During the lockout, if you wanted football news that did not have some sort of legal jargon mixed throughout, the only thing to look at was draft news.

Mock drafts, big boards, and all other sorts of stuff that usually proves worthless when all is said and done was the only thing to give us our fix.

Unfortunately, as is the case most years, I'm left pulling out my hair wondering how and why the guys with journalism degrees think their opinion should be taken seriously.

Then I get the urge to dive off a bridge when their opinion actually is taken seriously and regurgitated by some fans.

It happens every year in Philly without fail.

This year, the "expert" opinion that has my head spinning is all the talk about what a huge need right tackle is for the Eagles.


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The chance that Kevin Kolb remains a member of the Philadelphia Eagles seems to be dwindling by the day.

Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com is reporting that, according to a league source, the "Eagles are hoping to acquire at least a first-round pick and a second pick somewhere in the first three or four rounds for Kolb."

I don't doubt that head coach Andy Reid and general manager Howie Roseman have told that exact thing to any teams calling about Kolb, but if a team like the Arizona Cardinals offers up their first-round pick, which is the fifth pick overall, I believe the team will jump on that offer.

Reid is fairly greedy when it comes to trades, always trying to squeeze the other team for all they're worth, but asking for a pick in addition to the fifth overall pick, or any pick in the top 10, would take some gall. Just asking could turn a potential trade partner off and kill the deal.


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It was bound to come sooner or later, but since he's already been chastised for the comments comparing what NFL players are going through to slavery, it's hard to know if Leonard Weaver's apology is sincere or simply a public relations move, but it did come rather quickly.

Wednesday morning, Weaver took to Twitter in an attempt to explain himself.

"Now, that I have seen it, I will say that it was hard for me to watch and after thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that I represented my family, friends and organization the wrong way," Weaver said.  "I'm sorry for those words I used and if I offend anyone, please forgive me. To all my fans whom I've disappointed I'm sorry."

The initial comments surprised me because of the way Weaver usually carries himself, but I suppose he deserves the benefit of the doubt. It's entirely possible that, during the conversation, he simply got caught up in what he was talking about and said something he didn't really mean.

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First, it was Adrian Peterson trying to convince us that NFL players were going through something similar to modern-day slavery.

"It's modern-day slavery, you know?" Peterson told Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports last Friday. "People kind of laugh at that, but there are people working at regular jobs who get treated the same way, too. With all the money ... the owners are trying to get a different percentage, and bring in more money."

Now, one of our own is piggy-backing the ridiculous statement. Fullback Leonard Weaver went on CSNPhilly to talk to Derrick Gunn about the lockout and found a way to compare the situation to slavery.

"We as players want to make a statement that you know what, we love playing for you all, we love your owners, you know?" Weaver told Gunn. "We love you guys very much, but at the same time we need to see some equal opportunity here and stop treating us basically like Adrian Peterson said, like slaves..."

Weaver is not a dumb guy. In fact, in the brief amount of time I've had to speak with him, he came across as very bright. This, however, is not a shining moment.


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According to SI.com's Peter King, the Philadelphia Eagles have received an offer from a team that includes a first-round pick.

King also points out that head coach Andy Reid and general manager Howie Roseman believe they can get a better offer if they wait (not that they really have a choice until the Brady v. NFL ruling on April 6th), so there's a chance that the pick being offered is in the latter portion of the first round.

Of course, that's assuming there really is an offer at all.

That's not to say King is necessarily lying, but there's a very good chance the Eagles are the ones who leaked this information to King. And as we know, the team is not above leaking false information to get some of the more quarterback-needy teams a little closer to the edge.

It's quite possible that teams like the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, and others all got a little antsy when this report came out. If they all believe they're bidding against another team, it might make them more willing to give up their first-round pick, and maybe even a late-round pick in addition.


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According to Aaron Wilson of NationalFootballPost.com, the Philadelphia Eagles were on hand Monday to watch the workouts of a couple Ohio State linebackers: Brian Rolle and Ross Homan.

Rolle (5'10, 229) ran a 4.56 40-yard dash at the combine, which was third-best amongst linebackers. He was also a first-team All-Big Ten selection with 76 tackles, three sacks, and two interceptions.

Even though he played middle linebacker at Ohio State, Rolle has been working out at defensive back for some teams and seems to be exactly what the Eagles look for in their WILL linebackers; see: Keenan Clayton and Ernie Sims.

Homan (6'1, 240), on the other hand, probably translates to MIKE or possibly SAM at the next level.


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Recently, former Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook expressed a desire to return to Philly, hinting along the way he'd be fine with a backup role to up-and-coming star LeSean McCoy.

"I talk to Coach (Andy) Reid every week or so," Westbrook told NBC 10 and Comcast SportsNet. "We always talk. And I would love to be back in Philly, so we'll see how things go ... I think I can help out. I think they have a very good group of young guys on the team, as far as every position. But I still think that I can help this team win."

I was never as big a Westbrook fan as most around the city seemed to be. There was no doubting that he was a great all-around player as he could do a lot of things very well, but I thought he was more of a play-maker than he was a real running back.

Outside of 2006 and 2007, Westbrook never really displayed great field vision and more often than not was running with his head down into the pile for a yard or two. He might follow that up with a swing pass for 15 yards, but that's not the makings of a great running back, it's the makings of a guy who should have always been the second option in a 1-2 punch.


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The Philadelphia Eagles announced Thursday afternoon that they have tendered two more restricted free agents.

Backup running back Jerome Harrison received a second-round tender, and punter Sav Rocca was tendered with the right of first refusal, meaning the Eagles will only have an opportunity to match any offer he receives.

If another team signs Harrison, however, the Eagles would receive their second-round pick.

The deadline has now passed, so linebacker Ernie Sims, linebacker Akeem Jordan, guard Nick Cole, guard Reggie Wells, linebacker Omar Gaither, cornerback Ellis Hobbs, and safety Antoine Harris will all be allowed to hit the free agent market.

I wrote when the Eagles tendered linebacker Stewart Bradley (a guy who could still wind up leaving Philadelphia), as well as Max Jean-Gilles, Dimitri Patterson, and Eldra Buckley, that I fully expected Rocca to get tendered.

Rocca could have easily wound up in the Pro Bowl last season, and was at least worth what they gave him.


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The Philadelphia Eagles announced Wednesday the tendering of restricted free agent Stewart Bradley and three others. The move to keep Bradley especially was expected, but what wasn't expected was the level at which he was tendered.

Last offseason, the Eagles slapped cornerback Ellis Hobbs with a first-round tender, but decided to only go to the second round with Bradley. Giving him a lower tender could be a message to the rest of the league that they'd like to keep Bradley, but might be open to moving him for the right price.

That price could come in the form of the second-round pick to sign him away, but that's likely too steep a price tag. The more likely option would be to include Bradley in a package for something else -- perhaps with backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to move up in the first round or even gain an additional first-round pick.

That is, of course, assuming there's a CBA in place by the time of draft -- an assumption that might be more wishful thinking than anything else.


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The Philadelphia Eagles announced today that they have tendered four restricted free agents: linebacker Stewart Bradley (2nd round), guard Max Jean-Gillies (4th round), cornerback Dimitri Patterson (right of first refusal), and running back Eldra Buckey (exclusive rights).

Those not tendered are punter Sav Rocca, linebacker Ernie Sims, linebacker Akeem Jordan, guard Nick Cole, guard Reggie Wells, running back Jerome Harrison, linebacker Omar Gaither, cornerback Ellis Hobbs, and safety Antoine Harris.

Of the remaining guys eligible for a RFA tender, Harris has no chance of getting tendered as he was really nothing but a camp body who wound up on Injured Reserve. Hobbs also has little chance of being tendered since he is likely to retire before the season begins.

Another guy unlikely to get tendered is Wells. I was, and still am, of the opinion that Wells should have been the starter at right guard for the entire season, but for whatever reason he was not a favorite of Andy Reid even though the team sent a sixth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals to acquire him.


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David Akers' agent, Jerrold Colton, told Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the kicker would not be following Michael Vick's example and signing his one-year transition tag tender.

"It was never something that we were going to sign at this point," Colton said, before going on to say that Akers is still unhappy with the designation.

Signing the tag would have guaranteed Akers a one-year deal at $2.8 million; the average salary of the top-10 highest-paid kickers in the league. The salary would be double the $1.4 million Akers made in 2010, but the long-time Eagles kicker is looking for a long-term deal.

Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that Akers won't sign the tag because doing so would prevent him from seeking out offers from other teams. If he doesn't sign, Akers still has the hopes that another team will offer him a long-term deal and force the Eagles to match.

If the team refused to match the long-term offer, Akers would likely take the deal with the other team rather than taking a one-year pay-raise.


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UPDATE: Via the Philadelphia Eagles' official press release:

"The Philadelphia Eagles today announced they have signed QB Michael Vick to a one-year contract. Vick was designated as the team’s franchise player on February 15.

Vick enjoyed his finest season as pro in 2010 with career highs in QB rating (100.2), completion percentage (62.6), and passing yards (3,018) while becoming just the 2^nd player in league history to throw for 3,000+ yards, rush for 500+ yards and accrue a 100+ QB rating in one season, joining Steve Young (1992). Along the way, Vick earned a starting spot on the NFC Pro Bowl squad while garnering NFL Comeback player of the year honors."


From Earlier:

According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will sign his one-year franchise tender Wednesday.

Signing the tender will guarantee Vick a one-year contract at roughly $16 million -- the average of the top-five highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.


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Adam Schefter was getting peppered with questions from his Twitter followers about Nnamdi Asomugha and where he might end up. After shooting down the hopes of a Green Bay Packers fan, an Eagles fan piped up and asked if Asomugha could find his way to Philadelphia.

"More likely (than Green Bay)," Schefter said, "but (I) don't see it."

The restraints of Twitter didn't allow Schefter to elaborate, but I wish he would. Is this just a gut instinct or has he heard something to make him believe the Eagles aren't interested?

On the surface, it looks like a perfect fit. Asomugha reportedly wants to play for a contender on the east coast, the Eagles are in desperate need of a corner to play across from Asante Samuel, and the team has shown with Samuel and others that they will spend if they believe a guy is worth it.


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When the 2011 season kicks off, Brodrick Bunkley will be the starting defensive tackle next to Mike Patterson, and Antonio Dixon will be on the bench.

And the reason is simple: Bunkley better fits the new scheme.

New defensive coordinator Juan Castillo has already made it very clear that defensive line coach Jim Washburn will be able to do whatever he wants with the guys up front. It will be Washburn's scheme, and Castillo, along with Mike Caldwell, Mike Zordich, and Johnnie Lynn will have to work accordingly.

In Washburn's scheme, the defensive ends go after the quarterback. That's been talked about to death, so we all know that, but something that's not being talked about is the fact that his defensive tackles also play a one-gap responsibility rather than two.

Under Sean McDermott (and, to a degree, Jim Johnson as well), the defensive ends were taught to look inside and play run before attacking the quarterback. That half-second on every snap was the difference between a sack or a touchdown pass on several occasions.


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According to Geoff Mosher of the Wilmington News Journal, Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Winston Justice had successful knee surgery Tuesday under the care of Dr. James Andrews in Alabama.


The surgery is being labeled a success because, according to reports, Andrews found nothing else wrong with Justice's knee and was not forced to perform microfracture surgery.

Microfracture surgery, as mentioned Monday, would have been career-threatening.

Instead, Justice is looking at just under a month of rehab time and should be back to full strength in short order with no ill effects on his 2011 season. The news also means the team can, and should, target much more pressing areas of need in April's draft.


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Winston Justice's disappointing game against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round of the 2010 playoffs could be his last game for quite some time, and possibly ever.

Justice is currently on his way to Alabama, where he will have knee surgery done by Dr. James Andrews. Andrews is regularly regarded as the very best at such procedures, but even his expertise and talents might not be able to save Justice's career.

The surgery scheduled is an arthroscopic procedure to clean up a bone chip in Justice's knee -- something the Eagles incorrectly diagnosed as a hyper-extended knee in the team's Week 13 34-24 win over the Houston Texans -- but could turn into something much more serious.

Dr. Andrews says he won't know until he is inside Justice's knee, but if the injury is severe enough Andrews could be forced into performing microfracture surgery -- something that has been known to severely diminish or even end NFL careers.


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In Adam Caplan's NFC East offseason breakdown, he makes an interesting statement regarding Philadelphia Eagles soon-to-be free agent strong safety Quintin Mikell:

"(Mikell is) one of the team's most respected leaders, but there's much less than a 50-50 chance he returns."

What exactly does "much less than a 50-50 chance" mean? That would probably imply Caplan gives Mikell's chances at returning in 2011 somewhere between a 25-30 percent chance.

I would love for him to expand on this little bombshell as I've been acting on the assumption that there was no way the Eagles allow Mikell to walk. He has been a rock in the middle of the defense for the past few seasons and has likely been the reason this defense wasn't historically bad through the air.

And I'm not the only one who thinks highly of Mikell. This is what ProFootballFocus.com's John Breitenbach had to say about Mikell:

"With Vick receiving the franchise tag, the Eagles will need to be in deep negotiation with SS Quintin Mikell.  He defines dependability. While he may be unlikely to come up with big plays, neither is he likely to make mistakes either. For a young defense, Mikell provides an invaluable veteran presence."


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According to Adam Caplan of FOXSports.com, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Ellis Hobbs will be forced to retire from the NFL after sustaining his second serious neck injury in as many years.

"(Hobbs) will retire because of his second serious neck injury in the past two seasons," Caplan wrote. "This one, a source said, will end his career because it’s higher up in his neck."

Hobbs sustained the injury while returning a kickoff against the New York Giants. A Giants player led with the crown of his helmet and hit Hobbs in the head at full speed. Unfortunately, due to the inconsistencies of the new player-safety rules, the Giants player was not flagged nor fined.

To me, that hit was more dangerous than anything Asante Samuel was fined for, and is much more easily avoidable.


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The Philadelphia Eagles announced this morning that they have signed veteran linebacker and ex-Cincinnati Bengal Rashad Jeanty to a one-year deal.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it was likely somewhere near the veteran minimum.

Some quick background stuff on Jeanty per the Eagles' official team release:

"The 27-year-old Jeanty played in 53 games (32 starts) as an outside linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2006-09, recording 215 tackles. In 2008, Jeanty posted a career-high 97 tackles as he started 15 regular season games and earned the team’s Ed Block Courage Award from his teammates.

Jeanty (6-2, 243) led the Bengals with 14 special teams tackles in 2009 but suffered a fractured fibula on the opening kickoff of an AFC Wild Card game vs. NY Jets. That injury forced him to miss the entire 2010 season as he rehabilitated.


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The deadline is fast approaching.

With the current NFL collective bargaining agreement set to expire on March 4, the league's owners and players have less than two weeks to come to a deal, or else find themselves in the midst of the first work stoppage their sport has seen in nearly 25 years.

If recent talks are any indication, things are not looking good.

This wasn't supposed to happen - at least not right now. Back in March 2006, the owners ratified the current collective barganing agreement by a 30-2 vote (the owners of the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals voted against it). By most accounts, the players received the better concessions in the deal, as the CBA granted them approximately 50% of all NFL revenues.

The agreement was originally set to expire in 2013, but the owners, who quickly became disenchanted with the deal, exercised their right in May of 2008 (with a 32-0 vote) to end the agreement two years early.

What would cause the owners to agree to terminate a deal that they had willingly signed a mere 26 months earlier? In a word: money.


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