fallen far from expectations. The team just doesn’t look solid, and we are close to the halfway point.

One major red flag was this past weekend. The Eagles, with Andy Reid as head coach, have never lost a game following their bye week. This year was a different story. The team looked even sloppier following their bye, almost as if they hadn’t put in any extra work to help their cause.

I don’t blame this recent loss on Michael Vick. I blame this one on coaching and defense. I do not blame new DC Todd Bowles. He was given two weeks to turn a lackluster unit and completely transform them. That’s a tall task considering how much star power the defense has.

Let’s go down the list.

Jason Babin has been horrendous. He hasn’t been able to get to the quarterback at all this season. He’s far behind his 18.5 sack mark from last year.

The other defensive end, Trent Cole, hasn’t had any success either. However, if both pieces can improve, the entire defense will improve as well.

I now turn the attention to one of the most incredible busts (although still somewhat too soon to tell) I think I’ve ever seen.

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Finally something good to say about Juan Castillo!

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I’ve done a lot of criticizing of Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. I’ve questioned his schemes and his coaching methods. I questioned his treatment of the rookies, namely first round draft pick Fletcher Cox. I discussed my displeasure in regards to the handling of All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Now, unless something else completely ridiculous occurs, I will end my rampage against Juan Castillo.

Some of you are probably wondering why I’m ending my constant ranting about Castillo.

Juan Castillo has been fired by the Philadelphia Eagles.

FINALLY!!!! WE HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM HIS MEDIOCRITY!!!! IT’S FINALLY HAPPENED!!! YES YES YES YES!!!!!!

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NFL week 2 recap-A reflection on a year ago

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This time last year, the Eagles were 1-1, after beating the Rams in their first week and losing to the Falcons a week later. People were beginning to question just how good the “Dream Team” was. This year, we have a different situation. The Eagles BARELY stole a win in week 1 by beating the Browns 17-16. This week, they had to deal with the Ravens, and the Eagles needed to step it up in order to beat the Ravens. Turnovers were once again an issue, as Michael Vick threw two interceptions (only one was his fault, the other was a tipped pass that should have been caught).

Before I continue about the Ravens-Eagles game, I want to point out my rational behind stating that Vick is only accountable for a certain number of interceptions. When the ball leaves his hand, if it hits his receiver first, I expect it to be either caught or fall incomplete. But if the receiver has good enough contact with the ball, the interception should not be on Vick. My one exception is the fact that Vick throws with such an extreme amount of velocity. It must be hard catching that ball.

Anyway back to the game. The Eagles were dropping like flies. Jeremy Maclin, Jason Kelce and King Dunlap all dealt with injuries. Maclin aggravated his hip pointer from week 1, and Kelce is likely lost for season with a torn MCL and partially torn ACL. Dunlap (who I have no sympathy for) apparently strained his hamstring. Quite frankly, I could care less about King Dunlap. Kelce and Mac are tough losses.

At halftime, 17-7 Ravens. The air was taken out of the stadium and spirits suffered.

That is…until DeMeco Ryans intercepted Joe Flacco.

A turnover can go a long way, and this time, it went for a touchdown. The Eagles were rallying.

We go inside the two minute warning. Eagles down 23-17. They need a touchdown to take the lead. They’re close to midfield, and Michael Vick showed why he’s an elite quarterback.

He chucks the ball down the field to tight end Clay Harbor (who caught the winning touchdown pass a week before in Cleveland) and gets them down inside the Ravens five yard line.

1st and goal the Eagles rush from the 3 yard line to the 1.

2nd and goal, the Eagles give everyone a heart attack by sending Vick on a pass play. He was being rushed by star defensive end Haloti Ngata, and almost fumbled the ball. However, he was able to throw it away.

3rd and goal, the prayers were answered. Vick decided to run through everyone into the end zone.

Only one problem remained. The Eagles, now up 24-23, needed to hold the Ravens in check with just less then 2 minutes remaining. A lot can happen in 2 minutes.

1:48 left in the game, Ravens at their own 21. Anyone that has followed the NFL like I have can remember last season. When it came down to close games, the Eagles defense failed to hold onto the lead, and usually cost the team the game.

Not today.

Today, Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Brandon Boykin, Mychael Kendricks, Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Derek Landri, Fletcher Cox, and DEMECO RYANS shut down the Ravens.

It wasn’t pretty however.

On 3rd down, Nnamdi played an incredible dose of coverage to keep the ball away from Ed Dickson of the Ravens. It looked completely legal, and yet was called illegal contact. That gave the Ravens a fresh set of downs. But in the end, it wouldn’t matter. The defense refused to budge. They forced the Ravens into a 4th down and 2 yards to go situation, and forced Flacco to overthrow star running back Ray Rice.

The stadium has never been louder. I’ve been to a lot of Eagles game, and I can’t remember one being much louder than that.

Now let’s break down one very funny play. Enter BRENT CELEK!

The tight end accounted for more than 150 yards of total offense, and capped off his day with a hurdle over All-Pro and future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed.

Leap Frog!!

Coaches always teach players to stay low when engaging a tackle. They also tell you to keep your head up.

Ed Reed simply whiffed. But man was it funny!

The Eagles next week travel to Arizona, where they will take on a Cardinals team fresh off an upset over the New England Patriots. The Cardinals have showcased a relatively strong defense in the first two weeks, and the Eagles may have their work cut out for them. These two squads played against each other last season, and the Eagles fell in the minute.

There are two things that I’m very excited about going into this matchup.

Number one is seeing if Juan Castillo uses Nnamdi correctly this year against Larry Fitzgerald. If they stay 1-on-1 all day, that’s gunna be a very interesting duel.

Number two is that last year, the Cardinals used John Skelton as their quarterback.

This year, they may be forced to use Kevin Kolb, the former Eagle.

Last year, the Eagles traded Kolb to Arizona for Cromartie and a 2nd round pick that turned out to be Mychael Kendricks. Needless to say, the Eagles ended up winning that trade.

Maybe Babin and Cole can break Kolb.

WELCOME BACK WORLD!!!-Worst Person #21-New York Jets

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Well Dang its been a while. Tons of time has passed. Summer came and went and here I am back at school and everyone has that look of excitement to begin the new school year. To start us off on the right foot, I’m bringing back everyone’s favorite series, “The Worst person in sports”. Whether it be a team, owner or player, there’s always some sense of athletic mediocrity. This year, we will start with the New York Jets.

There’s a lot I can say. I never addressed it last year but Tim Tebow going to New York was just dumb. There was no reason. I thought Mark Sanchez was quite overrated, yes. But Tebow is NOT an upgrade. And that’s only the beginning.

In the preseason the Jets did not score a touchdown until their final game. The funniest part? The quarterback that threw for the touchdown was Greg McIlroy. That’s gotta be embarrassing.

Now a little recap of…MY EAGLES WINNING THE SEASON OPENER TO…….cleveland. HAHAHAHAHAHA

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And there he goes, ladies and gentlemen!

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After my previous posts of Asante Samuel being traded by the Eagles, the deal was finally finished today.

Yes, that’s right. Asante Samuel has been traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a 7th round pick.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The sad part about that laugh is that even though from a distance this looks like a terrible deal for the Eagles after the Lions were rumored to be offering up to a second and third round pick for Samuel last year, I was laughing at the Falcons for a few different reasons.

Number 1 is that now the Eagles have the freedom to spend some money to resign DeSean Jackson. Oh wait, we already did that didn’t we? Joke’s on Atlanta. We will probably use the money to resign running back LeSean McCoy to a massive long term deal.

The second reason I laugh at Atlanta is because of the huge price they pay, literally. Their core of cornerbacks looks very similar to the Eagles last season except for one big piece.

Last year, Asante was worth about 10 million dollars, Nnamdi Asomugha was worth 12 million and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie about 4 million, which is a huge amount of money.

Now check this out.

The Falcons, this coming year, must pay Asante 10 million (being as his new contract won’t kick in immediately) Dunta Robinson is worth about 10 million and Brent Grimes just signed a 10.5 million dollar contract. Thats about 30 million dollars at one position and also the most amount of money at the cornerback position by one team in NFL history.

Will I miss him? Yes. Am I really all that upset about it? No.

I remember when the Eagles first signed Asante. I was home sick from school on the first day of NFL free agency that year. I was really excited because I heard that a few teams were talking to Samuel, one team being the Eagles, considered the favorite to sign him. My mother told me point blank, “John the team always screws us. It’s not going to happen, and I think you know that. The team is run by idiots.”

While I agree with the last part of that, Asante Samuel was signed about one hour later. I was watching in my bed with some soup on my table.

“Breaking news, the Philadelphia Eagles have signed cornerback Asante Samuel to a 6 year, 60 million dollar contract.”

“MOM! THEY SIGNED HIM! OH MY GOD THEY GOT HIM YES! I FREAKIN’ TOLD YOU MA!”

While he was an Eagle, he was one of my favorite players. I love him. I still have his jersey in my drawer at school.

I will miss you, Asante. The Eagles play the Falcons this coming season, so I’ll watch him again, just from the wrong side.

Good luck, Asante. I’m sure you’ll make the Falcons a real contender. Keep stuntin’.

Worst Person #5-Andy Reid

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Yup, gunna take a quick shot at my own team in this blog. So, get ready for a barrage of negativity.

I love the Philadelphia Eagles. I will never stop loving this team. But right now, there is nothing in the world that I hate more than their head coach, Andy Reid. Ya, he’s not the only one to blame for the team’s continued woes of poor play. But seriously, you are given players like Jason Babin, Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie…AND YOU GO 3-6?!?!?!?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FLIPPIN’ KIDDING ME!!!! HOW CAN SOMEONE WITH SUCH A GREAT TRACK RECORD OF LEADING TEAMS TO THE PLAYOFFS COACH A TEAM WITH THE BEST PLAYERS MONEY CAN BUY AND LOSE CONSTANTLY?!?!?!

I’m not alone on this. Even Philly wants Reid gone after this atrocious start. I have developed a supreme HATRED of this entire coaching staff this season with the exception of offensive line coach Howard Mudd and defensive line coach Jim Washburn. Mudd simply because he is a living NFL legend and Washburn because his unit is actually WORKING rather than completely failing like the rest of the roster.

The Eagles travel to New York next weekend to face the Giants on the big stage of Sunday Night Football. I will watch it with my parents, brother, sister and Giants fan girlfriend (Should be interesting) who is flying out for the weekend. Without a victory against the Giants, the already minuscule chance of the Eagles making the playoffs will completely evaporate and the season will be over after 10 games. There’s supposed to be 16 games, not 10.

There’s always next year right? Of course there is, but not with Andy Reid. Leave Philadelphia because none of the brothers here have any more love for you.