Could Burgess be back in midnight green in 2010?


Many Eagles fans were upset when the Eagles allowed Derrick Burgess to walk after the 2004 season, but the Raiders threw money at him that the Eagles were not willing to match. The Raiders overpaid, as they usually do, but that doesn't mean the Eagles didn't think Burgess was a very good player.

So when his name came up in trade discussions last season, the Eagles got into the mix. However, they weren't willing to match the third and fifth-round picks that the New England Patriots gave up for Burgess.

But according to Howard Eskin, now that he's back on the market, the Eagles are expected to take a chance and pursue the 32-year old defensive end.

He would probably be willing to come back to Philadelphia on a modest contract and, while he has clearly taken a step back with his age, he would still be the best pass-rusher on the team, save Trent Cole, of course.

Burgess isn't going to have 16 sacks again like he did back in 2005 with the Raiders, but he's feared enough as a pass-rusher that if teams even take a little bit of heat off Cole to worry about Burgess, he's already done his job.

Reports have recently linked the Eagles to Vikings' defensive end Ray Edwards after their failed attempt at signing Julius Peppers and taking a slight interest in Aaron Kampman, but Burgess is a guy who actually makes sense. He will already know the defense, be familiar with some of the players, and come at a decent price.

The Eagles have shown an affinity for bringing back former players, so pursuing Burgess to fill an obvious need only makes sense.
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Is Edwards really an upgrade at left defensive end?


Bob Grotz of the Delaware County Times expects the Eagles to make a push for Minnesota Vikings' defensive end Ray Edwards, a restricted free agent with a first-round tender, but is Edwards really a guy the Eagles should be attempting to acquire?

He set a career mark for sacks this past season with 8.5, but that's while playing next to Jared Allen and the Williams Wall. The real attention put on Edwards has been because of his three-sack performance against the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional round of the 2009 playoffs.

While it was impressive, it's important that teams keep things in perspective. Playing on such a great line gives him a lot of opportunities for one-on-one matchups and he wasn't even able to hit double-digit sacks.

He's got great size (6'5, 270) and would benefit from having Trent Cole on the other side, but Edwards' lack of production in the regular season is cause for concern. To me, it says he either lacks the talent or the work ethic necessary to become a great player.

A guy like Edwards always takes me back to what Brian Dawkins once said about Clinton Hart; When a guy only shows flashes of talent, it just means he's not working hard enough.

It's a statement so simplistic and obvious in nature that it's genius. Showing flashes clearly means that the talent is there, but the player isn't putting in the time and effort it would take to bring everything together consistently.

That is Edwards in a nutshell, and I think it's going to cause a lot of teams to shy away from him. He's very good for what the Vikings have right now because he has shown that he can produce when called upon, but a lot of his success directly correlates to the presence of the three great players next to him.

And for those who think he would be better than what the Eagles already have in Juqua Parker, consider that Edwards had 8.5 sacks to Parker's eight. Is an extra half of a sack really worth a draft pick and about $4-6 million per season?
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Romo was abused all game long by the Vikings' defense.


Everyone knew how to stop the Dallas Cowboys, it was just a matter of finding a team who could execute the gameplan properly.

Putting pressure on Tony Romo is basically where that gameplan begins and ends, but thanks to a very good Cowboys' offensive line, that plan is easier said than done. However, for the teams that can accomplish it, it should mean a certain victory.

The Eagles were able to get a little bit of pressure on Romo in the Wild Card game after not even making him flinch in Week 17, but it wasn't enough. The Vikings, on the other hand, were able to get in Romo's face all day and force him to move around inside the pocket.

And "inside the pocket" is the most important part.

Allowing Romo to get outside of the pocket might be more dangerous than not getting any pressure on him. When he's outside of the pocket he's able to look down the field, usually with no one around him, and is also a threat to run. The threat to run then takes a half-step away from the secondary and can lead to a big play.

But the Vikings, with a huge day from Ray Edwards, were able to use their defensive ends to keep him in the pocket, then take advantage of his indecisiveness. The pass rush led to six team sacks, three by Edwards, an interception, and three Romo fumbles -- two of which were lost.

Three turnovers for Romo and six sacks crushed his confidence and had him running scared all game long, which in turn led to good field position and all the momentum for the Vikings. The Vikings offense took full advantage and abused a Cowboys defense with its back against the wall.

In other words, the Vikings did everything that I had hoped the Eagles would do, but inevitably fell short of those goals. The lack of starting-caliber talent at linebacker and the lack of a pass-rushing left defensive end were the downfalls of Birds, but is something that the Vikings clearly possess.

It would have been nice to abuse the 'Boys the way the Vikings did, but if it couldn't be our Eagles, I'm satisfied to see it was a former Eagle in Vikings' head coach Brad Childress. Childress and Andy Reid still speak quite often and keep in touch, so I'd bet that Reid asked Childress to lay it on the Cowboys.

Hence the fourth quarter touchdown pass by Brett Favre to run up the score.

Maybe I'm giving them the kiss of death, but I'm now officially supporting the Vikings to take it all the way and win one for the NFC. If you've been visiting the site for a little while you know that I'm a Favre supporter, so let's win one for the gipper, Minnesota.
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