So everybody is talking about Kobb, Vick and Reid

So, Andy Reid made the decision to bench Kobb and go with Vick. I was shocked as hell. Frankly I see both sides of the argument well. Ultimately, somewhat reluctantly, I concur with Reid's decision.

First, I can understand why Kobb would be pissed as hell. They traded McNabb to give him the starting job, they upped Kobb's salary, they put Vick in his place, they handed the job to Kevin. Now, after a single quarter performance--that did not go well--the job now belongs to Vick. If I were Kevin, I would feel like a horse's ass. I would feel like the biggest damn idiot of all time. Why did I believe in these people? Why did I buy into this coach? This is humiliation.

However, with that said, there is plenty of justification. Vick is playing amazing football. Furthermore, the West Coast Offense doesn't work anymore. As I mentioned once before, Reid had one hell of a retro-moment against the Packers. He attempted to run a fully Kosher WCO just exactly the way Bill Walsh and Joe Montana did it back in 1981. That was the first time I saw that style in quite some time. As we know, the experiment did not go well. The Packer defense ate them up.

Then Vick comes in and we see the WCO playbook go on the BBQ fire. It is always a night at the improv with Michael Vick running the show. This worked extremely well. Vick caused the Packer defense some serious problems. He also did an amazing job against the Detroit Lions who were game for victory.

There is a large crew of serious analysts out there who believe that only Michael Vick can do the things Steve Young once did... I happen to be one of those guys.

In any case, I have the Eagles with Kobb short-shrift. I can't ignore the Eagles with Michael Vick. I think the Eagles will win the division if Vick remains at the helm for the next 14 games. The sky is the limit. The Cowboys are not playing well. The Redskins are playing well, but I don't think they will keep it up at this pace. The Giants are just too tender and under-done on defense to give me serious hopes for them.

The Eagles with Vick will probably win the division.

The NFC East is going to be competitive?

So I heard the guys on NFL Total Access agreeing that the NFC East was going to be the most competitive division in 2010. I have on thing to say to that: Nope, fuck no.

Let's get this straight. The Redskins were dog-shit in 2009, finishing 4-12 and drafting #4 overall. The one modestly good looking unit on the team was the 4-3 defense they had. So, they fire the defensive coordinator, blow-up the ship, flush the 4-3 down the toilet, and convert to the 3-4. They are now in the 1st year of a big QB transition, which is always traumatic, a new offensive system, and a new defensive. All this is true, and you expect them to be competitive?

Ha! Nah! Nope! Not going to happen.

So the Eagles have blown Donovan McNabb out the door, and they are in the first year of a quarterback transition, which is always traumatic. They are going to this young kid Kobb, who is a major X factor, and you expect them to be competitive? Let us remember, the Packers fell from 13-3 to 6-10 in the first year of their transition from Favre to Rodgers. That was quite unexpected, and they did have an excellent to superb kid ready to come in and play for them.

So the Eagles are going to compete? Ha! Nah! Nope! Not going to happen.

Now we have the Giants, the first authentic possibility on the list. The Giants were crushed by the loss of Steve Spagnuolo last season. Their proud defense fell to #30, and was worse than the Rams, a fact I still find shocking as hell. I haven't been able to stuff my green eyes back in their sockets since I saw those stats. Shocking as hell!

If the Giants have found a good defensive coordinator to replace Spags, they might be on their way. They had a nice draft. They got some nice free agents. I like what they did.

It all comes down to Perry Fewell. The weight of the New York Giants is upon his shoulders. If he does a good job, the Giants could rebound big-time. So what about Perry Fewell? I know absolutely nothing about him. He is a complete X factor in my book. He is an unknown quantity.

So, as you can see gentlemen, it all comes down to the Cowboys. This is their division to win. I think only the Giants have a prayer of challenging the Cowboys. If Giants don't challenge, the Cowboys will have a free and unobstructed run to the playoffs. They will cruise to a division title in a non-competitive NFC East.

Until I see every 1st quarter of the pre-season, I will stick to my guns and declare that the Cowboys are the mild favorite to win the NFC. Plenty of challenge may from from Green Bay, Atlanta and New Orleans.

Let's not rule out the possibility of a surprise story in the NFC. It would shock the world if a team like Detroit got up off the carpet and made a 1999 Ram or 1981 49er run.

My take on the McNabb trade and the NFC East

So, I have to eat some crow. The McNabb trade did happen. You punks in the media are lucky. I was going to beat you down at the start of the 2010 season. You have avoided an ass-whipping of historic proportions. I wanted to be noted that Mike Florio is still a liar, and he was totally off base. The truth has come out and the Rams were never in the hunt for McNabb. His talk of "...McNabb being in St. Louis as early as Friday [several weeks ago]" was utterly wacko.

So what's my take on this trade?

1. The Eagles were crazy to deal McNabb for an unproven commodity like Kevin Kolb.
2. The Eagles' situation is not comparable to the Favre+Packer situation. McNabb is a lot younger than Favre, and he never did the "I'm retiring/I'm back" disco dance.
3. The Eagles will now enter a rebuilding/transition phase. They will win less games not more. The Eagles were 11-5 last season, I doubt they will be close to that this season. Perhaps they will finish 8-8.
4. Consider the Packers. They had a super QB sitting on the bench in Aaron Rodgers. Nevertheless, a team that was 13-3 in 2007 fell to 6-10 in 2008 largely because of the transition. Of course, the defense had much to do with it, but the Packer offense was not nearly as explosive in 2008 as 2007.
5. Do you think Kolb is as good as Rodgers? The Philly homer may want to say yes. The objective observer from the West does not think so. Rodgers may very well prove himself the best QB in the league this season, provided he stays healthy. He looks like one of the most deadly QBs in the league from my point of view. If the Packers can just cut the damn sacks down from 51 to 30, Rodgers may well take the MVP title from Peyton Manning this season. I seriously doubt Kolb is close to that level. Maybe I am wrong, but in my experience, a QB that good rarely comes along. I doubt we will see two such powerful QBs emerge so quickly in succession.
6. If Kolb is substantially less a QB than Rodgers, expect the Eagles transition to be worse than the Packers.
7. Dealing your QB within the division is stupid and borderline suicidal. Take it from me, a Ram fan. We dealt Jim Everett--a QB who lead a parallel life to McNabb in many respects--inside our division to the New Orleans Saints. Everett crucified every time we played against him. He knew our defense inside and out. He knew who was weak. He knew how to burn him. He knew all this from countless hours of scrimmaging against our defense, and hear the DC complain about guys.
8. Consider Sonny Jurgensen, a distant relative of mine on my mama's side of the family. The Eagles dealt him to the Redskins and he immediately threw 5 TD passes against the Eagles at the first opportunity. Believe me, history repeats itself: The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.
9. Consider what Favre is doing to the Packers right now. I realize that Jared Allen was a major key to victory in both those games, but they would not have out-scored the powerful Packer offense without Favre in either case.
10. Consider the fact that Shanahan is now in Washington. Sorry to inform you of this, but Shanahan is better than Reid. It isn't just because of the 2 rings that I say that. They already have a fairly nasty defense. Now Shanahan and McNabb are going to boot-strap his offense into the picture. You have much to be concerned about.
11. The Eagles now have a lot of picks, but this has been the case for the past several years. The pattern is pretty clear. Most of the offensive choices do well. Most of the defensive choices don't. There are exceptions on both sides, but this is the pattern. If the pattern holds, a significant number of 2010 picks will be wasted on defensive players who don't pan out.

In conclusion, I see the East as a two-horse race. The Giants are rebuilding their defense, but they will chase the Cowboys from behind. The Cowboys now have to be the prohibitive favorite to win the East. If the Cowboys don't win the East, the 2010 Cowboys will be an utter disgrace to the lone star of Texas. If they don't win its a shame.

I expect some back-biting, recriminations and drama once the Eagles get into the heavy water of 2010. I wish you well, but I think you just jammed your dick in the door and slammed it. Like Mayock says "Be careful of what you wish for, because you just might get it."

I can't get Bradford, and I don't want Clausen. I'll take McNabb

The shocker has happened. Philly traded McNabb to the Redskins on Easter Sunday 2010 for the #37 pick in the 2010 draft, a #3 in the 2011, and a conditional #4 in 2011. The conditional pick can rise if the Redskins win more games, posting a better record. Most Philly fans seem glad that the McNabb era is over. They are also shocked that the trade happened inside the division. They seem to be happy that the Kolb era will commence now. They are unhappy that they will face McNabb in a Redskin uniform twice per year for the indefinite future.

CBS Draft Central was the first to publish the opinion that the real looser in this trade is Jimmy Clausen, not Jason Campbell. Campbell was expected to go elsewhere this season. This is only a confirmation of that notion. Clausen was thought, by some, to be the guy Shanahan would develop for the Redskin's future. It is pretty damn clear that Clausen slides past #4 in this season's draft. I believe it is extremely unlikely that Holmgren will select him. Ergo his very first possible landing point is at #9 with the Buffalo Bills.

Pray for the Bills' sake that the GM does not try to take the cheese out of the mouse trap.

This brings us to the Redskins feelings about this. Many D.C. fans are expressing subdued jubilation. They believe the Eagles, an arch nemesis and tormentor, will now spiral downward. A city which is 90% Black is happy to receive (arguably) the greatest Black QB ever. We should leave some room here for Hall of Famer Warren Moon.

On the other hand, Redskin fans are all-to-familiar with the pattern of grabbing over-priced washed-up veterans who under-perform when Dan Snyder gives them fat contracts. This is not just an artifact/relic of George Allen and the 1970s skins. It is a persistent pattern that continues to this day. Many of these fans had already pinned their hopes on Jimmy Clausen as their QB of the future. Shanahan is known as one of those few men in league qualified to evaluate and coach the QB. They hopped he would use his powers to groom Clausen into the Redskins' franchise QB for the next 10+ seasons.

This brings us to Shanahan. Nobody believes the Skins are taking a QB with that massive #4 pick in the 2010 Draft. Nobody believes the Skins are going to do a deal with the Rams for the #1 pick. That ship has sailed out of the harbor. Can anyone explain to me why Shanahan would want to pass on a QB in this year's draft?

• It is possible that he was out-voted. Bruce Allen and Synder could have pushed this deal through.
• It is possible that he felt Bradford was unobtainable. The Rams will take him or demand too much for him.
• It is possible he was concerned about Bradford's durability. The Redskins allowed more sacks (46) than the Ram (44) in 2009. That is a sad, sad commentary. It should be noted that Green Bay allowed the greatest number of sacks (51) in 2009.
• It is possible that Shanahan just didn't see what he wanted in Clausen.

As I mentioned in title line: I can't get Bradford, and I don't want Clausen. I'll take McNabb. Maybe this is Shanahan's decision tree? Maybe this was the read progression?

There we have it again folks. Shanahan and Holmgren are arguably the best QB developers in the league right now. There are a few others. Andy Reid and Mike Martz are two more. I seriously doubt Charley Weis is one of them. What do we say about Clausen now that Shanahan and Holmgren have apparently voted no-confidence in the kid?

Maybe I am right and maybe Kiper Jr. is wrong? Maybe? Maybe McShay is right and Kiper is wrong? Maybe?

Watch for Shanahan and Holmgren to go after Jevan Snead. The kid is going to be cheap, and he has real potential.

Oh, so now McNabb is headed to St. Louis again?

After being headed to Cleveland, Oakland, Buffalo, Minnesota, and parts unknown, it appears that Donovan McNabb is headed back to St. Louis.

I've said it before and I will say it again: Mike Florio's street-cred is 0.0000. He is on the floor. We now believe that anything he says regarding this matter is far more likely to be invented bullshit than substantive rumor. Same thing for the rest of the media. Mike, you need to quit. Just pack up and leave your job. Take up Amish Farming. Your invention and manufacture of McNabb trade-rumors has utterly destroyed your credibility as a journalist. Your situation is beyond repair. Just pack it in and call it quits before they toss you out.

This should serve as a warning to Steve Wyche and Jason La Canfora who like to dabble in these inventions and fabrications as well.

I will say this again also; The three biggest lies in the world are:

• The check is in the mail
• Donovan McNabb is about to be traded
• I promise not to cum in your mouth

I can't wait for opening day 2010. When Donovan McNabb takes his position under the Eagles' center, I am going to unload on all you faggots. You are going to take the biggest ass-whipping of your entire lives. You can take it anyway you want to take. You can kick and scream. You can take it with dignity, but come hell or high water you are going to take it.

Let's close the deal for Michael Vick tomorrow

Michael Vick will be owed a $1.5m check if he is still on the Eagles' roster as of 12:00:01 AM Friday March 5th, 2010. If the Eagles have any intent to trade him, they will be at one of their motivation points tomorrow. If we hear the term 4th rounder for Vick, we should not hesitate to clasp hands and sign the documents. Fax them right over to headquarters on Park Avenue and complete the deal.

I understand my guru Mike Mayock believes it is our best interest to string this thing along create as much confusion as possible. This is the best way to snooker the Redskins or the Bucs into making a deal. The only problem is that I have run all those probabilistic scenarios a few times in a simple game model. The table looks real bad for game players. We have very little chance of dealing the #1 pick to the Redskins and less chance of dealing the pick to the Bucs. We are talking about a very low order of probability.

The bottom line is that Ndamukong Suh is special, but he plays the deepest position in this year's draft. If there were no other DTs in this year's draft, there would be a chance of catching an addict in the Joneses. Nobody is Jonesing for DT this year. There are plenty. Worse, this is probably the last draft where you will need to dish out $10-$12m for a #1 pick. Just our luck to be taking there this year. The pick is radio active. We ain't dealing it. I just don't think trickeration is going to work here.

So why waste time and breath? Why fuck around?

Closing the deal for Vick will solidify our 2010 plans, and it will cease the endless and unproductive babble of the need-based draft theorists. We know we ain't taking a QB at the top of the first round this year. Let's show them why.

Oh, so the Rams are interested in McNabb now, are they?

That's a good one mate, why don't you pull the other one?

Is there no end to the bullshit rumors? Shortly after acknowledging that the Ram-rumor mill was running in overdrive in Indianapolis, a St. Louis writer by the name of Bryan Burwell decided to drop a large turd on the outhouse pile. The Rams have an intense interest in trading for McNabb. He wonders if the Rams have enough ammo to swing the deal, offering the #33 pick in exchange for McNabb. He says that there are a lot of questions unanswered.

The only question left unanswered is this: Will any fools out there smell the bullshit?

This is the off season. The Winter Olympics just ended. The NCAA Basketball tournament is not up and running. Myers & Hartman and Petros & Money are all talking about the Bachelor 2010 finale last night. Sports talk is in a hard place. Naturally every newspaper & sports site in the country is now reporting this false rumor. I am sure they are all silently thanking Bryan for giving them something to write and chat about during this dry season.

We might as well start a bullshit rumor about McNabb. There have been several thousand bullshit rumors about McNabb in the past. One more will never be remembered in the long run. A slice off a cut loaf is never missed. You might get 5 minutes of fame.

You watch: This just might be the biggest bullshit rumor of the NFL off-season.

So Vick is coming to the Rams...?

Bouy... the once proud Yahoo! Sports section is really circling the drain now. According to unnamed and sundry sources inside some Fantasy Football league, the Eagles are planning to deal Vick to the Rams.

According to these 'sources', Jason La Canfora is biting on a piece of trickeration. The Eagles will deal Vick, and the Rams are the leading contenders to acquire Vick's services via trade. This is because Billy Devaney was in Atlanta during the time Vick was QB there, and Spagnuolo was a defensive assistant to Jimmy Johnson for years. Allegedly, this means he can mine Andy Reid's mind for useful nuggets about Vick.

All this proves that a deal is going down. Yep...

When Adam Schefter and Jason La Canfora report the deal is in the works, I will believe it. When Yahoo! sites fanboys who have yet to move out of their mother's basement, I just can't believe the reports. Further, I am astounded that Yahoo! sports would report a story with this kind of credibility gap in the sources.

No Michael Vick for the Rams

Last night, Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network surprised me, and everyone else who follows the NFL, with the following juicy tid-bit. The Eagles love having three good QBs, and they have every intention of maintaining the status quo. Although Michael Vick has publicly stated that he wants to be a starter again, the Eagles have no intention of trading him, and Vick is not on the trading block. The Eagles feel that they are poised for a Super Bowl run in 2010, and they don't want any hiccups if Donovan McNabb should happen to be injured for a couple of games.

When asked what they will do with Vick on a game-to-game basis, Andy Reid indicates that he is going to go back to the drawing board and re-work the Wildcat program that didn't quite work in 2009. He intends to try it again. If at first you don't succeed...

It should be noted that Yahoo Sports categorically rejects Jason's report, but they do so on logical rather than factual grounds. Mark J. Miller simply declares that it makes no sense to pay such a large figure to Vick in 2010 when he is just a backup. He still believes that Vick will be traded or released in the Spring of 2010.

Mr. Miller may be forgetting that the Commish has stated in no uncertain terms that 2010 is going to be an uncapped year. Normal rules do not apply or pertain to 2010. The Eagles can spend the money if they want too.

I listened to these reports with substantial disappointment. Those who read this blog know that I am not a particular fan of Vick, and that I favor Tebow as a long term solution to the Rams' QB needs. Still, all of us Tebow fans know full-well that Tebow is going to require at least one full Red-Shirt season in the NFL to work on mechanics. I was hoping that we could acquire Michael Vick as our starter for (at least) 2010. This would allow us to construct our offense entirely around the concept of having a mobile Southpaw Quarterback. This would make our line adapt to blocking for mobile Lefty, and get all our receivers used to the reverse spin on the Football.

Just as I became used to the idea of this perfect fit, the Eagles went and snatched it away from me. Let's hope the Yahoo's Mike Miller is correct about this, but I think La Canfora is the better source.