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Kelly strives for more efficiency in Eagles practices

Sun, 19 May 2013 06:28:43 GMT

Philadelphia Inquirer » On any given day during the last several seasons you might have found five or six Eagles sprawled out in their locker stalls catching some midday zzzzs.

Let's just get this over with--- McNabb retires as an Eagle...

Sun, 19 May 2013 04:35:24 GMT

Eagles Eye »

Slow news day when you are left to finally contemplate Donovan McNabb's retirement... I guess I'm "tardy" in this category because I really thought McNabb had a few more campaigns in him...

But Donny is hanging them up...

He took us close to the pinnacle. I appreciated very much as a fan being so close. Thank you, Don, for getting us so close.

So sorry his final years in the NFL were so pitiful....

Donovan McNabb plans to officially retire as an Eagle this season.

McNabb, who led the team to five NFC championship games during his 12-year tenure in Philadelphia, and to the Super Bowl in 2004-05, announced his plan on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM in Syracuse, N.Y. on Monday night, and repeated it on his national show on NBC Sports Radio.

"I will retire as an Eagle and I look forward to that opportunity and that day," McNabb said on his show.

McNabb said that the team is making tentative plans for him to be honored on Sept. 19 in Philadelphia, when the Eagles host former coach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs on NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football" at Lincoln Financial Field.

An Eagles spokesperson would not confirm or deny the plans Tuesday. There is also a possibility that McNabb's No. 5 jersey will be retired.

McNabb would be the latest former Eagle to be honored by the team in recent years, following safety Brian Dawkins, tackle Tra Thomas, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and running back Brian Westbrook, among others. Dawkins also had his No. 20 jersey retired and was inducted into the Eagles' Hall of Fame.

McNabb joined the Eagles in 1999 as Reid's first-ever draft pick (No. 2 overall--- out of Syracuse) and left when he was traded to Washington on Easter Sunday in 2010. During his Eagles' tenure, he became the franchise's career leader in pass attempts (4,746), completions (2,801), passing yards (32,873), and touchdown passes (216).

But he also had his share of detractors among the fan base, mainly due to his inability to lead the team to a Super Bowl victory. The closest he came was in the 2004/05 season, when the Eagles suffered a 24-21 loss to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, FL.

My own feelings about McNabb?

I say he's borderline Hall of Fame just based on his longevity plus the lowest INT percentage among his peers who have thrown over 200 TD passes.

Donnie was money when he was "on"...

Truth be told, he was never given a complete set of top-flight receivers in Philly. He had T.O. in 2004, and you saw what that brief partnership did for his overall numbers. But after Owens departed, there was never again a classic "go-to guy" in the receiving corps for McNabb. He consistently made the best of what he was given to work with at both wide receiver and tight end, not to mention Westbrook out of the backfield.

McNabb had mobility, too, at least until a couple of rib-fractures convinced him it might be best for the team to throw it away or at least take a slide. From a football standpoint, McNabb is just done. His mobility is not what it was, which is what made him such a good player to begin with. His footwork was questionable, and his accuracy was suspect. Hey, it's just his time to call it quits.

What does he leave us? Every quarterback who starts for a decade and measures a good level of success leaves a legacy to the NFL.

Donovan McNabb was booed by Eagles fans at the 1999 Draft event in NYC who wanted Ricky Williams. Suddenly, he was a story before he threw a pass in the NFL.

McNabb played on broken ankles and got to Pro Bowls and yet in his first five years, what was the biggest story? The Rush Limbaugh controversy in which the then-ESPN analyst called McNabb "overrated" and said he got great treatment from the media because they were "desirous of a black quarterback to do well" ...?

The Limbaugh thing was a watershed moment in the sports industry, because of how long that topic stayed front and center. You could almost hear every sports producer, editor and program director saying "Wow, let's keep talking about this. Everyone's fired up about it." Which is true, because it's much easier for fans to latch onto emotional human stories that they can understand rather than how McNabb was able to beat the Cover 2 on a game-winning drive. Suddenly it wasn't limited to McNabb. Off-the-field became the new on-the-field. The Baylor basketball/Dave Bliss coverage stretched over two months... Mike Price and the strip club.... Larry Eustachy and the college co-ed party.... Kobe Bryant and Eagle, Colorado.... Stories like these became the life-blood of sports coverage. But it was McNabb's situation that gave birth to this phenomenon.

And so it goes.

He got to NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl, and still, the story that went just about the entire offseason following the 2004 season? How McNabb and Terrell Owens didn't get along despite their success together. That McNabb got sick during the loss to the Patriots in XXXIX and was called out by T.O. afterwards. Freddie Mitchell (FredEx!) said he had to call a few plays in the huddle because McNabb was too ill. The Eagles denied it, but admitted McNabb was tired. How tired? How sick? We didn't know. But we talked and blogged about it from February until April. By this time, McNabb was the shining star of personal critique. Yes, other people were getting their turns in the spotlight, but McNabb was a guy you could count on every few months for one of these stories that didn't revolve around wins and losses. The Godfather of modern-day sports fodder...

He came back months ahead of time from a torn ACL in 2007 to play lights out. But that didn't matter. You know the story now. He said he didn't think he'd be back in Philadelphia after the drafting of Kevin Kolb. He asked for the Eagles to bring in more 'playmakers' on his blog, and called out his team for underperforming and of course, he didn't know the NFL rules for overtime following a tie with the Bengals. He got to the NFC title game again in the 2008 campaign but his benching earlier in the season was a bigger story. He played well in 2009 and was told he'd be the Eagles' QB for 2010. Three days after Andy Reid gave him that vote of confidence he was traded to the Redskins. It was supposed to be a fresh start. Why would Philadelphia do this? Hey, we're going to pay attention to McNabb on the field again! That is until he was benched for not having the stamina to lead a two-minute drive, and Rex Grossman was the answer. Grossman wasn't even the answer when the Bears went to the Super Bowl in 2006. Seriously? Stamina? Hey, media firestorm? After this, McNabb was an ex-Redskin. And now, he's the ex-starter for Minnesota...

For me, the bottom line on McNabb---getting to five conference championship games for the Eagles when you're the only offensive constant from all those teams is incredibly impressive.

Jason Avant Practicing At DB

Sat, 18 May 2013 21:00:30 GMT

Eagles Gab » Clay Harbor isn’t the only Eagle playing on both sides of the football for Chip Kelly. Veteran receiver Jason Avant has been working out as a slot corner, according to Comcast SportsNet’s Geoff Mosher. While Chip Kelly runs his teams differently from everybody else, typically, players who experiment with drastic position changes are facing long [...]

Eagles QB Michael Vick and His Ability to Read a Defense

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:51:39 GMT

Eagles Addict » Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick has always had questions around him about his ability to read and diagnose opposing defenses while at the line of scrimmage. For the most part, …

Eagles experiment with Clay Harbor, Jason Avant on defense to add versatility

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:45:14 GMT

Birds' Eye View » null

Clay Harbor, Jason Avant working on defense for Eagles

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:43:06 GMT

Yahoo! Sports » Clay Harbor and Jason Avant have practiced recently on defense, casting some doubt about their futures with the organization under new coach Chip Kelly.

Eagles experiment with Clay Harbor, Jason Avant on defense to add versatility

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:16:57 GMT

Philadelphia Inquirer » null

Michael Vick: Critics are ‘ignorant’ and ‘know nothing about football’

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:53:23 GMT

Yahoo! Sports » According to reports, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick showed up to the first practices under new head coach Chip Kelly 'noticeably bigger' and very enthused about Kelly's high-tempo offensive system. Apparently, Vick also arrived with a point to prove, and a burr in his saddle when it comes to the criticisms levied against him regarding the sandlot nature of his game. On Wednesday, Vick went on Philly radio station 97.5 The Fanatic and laid it out to those who wonder if he'll ever play consistently and with the right kind of mechanics, as opposed to winging it and letting his athleticism rule the day. “I’m really tempted right now to just say no comment to that because like I said a second ago, you don’t last 12 years in the NFL not being able to read the defense,” Vick told the station, via Sheil Kapadia of Phillymag.com . “Those people who are talking and saying that are just ignorant, and they know nothing about football. Unless they turn on the film and watch my game and see what goes on, then they’ll replace those comments with the right comments.” But there are those who do watch tape, and are fairly informed on the subject, who believe that Vick holds on to the ball too long, fails to read defenses completely, doesn't correctly anticipate pressure, and runs himself into sacks that shouldn't happen. It's why Vick has started all 16 games in a season just once in his career, and it's why Vick was so turnover-prone in 2012, giving the ball up 11 times on fumbles. Vick led the NFL in fumbles in 2004 and 2010, but he doesn't want to hear the talk about the holes in his game. “It’s incorrect. Without getting sensitive about it, it’s incorrect. So I’d rather not talk about it.” Well, that's not entirely true.

Ray's Replies: Should McNabb be in HOF, have jersey retired?

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:53:22 GMT

Yahoo! Sports » In his latest mailbag, Ray Didinger looks at whether Donovan McNabb should make the HOF and have his number retired by the Eagles.

Roster Outlook: OLB

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:50:46 GMT

Eagles Gab » The dominance that the Eagles edge rushers flashed in 2011 completely vanished in 2012 as Jim Washburn’s scheme imploded. To the relief of Eagles fans, the wide 9 experiment is over. New defensive coordinator Billy Davis will run a base 3-4 defense, meaning that the team’s edge rushers will play standing up instead of in [...]