Eagles: Close to Signing Samuel? February 28, 2008
Posted by Aaron in Asante Samuel, Donovan McNabb, Lance Briggs, Larry Fitzgerald, NFL, NFL free agency, Philadelphia Eagles, free agency.add a comment
In about 90 minutes free agency will officially begin in the NFL. This is a huge time for players who are finally free agents, or players that signed one year deals last year to avoid hold outs, can finally get their big pay day. This is also a time for owners and franchises to become aggressive to make their team a threat months before the play actually begins. In 2004 the Eagles made a couple a moves you might remember on the first day of free agency. Kearse and Owens anyone? Fast forward to 2008: what’s the market have to offer? Well, there isn’t a lot. But in the small number of good free agents, there are some very talented football players. Some notable FA’s include CB - Asante Samuel, LB - Lance Briggs, and RB - Marion Barber.
The Eagles finished 8-8 last year, winners of their last 3 games and look to have a healthy Donovan McNabb back under center. There is no reason this team shouldn’t be towards the top of the NFC again if they fix a few holes. In accordance, the big, big rumor swirling around the Birds right now is cornerback Asante Samuel. There are rumors on just about every site about it, but it’s beginning to pick up heat. Samuel, a pro bowler this past year, would be a significant help to the Eagles secondary. Strangely enough, the once fantastic secondary is the weakest part of the defense. The line is coming into it’s own (spare one more DE) and the line backing crew is getting better and is very young for the most part as well. So, what would Samuel mean for the Eagles?
Whether or not you send Sheldon Brown to safety if you get Samuel is up in the air. Let’s say you do, then your starting secondary looks something like this: CB - Sheppard, Samuel, S - Brown, Dawkins. That’s 3 pro bowlers plus Sheldon Brown: not too shabby. If you Keep Sheldon at corner though, the move still makes sense. Hasalio Hanson signed a tender today to stay with the Eagles, and why not? He played real well down the stretch last year. But you don’t want to rely on him if this team is going to go far. If you sign Samuel, the Eagles would have 3 great cornerbacks (Sheppard, Brown, Samuel) to rotate in 2 spots, with 1 of them playing primarily on nickel and dime situations.
McNabb and other Eagles are clamoring for a playmaker, and Samuel obviously, is not the offensive player he was talking about. But you need to get better in the back of this defense if you’re the Eagles, and signing Samuel would do that. If you go through with this, the Eagles will still have plenty of money to pursue the other things needed via trade, free agency, or lastly..through the draft: a DE, a WR, and OL (tackle or guard).
A lot of mock drafts have the Eagles taking an O-lineman in the draft. I think that a “boring pick” of an 0-lineman would go over better in Eagles nation if they do make this splash in free agency in about…75 minutes. There’s lots of things to talk about as we get closer to midnight for the weeks and months ahead. The Eagles need to be agressive. One rumor: sign Samuel and trade Sheppard and 1st round pick to Arizona for Larry Fitzgerald. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, that’s nowhere close to even happening. But…it is nice to think about isn’t it?
NHL Western Conference Post Trade Deadline Assessment February 28, 2008
Posted by Dave in Adam Foote, Anaheim Ducks, Andy McDonald, Brad Richards, Brad Stuart, Brian Campbell, Brian Rafalski, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Chris Chelios, Chris Simon, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Evgeni Nabokov, Joe Sakic, Mike Modano, Minnesota Wild, NHL, Nashville Predators, Nicklas Lidstrom, Patrick Roy, Paul Stastny, Peter Forsberg, Philadelphia, Ray Bourque, Roberto Luongo, San Jose Sharks, Teemu Selanne, Vancouver Canucks, Western Conference, playoff, trade deadline.Tags: Adam Foote, Anaheim Ducks, Andy McDonald, Brad Richards, Brad Stuart, Brian Campbell, Brian Rafalski, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Chris Chelios, Chris Simon, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Evgeni Nabokov, Joe Sakic, Mike Modano, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, NHL, Nicklas Lidstrom, Patrick Roy, Paul Stastny, Peter Forsberg, playoff, Ray Bourque, Roberto Luongo, San Jose Sharks, Teemu Selanne, trade deadline, Vancouver Canucks, Western Conference
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Dave: C- Although they remain the best team in the NHL, they have struggled of late. They went on an eight game losing streak not long ago and have still not completely gotten themselves out of the funk. They got a pretty good defensive player in Brad Stuart at the trade deadline but that won’t be enough to light the fire under the skates of these guys. Brian Rafalski, captain Nic Lidstrom and the fossil that holds what once was the remains of Chris Chelios are all injured so they definitely needed to make a move on D but they needed more.
Jeff: D This team has really struggled and to think that Brad Stuart is the solution to all of their problems is ridiculous. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dallas passes them in the standings.
Dave: A++ I didn’t realize how close the Stars were to being the class of the West. My mistake. Don’t sleep on this team. They thought they were one player away from beating the Red Wings and they found their man; Brad Richards. The Stars are a great defensive team and now Mike Modano has a playmaker to score goals with. Look for Dallas to make a serious push to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Jeff: A++. This team was already great and to add a player of Brad Richards’ caliber is huge. He will do wonders for that already explosive offense, which will likely result in the President’s Trophy. Great contender to hoist Lord Stanley.
Dave: C The Wild are already a pretty tough team so I’m not too sure what the thought process was behind acquiring wild child Chris Simon from the Islanders but kudos to New York for getting him off their hands, he’s a heap of trouble both on and off the ice. They probably could have used another scoring forward to distance themselves from the Calgary Flames who are hot on their tail.
Jeff: A - The Wild did not really do anything, and for good reason. They added the convict Chris Simon from the Isles. Why? I’m not really sure, but the team was already solid.
Dave: B I dig the non-move from the Ducks. They are already a strong team and recently got Teemu Selanne to come out of retirement and he is just getting hot. They might not repeat, but the Ducks are just as big a force in the West as they were last year.
Jeff: B. The defending Stanley Cup Champions did not really add much to their team and can you really blame them? They won the Cup last year. I do, however, give them a B because they traded Andy McDonald away earlier in the season, which left me scratching my head.
Dave: A+ The Sharks were already a scary good team. They added one of the most sought after defensemen in Brian Campbell. His ability to move the puck will only help the Sharks score more goals. They are pretty good on the other side of the puck (and got better defensively with Campbell also) and have a great goaltender in Evgeni Nabakov.
Jeff: A The Sharks added coveted defenseman Brian Campbell from the Sabres to help shore up their defense. Great move, did not seem like they gave up a lot except for the fact that Bernier scored 2 goals and added an assist in his first game with his new team. They should be a tough team come playoff time.
Jeff: D Uhhh…Jim Vandermeer??? Really?
Jeff: C+ Now the Canucks had to have seen the moves being made in the conference (Campbell and Richards in particular) and the best they could do was pick up Matt Pettinger from the Caps? I feel they needed a little more to help out the twins (Sedin brothers) and Borat (Loungo) to improve their ranking in the standings.
Jeff: A - They were already getting Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny back from injuries and illnesses, but to bring back some of the Cup team from the mid 90’s should help with the younger players. Who knows if Forsberg will play a game, or if Foote can go back to his “glory days” but at least they have tried to improve their team. Could be just enough to get into the playoffs.
Jeff: D - Earth to Nashville??? hello? anyone there? They held the 8th and final spot before the deadline and will now surely fall for their lackluster effort at improving their team for a playoff run. Did they not see all of the teams improving their respected clubs? Especially Colorado. Jan Hlavac and Brandon Bochenski are definitely not the missing pieces to the puzzle for a Stanley Cup run.
