Eagles

The Dying Philadelphia Legacy – by Perrin Tomlin

After convincing myself to finally pry my palm off my face from the Eagles’ disgusting trade of LeSean McCoy, I think I can now take a second to talk about what’s really going on in Philadelphia. Just today, there has been a little talk about the Eagles maybe picking up Super Mario in the draft, which is reasonable seeing that now we can’t rely on our running game anymore — no offense to Darren Sproles #greatguy.

There seems to be a GM problem with every team in Philadelphia, except for the Flyers. The Phillies have gone to crap ever since they got rid of Hunter Pence who was a great RBI producer. The Phillies gave up many prospects to get Pence then got essentially nothing in return. The Sixers management seems like they’re having difficulty understanding the purpose of the tanking method of rebuilding. They’re PAST tanking now. They were tanking when they got rid of Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday. Now they’ve gotten rid of MCW and Thaddeus Young also and replaced them with the dope that is JaVale McGee, who is now gone too. I’m sorry, but now it just seems like Philadelphia is trying to get itself taken out of the league.

At this point the only thing Philly has going for them is Mo’ne Davis and her little league team.

-by Perrin Tomlin

The Jets’ Offseason

This offseason, the Jets went with a very deliberate free agency strategy, targeting three big-name players to boost their ailing offense. The first was former Broncos receiver Eric Decker, who signed a 5-year, $36 million contract early this offseason. The Jets also went out and acquired notorious quarterback Michael Vick, who had lost the starting job on the Philadelphia Eagles. The last, most recent signing is running back Chris Johnson who, after being cut by the Tennessee Titans, looks to revive his CJ2K nickname with the Jets this coming season.

Why the Jets are making good signings: by Ben D
The Jets are making good decisions, for a surprise, this offseason. Maybe next they will even get rid of their overweight, bad-game-planning coach. The Jets have gone out and got explosive offensive players. They have signed Chris Johnson (CJ2K), Eric Decker, and Michael Vick.
If, and when, Vick wins the starting quarterback job, defenses could be faced will two great runners in the Jets’ backfield. On running plays, the defense will have to account for Vick, who has at times run the ball about as well as any RB. This will allow CJ2K to get out into the open field, where he is one of the fastest players in the NFL. The Jets will also be able to run a lot of successful play-action because the defense will have to buy fake handoffs to Johnson, which would allow Vick to run the other way, or roll out with time to pass to Decker, or still be in position to run. On play-action, the defense could also come after Vick, which would allow him to throw a screen to Johnson, or a long ball to Decker.
Last year, with Geno Smith as the starting quarterback, the Jets averaged 18.1 points per game, 29th in the league. This year I believe the Jets could score 24.5 points per game. Many experts, and I, also believe that with the 18th pick in the 2014 draft, the Jets will pick Marqise Lee, the explosive wide-receiver out of USC. This will give Vick another target and make defenses go crazy. CJ2K will have an amazing year, as he always does when he’s motivated to prove doubters wrong. The Jets will be able to explode on offense and make the playoffs.
Why the Jets are making a mistake: by Guest Blogger G.B.
Let’s face the facts: The New York Jets are a rebuilding team. Yes, they might have gone 8-8 in 2013, but they have a young, still developing quarterback, a coach who is perpetually on the “hot seat,” and are really not sure in what direction they are heading. Therefore, with all that being said, it is absolutely ridiculous for the Jets to go out and spend money as if they are a Super Bowl contender! Even if this rebuilding path works, the Jets are still two or three years away from real “contender status.” Plus, if the Jets were to spend $50 million on free agents, why on earth did they spend it on only three players. Rebuilding teams often need nearly full-roster turnovers, not three washed-up veterans.
And the problems do not stop there. Not only did the Jets waste their money and salary cap space, but they also jeopardized their team’s future success by bringing in loud-mouthed players who will not stand sitting on the bench. Now, this doesn’t really relate to Eric Decker, but as for Vick and Johnson, this is certainly the case. Also, by bringing in Vick, the Jets are showing no confidence in second-year quarterback Geno Smith, who was supposedly being groomed as the quarterback of the future.

Mark Sanchez

According to multiple sources, former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Sanchez, 33-29 in four seasons as the Jets starting quarterback from 2009 to 2012, was released by his former team on Friday, just minutes before confirming that they signed former Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. Sanchez will arrive in Philadelphia as the back-up to 2013 quarterback sensation Nick Foles.

Why this is the right move: by guest blogger

Mark Sanchez is essentially the best backup quarterback the Eagles could’ve hoped for. While he may not have been the most talented quarterback in the class (that award would’ve gone to Michael Vick), nor the most reliable (Josh McCown), he is a solid NFL quarterback willing to accept his role as a backup and fight his way up from there.

In today’s NFL, it is becoming more and more important to have a good backup QB, and Sanchez has all of the right traits. Experience? You got it. He has started 62 games in the past five years. Competency? No problem. Sanchez is adequately accurate (much better than his career 55.1% completion would indicate) and does not hold the ball too long (looking at you Mike Vick). The bottom line is that Sanchez has the skills to help the Eagles survive if/when Foles goes down, and the Eagles couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Why this is the wrong move: by benspn.com owner, Ben D

This is undoubtedly the wrong move. The Eagles gave $2.25 million to a quarterback who hasn’t played in a year, but the last year he played he had a league-low 25.8 QBR. The only reason the Eagles signed Sanchez was because their coach, Chip Kelly, liked how Mark Sanchez played in college at The University of Southern California (USC). Sanchez, who is perhaps most famous for running into his right guard’s butt on Thanksgiving Day, 2012, will probably not even start for the Eagles all season, and will leave for a different team in the offseason. He’ll probably stick around just long enough to ensure a QB controversy this preseason and anytime Nick Foles struggles, which the Eagles don’t need. (Mark Sanchez has already made news in the Eagles organization by publicly saying “I always want to be the starter.”).

The Eagles probably could have went for a potential starter, Josh McCown for just about $2.75 million more. McCown, in the eight games he played last year, had the highest total quarterback rating in the league, (yes, even higher than Peyton Manning who had a record-setting year), with a 85.1. That’s a 60-point QBR difference between McCown and Sanchez. The Eagles could have gotten a quarterback who had a 85.1 QBR last year for just $5 million a year. Now let me put that in perspective: Ben Roethlisberger had a 54.3 QBR last year, but got payed $11.6 million. Josh McCown had a 85.1 QBR last year, and signed with Tampa Bay for only $5 million, which the Eagles could have afforded. The Eagles made the wrong move, and for that they will suffer.