Bleacher Report - Articles by Cody Swartz

Reviewing the Importance of Playoff Closers, Part Two

Cody Swartz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:17:29 -0400

A week ago, I wrote an article detailing the importance of an elite closer for a team looking to win the World Series.

This article, “Does a Team Really Need a Dominant Closer to Win the World Series?” reviewed the major league playoffs since the establishment of the wild-card format and compared the efficiency of the closer for the team that won the World Series to the team that lost the World Series.

My results were predictable, but nonetheless significant, as my data showed that closers for a team that captured the World Series championship saved 68 of a possible 72 games in postseason opportunities, a pretty nifty save rate of 94.4 percent.

Meanwhile, closers for teams that lost the World Series didn't fare so well, blowing more games in fewer chances, an overall save rate of 87 percent. My research concluded that for a team to win the World Series, it needs an elite closer.

After watching the 2009 Division Series matchups, I am only further reminded just how important the role of the closer is to a playoff team.

All four teams that lost their playoff series suffered a blown save from their closer. These closers – Joe Nathan of the Minnesota Twins, Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox, Huston Street of the Colorado Rockies, and Ryan Franklin of the St. Louis Cardinals – combined for an 0-4 record, four blown saves in five opportunities, and a horrific 10.13 ERA.

The only one of the bunch to earn a save was Street, who saved Game 2 against the Phillies, but he couldn't hold a two-run lead with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning of Game 4, a game that would have forced a decisive Game 5 for both teams.

Nathan and Papelbon are probably two of the top three closers in all of baseball (the other being Mariano Rivera), and both uncharacteristically coughed up a lead in a game their team couldn't afford to lose.

And Franklin put together a superb season, shocking the baseball world with a sub-2.00 ERA to go with his 38 saves for the NL Central champion Cardinals, but he blew his only save opportunity of the postseason.

Meanwhile, the four teams that won their postseason series all received flawless contributions from their closers—Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, Brian Fuentes of the L.A. Angels, Brad Lidge of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Jonathan Broxton of the L.A. Dodgers.

These four pitchers saved all six of their combined save opportunities, with Lidge and Fuentes each earning two saves apiece. Together, the four closers pitched 10.1 innings without allowing a run.

Rivera is probably the greatest closer of all-time, and his success was no surprise, but Lidge was a pleasant surprise for we Philadelphia fans who had grown accustomed to his painful blown saves this past season.

It's gotten a reputation as a position that is very overrated, but I think this year's playoffs thus far have shown just how important a closer is to a baseball team.

Closers for the winning teams: 0-0 record, 6-6 SV, 0.00 ERA in 10.1 IP

Closers for the losing teams: 0-4, 1-5 SV, 10.13 ERA in 8 IP

The League Championship Series puts the defending World Champion Phillies against the Dodgers, the N.L.'s best team in terms of wins this past year.

In the AL, the Yankees—the majors' only 100-win team—square off against the hot-hitting Angels in what should be a series to remember.

These four teams are very evenly matched and I could easily see both series going the distance.

And I can virtually guarantee one thing.

There series are too short and too competitive to afford a blown save. All four closers better be on the top of their game for their teams to advance.

Does a Team Really Need a Dominant Closer To Win the World Series?

Cody Swartz — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:13:58 -0400

Baseball playoffs are starting next week, so I figured I would take a break from Brett Favre for a little while to address a major concern for many Phillies fans like myself.

The closer position.

Last year we had the luxury of perfection.

This year, we haven't been so fortunate. With Brad Lidge sporting a 7.21 ERA and 11 blown saves, the closer job is between Ryan Madson, J.A. Happ, Pedro Martinez, Brett Myers, or possibly even old Jose Mesa himself out of retirement.

So I thought to myself: Do teams even need an effective closer to win a World Series?

I went back through the last 13 World Series—every one since the wild-card format was instituted in 1995—and checked the performances of each closer for the team that won the World Series.

I added up all their save opportunities in the wild card round, the league championship series, and the World Series, and then checked how many of those opportunities were converted.

I was surprised at what I saw.

Closers are good. Very good. Since 1995, closers of the World Series champion team have been given 72 save opportunities.

They have converted on 68 of them, a pretty impressive 94.4 percent save rate.

Two of the four blown saves were by one man in a span of 24 hours, as Arizona's Byung Hyun Kim gave up two-out, two-run home runs on back-to-back nights against the Yankees in Games Four and Five of the 2001 World Series.

Bobby Jenks blew one for the White Sox in the '05 World Series, and Robb Nen blew one for the Marlins in the '97 NLDS.

And that's it.

Other than that, these closers have been top notch for their teams.

The Phillies wouldn't have won the World Series without Brad Lidge, who was called upon seven times in last year's playoffs, and came through all seven times. Same with the Angels in 2002, who used Troy Percival seven times, and got seven saves.

It should be noted that the Angels also had Francisco Rodriguez in the year he emerged as the unhittable K-Rod, proving a great overall bullpen is even better than just a great closer.

Mariano Rivera was probably the single most valuable piece of that Yankees dynasty that won three straight titles, four out of five, and qualified for six World Series in eight seasons.

And before Rivera was John Wetteland, who saved four straight games to bring the Yankees back from a two games to none deficit in the World Series, while securing a World Championship.

Each of the last five World Series champions had their closer on the mound in a save situation in the clinching game, and it was fitting that these guys could throw the final pitch for the title.

Here is a complete breakdown below of each World Series champion closer's performance:

Year

Name

LDS

LCS

World Series

Total

2008 Phillies

Brad Lidge

2-2

3-3

2-2

7-7

2007 Red Sox

Jonathan Papelbon

---

1-1

2006 Cardinals

Adam Wainwright

1-1

3-3

1-1

5-5

2005 White Sox

Bobby Jenks

2-2

1-1

2-3

5-6

2004 Red Sox

Keith Foulke

1-1

3-3

2003 Marlins

Ugueth Urbina

1-1

2-2

4-4

2002 Angels

Troy Percival

2-2

3-3

7-7

2001 Diamondbacks

Byung-Hyun Kim

1-1

2-2

0-2

3-5

2000 Yankees

Mariano Rivera

3-3

1-1

2-2

6-6

1999 Yankees

Mariano Rivera

2-2

6-6

1998 Yankees

Mariano Rivera

2-2

1-1

3-3

6-6

1997 Marlins

Robb Nen

0-1

2-2

4-5

1996 Yankees

John Wetteland

2-2

1-1

4-4

7-7

1995 Braves

Mark Wohlers

2-2

---

2-2

4-4

Total

---

21-22

20-20

27-30

68-72

I wanted to check how much better the closers for the teams that won the World Series performed than the closers for the teams that lost the World Series.

Obviously, the teams that lost the World Series still had great closers—you don't make it that far without a great closer—but I wanted to see if there was a significant drop-off.

There was, to a certain extent.

Closers for the team that lost the World Series saved 54 of 62 opportunities, a save rate of 87.1 percent. That is still a great rate, a percentage any manager would take for his team, but it is seven percent less than the World Series champions.

And too often, those blown saves are the reason why the team lost the World Series.

Brad Lidge in 2005 blew a monstrous save in the League Championship Series against Albert Pujols, a pitch that set Lidge's career back three seasons. Lidge followed that up by giving up a walk-off home run to Scott Podsednik in Game Two of the World Series.

Though it wasn't technically credited as a blown save, because it was a tie game when Lidge entered the game, Podsednik's home run—the only one he hit during the entire 2005 regular and postseason combined—certainly helped the White Sox capture their World Championship.

Mariano Rivera in 2001 blew an opportunity in Game Seven of the World Series, giving up a rare ninth-inning single to Luis Gonzalez, ending the Yankees' bid for four straight titles.

And Jose Mesa in 1997 made a living blowing saves for the Indians, blowing three of his seven chances that postseason, including a 2-1 lead in Game Seven of the World Series that would have won it all for Cleveland.

See the accompanying chart for a complete breakdown of the closers of the losing team in the World Series:

Year

Name

LDS

LCS

World Series

Total

2008 Rays

Dan Wheeler

1-1

---

1-1

2007 Rockies

Manny Corpas

3-3

2-3

---

5-6

2006 Tigers

Todd Jones

1-1

2-2

1-1

4-4

2005 Astros

Brad Lidge

---

2-3

---

2-3

2004 Cardinals

Jason Isringhausen

---

3-3

---

3-3

2003 Yankees

Mariano Rivera

2-2

1-1

2-2

5-5

2002 Giants

Robb Nen

2-2

3-3

7-7

2001 Yankees

Mariano Rivera

2-2

1-2

5-6

2000 Mets

Armando Benitez

1-1

1-2

3-4

1999 Braves

John Rocker

1-1

2-2

---

3-3

1998 Padres

Trevor Hoffman

2-2

1-2

3-3

6-7

1997 Indians

Jose Mesa

1-1

2-4

1-2

4-7

1996 Braves

Mark Wohlers

3-3

1-1

---

4-4

1995 Indians

Jose Mesa

---

1-1

2-2

Total

---

19-19

22-27

13-16

54-62

Simply put, if a team wants to win a World Series, it is going to need a top-notch performance from its closer. Not good. Not great.

Elite.

Brad Lidge did it last year. For the Phillies to repeat, Lidge will need to repeat.

Phillies Near Playoffs: Who Will Close Games for the NL East Champs?

Cody Swartz — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:35:28 -0400

As the 2009 regular season comes to a close, the Phillies have secured their third consecutive NL East title. Coupled with a devastating lineup that features four 30-home run men and a pitching staff loaded with the game's top southpaws, the Phillies appear to be in prime position to contend for a second straight World Series Championship.

Right?

Possibly. It all depends on the closer.

Last season, the Phillies were able to win their division and advance through the playoffs with relative ease due in large part to Brad Lidge's historic perfect season.

This season?

Not so much.

Lidge's 11 blown saves leaves him three short of the single-season major league record.

His 7.34 ERA ranks dead last among all closing pitchers in the major leagues.

In fact, in the history of baseball, only four pitchers have pitched in as many games as Brad Lidge (63) and posted an ERA higher.

Those three pitchers would be Jesse Orosco (7.75 ERA in 2003 for two teams), Alan Embree (7.62 in 2005 for two teams), Javier Lopez (7.52 for the 2004 Colorado Rockies), and Mike Munoz (7.42 for the 1995 Colorado Rockies).

The difference between those four pitchers and Lidge?

Orosco, Embree, Lopez, and Munoz were situational lefties. Lidge is a closer. The Phillies rely on Lidge when it counts the most. He's not a guy who comes in to face a power-hitting lefty with two on and two outs in the seventh inning.

The first three finished a combined 57 games all season. Lidge has finished 54. That means Lidge is being put out there with the game on the line, and he has failed over and over again.

Lidge has frustrated an entire fan base who handed him the key to the city after his amazing performance last season.

In 2008, his first season with the Phillies after an up-and-down roller coaster ride with the Houston Astros, Lidge converted all 41 of his save attempts in the regular season. He was then seven-for-seven in the postseason, while leading the Phillies to the team's first World Championship in 28 seasons.

The image of a triumphant Brad Lidge kneeling on the ground – arms raised in the air – following his winning strike is one that will live in Philadelphia lore forever and ever.

That makes Lidge's 2009 struggles all the more painful.

We as fans know he is better than this. Heading into this year, we didn't expect a repeat of his 1.95 ERA from last year. I envisioned Lidge posting an ERA in the mid-threes while converting close to 90 percent of his saves.

An ERA nearly four times last year and a save percentage (73.8) that ranks dead last among all regular closers is absurd.

Lidge has struggled with his pitch location, his control, that once-devastating slider, and his head. Lidge is a mental pitcher—as are most closers—but this season has really gotten to him.

Last year, I loved watching Brad Lidge pitch. Those slim one-run ninth inning leads were where Lidge established his dominance. Sure, he might get into a little bit of trouble, but he always escaped unharmed.

In the division-clinching game, Lidge loaded the bases with one out but escaped the jam with a miraculous game-ending double play, keeping his perfect season intact.

This year?

Lidge just hasn't had it.

I remember my reaction after Lidge blew his first save, back in mid-April. It was almost relief. I knew Lidge wasn't going to be perfect again, and it was shocking to see our World Series hero fail (especially in the way that he did, yielding four runs on two hits and two walks in just two-thirds of an inning).

However, I figured Lidge would settle down and regain his form that made him one of baseball's most dominant pitchers last season.

Nope.

His second blown save didn't come for nearly a month after the first, but when he blew back-to-back saves once in late May and again in early June, Phillies fans like myself began to feel resentment to Lidge.

Lidge plodded along, racking up the blown saves while we campaigned for his closer role to be revoked.

Along the way, Ryan Madson—perhaps the most underrated setup man in baseball over the past several seasons—had his opportunity to close games, but Madson couldn't get it done, converting just eight of 14 opportunities.

As we head toward the playoffs, the role of closer becomes all the more a pressing issue for a Phillies team that—barring a historic collapse—is destined for its third straight National League East division title.

Who should close games in the postseason for this club? Lidge? Madson? Someone else?

Teams do not win in the playoffs without a reliable closer. Look at the Yankees when they were winning three straight titles and four out of five.

Mariano Rivera was arguably the greatest pitcher alive during that run. He was untouchable in the playoffs, and the Yankees absolutely would not have won those titles without him.

Same with Lidge last season. I highly doubt the Phillies would be reigning World Champions had Lidge not enjoyed a season for the ages.

He isn't getting it done though, so who should close? Let's break down the bullpen:

Ryan Madson: He seems like he would be the best option. He can throw the heat (97 miles per hour), which coupled with a devastating changeup, makes Madson a top-notch relief pitcher. There are few setup men in baseball better than Madson (26 holds, 3.18 ERA)

But he has proven he can't close games either. In his brief stints as a closer, Madson has failed 38 percent of the time—actually a significantly higher percentage than Lidge.

Madson as a closer: 7.91 ERA

Madson as a setup: 2.26 ERA

Madson in 2009: 3.18 ERA

Madson is one of the more valuable setup men in the game, as evidenced by his 2.26 ERA in non-save situations. Just don't count on him to get the final three outs.

Brett Myers: Brett Myers has experience as a closer. He served as our primary closer in 2007, converting 21 of 24 attempts (88 percent), including the final strike to win the NL East title. He has the stuff to make it happen for the Phillies, and I think he is our best option.

If he can get healthy.

Myers has been injured for the majority of the season. He has returned briefly but as of now is unable to pitch. He would be the ideal option for this team but it depends on his health.

J.C. Romero: Romero is one of the best left-handed relief pitchers in all of the major leagues. He was vital down the stretch for the Phillies in their NL East championship in 2007 and the winning pitcher in Game Five of the World Series last season before he missed most of this season due to a suspension and subsequent injuries.

That being said, even if he were healthy, I wouldn't want Romero to close out ballgames for the Phillies. He is a great left-handed specialist but I don't think he has the mentality or the stuff to close out ball games.

Scott Eyre: Another left-handed specialist in the Phillies' bullpen. Eyre is one of the most underrated pitchers in all of baseball. Since the start of May, Eyre has pitched in 25.2 innings for the Phillies and yielded just one run – an ERA of 0.35!

Again with Eyre, he is much more valuable as a left-handed specialist, and Eyre's current injuries will prevent him from pitching for a little anyway.

Chan Ho Park: I never would have thought I would consider him—especially after he couldn't even hold onto the No. 5 starting spot early in the season—but Park has settled down and really become a dependable relief pitcher for the Phillies.

Park has a 4.43 ERA for the season. As a relief pitcher, his ERA is 2.57 and he has registered 13 holds. Park strikes out a high percentage of hitters, doesn't walk too many, and hasn't given up a home run yet since his move to the bullpen.

Definitely a candidate.

Tyler Walker: A very very plausible option. Walker is a veteran relief pitcher with closing experience. He saved 23 of 28 opportunities for the Giants in 2005, filling in for injured closer Armando Benitez.

This season, Walker has posted a 3.24 ERA for the Phillies in 33.1 innings pitched. He strikes out a high ratio of batters (7.0 per nine innings) and has a near-3:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Walker is also the only pitcher in major league history to enter the ninth inning with the bases loaded and no one out, strike out all three batters, and not allow a run.

Clay Condrey: Condrey is a very dependable relief pitcher, serving as one of the Phillies' primary middle relievers. He has posted a 3.02 ERA in 44 games this season.

Condrey has never been used in save situations, and I don't think he is the solution. He is a solid reliever but I wouldn't want to pitch him with the game on the line.

Chad Durbin: Durbin is a solid middle relief pitcher, like Condrey, but he just hasn't been as effective in 2009 as he was in 2008.

Durbin 2008: 5-4, 2.87 ERA, 1.80 K:BB, 1.323 WHIP

Durbin 2009: 1-2, 4.46 ERA, 1.32 K:BB, 1.485 WHIP

Durbin just hasn't been the reliable pitcher in 2009 that he was in 2008, and I wouldn't put him in save situations.

Jack Taschner: Just a left-handed specialist. Taschner has a 5.08 ERA for the season. He allows nearly two baserunners per inning and he has no experience as a closer. I'll pass...

Sergio Escalona: A rookie with a 5.25 ERA and just a dozen career innings pitched. Not who I want to see facing Albert Pujols with the game on the line in the NLDS.

Pedro Martinez: Now onto the starters. Pedro was signed by the team after the All-Star break and has filled in admirably as a low-risk signing. Martinez's ERA in nine starts is 3.63 and he has posted a 5-1 record for the defending World Champions.

Moving him to the bullpen wouldn't be too bad of a move. Martinez is an 18-year veteran who knows what it takes to win. He's turned into a smart finesse pitcher who gets hitters out with his mind.

The only problem is his age and durability. I can't envision Martinez being able to warm up too quickly and pitch every day. He is a starter, even at this point in his career, and moving him to the bullpen would not be the best option.

J.A. Happ: Happ is just a rookie, but it's difficult for me to believe that. He has handled everything thrown at him this season with class and a whole lot of poise.

This season alone, Happ lost his fifth starter spot, moved to the bullpen, moved back to the rotation and became arguably the team's most reliable starting pitcher, dealt with trade rumors all of July, overcame an injury, and now is being rumored to move to the bullpen to be the team's closer in the postseason.

Happ is one of the top lefties in the game, as evidenced by his 12-4 record, 2.85 ERA, and league-leading two shutouts.

Cole Hamels/Cliff Lee/Joe Blanton: Our No. 1, 2, and 3 starters in the playoffs. No way any of them moves to the bullpen.

My Verdict: It's not an easy decision.

I don't think Madson is ideal to close out games. I like him way too much as a setup man. Park just isn't quite good enough. Walker might have been a solid pick, but he gave up a two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning of a tie game last week, and now I have my doubts about him.

That leaves Myers or Happ.

Too very possible options.

Myers is probably my initial choice, but his injuries have prevented him from pitching consistently for a little white. He has experience and he has proven he can handle the job. It's tough to argue with that.

If he can stay healthy.

If not, I say go with Happ. Happ might be a rookie by MLB's standards, but he sure has played up to his potential this season. With a rotation that is most likely to feature Hamels, Lee, Blanton, and Martinez, Happ might be the odd man out.

Putting Happ in the rotation would be an overkill of lefties and I don't see Martinez as much use in the bullpen. I think leaving Martinez as our No. 4 starter in the playoffs and converting Happ to closer might be the wisest choice.

That is, unless Charlie Manuel decides to stick with Brad Lidge.

We'll find out in less than a week...

A Writer's Reflection: The 2009 NFC East Preview

Cody Swartz — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:11:35 -0400

Football season is just a day away, and I can't put into words how excited I am.

I met with Robert Allred of the Cowboys, John Fennelly of the Giants, and Jack Anderson of the Redskins – three of my favorite writers on Bleacher Report – to put together an NFC East preview for this season.

Along with myself for the Eagles, we have all four teams represented to voice our opinions on what should be yet another competitive NFC East race.

Here are the questions below, along with answers from myself, John, Jack, and Robert.

1. Rank the four NFC East quarterbacks in order.

Cody (Eagles): McNabb, Romo, Manning, Cambell. All are above average...

Robert (Cowboys): Donovan McNabb has been the best quarterback in the NFC over the past decade, so until he starts to show a decline, he still has to be number one in the Beast. Romo would be my second, followed by Eli and then Jason Campbell.

John (Giants): Eli Manning - Giants, Donovan McNabb - Eagles, Tony Romo - Cowboys, Jason Campbell – Redskins

Jack (Redskins): McNabb, Romo, Manning, Campbell

2. Predict the wins of each NFC East team this season.

Cody (Eagles): Wow. That's tough. I had said the Eagles are winning the Super Bowl several months ago, but a lot has happened since then. Most of it bad. As of now, I have to go Giants 12, Eagles 11, Cowboys 9, and Redskins 9. And I have the Eagles as the wild card with the Cowboys and Redskins just missing out.

Robert (Cowboys): I really have no idea. Speaking of my team, the Cowboys, I have been going back and forth all season. I think that they could be a very special team and win 12-13 games, or I think they could turn in another 9-7 kind of season. If you twisted my arm, however, I would peg the Eagles and Giants both at 11-5, the Cowboys at 10-6, and the Redskins at 8-8. I think we will see three teams from the East back in the playoffs this year.

John (Giants): Giants 12, Eagles 10, Cowboys 10, Redskins 8

Jack (Redskins): Giants: 11, Eagles: 9, Redskins: 9, Cowboys: 8

3. Which one player from another NFC East team would you most like for your own?

Cody (Eagles): DeMarcus Ware. We absolutely need a linebacker and Ware is probably the best in the game. He might be the single best defensive player in the game.

Robert (Cowboys): It would have to be Osi Umenyiora. While I think that Anthony Spencer will fill in nicely for Greg Ellis, I would love to have Osi and DeMarcus Ware play opposite each other. You can never have enough great pass rushers, and with Ware, Umenyiora, and Spencer, opposing offensive coordinators would not be able to sleep the nights before games against the Cowboys.

John (Giants): Jason Witten

Jack (Redskins): DeMarcus Ware

4. Which one player from another NFC East team do you respect the most?

Cody (Eagles): Jason Witten. He is probably the best tight end in the game.

Robert (Cowboys): For some reason, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Donovan McNabb, despite the colors he wears. He has put up with a lot of crap since coming into the league, including a lot of abuse from his own fans, but has kept his cool, stayed classy, and has continued to prove that he is the best NFC quarterback of the 2000s.

John (Giants): Donovan McNabb

Jack (Redskins): Donovan McNabb: He takes so much heat in Philly and still defies the critics.

5. Which is the most intense rivalry among the NFC East teams?

Cody (Eagles): How do you pick just one? That whole division is a rivalry. But I have to go Eagles vs. Giants over Eagles vs. Cowboys or Cowboys vs. Redskins, largely because the Eagles and Giants have met in the playoffs in two of the past three seasons, and these two teams are the two favorites to win the division this year.

Robert (Cowboys): The Cowboys and (fill in the blank). In recent years, the Cowboys fans typically have reserved the majority of their hate for whichever of the three other teams is the better one at the moment. Right now that would be the Eagles or the Giants, as they have both ended one of our past two seasons. The other three teams all hate the Cowboys more than any other.

John (Giants): This ebbs and flows. Traditionally, it was Dallas-Washington and NY-Philadelphia, which makes sense again these days because of the talent.

Jack (Redskins): Redskins-Cowboys (Yes I'm biased)

6. Who will play in this season's conference championship games and the Super Bowl? Which team will emerge as a Super Bowl champion and who will take home the Super Bowl MVP?

Cody (Eagles): In the NFC, it will be Eagles over Giants. In the AFC, it will be Chargers over Patriots. As of now, I see the Chargers winning Super Bowl XLIV, and Philip Rivers taking home the MVP award.

Robert (Cowboys): The NFC is wide open. I really believe that any of these teams CAN make the Super Bowl, and I can also see a situation play out where NONE of them do.

However, if I am going to assume that someone from the East will represent the NFC in the big game, I am going to go with Dallas—simply because I see Dallas, New York, and Philly as tossups, and the idea of Dallas being the one to go makes me happier. If (when?) they make it to the dance, and if (when?) they win it, then DeMarcus Ware will have a beast of a game, wreaking havoc on Ben Roethlisberger (Or whomever) for 60 minutes and winning the Super Bowl MVP while solidifying himself as the best defensive player in football today.

That felt really great to put on paper, but that’s just a pipe dream right now. Let’s play the regular season first!

John (Giants): The Giants will beat Chicago for the NFC title. New England will top San Diego. New England will win the SB and Tom Brady will be the MVP.

Jack (Redskins): Conference Champs: Patriots and Giants, Super Bowl Champs: Patriots, Super Bowl MVP: Tom Brady

7. How will Eli Manning – the highest-paid quarterback in the game – perform this season without Plaxico Burress? Will he be the cool and confident Eli who guided the Giants to a fourth-quarter comeback in Super Bowl XLII or the one who played like a rookie in last year's playoff loss to the Eagles?

Cody (Eagles): Well, first of all, I don't think Eli Manning was worth that contract. I think Eli Manning has a better group of wide receivers than most people realize, and I see him putting up his usual stats – a passer rating around 85.0 with 20-22 touchdowns and about 12 interceptions. And I see him putting up another poor performance against Philly in the playoffs.

Robert (Cowboys): Somewhere in the middle, I think. Anyone that knows me can testify to the fact that I cannot stand Eli Manning. I don’t know if it’s because of the dumb face he makes when he yells “dang” after every single play that goes wrong, his prima donna move leading up to the 2004 Draft, or the jersey he wears, but I do not like the guy.

That being said, he has vastly improved as a quarterback. I would go so far as to say he is a pretty darn good quarterback. Is he worth the contract he signed? No, but I can hardly fault him for signing the dotted line when New York was foolish enough to make him such a huge offer.

He is probably a top 10 quarterback in the league— or at the very least just outside that group— and I think he will (unfortunately) continue to improve. I do not expect him to put up great numbers, because he has never been a numbers guy, but I do think that he will play efficiently and help his team win.

John (Giants): Manning will have a Pro Bowl season. His new receiving coprs will prove to be much better than the old one.

Jack (Redskins): Manning has matured as a QB, but the lack of a true number one WR will definitely cause problems for him. If he can continue to sharpen his game and spread the ball around to his many receivers, things should be a step up from last year, but don't expect Peyton-like numbers from little bro, Eli.

8. The Giants captured the NFC East crown last season largely because of their style of smash mouth football with Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw, who combined for close to 2,500 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. This past offseason, Ward departed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will Jacobs and Bradshaw see a decline in their play or will the Giants remain one of the elite rushing teams in the league?

Cody (Eagles): The Giants will remain an elite rushing team. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are a dynamic duo. This team plays tough smash mouth football, and they will be tough to beat when December rolls around.

Robert (Cowboys): I think they will still have to run the ball quite a bit because they have lost a serious receiving threat in Plaxico Burress. However, I do not see Jacobs and Bradshaw alone combining for the kind of yardage that the three of them combined for last year. They are going to have to either find someone to step in to Ward’s role, or they will need to find more success through the air without Plax.

Will the Giants still be one of the elite rushing teams in the league? They might be, but probably not. That being said, Jacobs and Bradshaw are definitely still talents that defenses will have to account for, and I see them both having another productive season.

John (Giants): The Giants, barring injuries, will have a monster running attack this season.

Jack (Redskins): The Giants offensive line is one of the better run blocking units in the NFL so there won't be much of a drop off. Ward had the best vision of the three and it's not certain if Jacobs can carry a full load with his upright running style, but Bradshaw is the perfect change of pace back. Despite the loss of Ward, the Giants will again be a top rushing team.

9. The Eagles just recently added Michael Vick to their roster in a highly-publicized move. Will Vick help the offense or is he overhyped? Where will he play on the field? Predict how many total touchdowns (passing, rushing, receiving) Vick accounts for this season.

Cody (Eagles): I hate to say it, but I am not a huge Vick fan. At all. I think he is vastly overrated as a quarterback. I think he will be used mostly in wildcat-type formations, but I don't think he will account for more than two or three touchdowns this season.

Robert (Cowboys): I don’t see Vick having a huge impact this season. I think that we will see him on the field a couple of times a game, and I think that he will make a couple of plays, but I also don’t see this move as something that puts the Eagles over the top.

I think that Vick will be most effective when both he and Donovan McNabb are on the field, whether it’s in the Wildcat or if he lines up as a receiver and is a potential wide receiver passing threat. I have no idea what Vick’s numbers for the season will be, although I would venture to guess that he puts up 400-500 yards and three or four touchdowns.

John (Giants): His presence will do as much damage as it will good.

Jack (Redskins): don't see the Eagles as good fit for Vick. They already have a ton of speed and there isn't much room for him. McNabb still has a year or two left (and is light years better) so to me Vick is just an insurance policy in case McNabb gets injured.

I can't imagine more than two or three TDs this year for Vick.

10. The Eagles' defense has suffered a blow this past offseason, to say the least. Future Hall of Fame safety and team leader Brian Dawkins departed for the Denver Broncos via free agency. Longtime defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, arguably the top assistant in the game, passed away from a bout with cancer. And star middle linebacker Stewart Bradley tore his ACL and will miss the season. How much does this hurt the Eagles' defense? Will this team still feature one of the game's top defenses?

Cody (Eagles): It will hurt. I can't deny that. The defense is still one of the best in the game, bordering on elite, but you cannot replace a legend like Jim Johnson, a team leader like Brian Dawkins, and arguably the best defensive player in Stewart Bradley. With that in mind, I still think the Eagles will finish eighth or higher in total defense, but I don't see us winning the division any longer.

Robert (Cowboys): I still think that the Eagles have a top 10 defense. Sean McDermott has been with the team since before Jim Johnson, and has been fortunate to spend the majority of his career learning from one of the best of the best. I do not see Jim Johnson’s defensive ideals disappearing simply because a new coach is stepping in.

Instead, I expect to see the same blitz happy defense that has terrorized offenses for years, except with perhaps a tad less talent.

John (Giants): They are in big trouble. There is too much to overcome there.

Jack (Redskins): After a big offseason, the Eagles have been sent reeling with the losses of Johnson and Bradley. The defense will still employ the aggressive scheme that has made them so successful, but the absence of those three guys will prove costly.

The defense will be tough once again, but it won't be able to replicate the defense of years past. They will rank somewhere in the top 15.

11. Tony Romo will be entering his first season without Terrell Owens as his No. 1 receiver. How will this affect his play this year? Will Romo be able to find a No. 1 target in Roy Williams, who caught just 19 passes in nine games with the team in '08? And is there any truth to the rumors that Romo could be gone after the season if he doesn't win a playoff game?

Cody (Eagles): The Cowboys would be just flat out stupid to get rid of Tony Romo. I am not a Romo fan – at all – but he is a talented quarterback who is one of the ten best in the league. I think he will be fine without T.O. this season, a player who is on the decline faster than people realize. I don't think Romo will win a playoff game this season, but it's a team game. Quarterbacks don't lose playoff games. Teams do.

Robert (Cowboys): Romo is going to be a Cowboy in 2010, regardless of whether he wins a playoff game this year or not. The Cowboys have invested too much in him, and if they were to try and trade him, they would not be able to get fair market value for him. Just look at the Jay Cutler for Kyle Orton trade for proof on that.

Williams can be a perfectly good No. 1 option for the Cowboys, so long as the Cowboys commit to running the ball and involving their tight ends more in their offense. The Cowboys receiving corps is not necessarily bad, but it is very thin. If Williams, Crayton, Hurd or Austin go down to injury, then things can get very dicey.

However, they do have the best tight end duo in the league and arguably a top running back trio. If the Cowboys can move from pass happy to more of a control offense, then Williams might turn out to be the perfect man for the job. Not only that, but Romo’s job becomes much easier too.

John (Giants): Romo will have an average year. The Cowboys will run more than they pass.

Jack (Redskins): Romo will struggle mightily without TO. Williams is a good receiver, but he's not TO. After Williams comes a load of receivers with potential. Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton lead the group. Those aren't guys that Romo will be able to consistently depend on.

However, Romo is a playmaker and those are hard to come by. Should he fail to get the Cowboys that elusive postseason victory, the heat will be on, but Jerry Jones will give him another year to prove himself. Romo has only started for two and a half seasons and it would be a mistake to pull the plug on a QB with such potential as Romo's.

12. Last season for the Cowboys was marked by controversies surrounding many of the players – Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones, and Tank Johnson, to name a few. Owner Jerry Jones ridded his locker room of those three distractions and reportedly is focusing much more on team morale than ever before. Will this be a distraction in Dallas in 2009 or will the team be able to simply focus on football?

Cody (Eagles): I don't think the Cowboys will have the distractions they had last season, but I just don't know if they are quite as good as they think. I would not be surprised to see this team miss the playoffs. Then again, I could see them taking the division. As of now, I have them at third place in the NFC East with nine wins.

Robert (Cowboys): Dallas is under a microscope in the sports media world, so I won’t go so far as to say that there will not be a single distraction this season. However, it has been an awfully quiet training camp and preseason, and that has been quite nice.

With TO, Pacman, and to a lesser extent Tank gone, there is definitely less to talk about in Dallas. However, that doesn’t mean that the media will not want to discuss Dallas at all next season. Love them or hate them, Dallas has a huge following and they garner a lot of media attention. If they are winning next year, then that is all you will hear about. However, if they are losing next season, then that too is all you will hear about.

Should Wade Phillips be fired? Is Tony Romo a bum? Was the new stadium a bad idea? These are all distractions that very well could rear their ugly head should things not go the Cowboys’ way.

John (Giants): They will focus on football but they are not the team they were in 2007, that is for sure.

Jack (Redskins): The team will focus on football, but the roster doesn't have the talent offensively it did a year ago. They will have to adapt to a run-first style considering they have three great backs in Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. The run game will be a the key as the passing game is lacking a standout receiver.

Overall, it appears the Cowboys will take this year much more seriously, but if they don't change their pass-happy style, focus won't matter much.

13. The Redskins spent $100 million on Albert Haynesworth this past offseason. Will the move pay off for the team that finished in last place in the NFC East in '08? How will Haynesworth fit in the Redskins' defense?

Cody (Eagles): Albert Haynesworth is not worth the contract he signed, simply because few players other than Lawrence Taylor are worth that much money. Haynesworth will have a great season and probably make the Pro Bowl, but I don't think he will be enough to push the 'Skins over the edge. And I don't think he is the best defensive player in the NFL, as Sporting News rated him in their Top 100 NFL Players.

Robert (Cowboys): Albert Haynesworth is a thug, and I sincerely hope that Andre Gurode stomps on his face not once, but twice this year. But he is a great player, and he will be a help to a Redskins defense that really didn’t need that much help.

I do not think this move is as much about whether or not Haynesworth will come in and play to the level of his contract. Instead, I think the foolishness of this move stems from the fact that it was unnecessary. The money they used to bring him in would have been much better served to bring in someone to help their ailing offense.

Still, Haynesworth is a big body in the middle, and he is one mean dude. The Redskins defense has gotten tougher, no doubt.

John (Giants): Their line will be better, but they need more than Albert Haynesworth to compete in the NFC East.

Jack (Redskins): The Redskins have long been unable to pressure opposing QBs. Haynesworth gives them pressure up the middle, keeping the QB from stepping up in the pocket. That means more sacks for Andre Carter and other speed rushers.

Haynesworth also commands double teams, which will free up London Fletcher to be an even better run stuffer at MLB. Haynesworth's presence gives the 'Skins an opportunity to play aggressively with an already good defense.

14. The Redskins enter the season as odds-on favorites to again finish last in the division. What is the key for this team to stay competitive in a division that could easily boast three of the NFC's six playoff teams?

Cody (Eagles): Pray. The Redskins are overmatched against the three other teams in their division. To be competitive, the Redskins will need to excel in division play and hope the Giants, Cowboys, and Eagles suffer some key injuries to star players.

Robert (Cowboys): I think it all comes down to quarterback play. I don’t think that Jason Campbell needs to set the world on fire with his play, but he does need to be a consistently efficient quarterback if the Skins hope to do something special this season. Campbell has shown flashes of brilliance since he has taken over the quarterback duties, but he has yet to put it all together.

In a weaker division, this team is probably good enough to squeak its way into the playoffs, but in the East it is not going to work until their quarterback play improves.

John (Giants): They need for Campbell to get better, a lot better. Plus they need to stay injury-free and hope the other teams do not…

Jack (Redskins): The offense must rise to the challenge. With the defense projecting to be in the top five again, the offense needs to carry it's weight. The offense has to sustain drives, maintain field position and post 20+ points a game. If the 'Skins can score three times a game, that could be enough for this defense.

It all comes down to the trenches. The Redskins offense can get into a rhythm if the guys up front can hold their blocks. That's a big "if," but if the Redskins find their groove, it would go a long way to keeping opposing defenses honest.

A Fan's Take on the Sporting News' Top 100 Players

Cody Swartz — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:34:23 -0400

I have subscribed to Sporting News and Sports Illustrated for as long as I remember, and I eagerly await the new issues of these magazines for me to read cover to cover and then pass to my friends.

The recent issue of Sporting News published a list of the top 100 players in the NFL—an annual list that makes me just more in the mood for football season.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2009-09-09/sporting-news-nfl-top-100-peyton-manning-no-1-on-our-experts-list

With this issue, came the usual guys at the top of the list.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady ranked No. 1 and 2, just as I would have placed them, followed by Adrian Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald, and LaDainian Tomlinson.

No surprises and no real controversy there, but the rest of the list came as quite a shock to me.

Ben Roethlisberger at No. 12?! And Drew Brees, six spots LOWER at No. 18?

How could the experts have felt Brett Favre was worthy to be in the top 100—No. 51, no less—but Aaron Rodgers was not?

No DeAngelo Williams, no Tony Romo, and no Maurice Jones-Drew. No Frank Gore, no Chad Pennington, and no Hines Ward? No Rashean Mathis?

No Brandon Jacobs?! That guy is one of the top five or six running backs in the NFL. There are few players I hate facing more than Jacobs.

Come on, Sporting News.

And Michael Vick at No. 88.

No typo.

I don't even know what to think of that. I am an Eagles fan, and I have a problem with that. Michael Vick has not played an NFL down in two seasons, and he is ranked higher than Aaron Rodgers?!

Vick is a backup. His abilities as a quarterback are very limited. I think most people would agree that when he was in the NFL, he was very overrated as a quarterback.

He has not played a snap yet since he became infamous across the nation, and he is ranked higher than a quarterback who did a much better job of replacing a legend than everyone realizes.

You're better than that, Sporting News.

I'm not saying Vick won't be good this season. Maybe he will. Maybe McNabb will go down with an injury, Vick will step in to start, and he'll put together a Pro Bowl season and lead us to the Super Bowl.

But let's wait until he does something on the field before we crown him.

DeAngelo Williams was arguably the best running back not named Adrian Peterson in the NFL last season, and he didn't make the list.

I can't stand Tony Romo. I hate the Dallas Cowboys with a passion, but Romo deserves to be in the top 100. How do you ignore a guy who passed for close to 3,500 yards and 26 touchdowns last year despite missing three games due to injury?

Hines Ward is the textbook example for how to play wide receiver like it is meant to be played—playing aggressive on every play, blocking, and doing whatever it takes to win the game. Chad Pennington almost won the MVP award last season, and Frank Gore rushed for over 1,000 yards without a solid quarterback or offensive line.

And there are those players on the list who are ranked way too high or way too low.

It pains me to say this, because he is my idol, an icon in Philadelphia, a future Hall of Famer, and a seven-time Pro Bowler, but Brian Dawkins does not belong at No. 39 on this list. Not anymore.

I won't argue if you put him in the top 100, but all biases aside, B-Dawk isn't quite as good as his No. 39 ranking indicates.

Calvin Johnson at No. 82 is a joke. That guy is one of the most athletic men to ever play his position and he put up amazing numbers last season, with a quarterback committee that would make any wide receiver cringe.

I think Johnson deserves a spot in the top 20. I wouldn't argue if you put him in the top 10. I wouldn't argue if you put Johnson higher than Fitzgerald. No, Johnson didn't dominate the postseason...but he didn't get the chance.

Phillip Rivers at No. 54 is about 30 spots too low. Patrick Willis at No. 35 could be ranked in the top 10 overall. He is my pick for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Ryan Clady is No. 92. He is arguably the best offensive lineman in the NFL and allowed exactly half a sack in 620 pass attempts last season. Why is he so low?

Maybe because no one really knows him, and people would rather see names like Vick or Favre.

Steven Jackson at No. 96 is ridiculously low. This is a guy who I believe—if helped by even a solid quarterback and offensive line—could accumulate 2,000 total yards in a season.

There are few players in the league with his combination of size and speed, and the fact that he was able to rush for over 1,000 yards last season with eight total touchdowns, despite missing time to injury, is a testament to his greatness.

Roethlisberger, as I mentioned earlier, is not the third-best quarterback in football, and I feel you could make a case for Brees as one of the top eight or 10 players in the NFL. Other than Brady and Manning, Brees is the best player at the NFL's most important position.

For a magazine I respect so much, I feel Sporting News looks way too much at name and not enough at talent. The writers tend to overrate offensive talent, but underrate defensive talent, as none of the top five players in the league play on the defensive side of the ball.

Games are won and lost in the trenches, but you don't see a lineman until Albert Haynesworth at No. 6 overall and not an offensive lineman until Steve Hutchinson at No. 14.

Again, there are some good solid picks on this list.

But then there are those picks that make me wince out loud—and wonder what makes these experts “experts.”

Phillies' J.A. Happ Making Strong Case for N.L. Rookie of the Year Award

Cody Swartz — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:11:49 -0400

There remains just over a month to play in the 2009 baseball season, and it is time to start looking at the potential candidates for major league baseball's most prized individual awards.

Albert Pujols seems to be a lock for the MVP award and the Cy Young award will most likely come down to a battle of Giants (Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain) or Cardinals (Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright).

The Phillies' own J.A. Happ seems to have the edge on the rest of the National League for the Rookie of the Year award.

Happ currently leads all rookies with 10 wins and his 2.59 ERA is fifth best among all major-league starters, first among rookies by close to half of a run. His .833 winning percentage and two shutouts are tops among all NL pitchers.

And this is a man who wasn't even supposed to be a starter when this season began.

For the Phillies during their World Championship season of '08, Happ hurled 31.2 innings as a relief pitcher and occasional spot starter. He posted a solid 3.69 ERA with an adjusted ERA of 117.

There were rumors that Happ would be given a chance to start in '09, and he was given every shot to win the job.

Happ lost a well-publicized battle at the beginning of the season for the Phillies' fifth starting spot. The competition seemed to be among Happ, Chan Ho Park, Carlos Carrasco, and Kyle Kendrick.

Kendrick appeared to be the favorite, with 24 big-league wins under his belt, including a key role in the Phillies' 2007 NL East division championship, but he never got it together like the club wanted. Kendrick struggled to pitch consistently in spring training, which led to his demotion to Triple-A.

Same with Carrasco.

A once promising prospect with a strong future ahead of him, Carrasco has been inconsistent in Triple-A this season, posting a 10-10 record with a so-so 4.80 ERA thus far.

Park, a former starter with 15 years big league experience and 117 wins to his credentials, beat out Happ for the spot.

Park pitched poorly however in his seven starts, posting a 7.29 ERA and .311 opponents' batting average. He failed to pitch consistently and after getting rocked for five runs in one and one-third innings in a May 17 start against the Nationals, Park lost his job to Happ.

And Happ pitched to keep his spot.

The young left hander has been arguably the Phillies' best starting pitcher this season, far outperforming the two veteran lefties, Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer.

Happ has been dominant this season, pitching a quality start in 11 of his last 12 starts. He won his first seven decisions of the year. And he appears to be a key factor for a Phillies team looking to contend for a second straight World Series title.

If Happ wins the Rookie of the Year award, he will be the second Phillie—Ryan Howard in 2005—to win the award in the last five seasons.

Happ's main competition appears to be either pitcher Tommy Hanson of the Atlanta Braves, outfielder Dexter Fowler of the Colorado Rockies, or outfielder Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hanson is having a fabulous year himself, although he is not quite in Happ's class.

Since being called up to the majors in June, Hanson has a 9-2 mark with a 3.12 ERA for the Braves. He has been vital to the Braves' hunt for the wild card spot, as he has pitched a quality start in each of his last four starts.

Fowler leads all rookies in at-bats, hits, doubles, runs scored, stolen bases, and walks. He has swiped 26 bases this season for a Colorado ball club that is hanging on in the N.L. wild card race.

McCutchen is a speedy center fielder who looks to be a future All-Star for years to come for the Pirates. At age 22, he is already a five-tool player and a .284 hitter with 14 steals in 15 attempts in his first taste of big league action with the Pirates.

McCutchen is also a talented fielder, with just two errors in 69 games in center field for the Pirates and a solid .988 fielding percentage.

While those three players have been excellent for their teams this season, they haven't been Happ. And barring a sudden drop in his performance, Happ appears to be the prime contender for the N.L. Rookie of the Year award.

Lidge Blows It Again: What to Do About a Closer Who Can't Close Games

Cody Swartz — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:15:46 -0400

Similar scenario happened tonight.

Phillies are up 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, enter Brad Lidge, and boom! It's tied.

Another blown save for Lidge.

The Phillies still held on to win 4-3 in 12 innings courtesy of Ben Francisco's home run, and in the process took the first game of the series with the Chicago Cubs, but it was shaky.

What would have been automatic for Lidge has now become anything but.

Last year's postseason hero converted 41 of 41 save opportunities during the regular season and seven of seven during the playoffs, including the final out of the first World Series Championship for the Phillies in 28 seasons.

This season?

Lidge has seven blown saves after tonight. His 7.35 ERA is close to four times what it was last year. He's pitched in 46 games and given up a run in 21 of those appearances. That's almost half the time.

Compare that to last year when Lidge blew no saves, posted a 1.95 ERA, and gave up runs in 12 of his 72 appearances, just one-sixth of his games.

Last season was magical. I know that.

It's unfair to expect a repeat performance of a perfect season, in which Lidge finished eighth in the National League MVP voting, earned the MLB Comeback Player of the Year award, and DHL Delivery Man of the Year award.

And that World Series trophy, along with the image of a victorious Lidge moments after he struck out Eric Hinske to end Game 5 of the World Series, is priceless.

Lidge set the bar pretty high in his first season, and I had a feeling he would slump a little this year.

I thought that ERA might double to a mark around 3.50 or close to 4.00, and I expected a handful, maybe three or four, blown saves.

But a 7.24 ERA and seven blown saves? That's absurd.

The walks aren't so much the problem. Lidge has struggled with his control this season, but even last season he walked his fair share of hitters.

2008: 4.5 walks per nine innings

2009: 5.3 walks per nine innings

That's definitely a decline in Lidge's performance, but the more telling numbers are the rise in home runs allowed, hits allowed, and the decrease in strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

2008: 0.3 home runs / 6.5 hits / 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings

2009: 2.2 home runs / 10.5 hits / 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings

There reaches a point in which Lidge needs to have his closer role taken away from him.

It's that time.

Someone else needs to take over the role of the team's closer.

I think Ryan Madson is the best choice. He is arguably our best relief pitcher and has been on the team for quite some time. He even has experience as a closer from earlier this season when Lidge was on the DL.

Brett Myers has some experience as a closer, remember 2007 when Myers struck out Wily Mo Pena to win the division, but he is still injured.

I think Madson should take over the duties for now. If he does well, he should stay in that role. If he struggles, I would put Myers as the closer when he returns.

Lidge has lost his closing job before. He's had an up-and-down career, to say the least. I have faith in him that he can battle back and regain his closer role.

The bottom line is the Phillies appear to be going to the playoffs, and you cannot win in the postseason with a closer who can't close games.

It cannot be done.

A Surplus of Philly Starters But Only Five Spots: Who's In, Who's Out?

Cody Swartz — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:40:00 -0400

There is no such thing as too much pitching.

Right?

Welcome to the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies feature an astonishing number of pitchers with the ability to start ballgames, but can only implement five in their rotation.

Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, and Joe Blanton are mainstays in the rotation. Brett Myers has already volunteered to join the 'pen upon his return.

That leaves it to J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer, and Pedro Martinez to fight for the final roster spots. Not to mention that Chan Ho Park and Rodrigo Lopez are very capable starters being used as middle relievers.

Happ, Moyer, and Martinez. A rookie, a future Hall of Famer, and the oldest active player in the major leagues.

I thought I would visit this case to see what to do. I reviewed the three starters, then broke down an analysis of the three candidates.

The three starters:

Cole Hamels

The lefty ace is on track to become the best homegrown Phillies pitcher of all-time. He is a two-time All-Star and last year's postseason hero, taking home both the NLCS and World Series MVP awards while helping the city of Philadelphia to its first world title in 25 seasons.

Hamels has struggled at times this season and his current 4.68 ERA won't turn any heads, but he is still one of the game's elite pitchers when he is on his game.

For his career, Hamels is a much better pitcher in the second half of the season, with a second-half earned run average close to a full run than his first-half earned run average.

Phillies fans should expect to see their beloved World Series star pick up his game down the stretch as the Phillies get closer and closer to an attempt at becoming the first NL team to win back-to-back World Series in over 30 years.

Cliff Lee

Recently acquired in a trade with the Indians right before the trade deadline, Lee may not be Roy Halladay, but he and Hamels give the Phillies one of the best 1-2 punches in the National League.

Lee threw a complete game in his first start as a member of the Phillies and a dominating seven inning, one run outing in his second start. He has allowed just six runs in his first five starts, and despite just a 9-9 record for the season, he owns a 3.02 ERA for the year.

Lee is an experienced veteran who has been around for eight seasons and knows how to pitch effectively. He will be a huge part of the Phillies' playoff run.

Joe Blanton

His stock in the rotation is even more important given the overload of lefties in the rotation.

Blanton this season has become more than just an innings eater but quite possibly the most valuable Phillies starter since late May. Blanton has a 5-2 mark and 2.33 ERA in his last 12 starts, and he's provided the Phillies with solid starts nearly every single time he takes the mound.

He has gone at least seven innings in nine of them, including five straight. With Hamels and Lee as the 1-2 punch, Blanton has a huge role as the No. 3 starter.

The Candidates

J.A. Happ

The Phillies' rookie left hander is one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball this season. Happ wasn't even expected to be a starter at the beginning of the year, but has since proven he is well deserving of a spot in the rotation.

Although he is just the No. 4 starter for the defending World Champions, Happ could easily be a No. 1 or 2 on many other teams, and he is a huge reason why the Phillies have maintained a solid lead in the NL East.

Happ has had to pitch around trade rumors and the possibility of a demotion to the bullpen, but he's just continued to pitch well. Very well.

Happ's 2.74 ERA is over a run and a third better than the next best Phillies starter. He leads the team in winning percentage (.800). His 1.12 WHIP is one-sixth of a batter better than the team's second best pitcher. And he has 10 quality starts in just 14 starts, good for a team-best 71.4 percent.

In fact, Happ has been so dominant this season that he is a prime contender for the National League Rookie of the Year award.

Look how Happ fared Wednesday night with talk of a possible switch to the bullpen swirling. He tossed a complete game four-hit shutout, striking out ten batters. In doing so, Happ moved into a tie for first place in the National League with two shutouts.

Simply put, he is the Phillies' best starter each and every time he takes the mound. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. stated, “Happ's not going anywhere. He deserves to stay in the rotation. He's pitched very well. He's probably been our most effective starter.”

That should be enough to guarantee him a spot in the rotation.

But is it?

Jamie Moyer

The fan favorite, the ageless one, the player-coach, the proven 23-year veteran born and raised just outside of Philly.

Moyer is a crafty lefty who gets by on experience and guile. He won't fool anyone with his 82-mile per hour fastball, but his changeup can be devastating. Moyer has proven to be an excellent mentor for young Cole Hamels, a similar left handed pitcher with a nasty changeup.

Last season, Moyer's 16 wins led the team and his quality start in Game 3 of the World Series helped bring a title back to Philly.

This year, Moyer has struggled. To say the least. His 10 wins still lead the team, but the more revealing numbers are the astronomic 5.55 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. He has pitched a quality start in just nine of his 21 starts this season, for a meager 42.7 percent.

Moyer has been very inconsistent, especially as of late. In his last nine starts, Moyer has either been very good or very bad. No in-betweens.

In the four even starts, he has pitched 26 innings and allowed just three runs, earning the win in all four games.

In the five odd starts, he has pitched 26 innings and allowed 26 earned runs.

I hate to say it, but it would have been nice if Moyer had retired after last season, just to go out on top.

That hurts me to say it, but Moyer doesn't have his best stuff this year, the first of a two-year, $13 million deal he signed last December with the Phillies.

So should he go to the bullpen?

Well... it's either him or Pedro.

Pedro Martinez

A three-time Cy Young award winner and future Hall of Famer way past his prime, just barely hanging on in the major leagues.

Martinez has yet to pitch in the majors for the Phillies, but he has looked good in his rehab starts, particularly his last one in Double-A Reading, in which he struck out 11 while walking none in a six-inning, quality start.

Martinez is a righty, which would help mix up the core of lefties in the rotation. From what I understand, Martinez has a clause in his contract, which says he is not allowed to pitch in the bullpen.

At best, Martinez appears to be a fifth starter for the Phillies, but who knows? Maybe he'll be much better than we expect. Maybe he'll be the pitcher to push the Phillies over the top.

After all, Martinez has plenty of big league experience. He most likely won't start in the playoffs—given that he is likely to be the fifth starter at most and teams only implement four-man pitching rotations in the playoffs – but he could be vital down the stretch for a club looking to wrap up its third consecutive NL East title.

Martinez has only pitched 269.2 innings since 2006, and none yet at the major league level thus far this year. During that stretch, he has a 17-15 record with a 4.74 ERA, numbers that are marginal at best.

The Verdict: Well, it's not an easy decision, but I think I would go with Pedro as my fifth starter and Moyer to the bullpen. It is a very awkward move to send an experienced veteran and one of last year's postseason heroes to the 'pen, especially at his age, but I think it has to be done.

Moyer has pitched in the bullpen before. In 1996, he was briefly sent to the bullpen for the Seattle Mariners, where he posted a 2-0 record and 3.71 ERA in 13 games, before returning to the rotation.

Relief pitchers are normally expected to throw hard, and Moyer sometimes has trouble hitting 80 with his fastball, but I see no other logical decision.

Putting Pedro to the bullpen wouldn't make sense to me, because he has been doing well in rehab, he has been a capable starter before in his career, and Moyer is hurting the team vastly every other time he takes the mound.

I don't know if Amaro will necessarily demote Moyer to the 'pen—I would be surprised if he does—but I think if the Phillies want to win as many games as possible, that move makes the most sense.

The Half of a Year Too Early MLB All-Decade Team

Cody Swartz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:23:09 -0400

I just recently put up my article covering the best NFL players this decade. Or at least for the first nine seasons of the decade.

I thought I would do the same for baseball, although this includes nine and a half seasons.

For the sake of this, I took a guy like Alfonso Soriano—who has played several different positions—and applied all the statistics to the number one position he played.

So Soriano is credited as a second basemen for the sake of this, and all MVP awards, Gold Gloves, All-Star selections, and statistics are applied to Soriano as a second basemen.

I also looked more at guys who had played for most of the decade, rather than just several years.

For example, Dustin Pedroia has accomplished a lot so far in his major league career—an MVP award, a Rookie of the Year award, and a World Series title.

However, he has played in just 411 games in his career—the equivalent of only two and a half seasons.

So I tried to go for those guys who have been around longer than Pedroia, using 600 games played (about four full seasons) as the minimum to make the team.

Catcher

Probably the toughest position out of all of them.

There is no clear-cut catcher of the decade. Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez came to my mind originally, but a lot of their damage was done in the '90s.

I narrowed it down to four choices, of which I will compare their statistics and accolades this decade. These players are Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, Jorge Posada, and Jason Varitek.

I checked each player's offensive numbers, notably batting average, home runs, runs batted in, and adjusted OPS – by far my favorite offensive statistic.

Name	Games Played	Offensive Statistics	Accomplishments
Ivan Rodriguez	1168	.300-158-626-112+	6 AS, 5 Gold Gloves
Mike Piazza	931	.285-187-567-127+	5 AS
Jorge Posada	1246	.283-197-776-129+	5 AS
Jason Varitek	1164	.261-146-583-101+	3 AS
Joe Mauer	623	.324-59-349-135+	3 AS, 1 Gold Glove

Joe Mauer comes up in the lead in batting average and adjusted OPS, while Jorge Posada takes the lead in the power numbers—home runs and RBI.

I-Rod leads in the All-Star selections (six to both Piazza and Posada's five). He is the only one to have taken two different teams to the World Series and he also has five Gold Gloves this decade, four more than everyone else on the list combined.

I think it pretty much comes down to Mauer's short career vs. I-Rod's long career.

Mauer is the best catcher in the game, no questions asked, and he is having an MVP season. However, he didn't become a full-time catcher until 2005, meaning he has just 4 ½ seasons to his credit.

He is a much better hitter than I-Rod. At least, the I-Rod of the 2000s.

Mauer is a two-time batting champ (with a third on the way). His adjusted OPS is the highest of the bunch, a full 23 points higher than I-Rod.

I-Rod is better with the glove though. He has five Gold Gloves this decade to Mauer's one, although Mauer gets a little credit for catching a Cy Young winner, Johan Santana, in 2004.

It's close. Who would I rather have for the decade? Probably the guy who played a little longer, because he was of more value to the team.

Who would I rather have for one game? Joe Mauer. Easily.

My pick? I have to go I-Rod.

It's so close. I changed my mind about six times here, but I can't ignore I-Rod's substantial lead in games played, and overall edge in All-Star selections, Gold Gloves, and World Series appearances.

Runners-Up: Mauer, Posada, Piazza, Varitek

First Base

Easiest selection on here, and that's a testament to this guy considering how many great first basemen there have been this decade.

Who else but Albert Pujols?

His credentials speak for themselves: a .335 career batting average that leads all active players, 351 home runs, a .631 slugging percentage, and 173 adjusted OPS that ranks higher all-time than Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, and Joe DiMaggio.

He has never failed to register a .300-30-100 line during each of his eight full seasons. He has been voted an All-Star in eight of his nine years. A two-time MVP, he has finished in the top ten in MVP voting eight times in eight years, the top four seven times, and runner-up three times.

He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and will retire as arguably the greatest right handed hitter who ever lived.

Runners-Up: Jason Giambi, Carlos Delgado, Mark Teixeira, Jim Thome, Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee, Ryan Howard, Jeff Bagwell

Second Base

This is a tough one. I did another breakdown, like the one I did for the catchers.

Name	Games Played	Offensive Statistics	Accomplishments
Jeff Kent	1266	.300-216-850-129+	4 AS, 1 MVP
Jose Vidro	1246	.303-114-560-111+	3 AS
Chase Utley	819	.300-150-553-131+	4 AS
Alfonso Soriano	1276	.279-283-737-114+	7 AS
Placido Polanco	1259	.305-84-517-100+	1 AS, 1 Gold Glove

I think this is a pretty disappointing group of players compared to the other positions.

Chase Utley is by far the best second basemen in any given season, but he missed an entire half of the decade and has over 400 fewer games played than anyone else on the list.

I think I will give this one to Jeff Kent by a solid margin. He has the most All-Star selections out of the group, other than Soriano – and I can't say I agree with Soriano making seven All-Star teams.

Kent is actually a very underrated player with a decent shot for the Hall of Fame. He is a .300 hitter this decade with over 200 home runs and a 129 adjusted OPS. And he is the only one on the list with an MVP award to his credit.

Runners-Up: Utley, Soriano, Vidro, Polanco

Third Base

Alex Rodriguez this decade:

6,942 innings at third base.

5,448.2 innings at shortstop.

So A-Rod is listed as a third basemen here, which pretty much eliminates any other player in baseball.

Since 2000, A-Rod is a .303 hitter with 422 home runs, 1,193 runs batted in, 168 stolen bases, and a 155 adjusted OPS. He has won three MVP awards, two Gold Gloves, and been voted to nine All-Star teams.

Simply put, we have been watching one of the best baseball players of all-time over the last decade... steroids or no steroids.

Runners-Up: Chipper Jones, Scott Rolen, Aramis Ramirez, David Wright, Miguel Cabrera, Troy Glaus, Mike Lowell

Shortstop

I initially thought of Derek Jeter, but I figured Miguel Tejada and Jimmy Rollins could give him a little competition. Here is a stat breakdown:

Name	Games Played	Offensive Statistics	Accomplishments
Derek Jeter	1429	.315-153-698-121+	8 AS, 3 Gold Gloves
Jimmy Rollins	1332	.274-132-578-97+	3 AS, 2 GG, 1 MVP
Miguel Tejada	1509	.297-244-1009-117+	6 AS, 1 MVP
Michael Young	1300	.301-126-689-104+	6 AS, 1 Gold Glove
Jose Reyes	791	.286-63-325-101+	2 AS

These shortstops have far more games played than any other position thus far.

Jeter leads in batting average and adjusted OPS, All-Star selections, Gold Gloves, and World Series appearances, although his defense has often been the topic of criticism from baseball experts.

Rollins, Reyes, and Young surprised me with their OPS's – all posting marks much lower this decade than I expected.

Rollins and Tejada are the only shortstops to have won MVP awards, while Rollins and Jeter are the only to have played on a World Championship team.

I have always felt Rollins is the best defender of the group, and it's probably between Rollins and Reyes for the best baserunner.

Tejada has the most power of the group, and has averaged over 100 RBI per season this decade. He also has the second best adjusted OPS of the bunch.

It's close.

I'll go with Jeter though. His offensive numbers are much better than J-Roll's, and I can't ignore an OPS a full 24 points higher.

Runners-Up: Tejada, Rollins, Young, Reyes, Hanley Ramirez

Left Field

Barry Bonds. No questions asked.

Bonds has won more MVP awards this decade (4) than any other baseball player in history. His statline since 2000 is a whopping .322-.517-.724 with a 221 adjusted OPS, thanks largely to 1,128 walks, including 390 intentional.

His four-year span from '01 to '04 that includes four MVP awards is arguably the greatest four-year stretch of any professional athlete in history, and it culminated in 2007 when Bonds hit his 756^th home run to pass Hank Aaron for sole possession of the most prized record in all of sports.

Runner-Up: Manny Ramirez

Center Field

Arguably my favorite position in all of baseball, for there is nothing like a watching a man who was born to grace center field. I looked much heavier at defense for center fielders than I did for any other position.

I narrowed it down to five guys and compared:

Name	Games Played	Offensive Statistics	Accomplishments
Carlos Beltran	1373	.282-249-912-122+	5 AS, 3 Gold Gloves
Jim Edmonds	1216	.280-261-768-140+	3 AS, 6 Gold Gloves
Torii Hunter	1315	.275-221-817-110+	3 AS, 8 Gold Gloves
Andruw Jones	1381	.258-305-908-113+	5 AS, 8 Gold Gloves
Grady Sizemore	748	.275-124-396-122+	3 AS, 2 Gold Gloves

Edmonds is the best hitter out of the bunch, with the second-most home runs and the highest OPS by a wide margin.

Beltran is the best combination of power and speed, having hit 249 home runs with 256 stolen bases this decade, including an amazing 90 percent stolen base success rate.

Sizemore is penalized greatly for his games played – nearly four fewer seasons than any other guy on the list—although he has a decent shot for the 2010s All-Star Decade Team.

Hunter and Jones are in the discussion for the greatest defensive center fielder of all-time (although Jones was a lot better in the '90s).

Jones was much better offensively than Hunter, hitting over 300 home runs in the decade, including a major-league leading 51 in 2005 in a year that nearly earned Jones the NL MVP award.

This is a deep position, and it's a tough call. Beltran, Jones, and Edmonds are the top three.

I'll take Edmonds overall. He has the highest OPS by far, and he is close to as good a defensive center fielder as Jones and Hunter.

Runners-Up: Beltran, Jones, Hunter, Sizemore

Right Fielder

This is probably the deepest and most talented position out of any on the list, and any one of the five would help my team.

Name	Games Played	Offensive Statistics	Accomplishments
Vladimir Guerrero	1378	.324-304-1008-147+	7 AS
Magglio Ordonez	1289	.314-224-930-132+	5 AS
Gary Sheffield	1241	.295-273-861-141+	4 AS
Sammy Sosa	945	.282-273-726-142+	4 AS
Ichiro Suzuki	1259	.332-79-493-118+	9 AS, 8 Gold Gloves

I wanted to put Ichiro. I really did. He is one of my favorite players in the MLB.

Ichiro is a lock for 200 hits every season and has led the league in hits five times and batting average twice. He is a .332 career hitter who has earned eight Gold Gloves in eight seasons. He won the MVP award as a rookie in 2001 and has made the All-Star team every year of his career.

But he just isn't as good as Vlad Guerrero.

I believe Vlad has long been one of the most underrated players in baseball. He is a .324 hitter this decade with 304 home runs and over 1,000 runs batted in. His adjusted OPS is 147, higher than Ichiro by nearly 30 points.

Vlad has a cannon of an arm in right field and while he hasn't won a Gold Glove, he is a very talented fielder.

Runners-Up: Ichiro, Sheffield, Ordonez, Sosa

Designated Hitter

Have to go David Ortiz here.

Steroids or not, Ortiz has belted nearly 300 home runs with close to 1,000 RBI in his tenure in Minnesota and Boston. He has earned five trips to the All-Star Game, finished in the top five in the MVP voting five straight years, and helped the Red Sox capture two World Championships in four years.

He is a dynamic hitter in the postseason and has gained a reputation as the one of the most clutch hitters in baseball history.

Runners-Up: Edgar Martinez, Travis Hafner

Right Handed Pitcher

There are a lot of candidates for this position, and I thought about doing an entire five-man rotation, but I decided to just do the best right and left handed pitcher.

There have been eight right handed starting pitchers since 2000 to win a Cy Young award, with only one man (Roger Clemens) doing it twice.

Name	GS	CG	SHO	W-L	Pct	IP	K	WHIP	ERA	ERA+
Josh Beckett	211	7	4	100-65	.606	1309.2	1241	1.216	3.74	118
Roger Clemens	228	3	1	107-50	.682	1454.1	1356	1.201	3.34	133
Roy Halladay	252	41	11	132-62	.680	1767.1	1298	1.172	3.45	132
Tim Hudson	282	21	11	135-75	.643	1881.0	1240	1.247	3.50	125
Greg Maddux	308	16	7	134-101	.570	1939.2	1211	1.172	3.70	117
Pedro Martinez	218	18	6	107-49	.686	1423.1	1583	1.029	2.99	153
Roy Oswalt	260	17	6	134-68	.663	1741.1	1430	1.200	3.18	137
Jake Peavy	212	7	3	92-68	.575	1342.2	1348	1.186	3.29	119
Curt Schilling	221	26	7	117-63	.650	1569.1	1545	1.129	3.54	133
Carlos Zambrano	226	8	3	101-65	.608	1484.0	1254	1.288	3.48	128

*Rankings done as of July 23

Surprisingly, Tim Hudson is the winningest pitcher on the list with 135 wins. He is also the second most durable, with 282 starts and 1,939.2 innings pitched.

Martinez was probably the most dominant in his prime, although he only pitched effectively in six seasons, and not since 2005. He leads in winning percentage, strikeouts per nine innings, ERA, and adjusted ERA – by a full 16 points.

Clemens is the only one to have won two Cy Young awards, with Martinez, Halladay, and Peavy each taking home one.

There is no clear cut winner here—not even close. I thought I would do a similar chart to the one I just did, only this time I would rank the ten right handers in each category.

Name	GS	CG	SHO	Wins	Pct	IP	K	WHIP	ERA	ERA+	Avg
Josh Beckett	10	T8	7	9	8	10	8	8	10	9	8.7
Roger Clemens	5	10	10	T6	2	7	4	7	4	T3	5.8
Roy Halladay	4	1	T1	4	3	3	6	T3	5	5	3.5
Tim Hudson	2	3	T1	1	6	2	9	9	7	7	4.7
Greg Maddux	1	6	T3	T2	10	1	10	T3	9	10	5.5
Pedro Martinez	8	4	T5	T6	1	8	1	1	1	1	4.0
Roy Oswalt	3	5	T5	T2	4	4	3	6	2	2	3.6
Jake Peavy	9	T8	T9	10	9	9	5	5	3	8	7.5
Curt Schilling	7	2	T3	5	5	5	2	2	8	T3	4.2
Carlos Zambrano	6	7	T9	8	7	6	7	10	6	6	7.2

There is no clear-cut winner. Not even close.

The best pitchers overall are a pair of Roy's, with Roy Halladay at 3.5 and Roy Oswalt at 3.6.

I was surprised to learn how high Pedro was on the ranking, at third overall. It's a tribute to his dominance, as he finished first among all right handed pitchers this decade in winning percentage, strikeouts, WHIP, earned run average, and adjusted ERA, despite finishing just eighth in games started and innings pitched.

Greg Maddux was pretty much the opposite of Pedro, finishing first in games started and innings pitched, but just ninth in ERA and dead-last in winning percentage, strikeouts, and adjusted ERA.

I went for consistency throughout the decade, which unfortunately eliminated pitchers like Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, and Roger Clemens, who missed significant time due to injury or retirement.

The most consistent throughout the entire decade would be either Oswalt or Halladay. Both pitchers rank in the top six in each category, with Oswalt taking wins, strikeouts, ERA and adjusted ERA, and Halladay taking complete games, shutouts, winning percentage, innings pitched, and WHIP.

I initially thought I would go with Halladay, but I have to take Oswalt. He has been slightly more dominant and slightly more consistent in my opinion. Oswalt has never won a Cy Young award or even finished runner-up, but he has placed in the top five a total of five times.

Oswalt has also been successful in the playoffs, with a 4-0 record and a 3.66 ERA in seven starts, although he has managed to remain under the radar as he isn't a member of the Yankees or Red Sox.

He hasn't won a Cy Young award or even finished runner-up but he has quietly been the most successful right handed pitcher of the decade.

Runners-Up: Halladay, Hudson, Martinez, Maddux, Peavy, Schilling, Clemens, Zambrano, Beckett

Left Handed Pitcher

This one is the easiest race of them all. Either Johan Santana or Randy Johnson.

A quick comparison of the two:

Name	GS	CG	SHO	Wins	Pct	IP	K	WHIP	ERA	ERA+
Randy Johnson	281	32	12	143-78	.647	1881.0	2176	1.113	3.37	137
Johan Santana	230	9	6	121-59	.672	1680.0	1715	1.112	3.10	144

Randy Johnson has pitched in more games, completed more, and pitched more innings because he has been around for longer this decade.

As far as accolades, it's pretty close. Johnson has three Cy Young awards, four All-Star selections, one World Series ring, and a World Series MVP award to Santana's two Cy Young awards, four All-Star selections, and zero World Series performances. Both have one pitching triple crown.

Santana has a higher winning percentage, a slightly lower WHIP, a lower ERA, and a greater adjusted ERA. Those are some pretty valuable numbers in Santana's favor.

In terms of leading the league, both have been dominant. Check out the following table:

Name	GS	CG	SHO	Wins	Pct	IP	K	WHIP	ERA	ERA+
Randy Johnson	2	2	1	1	2	1	4	2	2	4
Johan Santana	2	---	---	2	---	2	3	4	3	3

Add up those league-leading categories and Johnson is at 21 with Santana at 19. Johnson leads in the single most important category – adjusted ERA, with four seasons leading the league to Santana's three, but Santana has the higher mark this decade (144 to 137).

You could easily make a case for either one of them.

Me? I'll take Johnson.

He has won three Cy Young awards this decade – and should have won four – while performing better in the postseason than Santana. Johnson has pitched an extra season's worth of innings, struck out two seasons as much, and done so with close to the same adjusted ERA as Santana.

Relief Pitcher

Mariano Rivera immediately jumped to mind. Eric Gagne was more dominant for a brief period of time, but not many closers have pitched effectively for the entire decade like Rivera.

Name	G	SV	IP	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA	ERA+
Mariano Rivera	629	383	691.1	0.959	6.9	1.7	8.4	2.11	227
Trevor Hoffman	523	349	510.0	1.059	7.4	2.1	8.8	2.81	142

Hoffman is one of the best of all-time... and he doesn't even compare to Rivera.

That's how good Rivera has been for the Yankees. Check out that WHIP and adjusted ERA. And who can forget the postseason success on top of all his accomplishments?

Rivera is most likely the only player on this All-Decade Team who will go down as the greatest to ever play his position.

Stewart Bradley Suffers Torn ACL: Time For Entire D to Step It Up In '09

Cody Swartz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:18:21 -0400

The Eagles have certainly been through their fair share of injuries over the last decade, especially to stars such as Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook, but one thing has always remained constant: the defense.

Behind Jim Johnson's aggressive, blitz-happy schemes, the Eagles have maintained arguably the NFL's toughest defense over the past decade. This unit has featured twenty six Pro Bowl selections while helping the Eagles advance to the playoffs seven times in ten seasons, including five trips to the conference championship game.

There have been some changes.

Pro Bowlers such as Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, Hugh Douglas, Michael Lewis, and Jeremiah Trotter have come and gone, but that has just opened it up for new players like Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown, Trent Cole, Quintin Mikell, and Stewart Bradley to step into their new roles.

The defense has always been strong and always been one of the finest in the league.

This past offseason saw the Eagles' D go through the hardest times of them all.

Future Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins, a seven-time Pro Bowler and the emotional leader of this Eagles defense, departed via free agency for the Denver Broncos.

Jim Johnson, arguably the greatest defensive coordinator in the history of professional football, took a leave of absence due to his bout with cancer, before he passed away on July 28th.

Now Bradley, a player who was a future Pro Bowler in the making and one of the likely candidates to take over Dawkins' spot as the emotional leader of the team, has suffered a torn ACL that will most likely keep him out for the entire season.

How much can this defense take?

Omar Gaither, the starting middle linebacker for the 2007 season, who actually lost his starting job to Bradley before '08, is expected to start for Bradley as the MIKE linebacker.

Gaither was penciled in as the backup at weak-side linebacker to Akeem Jordan, a player with whom Gaither lost his job before the Week 12 game in '08.

Gaither will compete with Joe Mays and Charleston Hughes for Bradley's starting spot. Mays was Bradley's backup last season and is a solid special teams player. Hughes is an undrafted first-year player who is listed as the third-stringer, behind Bradley and Mays.

I envision Gaither winning the starting spot and having a productive season as the team's middle linebacker.

However, with Gaither most likely thrust into a starting role, the Eagles lose a lot of the depth they had at linebacker.

New defensive coordinator Sean McDermott—the team's former linebackers coach—has a difficult task ahead of him.

The heart and soul of the Eagles' defense—Dawkins and Johnson—are gone. And Bradley is out for the season.

This can't be. This was supposed to be our year.

After ten years of almost, 2009 is the year. This can't happen.

I still think the Eagles will be the team to beat in the NFC East. Probably even the NFC. There's loads of talent on offense, the defense is still better than most of the other units in the league, and the coaching behind Big Red is as fine as ever.

As of now, the Eagles will most likely be putting out Akeem Jordan at WLB, Omar Gaither at MLB, and Chris Gocong at SLB to complete one of the league's youngest linebacker groups.

The backups are Joe Mays, Tracy White, Tank Daniels, Charleston Hughes, and Moise Fokou, none of whom have any starting experience.

Will the Eagles go with their unproven players to fill out the depth chart? Or will the Eagles sign a proven veteran player?

Whatever the team decides to do, it will be a big test to the rest of the guys. McDermott has a tough job ahead of him. He needs the entire defense to step it up and finally once and for all get the Eagles that elusive Super Bowl title.

Cliff Lee Dazzles In First Start: GM Ruben Amaro Looking Like a Genius

Cody Swartz — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:32:17 -0400

The Phillies didn't get Roy Halladay.

What the defending World Champions did get however was last year's American League Cy Young award winner in Cliff Lee, a tremendous lefty who could be the player to push the Phillies over the top.

Even better, GM Ruben Amaro managed to pull off a move that kept the Phillies' top three prospects—starting pitcher Kyle Drabek and outfielders Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown—all in the farm system.

The Phillies instead parted ways with struggling Triple-A pitcher Carlos Carrasco, along with three other prospects—starting pitcher Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson, and shortstop Jason Donald.

Considering the Phillies were able to bring in one of the greatest pitchers in the game today, it was a small price to pay.

It was especially impressive, given that Lee is virtually every bit the pitcher as the coveted Halladay, without the cost.

Lee led the AL in wins (22) and earned run average (2.54) in 2008, a year after struggling to the point where he was demoted to Triple-A.

Prior to joining the Phillies, Lee posted just a 7-9 record with the Indians, but an impressive 3.14 ERA, good for sixth-best in the American League. He ranked first in the league in innings pitched and batters faced.

In his first start in Philly, Lee was magnificent, everything the Phillies could have wanted.

He pitched a complete game, throwing 109 pitches while dominating the wild card-leading San Francisco Giants. Lee took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, a shutout into the eighth, and finished with four hits, one earned run, and six strikeouts.

His control was spot on as Lee walked just two batters and tossed 78 of 109 strikes. It was Lee's third complete game in his last four starts.

Lee also added a single and a double at the plate, while becoming the first Phillies pitcher to throw a complete game in his first start with the team in over a decade.

With the addition of the Lee, the Phillies have one of the top pitching rotations in baseball.

In fact, there are too many starting pitchers on this team. If that is possible.

Hamels and Lee provide the dominating 1-2 punch, with right hander Joe Blanton—arguably the team's top starting pitcher this season—as the third starter.

The veteran Jamie Moyer, who leads the team with 10 wins on the season, and the rookie sensation J.A. Happ, who is 7-2 with a 2.97 ERA in 13 starts for the year.

Don't forget three-time Cy Young award winner Pedro Martinez, who just joined the team and is working his way through rehab.

With Martinez to join the big league team soon, the Phillies have six dependable starters for only five spots in the rotation.

The odd man out will most likely be Happ, who will move to the bullpen, a decision that will only bolster one of the league's already top 'pens.

Returning from his injury soon will be right handed starter Brett Myers, who has already stated he will move to the bullpen.

Simply put, this Phillies team has depth at pitching like it hasn't had in quite some time.

Coupled with that already dynamic offense that features five All-Stars and a combined two MVP awards, the Phillies are looking good. Really good.

Five Players Who Will Make or Break the Philadelphia Eagles In 2009

Cody Swartz — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:39:42 -0400

Football is a team game.

Everyone knows that.

But often it's the play of a handful of players who can be the difference between a team watching the playoffs on TV in January or playing for a chance at a Super Bowl championship.

For the Eagles, there are several of the guys on the 53-man roster who could be the key to push the Eagles over the edge.

QB Donovan McNabb: The quarterback is always a key ingredient of a championship team and McNabb will be no exception for the Eagles.

Since joining the team back in 1999, the Eagles have been fortunate enough to have one of the game's top quarterbacks leading their team. A five-time Pro Bowler, McNabb has taken the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX.

And he has mostly done so without the services of a No. 1 caliber wide receiver. Other than the 21 games in which McNabb had Terrell Owens, he has been forced to play with the services of James Thrash, Todd Pinkston, Reggie Brown, and Freddie Mitchell.

Not anymore.

The Eagles never signed that No. 1 receiver fans pushed for—notably Arizona Cardinals' Pro Bowler Anquan Boldin–but the front office did select speedy slot receiver Jeremy Maclin out of the University of Missouri.

The combination of Maclin, DeSean Jackson, and Kevin Curtis will give defenses some trouble and McNabb some weapons.

Factor in possession receiver Jason Avant and big playmaker Hank Baskett, and McNabb is poised for a banner year.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect over 3,500 passing yards and 25 touchdowns from McNabb, as well as 11 to 13 wins in the regular season and a deep playoff run.

Should McNabb go down, pray.

The team's backup currently is unproven third-year player Kevin Kolb, who has shown flashes of ineptitude in brief stints as quarterback. Kolb has two years of watching one of the best in the game under his belt, but he has yet to prove himself out on the field.

FB Leonard Weaver: Until Leonard Weaver joined the team, the position of fullback has long been forgotten here in Philadelphia.

Weaver gives the Eagles an exciting weapon.

The runner-up for the Pro Bowl in the NFC last year, Weaver is a talented pass blocker and an above-average ball carrier.

He should help the team on short yardage runs—an area that hurt the Eagles on a consistent basis last year. Weaver will be able to contribute on short passes as well.

He should be able to extend the life of aging star Brian Westbrook and help to break in up-and-coming rookie LeSean McCoy.

OT Shawn Andrews: Andrews has had a roller coaster of a career, to say the least.

He broke into the NFL as the 16th overall pick in the 2004 draft and was immediately penciled into the team's starting lineup at right guard.

Andrews broke his leg in his first career NFL game, missing the rest of the miraculous 2004 season and the team's Super Bowl appearance.

Andrews bounced back in 2005 to start all 16 games and nearly qualify for the Pro Bowl. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in both 2006 and 2007, helping to turn Brian Westbrook into arguably the game's most complete weapon.

He went on to miss all of last season due to depression and back surgery. His presence was greatly missed, none more so than on a third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 against the Giants on Sunday Night Football in the middle of the season.

This year, Andrews is back. He is healthy, motivated, and still as talented as ever.

When he is on his game, you could make a case for Andrews as the best guard in the game. He is 340 pounds of raw beef who can clear a hole for Westbrook or stay back and pass block for McNabb.

A right guard his first five years, Andrews will take over for perennial star Jon Runyan as the team's starting right tackle.

When he was originally drafted back in '04, Andrews was expected to eventually move to tackle, and it appears like this will be the year. Andrews will be playing next to his brother, right guard Stacy Andrews, giving the Eagles a pretty impressive right side of the line.

Andrews' backup is three-year pro Winston Justice, a former USC standout who gave up six sacks to New York Giants' All-Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora in his only NFL start.

MLB Stewart Bradley: The Eagles are a defensive team, with arguably the deepest defensive line and backfield in the NFL.

The linebackers are still young and relatively inexperienced, so it will be up to rising star Stewart Bradley to lead the group.

Bradley is a Pro Bowler in the making and a possible candidate to replace Brian Dawkins as the team's outspoken vocal leader on the defensive side of the ball.

Bradley was stellar in 16 games as a starter last season, recording 151 tackles, including double-digit figures in seven games. He was named to the Sports Illustrated All-Pro team in just his first year as a starter.

Bradey's presence was a huge factor in the Eagles' fourth-ranked run defense and third-ranked pass defense in 2008, and there are high expectations for Bradley to become one of the elite linebackers in the NFL in 2009.

FS Quintin Demps: It's never fun to replace a legend, and I don't envy Demps having to take over for a legend such as six-time Pro Bowler Brian Dawkins, a fan favorite, future Hall of Famer, and emotional leader of the Philadelphia Eagles' defense over the past 13 seasons.

Dawkins was 35 and had lost a step, but the Eagles' failure to resign him came as a shock to the city, and his subsequent signing with Denver was a painful blow.

Enter Demps, an unproven defensive player who started as kick returner last season, into the starting role.

Demps played a lot for the Eagles in three-safety sets down the stretch last season, but his struggles were obvious, none more so than his inability to stay on his feet while covering All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in the NFC Championship Game.

Demps has a lot of potential. He is quick, talented, and aggressive.

But he's not Brian Dawkins.

And it's not even for certain that Demps will start this season.

The Eagles brought in playmaker Sean Jones from the Cleveland Browns. Jones is third among all safeties in interceptions (14) over the past three seasons, and is just 27, in the prime of his career.

It's unclear to me why he was signed to just a one-year deal, but I think the Eagles envision Jones starting for a few games to spell Demps, before Demps takes over full-time.

Demps will be able to lean on strong safety Quintin Mikell for assistance—Mikell was a second-team All-Pro last season, combining with Brian Dawkins to form one of the best safety duos in the NFL—but Demps needs to produce or he will hurt the Eagles' defense.

Phillies Win Tenth Straight: Is This Team Destined to Repeat As Champs?

Cody Swartz — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:04:59 -0400

What a game.

Jayson Werth's dramatic three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning propelled the Phillies to their tenth straight win on Tuesday.

Werth reached base in five of his six plate appearances, collecting two hits and three walks, but the heroes of the game were the five Phillies pitchers who combined to throw 13 stellar innings.

Blanton started the game, pitching seven strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits and no walks while striking out five. He lowered his ERA on the season from 4.44 to 4.24.

The bullpen was absolutely phenomenal, pitching six scoreless innings. Without allowing a hit.

Madson pitched a perfect eighth inning, taking over for Blanton. Lidge got a lucky double play to get out of the ninth. Chan Ho Park—the exiled former starter—pitched three hitless innings in relief, striking out five batters. And Clay Condrey topped it off with a perfect 13th inning.

It's a good thing the pitching staff was so effective, especially because the heart of the lineup—Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez—combined to go 0-for-14 with six strikeouts, topped off by Howard's 0-for-4 night with four strikeouts.

It's a testament to the Phillies as a team, though, that this bunch can win despite subpar performances from its top hitters.

And both Howard and Ibanez came through in the 13th inning with clutch walks to set up Jayson Werth's dramatic game-ending home run.

Werth's home run broke a streak of 36 consecutive batters for both teams combined without a hit. In fact, no one had gotten a hit since Victorino singled with one out in the eighth inning.

The home run gave the Phillies their tenth consecutive win—the franchise's longest winning streak in nearly 20 years. It also made the Phillies the first team defending a world title to win ten straight games since the 1971 Baltimore Orioles.

Coupled with the Mets' 4-0 loss to the Nationals—seriously—the Phillies now have a ten game lead over the team many people thought would be the toughest competition in the already-tough NL East division.

The 53-38 Phillies are 6.5 games above the Florida Marlins in the division, seven up on the Atlanta Braves, and ten up on the Mets. Oh, and 27 above the Triple-A Nationals.

With a .582 winning percentage, the Phillies are now tied with the L.A. Angels for the majors' fourth-best record, behind just the L.A. Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox, and the N.Y. Yankees.

The Phillies trail only the Dodgers in the NL and appear to be prime contenders to repeat as World Champions.

This team is good right now. Really good.

The Phillies can hit better than just about any team in baseball. Tonight's one-run output in 12 and 2/3 innings was the exception, not the rule.

This team leads the National League in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS. Five of the eight hitters in the lineup are All-Stars and another is a former MVP who is hitting .388 over his last 16 games.

The pitching staff is looking better and better every day.

Joe Blanton is arguably the team's top starting pitcher right now. Over his last ten starts, Blanton has a 4-1 record with just a 2.32 ERA. He has pitched at least seven innings in seven of the starts, and has recorded a quality start in all but one of his last ten.

J.A. Happ is making a solid case for himself as National League Rookie of the Year. He is undefeated on the season, at 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA.

Cole Hamels has struggled at times this season, but he is still the reigning World Series hero and arguably the game's best big-game pitcher when it counts.

The bullpen is deep. Lights Out Lidge has struggled for sure this season, but the rest of the guys around him have stepped it up.

Ryan Madson has been brilliant as the team's set-up man, compiling a 3.26 ERA, 16 holds, and nearly a strikeout per inning for the season. Chad Durbin (4.07), Clay Condrey (3.60), and Scott Eyre (1.96) have been terrific, especially as of late.

Even Park, who lost his starting job earlier in the season, was the unsung hero of today, with three hitless innings and five strikeouts.

The team can hit, pitch, and field.

The bottom line is that this team knows how to win. And they have proven it over and over again.

And they finally proved to the world last October they are capable of winning a World Championship.

This year is the ultimate test, as the Phillies look to defend their world title and become the first team since the '99-'00 Yankees to repeat as champions.

Why the Eagles' Young Linebackers Are Crucial to the Team's Success

Cody Swartz — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:06:39 -0400

Defense wins ballgames.

Everyone knows that.

The Eagles have themselves a very good defense. The defensive line is among the best in the game and the secondary is deep and experienced.

With Pro Bowl end Trent Cole and underrated stars Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley anchoring the interior, the line will thrive as always in 2009. With the never-ending rotations the team likes to use, look for the defensive line to receive solid contributions from each and every single player.

The secondary has always been one of the team's strengths under Andy Reid.

Perennial All-Pro and fan favorite free safety Brian Dawkins departed for Denver, but the team should be solid in his place.

Quintin Demps and Sean Jones should be able to fill in, and strong safety Quintin Mikell is a reigning All-Pro and one of the most underrated players in the game.

Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown are arguably the NFL's top cornerback tandem, and Ellis Hobbs leads a solid group of corners more than capable of filling in at any time.

The linebackers are the only group without a Pro Bowler, but I believe this group of young draft picks could develop into one of the most talented units in the NFL.

Stewart Bradley is an All-Pro in the making. A young and aggressive player, Bradley is quickly becoming one of the game's most talented middle linebackers.

He has been compared to Brian Urlacher in the way in which he roams the middle of the field.

According to the Eagles' Web site, Bradley was credited with 151 total tackles last season. Sports Illustrated named him to their All-Pro team in just his first season as a starter.

Heading into just his second season as a starter and third season in the NFL, great things are expected from Bradley. There is talk that he may fill the leadership void left by Brian Dawkins, who left for Denver after 13 seasons as an Eagle.

I forsee a great future for Bradley, a third round draft pick in 2007. I think he can turn into one of the best linebackers in all of the NFL this season.

Chris Gocong and Akeem Jordan—the team's two outside linebackers—have just a combined three years of starting experience between them.

Nonetheless, I have high expectations for this group.

Gocong is the strongside 'backer who played defensive end in college. He missed his entire first season due to injury, but took over as the team's full-time starter in '07, replacing the underachieving Dhani Jones, who departed for the New Orleans Saints.

Gocong is a good pass rusher who has been utilized at both outside linebacker and defensive end. He is entering his third season as the team's starter.

Akeem Jordan beat out Omar Gaither for the starting job at weakside linebacker last season.

Gaither—who had registered 170 tackles and 14 pass deflections as the team's starting middle linebacker in the 2007 season, seeming tobe a star in the rising—moved back to WILL linebacker for the '08 season.

He started the first 11 games of the season, before he was benched in favor of Jordan for the Week 12 game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Jordan played well down the stretch, particularly in the 44-6 beatdown of Dallas in the last game of the season, registering a season-high 11 tackles, including two tackles for losses.

Even if Gaither is not starting, he will provide solid depth for the Eagles in the rotation of linebackers the team always employs.

There are high expectations for this talented group of linebackers in the '09 season.

Stellar performances from these three players could be the difference between the Eagles taking the NFC East and sitting home watching the playoffs on TV.

Pedro, Halladay, Victorino, and Other Philadelphia Phillies News

Cody Swartz — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:35:14 -0400

For the past several days, Ruben Amaro and the Phillies have been in close contact with free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez. The team is reportedly close to a deal that would put Pedro in a Phillies uniform as the club's fifth starter.

The fireballing right hander isn't what he used to be—a future Hall of Famer with three Cy Young awards, eight All-Star selections, and four ERA titles. He is on his last life as a starting pitcher.

Maybe even past his last life.

In limited action last season for the Mets, Pedro posted a 5.61 ERA and new career worsts in home runs per nine innings (1.6), strikeouts per nine innings (7.2), base runners per inning (1.5), and adjusted ERA (75).

His velocity of his fastball—a pitch that hit in the upper 90s a decade ago—is down to 91 or so, according to reports from the Phillies' front office who watched him throw a few simulated innings on Tuesday.

Martinez has started just 25 games over the last two seasons, and it's doubtful as to whether the 37-year old can even stay healthy at this point in his career.

There have been conflicting reports coming from Philly, with some sources saying Martinez has already been signed and others saying nothing is official yet.

I don't know if Martinez can provide anything to this club that Anthony Bastardo or even a prospect like Andrew Carpenter or Kyle Drabek couldn't.

I wouldn't waste my time with a pitcher who is a shell of his former shelf.

Now Roy Halladay?

That's pretty tempting.

Halladay is 32—a little older than I realized, and he is a workhorse, having compiled over 220 innings pitched in three straight years—but he is a pretty good option.

His trade value right now is at an all-time high, but rightfully so.

Last year, Halladay won 20 games, posted a 2.78 ERA, and led the American League in innings pitched (246), complete games (9), shutouts (2), WHIP (1.053), and strikeout to walk ratio (5.28).

This year, his 10 wins put him just one behind Tim Wakefield's 11 for the league lead in wins. Halladay also sports an impressive 2.79 ERA and an AL-best 1.3 walks per nine innings.

He is arguably the game's top pitcher.

From what I hear, the Phillies would have to give up a lot to get Halladay. I have heard rumors of two or three top pitching prospects, plus the team's top offensive prospect (Lou Marson), and J.A. Happ as well.

That's a lot of prospects to give up, but Halladay is a fabulous pitcher who would provide an instant upgrade to the Phillies' staff.

With Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, the Phillies would feature arguably the top 1-2 pitching punch in all of major league baseball.

And I think it would make the Phillies the best team in baseball, putting the defending World Champions in prime position to repeat.

In other Philly news, Shane Victorino secured the final spot on the National League All-Star team, beating out Giants' third basemen Pablo Sandoval.

Victorino is hitting .308 for the season, including .464 over the last week. He ranks second in the NL in runs scored (61), sixth in stolen bases (15), and second in triples (6).

Add in his lights out defense for the first-place Phillies and Victorino is more than a worthy All-Star candidate.

Phillie fan favorite Chase Utley made the team as a starter for the third straight year. Utley is having his usual under the radar, MVP quality season, with a .306 average, 19 home runs, and 60 runs batted in.

Raul Ibanez made the team as a starter, the first time in his career the 37-year old has qualified for the Midsummer Classic. Despite time on the DL, Ibanez has 22 home runs and 59 RBI to go along with a .312 batting average.

Ryan Howard made the team as a reserve.

Howard is batting just .252 for the year. His walks are down, his slugging percentage is down, and he only has two intentional walks, but the fact of the matter is Howard's 21 home runs and 63 RBI make him one of the most dangerous hitters in the league for his ability to crank one at any given time.

Why the Vikings Are in Danger of Overworking Adrian Peterson

Cody Swartz — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:53:09 -0400

Several months ago, I wrote an article, “The Workhorse Running Back: A Dying Trend in the NFL.”

This piece highlighted the importance of utilizing a two or even three-back system to extend a running back's career, as the Panthers did with Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams last season, or the Ravens with Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, and LeRon McClain.

Memo to the Vikings: Take note of this.

Adrian Peterson is good.

He's very good.

In fact, he is on pace to be one of the greatest running backs in the history of the National Football League.

His first two years were Hall of Fame worthy. He started in the Pro Bowl as a rookie, earned All-Pro honors in both seasons, and finished in the top two in the league in rushing yards both seasons.

He's already drawn comparisons to the great ones—Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and so on. It's too early to project a whole career for AP, but he looks to have a bright future ahead based on the two seasons we as football fans have seen from him.

Only three running backs have every rushed for more yards in their first two seasons than Peterson. Only 12 backs have ever rushed for more touchdowns. And only 11 backs have carried the ball as many times as Peterson.

That's a red flag right there.

No. 1 way to ruin a running back's career: overuse him.

Look at Terrell Davis. Earl Campbell. Larry Johnson.

These guys were the best of the best, but couldn't take the pounding from being the feature back—or the only back—for their team. All had prematurely short careers.

After averaging 374 touches per year in his first four seasons, Terrell Davis got injured and never again was the full-time starter.

Was it worth it to Denver fans?

Sure.

They got two Super Bowl titles and a Super Bowl MVP performance from Davis. And he was arguably the best running back in the game for about three years.

But it would have been nice for Davis to play more than four full seasons in the NFL.

Campbell averaged 351 carries per season in each of his first four years in the pros before injuries limited him to just 207 carries per year in his final four seasons.

And Larry Johnson averaged 386 carries per season after taking over the starting duties for the Chiefs, including an NFL-record 416 carries in 2006. In the two years since, he has averaged fewer than 200 carries per season, after missing 12 games due to injury.

In fact, there have been 26 instances in football history in which a running back has topped 370 carries in a single season.

Of those 26 times, the running back has suffered an injury the following season nine times. 35 percent of the time.

That's a pretty big risk to the Vikings.

Of the five times a running back has topped 400 carries in a season, two of the five runners have gotten hurt the following season. Those two—Larry Johnson and Jamal Anderson—combined for just 177 carries in their following year.

Teams should be wary of giving their star running backs that many carries, especially a team like Minnesota that possesses a talented backup runner—Chester Taylor—capable of filling in as the full-time back.

Peterson is a special back—the kind you want to protect. Running backs don't have long careers, but the Vikings want to be able to still rely on him in five or six years.

370 carries doesn't guarantee an injury. In fact, most of the time the running back DOESN'T get hurt the next year.

Eric Dickerson—a physical freak of nature—is the only back in history with four seasons to his resume of 370-plus carries. And he never got hurt in any of the succeeding years.

But why take the chance?

Even if the back manages to stay healthy, there is a pretty good chance he will see a significant decrease in his yards per carry.

Ricky Williams was used 383 times by the Dolphins in 2002, gaining a league-best 1,853 rushing yards on 4.6 yards per carry.

The following year, he took the pounding from 392 carries, and didn't miss a game.

But he paid the price. His yards dropped to 1,372 and his yards per carry average dropped over a full yard, down to 3.5 per rush.

Same with Eddie George.

George carried the rock 403 times for the Titans in 2000, helping the team to the playoffs. He averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, but totaled 1,509 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns.

The next season, George again played all 16 games and carried the ball 315 times. He failed to even top 1,000 yards however, averaging just a paltry 2.96 yards per carry.

In his final three seasons, George never again topped 3.4 yards per carry.

I have no ties to the Vikings. All they are to me is competition for the NFC title, but I would like to see a fair fight.

Ideally, I think Peterson should get 320 carries and 40 receptions, with Taylor handling around 125 carries and 30 receptions.

It's tempting to want to overwork a star. Especially when it gets your team that elusive Super Bowl trophy.

And maybe Peterson will turn out to be that once-in-a-lifetime back like Dickerson or Barry Sanders, who just doesn't get hurt.

But I wouldn't take my chances.

Why Sandy Koufax Owes a LOT of His Success to Dodger Stadium

Cody Swartz — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:28:27 -0400

*Entire article will not copy to BR. Check back later and hopefully it will all be here...

There are probably few players in history I wish I could have seen play more than Sandy Koufax.

He was a class act, retired early due to injuries, and made the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

He is widely regarded as the most dominant left-handed pitcher in baseball history and his five-year stretch of greatness (1962-1966) is viewed as one of the most amazing peak performances of any athlete in history.

During this span, Sandy Koufax won three Cy Young awards, earned a league MVP award, threw four no-hitters and a perfect game, led the Dodgers to three pennants and a World Championship, and topped the N.L. in ERA five straight seasons, thus establishing himself as a living legend.

And despite all that overwhelming evidence of his achievements, I have the nerve to call Koufax overrated.

What do I know?

I never saw Koufax pitch.

I wasn't born until 1989. I'm barely old enough to remember Ken Griffey, Jr. during his prime, much less Koufax.

I'm sure if I had been alive during that time, I would have been in awe of Koufax. My dad still tells me stories how if teams got a run off Koufax, there would be a hush across the ballpark. Two runs, and the crowd was in disbelief.

Koufax had everything going for him.

He was a well-mannered Jewish boy who was dedicated to his religion, devoted enough to skip Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday.

He pitched for one of the most popular teams in baseball, the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. He walked away in the prime of his career, at a time when he was arguably the most dominant professional athlete alive, giving him a larger than life image.

During his career, he constantly battled injuries and thrived under pressure.

Americans love stars, and Sandy Koufax right up there with Mickey Mantle and Johnny Unitas.

At a time when television was just striking it big, Sandy Koufax appeared on TV about as much as any athlete in sports, playing in six World Series in 12 seasons.

He shone in the postseason when it counted the most, and there has been very few pitchers that batters least wanted to see on the mound than Koufax and nobody, absolutely nobody, that has performed as spectacularly when it really counted.

Yet there have also been few, if any, players in history who benefited more from their ballpark, the league, and the time period than Sandy Koufax.

Koufax had the benefit of pitching in the top pitcher’s park in baseball in a pitcher’s league during the 1960s, when hitting was at an all-time low and pitching ruled the land.

Once the umpires instituted the new larger strike zones in 1963 and the mound was raised, Koufax became the most dominant pitcher on the planet.

In addition to the help he received from his park and the era, many people don’t even remember that before Koufax became a superhuman strikeout machine, he was actually a below-average pitcher.

Jayson Stark writes in his book, “The Stark Truth,” that Koufax is the most overrated left-handed pitcher of all-time. He focuses primarily on his first six seasons, what Stark refers to as The Other Half of Koufax's Career.

I don't want to penalize Koufax too much for his performance early on.

However, Koufax did struggle with his control more than about any pitcher in the league. He constantly ranked among the league leaders in walks.

During his first six seasons, only one other pitcher in all of baseball who pitched as many innings as Koufax had a higher ERA than Koufax (Chuck Stobbs, 4.28).

Koufax’s numbers were that of a struggling lefty trying to find his way. He was 36-40 with a 4.10 ERA and allowed close to 13 base runners per nine innings, including over five walks per game.

In fact, Koufax nearly quit the game following the 1960 season. He had gone just 8-13 with a 3.91 ERA, while walking 100 batters in just 175 innings pitched.

Koufax decided to return for one more season in 1961.

Everything seemed to click for him, as he became one of the best pitchers in the National League, and from there on, began the start of his Hall of Fame career.

It puzzles me how Koufax is simply given a pass for his first six seasons. As Stark says in his book, Koufax is basically allowed “on-the-job training.”

Koufax basically made the Hall of Fame on six tremendous seasons.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Those six seasons were fabulous seasons, although it's difficult for me to ignore how much Dodger Stadium helped his numbers.

Todd Helton and Larry Walker take a lot of heat for playing in Colorado, in hitter-friendly Coors Field. Everyone knows guys like Andres Galarraga and Vinny Castilla, while still good hitters, are products of the system.

Why is Koufax given a pass?

A breakdown of each season shows just how much Koufax benefited from Dodger Stadium:

1961: 18-13, 3.52 ERA, 2 SHO, 255.2 IP, 212 H, 96 BB, 269 K

This was the last year that Koufax pitched in the Los Angeles Coliseum, a hitters' ballpark. Koufax was vastly more efficient on the road then he was at home.

Home: 9-8, 4.22 ERA, 0 SHO, 132.1 IP, 119 H, 51 BB, 145 K

Away: 9-5, 2.77 ERA, 2 SHO, 123.1 IP, 93 H, 45 BB, 124 K

Away from the Coliseum, his ERA was almost a full run and a half better. Both his shutouts came on the road, and he allowed far fewer baserunners than he did in his home ballpark.

In short, Koufax's home ballpark wasn't helping him out much. If he had stayed at the Los Angeles Coliseum his whole life, I don't think we would talk about him today as a Hall of Famer.

Especially not the greatest left handed pitcher of all-time.

But he didn't stay at the Coliseum. His Dodgers moved to Dodger Stadium.

And it was the best thing to ever happen to Koufax's career.

1962: 14-7, 2.54 ERA, 2 SHO, 184.1 IP, 134 H, 57 BB, 216 K

In 1962, Koufax won the first of five consecutive ERA titles (2.54), posted a 14-7 record, and struck out 216 batters in just 184.1 innings pitched. He battled a severe finger injury that eventually caused him to miss close to two months of the season.

A close look here at the home-road breakdown:

Home: 7-4, 1.75 ERA, 2 SHO, 102.2 IP, 68 H, 25 BB, 118 K

Away: 7-3, 3.53 ERA, 0 SHO, 81.2 IP, 66 H, 32 BB, 98 K

Wow. Part of being a great player is the ability to perform away from the comfort of the home park.

And Koufax was still a good pitcher on the road. But not great.

Imagine projecting his road statistics to a full season.

Projected: 14-6, 3.53 ERA, 0 SHO, 163.1 IP, 132 H, 64 BB, 196 K

He would have finished 14-8 with a 3.53 ERA and just under 200 K’s. The league ERA that season was 3.94, so Koufax was 41 points better on the road than the league. That's just 10 percent better than the rest of the National League.

Does that sound like a dominant season?

That might be good enough to be the second pitcher on a five-man staff – maybe the ace – but not the greatest left-hander in the history of baseball.

Maybe that's a little harsh.

If Koufax had pitched for the San Francisco Giants or the Philadelphia Phillies or the New York Mets or any other team in the National League, he would have gotten to pitch in Dodger Stadium as a visiting pitcher two or so times per season.

To be precise, he would have gotten to pitch against the Dodgers once every nine starts (given that there were nine opposing teams in the league).

Let's say Koufax didn't have a home ballpark, so he made all of his starts each season on the road.

That way he wouldn't have an advantage of any ballpark, but rather he would be on track with the league, as he would be making his starts in accordance with each opposing team's ballpark.

Koufax made 13 starts on the road, which is an average of 1.31 starts against every team. Project that over a full season and he makes 2.62 starts in Dodger Stadium.

An average start for Koufax in Dodger Stadium in 1962:

0.54-0.31 W-L, 7.90 IP, 1.54 ER, 5.23 H, 1.92 BB, 9.08 K

He won 54 percent of his starts, lost 31 percent, and received a no-decision in 15 percent.

Add on the 2.62 extra starts in 1962 for Koufax to his projected numbers for 1962 and we arrive at these numbers:

New Projected: 15.4-7.8 W-L, 3.33 ERA, 0 SHO, 184 IP, 145.7 H, 69 BB, 219.8 K

However, that puts us at 28.62 starts for Koufax in 1962. He actually made 26, a number that is 90.85 percent of what we have.

I then took Koufax's stats for his 28.62 starts and multiplied everything with 0.9085 to arrive at Koufax's final projected stats.

Final Projected (1962): 14-7, 3.33 ERA, 0 SHO, 167.1 IP, 132 H, 63 BB, 200 K

Actual Statistics (1962): 14-7, 2.54 ERA, 2 SHO, 184.1 IP, 134 H, 57 BB, 216 K

What a difference.

The ERA in his projected stats is about four-fifths of a run higher than Koufax's actual stats. He wouldn't have won an ERA title that season; in fact, he wouldn't have finished close to the top ten in that category.

He still would have been a good pitcher. And I can't take away his no-hitter that season, and I don't know if it's fair to penalize him for pitching it at home.

But I think his newly projected stats show he wasn't quite as dominant. He wouldn't have been one of the elite pitchers in baseball that season. He would have been very good still.

But not great.

And I know it's easy to brush that aside.

Why should Koufax's stats be changed just because of his ballpark?

Because no one else (other than his teammates) had the advantage of Dodger Stadium. Bob Gibson didn't. Juan Marichal didn't. No one did.

Koufax did though.

1963: 25-5, 1.88 ERA, 11 SHO, 311 IP, 214 H, 58 BB, 306 K

In 1963, Koufax won the Cy Young award and the league MVP award, led the league in wins, winning percentage (.800), shutouts, and ERA, set a National League record in strikeouts, and led the Dodgers to the World Championship over the Yankees.

He became the first NL pitcher to win the triple crown in 24 years and the first pitcher to win it in either league in 18 years. Koufax also became the first NL pitcher to win the MVP award in seven seasons.

His home and road breakdown:

Home: 11-1, 1.38 ERA, 6 SHO, 143.2 IP, 83 H, 23 BB, 144 K

Away: 14-4, 2.31 ERA, 4 SHO, 167.1 IP, 131 H, 35 BB, 162 K

Koufax’s home ERA was almost a full run better than his road ERA – no doubt a direct result of the pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium.

He pitched more shutouts, gave up a fewer percentage of hits and walks, while striking out a higher percentage of hitters at home. Six of the eight times that he gave up more than three runs were road starts.

Koufax's road stats projected over a full season:

Projected: 28-8, 2.31 ERA, 8 SHO, 334.2 IP, 262 H, 70 BB, 324 K

He made 40 starts that season, 17 at home and 23 on the road. I want his final projection to include exactly 40 starts.

So I took the stats from his 23 road starts and converted it to get it down to 20 starts, then doubled that to arrive at a season of 40 road starts.

New Projected: 24-7, 2.31 ERA, 7 SHO, 291 IP, 228 H, 61 BB, 282 K

Koufax should have made 4.44 starts at Dodger Stadium, which is one out of every nine starts.

An average start for Koufax in Dodger Stadium in 1963:

0.65-0.06 W-L, 8.45 IP, 1.29 ER, 4.88 H, 1.35 BB, 8.47 K

Add on the 4.44 starts for Koufax from Dodger Stadium and his new projected statistics become even newer.

Newer Projected: 26.6-7.2 W-L, 2.21 ERA, 8.6 SHO, 324.8 IP, 249.7 H, 67 BB, 319.6 K

Convert those 44.4 starts back down to 40 (what Koufax actually made) and these are his final projected statistics for the 1963 season:

Final Projected (1963): 24-7, 2.21 ERA, 8 SHO, 295 IP, 227 H, 61 BB, 291 K

Actual Statistics (1963): 25-5, 1.88 ERA, 11 SHO, 311 IP, 214 H, 58 BB, 306 K

Still a tremendous season.

But not quite as good.

Koufax would have finished second to Juan Marichal in wins (25 to 24). His 2.21 ERA would finish second in the NL, rather than leading the league. And his NL-record 306 strikeouts would still be an NL record, but the final strikeout count would be 291 batters.

Would Koufax still have won the Cy Young award?

Probably.

It's worth noting that Juan Marichal – Koufax's primary competiton for the Cy Young award – also benefited greatly from his home park that season.

Marichal posted a 2.90 ERA on the road and 2.13 at home, a difference of two-thirds of a run. While it wasn't as great as Koufax's 0.93 run difference, Marichal still performed much better in front of his home crowd.

I think it's safe to say Koufax would have won the Cy Young award this season. He was still arguably the best pitcher in the game, or at least in the conversation.

Would Koufax have won the MVP?

I don't think so.

Pittsburgh's Dick Groat finished second, although personally I think Hank Aaron should have won it.

I think 24 wins and a 2.21 ERA wouldn't have won it, especially considering Koufax would have neither led the league in wins or earned run average.

Still a great season, one of the best of the decade – but no MVP award.

1964: 19-5, 1.74 ERA, 7 SHO, 223 IP, 154 H, 49 BB, 223 K

Koufax led the National League in ERA for the third year in a row. He pitched 29 games, completing just over half (15). He was forced to miss the last six weeks of the season due to severe arthritis in his pitching arm.

Home: 12-2, 0.85 ERA, 6 SHO, 127.2 IP, 82 H, 18 BB, 124 K

Away: 7-3, 2.93 ERA, 1 SHO, 95.1 IP, 72 H, 33 BB, 99 K

His home ERA of 0.85 was over two runs better than his road ERA and he hurled six shutouts at home, as compared to just one on the road.

Koufax's road stats projected over a full season:

Projected: 14-6, 2.93 ERA, 2 SHO, 190.2 IP, 144 H, 66 BB, 198 K

Projected to a full season, his road numbers are a 14-6 record with a 2.93 ERA, a mark that would have failed to rank in the top ten in the National League. With the league ERA at 3.25, Koufax was just one-third of a run better on the road, away from Dodger Stadium.

At 28 starts for the season, Koufax would have made 3.1 starts at Dodger Stadium.

An average start for Koufax in Dodger Stadium in 1964:

0.86-0.14 W-L, 9.12 IP, 0.86 ER, 5.86 H, 1.29 BB, 8.86 K

New Projected: 16.7-6.4 W-L, 2.66 ERA, 2.22 SHO, 218.5 IP, 162.2 H, 70 BB, 225.5 K

Convert those 31.1 starts down to 28 for the season and this is what I arrived at as a final projection for Koufax's 1964 season:

Final Projected (1964): 15-6, 2.66 ERA, 2 SHO, 196.2 IP, 146 H, 63 BB, 203 K

Actual Statistics (1964): 19-5, 1.74 ERA, 7 SHO, 223 IP, 154 H, 53 BB, 223 K

Wow.

This might be the biggest difference of all of the seasons for Koufax.

His ERA rises almost a full run. He threw less than one-third of the actual shutouts, pitched far fewer innings, and allowed a much greater percentage of base runners per inning.

Koufax would not have won the ERA crown with his newly projected final statistics, but rather his 2.66 ERA would rank seventh among the NL pitchers that season.

1965: 26-8, 2.04 ERA, 8 SHO, 335.2 IP, 216 H, 71 BB, 382 K

Koufax had his finest season ever, setting a new major-league record in K’s (382). He recorded eight shutouts and set a new record in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.79).

He won the Cy Young award, his fourth straight ERA title, threw a perfect game – his fourth consecutive season with a no-hitter – and captured his second pitching triple crown.

And led the Dodgers to the World Series, where his three-hit shutout on two days’ rest in Game 7 gave the Dodgers the World Championship, earning Koufax his second World Series MVP award.

And then comes the breakdown:

Home: 14-3, 1.38 ERA, 6 SHO, 170 IP, 89 H, 31 BB, 208 K

Away: 12-5, 2.72 ERA, 2 SHO, 165.2 IP, 127 H, 40 BB, 174 K

Koufax bettered his road ERA by almost a run and a half at home, and his 4.71 hits allowed per nine innings at home would shatter the single-season record if projected to a full season.

On the road, however, Koufax was simply a very good pitcher, as he fashioned a 2.72 ERA, a mark that would be sixth-best among pitchers who didn’t have the benefit of pitching in Dodger Stadium.

Projected: 24-10, 2.72 ERA, 4 SHO, 331.1 IP, 254 H, 80 BB, 348 K

These projections include 42 starts for Koufax. He actually made 41 for the 1965 season, so here are his statistics adjusted down to 41 starts.

New Projected: 23-10, 2.72 ERA, 4 SHO, 323 IP, 248 H, 78 BB, 340 K

From there, I added in the number of starts (4.56) Koufax would have made in Dodger Stadium that season.

An average start for Koufax in Dodger Stadium in 1965:

0.56-0.24 W-L, 8.5 IP, 1.3 ER, 4.45 H, 1.55 BB, 10.4 K

Newer Projected: 25.6-11.1 W-L, 2.58 ERA, 5.37 SHO, 369.9 IP, 268.3 H, 85.1 BB, 387.4 K

Convert those 45.6 starts down to 41 and here is what I arrived at for Koufax's final projected statistics in 1966:

Final Projected (1965): 23-10, 2.58 ERA, 5 SHO, 332.2 IP, 241 H, 77 BB, 348 K

Actual Statistics (1965): 27-9, 2.04 ERA, 8 SHO, 335.2 IP, 216 H, 71 BB, 382 K

This takes Koufax's finest season of his career and reduces it drastically.

In his final projected statistics of the '65 season, Koufax no longer wins the pitching triple crown. He would finish just tied for second (along with teammate Don Drysdale) in wins at 23 and fourth in ERA.

His 348 strikeouts still would have led the league; in fact, coming within one of setting a new single-season record.

Koufax won the Cy Young award in 1965.

Would he still have won it without Dodger Stadium?

I doubt it.

Juan Marichal, who led the NL in ERA in 1965 at an impressive 2.13 mark, actually put up an incredible 1.75 earned run average on the road. Along with his 22 wins, Marichal definitely would have beat out Koufax for the major leagues' Cy Young award.

1966: 27-9, 2.04 ERA, 5 SHO, 323 IP, 241 H, 77 BB, 317 K

In Koufax’s last season, he went out with a bang.

Despite arthritis throughout his pitching arm for the entire season, Koufax hurled 323 innings and won 27 of 36 decisions, posting a 1.73 ERA. It was his fifth straight season leading the National League in earned run average and his third Cy Young award.

He led the Dodgers to the pennant, winning the second game of a doubleheader on the last day of the season to lock up the N.L. flag for L.A, for the third time in four years.

Home: 13-5, 1.52 ERA, 3 SHO, 171.1 IP, 124 H, 45 BB, 160 K

Away: 14-4, 1.96 ERA, 2 SHO, 151.2 IP, 117 H, 32 BB, 157 K

Koufax put up his best stats by far on the road this season. It was the only year of his career in which he put up a sub-2.00 road ERA.

Koufax's road stats projected over a full season:

Projected: 28-8, 1.96 ERA, 4 SHO, 303.1 IP, 234 H, 64 BB, 314 K

Koufax actually made 41 starts in the '66 season. Here are his new projected numbers, converted up to 41 starts.

New Projected: 29-8, 1.96 ERA, 4 SHO, 311 IP, 240 H, 66 BB, 322 K

From there, I added in the 4.56 starts Koufax would have made in Dodger Stadium during the '66 season.

An average start for Koufax in Dodger Stadium in 1966:

0.62-0.24 W-L, 8.16 IP, 1.38 ER, 5.90 H, 2.14 BB, 7.62 K

Add on the 4.56 starts for Koufax and here are his newer projected statistics:

Newer Projected: 31.8-9.1 W-L, 1.91 ERA, 4.6 SHO, 348.2 IP, 266.9 H, 75.8 BB, 356.7 K

Convert the 45.56 starts down to 41 starts and here are Koufax's final projected starts for the 1966 season:

Final Projected (1966): 29-8, 1.91 ERA, 4 SHO, 313.2 IP, 240 H, 68 BB, 321 K

Actual Statistics (1966): 27-9, 1.73 ERA, 5 SHO, 323 IP, 241 H, 77 BB, 317 K

This would have gone down as Koufax's best season.

He would have led the major leagues with 29 wins, nearly winning 30 for the first time since Dizzy Dean in 1934.

His 1.91 ERA still would have led the league, as would his 29 wins and 321 strikeouts. It would have given Koufax the only ERA crown and pitching triple crown of his career.

He most likely would have won the Cy Young award. Any time a pitcher wins the triple crown he's a lock to win the Cy Young.

For his career, Koufax has a 2.48 home ERA and just 3.04 on the road. He threw nearly twice as many shutouts at home despite making 12 fewer starts.

His winning percentage is virtually the same both at home (.658) and on the road (.652), but the numbers show Koufax was a far superior pitcher in the cushion of his home ballpark.

Compare the previous list to this next list of some of Koufax's contemporaries, with their home/road ERA listed (home on top, road on bottom).

*Table will not copy to BR article. Check back later…

It's pretty evident that everyone is helped out by their home ballpark.

Ellsworth was +14 at home, Maloney +18, Marichal and Nuxhall +21, Friend +31, and Perry +33.

Only Bunning and Gibson were better on the road, with Bunning +22 on the road and Gibson an impressive +53.

No one else had the benefit Koufax had.

Imagine if Gibson pitched in Dodger Stadium, along with Koufax. Koufax's road ERA was 2.57 and Gibson's was 2.39, so I think it's pretty reasonable to assume Gibson could have compiled a home ERA of 1.37, just like Koufax.

The Philadelphia Eagles' Top 10 Defining Plays of the Andy Reid Era

Cody Swartz — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:58:07 -0400

Every fan remembers a select few plays from his team during his lifetime.

Here are 10 plays that have defined the Philadelphia Eagles under the Andy Reid era. I tried not to put all good plays—there are two plays on here I would love to forget.

Onside kick vs. Dallas, 2000: This wasn't just an onside kick. It wasn't just the first play of the 2000 season for the Eagles.

It ushered in a new era for the Philadelphia Eagles of supremacy in the division, putting an end to the 3-13 and 5-11 days of Bobby Hoying and Doug Pederson.

This kick symbolized the turning over of a new leaf.

The Eagles rolled over the Cowboys, 41-14, in 100-plus degree heat, en route to 11 wins and a playoff berth behind first-year starting quarterback Donovan McNabb's Pro Bowl season.

From there on out, the Eagles have established themselves as one of the top teams in the NFL, qualifying for the playoffs seven of the last nine seasons, including five trips to the conference championship game.

The Cowboys?

They haven't won a playoff game in 12 seasons.

Since 1996.

Wow.

Damon Moore's game-saving tackle, 2001: I bet a whole lot of people don't remember this play.

It was the second-to-last game of the 2001 season and the Eagles held a slim 24-21 lead over the defending NFC Champion Giants, following David Akers' go-ahead and eventual game-winning field goal.

We had still never experienced a division champion here in Philly...

At least I hadn't. I was just several months old the last time this team had won the NFC East, back in 1989.

There was time for just one last play and the Giants were seventy yards away from a touchdown, down by three.

Kerry Collins hit Tiki Barber across the middle for a short gain. Barber pitched the ball back to Ron Dixon—a known Eagles killer—and Dixon sprinted down the left sideline.

Dixon got all the way to the four yard line, where Eagles' safety Damon Moore managed to shove Dixon out of bounds, clinching the Eagles' first division title in 12 seasons.

The Eagles rolled over the Bucs and the Bears in the playoffs, before losing a hard-fought battle to the St. Louis Rams, just one game short of an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Joe Jurevicious' 71-yard pass, 2002 Playoffs: This was only the second most painful moment of the day. Ronde Barber's 92-yard interception return touchdown with just over three minutes to play was far more painful.

But Jurevicious' catch was far more influential in the outcome of the game.

The Eagles were up, 10-7, midway through the second quarter, and the Bucs faced second and five on their own 24-yard line.

Eagles' strong safety Blaine Bishop had been battling a hamstring injury all day, but rather than play it smart and inform the coaches to put in up-and-coming rookie Michael Lewis, Bishop kept his mouth shut.

And cost us the season.

Jurevicious took the pass 71 yards, beating every Eagle on the field, notably Bishop and our 400-plus pound middle linebacker, Levon Kirkland, who ran a 12 second 40 yard dash.

The Bucs scored a touchdown soon after, went up 14-10, and we never saw the lead again.

Brian Westbrook's 84-yard punt return touchdown, 2003: Remember when Brian Westbrook used to return punts?

I don't think I will ever forget what happened here.

The 2-3 Eagles were trailing the rival Giants, 10-7, with about a minute and a half to play, when the Giants lined up to punt.

McNabb had been having one of his worst days as a pro—just nine completions for 64 yards all game—and we all knew we needed Westbrook to break one if we wanted to win this game.

And he did.

I still get goosebumps when I remember Reese's “BRIAN WESTBROOK!”

Sometimes I still put in my 2003 Eagles DVD just to watch No. 36 sprinting down the left sideline for a glorious game-winning touchdown.

From there, the Eagles embarked on a nine-game winning streak to capture the NFC East and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

This return is still known in Philly as The Play That Saved Our Season.

Brian Dawkins' interception, 2003 Playoffs: I love Brett Favre. You can always count on him for a clutch interception when it counts.

With the Eagles and Packers locked in a 17-17 tie in overtime of the 2003 Divisional Playoffs, Favre threw one up for Javon Walker. Way up.

The pass was overthrown by about twenty yards. Dawkins settled under it like a punt, caught it, and raced 35 yards to put the Eagles in excellent field position, leading to David Akers' eventual game-winning field goal.

*Why not fourth and 26? If you can pick one play from that game, why would I pick Dawkins' pick over fourth and 26?

Everyone knows fourth and 26. It was unbelievable, miraculous...and maybe a tad overrated.

First of all, fourth and 26 never should have happened. The NFC's top team never should have let the Packers stay in the game that late.

The pass itself was thrown to a very forgettable wide receiver (Freddie Mitchell)—or at least one that we'd like to forget—and the pass actually wasn't a very good pass. It was behind Mitchell, who made a pretty nice catch in double coverage.

And even after that catch, the Eagles still weren't even winning.

A David Akers field goal sent us into overtime and from there, it was Brett Favre to Brian Dawkins for the game.

Again, I love fourth and 26, but I have to take Dawkins' pick.

Donovan McNabb 14.1 second scramble, 2004: No one play in particular defined the Eagles' 2004 season, in which they coasted to a 13-1 record and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

But this one by McNabb comes pretty close.

It was Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. It doesn't get any bigger than that.

The Eagles had already piled up 28 points with three minutes remaining in the second quarter and had the ball at their own 25-yard line.

McNabb took the snap, dropped back, escaped a defender, rolled to his right, scrambled all the way back across to his left, and fired one off his back foot to a streaking Freddie Mitchell, who hauled in the ball 60 yards down the field for a huge completion.

The scramble—which was replayed several times in a row—took 14.1 seconds.

14.1.

And it couldn't have come against a better team.

Greg Lewis' 30-yard touchdown catch, 2004 Super Bowl: Remember this drive?

This was the drive that earned Donovan McNabb his current status as one of the most overcriticized quarterbacks in the game.

I don't want to get too much into details.

There was some stalling, a little bit of vomiting, but when the dust settled, how did that drive end?

A beautifully thrown 30-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis.

Isn't that how drives are supposed to end? Touchdowns? I take comfort in knowing that the most criticized drive in the history of possibly the game ended in a touchdown.

Lito Sheppard's 102 yard interception return TD, 2006: I cried tears of happiness after this game. This might be the greatest regular season play of my lifetime.

Every Eagles-Cowboys game is huge, but this one was especially important. It was T.O.'s big return to Philly, after his messy divorce from the team a year earlier.

With the Eagles at 3-1 and the Cowboys at 2-1, this game was HUGE for playoff impact.

With just 33 seconds to play, the Cowboys found themselves in a second-and-goal situation just six yards from a touchdown that would tie the game and most likely force overtime.

Thank God for Drew Bledsoe.

The Cowboys' aging and unproductive quarterback found Eagles' corner Lito Sheppard in the end zone. Sheppard caught the ball in stride and raced 102 yards in the other direction for a game-winning 102-yard interception touchdown, to screams of delight from the ecstatic Philly crowd.

Afterwards, T.O.—who caught just three passes for 45 yards and no touchdowns all game—was caught on camera screaming at his teammates.

It was one of the happiest days of my life.

Lito Sheppard's game-saving interception, 2006: Say what you want about Lito Sheppard, who left Philly on bad terms this past offseason, but he sure had a knack for making clutch plays.

In this particular game, the 5-6 Eagles were being quarterbacked by Jeff Garcia, following McNabb's season-ending injury two weeks earlier.

Stuck in a losing streak (five out of the last six games), the Eagles desperately needed to win to stay in the hunt in the weak NFC.

The Birds took a 27-24 lead over the Carolina Panthers, a team that had traveled to the NFC Championship Game the previous year, before handing the game to the defense.

Jake Delhomme efficiently marched the Panthers nearly 70 yards in just under three minutes to the Eagles' seven-yard line.

Delhomme's fade pass to Keyshawn Johnson in the corner of the end zone was picked off by Lito Sheppard, who had timed the pass perfectly, before making a leaping, tumbling grab.

What was especially sweet about the play was Keyshawn had beat Lito right before halftime on the same fade pattern. Lito noticed a hitch in Keyshawn's body, adjusted to it, and made the play.

The pick secured the Eagles' win, putting them in a tie for the NFC wild card.

The play vaulted the Eagles on a five-game winning streak, as the Birds captured the division after being left for dead following McNabb's injury in November.

Scott Young's false start, 2006 Playoffs: This was not one of the better plays of my time as an Eagles fan. In fact, I can't recall ever being more outraged in my life.

The Eagles, on a six-game winning streak, were battling the Saints in the Divisional Playoffs. The Saints were up 27-24 with a little over three minutes left, driving into field goal range.

It appeared to be over.

And then there was a gift from God.

A lateral to Reggie Bush—not a handoff—that was fumbled and recovered by our very own Darren Howard near midfield.

With just over a minute to play, we found ourselves watching a fourth and 10, down 27 to 24. Miss and it's over.

By some miracle, Garcia completed a pass to Hank Baskett for the first down, moving the chains, and keeping the dream season alive.

And then the refs blew the whistle.

After the play was over.

The call was a false start penalty on backup guard Scott Young—filling in for the injured All-Pro Shawn Andrews—thus negating the completion and putting the Eagles with a much more difficult fourth and 15.

Andy Reid chose to punt, putting his faith in a defense that hadn't stopped Deuce McAllister or Reggie Bush all day.

The defense couldn't hold up, and that's all she wrote.

Chris Clemons' 73-yard fumble return TD, 2008: Ok, I added 11 plays. I couldn't resist this game.

Final game of the 2008 season, Eagles-Cowboys for the last playoff spot in the NFC.

What could get better that that?

The Eagles whipped Dallas in this game, 44-6. I could have chosen any number of plays from this game, but I think I'll go with Chris Clemons' 73-yard fumble return touchdown early in the third quarter to put the Birds up by 31 points.

I could just as easily pick Joselio Hanson's fumble return touchdown.

Or virtually any snap taken by quarterback Tony Romo, who enjoyed arguably his worst day as a pro.

I don't think I will ever get tired of watching this game's highlights.

A Philly Phan Reflects: His Team's Quest to Defend a World Championship

Cody Swartz — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:15:34 -0400

It's very tough to defend a World Championship.

Or so I've been told.

How would I know?

I've never seen a Philly team win anything significant in my life. The closest the Phillies had ever come during my life was a divisional title and an early playoff exit in 2007. And the closest the Eagles have ever come was within three points of a Super Bowl title.

So last year was a surprise. And a delight.

A World Championship brings high expectations for the team in its next season. The fans know just what the team can do, the players know what they themselves are capable of, and the rest of the league knows who is the team to beat.

The 2009 season for the Phillies—at least, so far—has been rocky at times.

Like recently.

The team's inconsistent starting pitching and inability to win both at home and in interleague play led to 11 losses out of the previous 13 games, dropping the Phillies into just a tie for the lead in the National League East.

Before a 10-0 win today behind a stunning pitching performance by J.A. Happ and an offensive outburst from outfielder Jayson Werth, the Phillies had looked nothing like the team that easily knocked off the American League Champions Tampa Bay Rays in last year's Fall Classic.

Perhaps the biggest difference between this year's team and last year's team has been the starting pitching.

Notably the decline in starting pitching.

Cole Hamels hasn't been the Cole Hamels of the 2008 playoffs, who captured both the NLCS and World Series MVP awards last season with four consecutive stellar pitching performances against the top teams in the major leagues.

He started off poorly, yielding seven runs in his first start of the season. He has had trouble with his pitch location and currently sports just a 4.44 ERA, well over a full run higher than the 3.09 mark he put up in the 2008 regular season.

There have been glimpses of the dominating Hamels in 2008—notably the five-hit, no-walk shutout he tossed against the NL-best Dodgers on June 4—and hopefully once he starts to find his groove, he will return to his form of last year.

The team has gotten inconsistent play from its other starters as well. Myers and Blanton both currently rank in the top five in the NL in home runs allowed (17 each) this season, and Moyer ranks seventh (16) in the league.

Chan Ho Park lost his role as the fifth starter after compiling a horrific 7.29 ERA and .311 opponents' batting average in his seven starts this season, handing the duties over to Triple-A call-up Antonio Bastardo.

Bastardo pitched admirably in his first two starts, winning both decisions, while compiling a 2.45 ERA in 13 innings pitched. From there, he was hit hard, losing his next three starts, while seeing his ERA rise to a whopping 6.75.

Perhaps the one bright spot for the rotation has been the emergence of J.A. Happ, a young left hander who is 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA for the Phillies this season. Happ was a relief pitcher for the team early in the year, but has pitched a quality start in four of his seven starts this season.

Another notable difference between this year's team and last year's team has been Brad Lidge.

It's difficult to match perfection.

And last year, Lidge was perfect.

In his first season in a Philly uniform, he was 41-for-41 in saves throughout the regular season, plus 7-for-7 in saves in the postseason. In all, he completed a historic season for not just Lidge, but the Phillies, who captured their first World Championship in 28 seasons.

No one expected Lidge to duplicate his stats from last year, but we hoped for numbers better than a 7.86 ERA, a major league-high six blown saves, and nearly two base-runners per inning.

It was probably for the best that he took some time off during his 15 days on the Disabled List, and expectations were high that he would return to top form.

However, he gave up two runs in one-third of an inning in the team's 6-1 loss, allowing four of the five hitters he faced to successfully reach base.

Thus far, the Phillies have a 4.88 team ERA and .276 opponents' batting average—both dead-last in the National League, other than the Triple-A Nationals.

It's the offense that has carried the team to a first place spot in the division. The Phillies are first in the National League in home runs (101) and stolen base percentage (80.6), second in team OPS (.780), and third in runs scored (372).

MVP candidate Raul Ibanez was a threat to win the Triple Crown before an injury sidelined him. He currently rests at .312-22-59, numbers that rank 16th, third, and third in the league.

Ryan Howard is fourth in the NL in home runs (20) and fifth in RBI (58). But, a .332 on-base percentage from a no-run, no-field power-hitting first basemen in a hitters' ballpark doesn't quite cut it for me.

Chase Utley is arguably the game's best all-around player—a legit five-tool superstar who has a chance in any given season to win an MVP award. He hits for power and average, works the count (his .430 on-base percentage is third-best in the NL), plays the field well, hustles, and knows what it takes to help his team win.

The team's biggest disappointment has been three-time All-Star Jimmy Rollins, the National League MVP just two seasons ago, who is enduring by far the worst season of his nine-year major league career.

Rollins has been in a season-long slump and his .211 batting average ranks dead-last among qualifying NL shortstops, and the fourth worst mark among the 166 players in the major leagues who qualify for the batting title thus far in the season.

His current 0-for-19 skid earned him a rare seat on the bench for three straight games.

Rollins is a second-half player, with a career batting average 23 points higher after the All-Star break than before (.287 to .264), and hopefully this year proves to be no exception.

For the Phillies to hold off the Mets, Braves, or Marlins in a tight NL East race, the team is going to need J-Roll at the top of his game and quality performances from both the starting pitchers and All-Star closer Brad Lidge.

The Year Too Early NFL All-Decade Team

Cody Swartz — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:49:49 -0400

There's still another year of football to be played in this decade.

However, I figured I'd put together a list of guys who merit selection to the 2000s NFL All-Decade Team.

For this, I chose to factor in stats, awards, playoff performances, and other achievements. Without further adieu, here is your all-decade team by position.

Quarterback

Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?

The ever-popular and over-discussed debate.

Colts fans will focus on the regular season accomplishments, while Patriots fans will look to the postseason success.

I have no bias either way, so I don't really care.

Forgive me, but I'll pass on this one...

Runners-Up: Matt Cassel and Jim Sorgi

Running Back

There have been a lot of great running backs this decade, but only one has dominated for virtually the whole decade.

That would be the Chargers' versatile and durable LaDainian Tomlinson, a former league MVP and owner of the single-season touchdown record.

LT is already pushing the top 10 greatest running backs who ever lived (I put him fifth on my list, published back in December), and a down year in '08 still consisted of over 1,500 total yards and 12 touchdowns.

Runners-Up: Priest Holmes, Marshall Faulk, Jamal Lewis, Clinton Portis, Shaun Alexander, Curtis Martin, Edgerrin James, Ahman Green, Tiki Barber, Corey Dillon, Fred Taylor, Brian Westbrook, Adrian Peterson, Larry Johnson

Fullback

It's probably the NFL's most underappreciated position. In fact, sometimes I even forget it exists (not hard to do as an Eagles fan).

No one has been better than Lorenzo Neal, who has played on five separate teams thus far this decade.

That hasn't stopped him from earning four Pro Bowl selections and three All-Pro honors. He has blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher eight separate times this decade.

Runners-Up: Tony Richardson, Mike Alstott, Mack Strong, Fred Beasley

Wide Receiver

Four names come to mind for the NFL's top wide receiver—Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, and Randy Moss.

And I can only choose two.

Name	Pro Bowls	All-Pro	1,000-Yard Seasons	10 TD Seasons	Rec-Yds-TD	Playoff Wins (Super Bowl)
Terrell Owens	6	5	8	7	729-10815-109	1 (0-for-1)
Marvin Harrison	7	2	7	7	791-10439-95	7 (1-for-1)
Torry Holt	7	1	8	3	817-11872-68	3 (0-for-1)
Randy Moss	4	3	7	6	694-10475-107	4 (0-for-1)

Terrell Owens

T.O. has the edge in first-team All-Pro selections, with just one fewer than Moss, Holt, and Harrison combined. He also has more 1,000-yard seasons and 10 TD seasons than the other three, and he ranks first in touchdown catches.

If it weren't for an abbreviated season in Philadelphia in '05, T.O. would be the only one on this list to top 1,000 receiving yards in every season this decade.

Marvin Harrison

Harrison has the most Pro Bowls out of the group (tied with Holt), although he does have the second fewest first-team All-Pro selections. This is more a testament to his consistency and excellence than domination.

He has the second most catches out of the bunch—including an NFL-record 143 in 2002, a record that will probably not be broken anytime soon—but the second fewest touchdowns. He is also the only one of the bunch to have played on a Super Bowl champion team (in this decade, so Holt's 1999 season does not count).

Torry Holt

The most underrated player of the bunch. By far.

When I originally made this list, I automatically just included Holt in the “runner-up” category. It wasn't until I went back and looked at his credentials that I realized one could make a pretty legit case for Holt as a member of the All-Decade Team.

He has made seven Pro Bowls, tied with Moss for the most out of the group. He has by far the most receptions and receiving yards out of the group but the fewest touchdowns by an embarrassing margin.

This can probably be linked to: 1) Marshall Faulk, the versatile running back and touchdown machine who took away many of Holt's touchdowns in St. Louis; 2) The simple fact that the Rams have not been a very good football team over this decade.

Holt has only been a first-team All-Pro selection once, but he has been arguably the most productive receiver year in and year out.

Randy Moss

Moss is the only player who does not lead in a single category, and he is penalized the most for what he has done in a previous decade.

In the first two seasons of his career (1998-99), Moss earned two Pro Bowl selections and a first-team All-Pro selection while averaging 1,363 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns per year.

Add in those two years and take away his disappointing two seasons in Oakland (2005-06), and I think Moss would have a much stronger case.

I will give him this though—go look up Daunte Culpepper's stats in 2000 and 2004 compared to his years without Moss. Then check out what Moss helped Brady do in 2007. Moss probably has the biggest impact on his quarterbacks out of any of the others.

The Verdict

As of now, I have to take T.O. and Harrison.

In my opinion, T.O. is the most talented as a pure receiver. He will go across the middle, block, catch the ball, do whatever it takes to help his team win.

I won't defend his attitude—I can't—but he gives everything he's got out there on the football field. He never took two years off, like Moss.

Runners-Up: Moss, Holt, Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, Reggie Wayne

Tight End

L.J. Smith. No question. He has been one of the best draft picks Andy Reid has ever made...

Other than him, I would go with Tony Gonzalez. He might go down as the greatest tight end of all time. He has made the Pro Bowl in all nine seasons this decade, including four selections as first-team All-Pro.

How many 32-year-old tight ends do you know who can catch 96 passes for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns from the likes of Tyler Thigpen, Brodie Croyle, and Damon Huard?

Runners-Up: Antonio Gates, Jason Witten

Offensive Tackles

It's very difficult to judge offensive linemen. Very difficult. There are no stats to which I have regular access.

I go by the Pro Bowl selections, first-team All-Pro selections, and their reputation. The first two names that came to my mind were Jonathan Ogden and Orlando Pace.

Ogden made eight consecutive Pro Bowls this decade before retiring at the end of the '07 season. Five times he was named first-team All-Pro, and two additional times he was second-team All-Pro. He also helped the Ravens capture the Super Bowl championship after the 2000 season.

Pace was the NFC's version of Jonathan Ogden—a mammoth-sized offensive tackle who was a fixture for the Pro Bowl roster. Pace earned six Pro Bowl selections in the '00s, including five selections for first-team All-Pro.

Yet I'll take another tackle—Walter Jones. Jones has been selected to the Pro Bowl in his last eight seasons and been voted an All-Pro seven times. He has blocked for the 2005 league MVP (Shaun Alexander) and was selected by Sporting News as the best player in the NFL following the 2006 season.

Runners-Up: Pace, Willie Roaf

Guards

Alan Faneca was the first name that came to my mind when I thought of guards.

Anyone realize how good he's been?

EIGHT consecutive Pro Bowls. He has been a first-team All-Pro five times and second-team All-Pro three times.

He helped the Steelers to three conference championship games, including a Super Bowl win following the 2005 season. It's a shame he left for the Jets after the '07 season, because he would have another ring to his name if he had remained with the Steelers.

Faneca was voted Tuesday Morning Quarterback's Non-QB Non-RB NFL MVP for his stellar performance in the 2001 season.

Three other guards have earned at least six Pro Bowl selections this decade—Will Shields (7), Steve Hutchinson (6), and Larry Allen (6).

Again, it's difficult to judge these guys on anything but their Pro Bowl selections, but I have always felt Hutchinson was the best guard in the league.

He has been an All-Pro six times, five of them as a first-team guard. He has been hugely instrumental in the performance of Shaun Alexander (2005 NFL MVP) and Adrian Peterson, the league's top runner and 2008 NFL rushing champion.

In fact, Hutchinson has blocked for a 1,300-yard rusher in five of his last six seasons.

Runners-Up: Shields, Allen, Brian Waters

Centers

I've always loved watching Olin Kreutz play. He's a little, undersized guy, but he gives it his best. He's earned six Pro Bowl selections and been named to the All-Pro team once.

Matt Birk of the Vikings has also earned six Pro Bowl invitations and been named All-Pro twice.

It's either Kreutz or Birk.

I've got to go with Birk. He's been slightly more dominant (more All-Pro selections). He's been more vital to his team's success in the running game, helping turn Adrian Peterson into the league's top running back and Chester Taylor into one of the best backups.

Runners-Up: Kreutz, Kevin Mawae, Jeff Saturday

Defensive Ends

There have been a LOT of great defensive ends thus far this decade.

Five in particular I will evaluate.

Jason Taylor leads in Pro Bowl selections (6), All-Pro nominations (4), and is one of just two defensive ends to have won the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Michael Strahan is the other to have won the Defensive Player of the Year award. He also holds the NFL single-season record in sacks (22.5) and has four Pro Bowls to his name.

Dwight Freeney and Julius Peppers have consistently been among the league's best pass-rushing ends. In fact, they are two of the most similar players in the NFL, not so much in their physical stature, but more so their accomplishments.

Each has totaled four Pro Bowls since their arrival to the NFL in 2002. Each has earned two All-Pro selections and accumulated exactly 70.5 sacks in seven years.

Personally, I feel Peppers is slightly better. He's faster, more versatile, and can create a play out of nothing.

Last is Richard Seymour, a versatile lineman who can play both end and tackle. Seymour has been primarily used as an end, earning five Pro Bowl selections in eight years as a pro.

He has been a key part of the Patriots' three Super Bowl championship teams and is often regarded as the most dominant defensive lineman in the NFL.

He has struggled with injuries but has been significant in the play of teammates Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork, two up-and-coming talented linemen.

It's very difficult to choose just two of these five players, but I think I'll take Taylor—probably the best pure pass rusher of the group—and Seymour, a huge unblockable end who can play anywhere on the line.

Runners-Up: Strahan, Peppers, Freeney, Simeon Rice

Defensive Tackles

Probably the least dominant position out of all of them.

Warren Sapp was the first name to come to my mind, but he was at his best in the late '90s and early part of this decade. Same with La'Roi Glover, who leads all defensive tackles this decade with six Pro Bowl nominations.

I've always loved Kris Jenkins, although he has been injury-prone during his career. Jenkins has earned four Pro Bowl selections from two different teams, played in a Super Bowl, and been an All-Pro three times.

Kevin Williams is arguably the top defensive tackle in the game right now. He is a tremendous run stopper who has earned four Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro nominations in the last five years.

I'll take Glover and his six Pro Bowl invitations, along with Williams, the tackle most primed to have another dominating season in '09.

Runners-Up: Sapp, Jenkins, Pat Williams, Shaun Rogers, Casey Hampton, Marcus Stroud, Sam Adams, Tommie Harris

Middle Linebacker

Who else but Ray Lewis?

He might be the greatest middle linebacker of all time, every bit as good as Ray Nitschke or Dick Butkus. In a poll the other year, Lewis was voted the third greatest linebacker of all time.

Lewis is a future first ballot Hall of Famer, no question. He is a living legacy. Just ask Baltimore fans. There are those who swear that even at age 34, he hasn't lost a single step.

In this decade alone, he has been voted to the Pro Bowl seven times, earned five All-Pro selections, and been named the game's MVP following the Ravens' 34-7 win in Super Bowl XXXV.

Lewis is also one of just six players in the history of the NFL to have earned the Defensive Player of the Year award twice (2000 and 2003).

Runners-Up: Brian Urlacher, Al Wilson, Keith Brooking, Jeremiah Trotter, Tedy Bruschi

Outside Linebackers

Very few people know just how good Derrick Brooks has been during his future Hall of Fame career. He has been selected to 11 Pro Bowls, eight of them within this decade.

Brooks has also earned six All-Pro selections for the decade, earned an NFL Defensive Player of the Year award (2002), and helped the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl following the '02 season.

Perhaps no player in the NFL has been as versatile as Julian Peterson, an outside linebacker who has lined up at defensive tackle, defensive end, middle linebacker, cornerback, and safety.

Peterson is a five-time Pro Bowler who has earned three All-Pro selections. He is one of the league's best pass rushers and coverage linebackers.

Runners-Up: Joey Porter, Shawne Merriman

Cornerback

The most valuable part of a top-notch defense is a shutdown corner, a guy who can literally shut down one side of the field.

Players like Deion Sanders and Mel Blount come to mind. These guys could cover the opposition's top receiver and hold him to two or three catches and no scores.

Champ Bailey is the closest thing to a shutdown corner in today's game. He has been arguably the top cover corner in the NFL over his career. Bailey has been voted to eight Pro Bowls thus far this decade, earning four All-Pro nominations.

His 2006 season, in which he led the NFL with 10 interceptions, did not allow a touchdown the entire year, and was voted unanimously to the All-Pro team, is one of the greatest by a cornerback in NFL history.

The Bucs' Ronde Barber is one of the most underrated guys in the league. Barber has been voted to five Pro Bowl teams and earned five All-Pro nominations during his career. He helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl following the 2002 season.

Runners-Up: Ty Law, Troy Vincent, Chris McAlister, Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel

Free Safety

I love a good free safety. A ballhawk who can play center field and roam around the defensive side of the field. A hard-hitter who can rush the quarterback, stop the run, and pick off the pass.

Like my man, Brian Dawkins.

Nicknamed “Weapon X,” Dawkins has been an icon during his reign in Philly. He earned six Pro Bowl selections during the decade and five All-Pro nominations while leading the Eagles to the playoffs seven times, including five trips to the NFC Championship Game.

And he's not the best free safety of the decade.

Unfortunately.

Ed Reed is.

Even though he has played just seven seasons in his NFL career, Reed is already being talked about as the greatest safety to ever play the game.

He is a ballhawk like no one I have seen in my lifetime, with 43 interceptions in his career, 11 total touchdowns, and five interceptions in five career playoff games.

Reed has been voted to five Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams, earned a Defensive Player of the Year award, and led the NFL in interceptions twice.

At just 30 years old, Reed will most likely go down as one of the two or three greatest safeties to ever play the game.

Runners-Up: Dawkins, Darren Sharper, Roy Williams

Strong Safety

I hate the Pittsburgh Steelers with a passion, but I can't tell you what I would give for a playmaking safety like Troy Polamalu.

One of the top defensive players in the game right now, Polamalu has made five consecutive Pro Bowls, earned three All-Pro nominations, and helped the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles.

Despite Polamalu's success, I'll have to go with John Lynch. Lynch has been around the entire decade, compared to Polamalu, who didn't break into the NFL until 2003.

While both players have earned three All-Pro selections, Lynch has earned seven Pro Bowls to Polamalu's five. And Lynch was doing work for the Bucs at the beginning of the decade, while Polamalu had yet to finish his college career.

Runners-Up: Polamalu, Rodney Harrison, Bob Sanders

Kicker

Adam Vinatieri is the obvious choice.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Vinatieri has played on four Super Bowl champion teams, three with the Patriots and one with the Colts.

He has been a part of some of the most clutch plays in NFL history, twice kicking last-second, game-winning field goals to win the Super Bowl, while adding a 45-yard field goal in a foot of snow in overtime to beat the Raiders in the '01 Divisional Playoffs.

Vinatieri is on track to be just the second pure kicker to earn admission to the Hall of Fame.

Runners-Up: Mike Vanderjagt, David Akers, Jeff Wilkins, Jason Elam, Matt Stover

Punter

Shane Lechler has long been considered the top punter in the game. He has earned four Pro Bowl selections and been voted an All-Pro six times.

Lechler also holds the NFL's second-best single-season mark for punting average (49.1 in 2007).

Runners-Up: Brian Moorman, Todd Sauerbrun, Jeff Feagles

Kick/Punt Returner

It's a close one here between Dante “The Human Joystick” Hall and Devin “Anytime” Hester.

Hall was dominant from 2002 through 2004, putting together three of the finest seasons a kick returner has ever had. During those three seasons, he earned two Pro Bowl selections and returned nine total kicks for touchdowns.

Hester hasn't been in the league longer than three years, but he has already earned two trips to the Pro Bowl and returned 11 kicks for touchdowns, plus a 108-yard missed field goal return for a score and the opening kick of the Super Bowl back for a TD.

I think Hester was slightly more dominant in his prime than Hall, but I'll take Hall due to more years in the league during this decade.

Runner-Up: Hester

What to Expect From the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles' Draft Picks

Cody Swartz — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:34:43 -0400

Andy Reid's draft picks have a history of not producing much in their first year.

In fact, his first-year players barely see the field.

Donovan McNabb started just six games at the end of his rookie year, as Reid wisely allowed him to sit and learn from mentor Doug Pederson for the first 10 games. This move paid off well as McNabb started the entire 2000 season, led the Eagles to the playoffs and finished second in the NFL in the Most Valuable Player voting.

Freddie Mitchell was a first-round draft pick at the wide receiver position. He totaled just 21 catches for the season, playing primarily as the team's third receiver.

Jerome McDougle, Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley were three defensive linemen drafted in the first round in a span of just four years. While Patterson did manage to crack the starting lineup for seven games near the end of the 2005 season, neither McDougle nor Bunkley started a game or even collected a sack.

Last year's DeSean Jackson was the exception to the rule.

Forced into a starting role because of injuries to Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, Jackson was given playing time early, eventually winning the starting spot.

He caught 62 passes for 912 yards and two touchdowns. The receptions and yards were the most by an Eagles homegrown receiver under Reid.

Over the last 10 years, Reid has done pretty well in the draft. His picks don't always perform early on, but most of them turn out fine.

That being said, expect this year's draft class to play. A lot.

Expect first-round pick Jeremy Maclin to get significant playing time as one of the team's wideouts. Maclin is most likely to play in the slot role as the Eagles' third receiver.

Maclin brings a strong element of speed to the team. This should make him a deep ball threat for McNabb. I don't expect Maclin to put up the same numbers that Jackson did last year, basically because he will be given fewer opportunities on the field.

However, I do expect Maclin to give defensive backs some trouble next season.

He has the talent and speed to do some damage immediately, and he will benefit from playing with McNabb, one of the elite quarterbacks in the game.

I also forsee Maclin contending for a job with the punt or kick return duties.

Second-round draft pick LeSean McCoy is a speedy, elusive running back out of Pittsburgh who reminds many of Brian Westbrook.

With Westbrook nursing a nagging ankle injury, McCoy could be used a lot more than originally intended.

In fact, McCoy could be the team's opening day starter if Westbrook is not healthy.

It's asking a lot to expect a rookie to be ready to be the opening day starter in his first NFL game, but in this scenario, the Eagles may have no choice.

Westbrook has been very injury-prone over his career, so we could be seeing a lot of McCoy this season.

Tight end Cornelius Ingram was picked in the fifth round out of the University of Florida. A former college quarterback, Ingram converted to tight end. He was thought to have first or second-round talent, but missed the majority of his senior year due to an ACL injury, dropping his draft stock.

As of now, Brent Celek is the team's starter at tight end. Celek emerged as a play-maker down the stretch and in the playoffs last season, topping out with 10 receptions, including two touchdowns, in the NFC Championship game.

Ingram should push for playing time, and if anything else, provide the Eagles with a viable option to use in two-tight end sets.

Cornerback Victor “Macho” Harris was picked in the fifth round, four picks after Ingram. Harris is a cornerback and kick return specialist, who could push Hobbs or Demps for time as the team's return man.

Harris won't play much on defense—he is currently the fifth cornerback, behind Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown, Ellis Hobbs, and Jack Ikegwuonu—but he will have a good opportunity to learn from some of the game's best.

Fenuki Tupou was the team's third pick in the fifth round. A huge offensive tackle, Tupou was recently signed to a four-year deal by the Eagles, but I doubt he will make the team, much less play his rookie season.

Tupou is buried on the depth chart, behind Jason Peters, Shawn Andrews, Winston Justice, King Dunlap and Chris Patrick, and I don't think the team will keep six tackles.

Sixth round draft choice Brandon Gibson will need a miracle to make the team. As it stands, the Eagles have five legit receivers on their roster, plus Reggie Brown. Gibson might make the practice squad, but that's it.

The team's final two picks were guard Paul Fanaika and outside linebacker Moise Fokou, two players who will most likely be released from the roster during the final week of training camp.

Lidge Blows Back-to-Back Saves: Time to Demote "Lights Out" To Setup Role?

Cody Swartz — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:36:13 -0400

What was the strength of last year's World Championship team is now the weakest link on the team.

Brad Lidge.

He was perfect in 2008.

41-for-41 in save opportunities during the regular season, plus an additional 7-for-7 in the postseason. The final pitch of Lidge's season brought the Phillies the franchise's World Championship in 28 years, solidifying Lidge's place into Philadelphia lore.

And 2009?

He's been one of the worst closers in baseball.

No. Actually, he's been one of the worst pitchers in baseball.

He has been a major weakness for a team that was so dependent on its closer last year.

Coming off a six-game streak, the Phillies took on the NL-best L.A. Dodgers in a weekend series.

Jamie Moyer pitched seven strong innings, cruising from part of the first through the sixth without allowing a base hit. For the day, he gave up just four hits and two earned runs, leaving the game with a 3-1 lead.

Enter Brad Lidge.

Lidge got two easy outs to enter the ninth, before a base hit, walk, and throwing error by Pedro Feliz loaded the bases.

Andre Ethier's double drove in the tying and winning runs, handing Lidge his fifth blown save of the season.

Tonight was close to the same scenario.

Joe Blanton pitched six superb innings, allowing just five hits and one earned run, in one of his finest outings of the season.

Heading into the ninth, the Phillies sported a 2-1 lead and once again handed the ball to Lidge to try to nail down the save.

And once again, Lidge failed.

He surrendered a one-out solo home run to pinch-hitter Rafael Furcal, just Furcal's second long ball of the season.

Both bullpens kept the game going until the twelfth, when Andre Ethier smashed a two-out, full-count home run off of Clay Condrey to win the game. It was Ethier's second walk-off hit in two days, and Lidge's second consecutive blown save.

It was Lidge's sixth blown save of the season.

Sixth.

At what point does it become time to take away Lidge's role as the team's closer? He has struggled with mental issues his entire career—see his tenure in Houston for proof—but was thought to have rebounded last year.

It's a difficult decision.

I would gladly take a pitiful season in year two if I knew I could have a perfect season and a World Championship in year one. That World Series banner will never be removed, and Lidge's place in the city of Philadelphia is forever ensured with his performance in 2008.

However, it's time to start thinking about the present.

And presently, Lidge does not have what it takes to close ballgames.

I don't feel the confidence I used to when Lidge entered the game. He always has given up many baserunners and gotten himself into a handful of jams, but he's worked through them.

Not this year.

After posting a 1.95 ERA in the '08 regular season and an even-better 0.96 mark in the postseason, Lidge's ERA for the '09 season has ballooned to 7.20, nearly four times what it was last year.

He is allowing close to two base runners per inning. He's given up three times as many home runs as he did last year in about one-third of the innings pitched. And he's converted just 68 percent of his save opportunities.

He just doesn't have it.

I would give Lidge about two weeks or so in the setup role just to get his head on straight and get his rhythm back. I don't care who would close games—Romero, Madson, Condrey—but it would hopefully allow Lidge to settle back and get his stuff back.

It's the cruel reality of professional sports.

A perfect dream season for Lidge in 2008, and he's on the verge of losing his starting job just several months into the following season.

That's the way it works.

Will Randy Johnson Be the Last 300 Game Winner... Ever?

Cody Swartz — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:12:34 -0400

Every player, upon reaching the big leagues, strives to be the best.

Whether it's hitting home runs or striking out batters, every player wants to be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game. As a player accumulates statistics, he builds himself a legacy.

There are three statistical milestones that far surpass any other.

500 home runs. 3,000 hits. 300 wins.

Over the last several decades, the difficulty of joining each club has drastically changed. Due to the steroid era, the 500 home run club has become substantially easier to join, with the likes of Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, and Sammy Sosa doing so.

The 3,000-hit club has added ten members in just the last two decades, but it seems to be leveling off now.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are the only active players I can say for certainty will reach 3,000 hits, as Ken Griffey, Jr., Ivan Rodriguez, and Gary Sheffield would need incredible late-career surges.

And 300 wins?

It's quickly becoming a rarity.

San Francisco Giants' lefty Randy Johnson became the 24th pitcher in baseball history with 300 wins earlier today. Johnson threw six fantastic innings, allowing just two hits and an unearned run.

Johnson became just the second active pitcher to do so (although Tom Glavine was just released by the Braves), and only the fifth pitcher to be active in the last 20 years (Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine are the others).

The next closest active pitcher is Philadelphia's own ageless Jamie Moyer, who sits at 250 wins. Given that he currently sports a 4-5 mark with a 6.71 ERA in 2009, and will turn 47 during the offseason, Moyer is a long shot.

It's reasonable to assume he will finish this season with 12 or so wins, which would give him 258 in his career. From there, he would need to average 14 wins over his next three seasons, all while pushing 50 years of age.

I don't want to say it's impossible—after all, who would have predicted 15 years ago that Moyer would be better now than back then—but it's highly unlikely.

I might have said Pedro Martinez several years back. Following the 2005 season in which he won 15 games, posted a 2.82 ERA, and led the National League in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio, it seemed plausible.

Martinez was just 34 years old and still on top of his game. Although he only had 197 wins, it seemed reasonable to assume Pedro could make a late-career run at 300 wins. It would have required six or so seasons of 16 wins.

However, Pedro broke down much earlier in his career, probably due to his small, 5'11” frame. He has averaged just 16 starts and less than six wins per season since 2006, and as it currently stands, does not have a major league team.

Longtime Braves' pitcher John Smoltz looked to have a decent shot as well following the 1999 season, in which he won 11 games and posted a solid 3.19 ERA. However, after missing the 2000 season due to Tommy John surgery, Smoltz switched to closer for the next four seasons.

Although this was a role in which he excelled—saving 154 games in four seasons, including three straight seasons of 40-plus saves—it's safe to say that this experiment as a closer cost Smoltz his shot at 300 wins.

After returning to the rotation in 2005, Smoltz showed no ill effects as a starter, making two All-Star teams in his next three seasons. He posted 14 wins in '05, a league-leading 16 in '06, and 14 in '07.

That is an average of about 15 wins per season.

If you give Smoltz credit for 15 wins per season during the four years in which he was a closer, those extra 60 wins would give him 270 for his career.

While he still might not have reached 300—especially considering he is currently rehabbing with the Boston Red Sox and has yet to pitch a game in the '09 season—Smoltz definitely would be in the running for 300 wins.

But at age 42 with 210 wins and still inactive for the '09 season, Smoltz has no chance to win 300 games.

Mike Mussina would have had a pretty legitimate shot to win 300 games. He won a career-high 20 games last season to put him at 270, but he abruptly retired at the age of 40.

Even if Mussina had remained active, he still would have needed two seasons of 15 wins, years in which he would have been 40 and 41 years old.

Currently, the Yankees' Andy Pettitte (220 wins) is the only other active pitcher with so much as 160 wins. He would need five more seasons of 16 wins to reach 300, a milestone that seems too far-fetched given Pettitte's age (turning 37 in two weeks) and his career average of just 15 wins per season.

Bill James' 2009 Baseball Handbook ranks the pitchers most likely to reach the 300-win plateau. Heading into this season, Randy Johnson was No. 1 at an 86 percent, followed by Mussina, who retired during the offseason, and Moyer, who was listed at 25 percent.

The next pitcher on the list is the Mets' ace Johan Santana, a hard-throwing lefty who leads the National League in wins so far this season. Santana is at the top of his game, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and he only has a 24 percent chance to reach 300 wins.

Santana is 29 years old with just 116 wins and would need over 10 more seasons of his current pace of 17 wins per season.

Other elite pitchers who have an outside shot in the future include Roy Halladay, Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Roy Oswalt, and CC Sabathia.

Bill James described it best in his book when he stated, “It's a marathon, winning 300, and those guys are at about the 10-mile mark.”

Odds are one of those guys will win 300 games... right?

Maybe not.

With five-man rotations, starting pitchers only get to pitch a little more than once per week. And now that relief pitchers and closers have the opportunity to give away games, starters don't get the wins they used to fifty years ago.

I don't want to say no one will reach it.

Someone down the road could come along and do it. I think the greater likelihood is a pitcher like Jamie Moyer who sticks around forever and finally wins his 300^th, than a dominating pitcher like Maddux or Clemens who wins 20 every year in his prime.

What I will say though, is to enjoy this milestone that Johnson just reached, because it could be a very LONG time until we as baseball fans get to see this again.

Will Any Hitter Ever Win the Triple Crown Again?

Cody Swartz — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:07:16 -0400

The Triple Crown is probably the most impressive accomplishment a hitter can hope to win.

It features a supreme combination of power and batting average. Only the greatest hitters who ever walked the planet have been fortunate and talented enough to win this award.

Yet Babe Ruth never did it.

Neither did Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, or Barry Bonds, closing out the top four home run hitters who ever lived.

That shows just how difficult it is to win a Triple Crown.

In fact, the hitter's Triple Crown hasn't occurred in over 40 years—since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski won it for the American League in 1967, with a .326-44-121 statline.

This feat has been achieved just 15 times by 13 hitters in the history of the game, with Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams as the lone hitters to lead the league in all three hitting categories twice.

This makes a Triple Crown about as rare as a perfect game (17 such occurrences in MLB history), unassisted triple play (14), and four home runs in one game (15).

To win a Triple Crown requires an extraordinary amount of skill as a hitter, namely the ability to combine power AND batting average.

The first hitter ever to lead the league in all three categories was outfielder Paul Hines back in 1877, who topped the NL with four home runs, 50 runs batted in, and a .358 batting average. Hugh Duffy won it in 1894, meaning just 11 hitters have won the award since the turn of the 20th century.

Nap Lajoie and Ty Cobb—two hitters noted more for their high batting average than ability to hit for power—won it for the AL in 1901 and 1909, respectively.

Rogers Hornsby won it twice in four years in the '20s before the award exploded in the '30s and '40s.

Jimmie Foxx and Chuck Klein each won it for separate leagues in 1933—the only year the Triple Crown was won in both the National League AND the American League.

Lou Gehrig won it in '34, Joe Medwick in '37 (the last NL winner), and Ted Williams in '42 and '47. Mickey Mantle won it in '56, as the last man to lead the entire major leagues in all three categories.

Frank Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski captured the Triple Crown in '66 and '67 for the American League, and no hitter has done so since.

At this point, I can't say for sure whether it will ever be done again.

Today's hitters face more competition. In 1967, when Carl Yastrzemski last won it, he was competing against 80 or so mostly white hitters. In today's era, a hitter is competing against 120 or so players from a much wider pool of talent.

Many of the game's top hitters are one-dimensional, greatly reducing their chances of winning a Triple Crown.

Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, arguably the most feared power hitter in the game today, led the league in home runs and runs batted in last year, two of the three Triple Crown categories. However, his .251 batting average ranked just 60th out of the 72 qualifying NL hitters.

Meanwhile, Ichiro Suzuki, arguably the game's top pure contact hitter, has won two batting titles and finished in the top seven in the AL in batting average all seven seasons of his career. However, he has never hit more than 15 home runs or drove in so much as 70 runs in a season.

In fact, just two active hitters in baseball have even led the league in all three hitting categories in a season during his entire career.

That would be Manny Ramirez, who led the AL in RBI in 1999 (165), batting average (.349) in 2002, and home runs (43) in 2004, and A-Rod, who won a batting title (.358) in 1996, and has won multiple HR and RBI titles.

Hard to believe that Albert Pujols has never done it.

Of the active players in baseball right now, he is the game's best hitter. I think most people would agree with that statement, and if not the best, definitely in the top three.

Pujols has the best chance to win a Triple Crown. By far.

And it's doubtful he'll ever win one.

As great as he has been—and he is probably the best pure non-steroids (as of now) hitter the game has seen since Willie Mays or Hank Aaron—Pujols has never even led the league in home runs or runs batted in. He's only won a batting title once, and that was by less than one-thousandth of a point.

See the following chart to view Pujols' year-by-year Triple Crown breakdown.

*Triple Crown number, while not an actual statistic (at least not to my knowledge), is computed by adding up the player's rank in his league in the three Triple Crown categories and dividing that number by three

Year	Batting Average	Home Runs	RBI	Triple Crown #
2001	6 (rank in the NL)	11	5	7.33
2002	7	10	2	6.33
2003	1	4	4	3.00
2004	5	2	3	3.33
2005	2	3	2	2.33
2006	3	2	2	2.33
2007	6	10	12	9.33
2008	2	4	4	3.33
2009	7	3	3	4.33
Average Year	4.33	5.44	4.11	4.63

Wow. In a nine-year career (counting the abbreviated 2009), Albert Pujols has never finished lower than the top 12 in the league in any of the three Triple Crown categories. His average finish in each category is in the top five in the league.

And he most likely won't win a Triple Crown.

There always seems to be someone slightly better than Albert Pujols in one of the categories. As a Phillies fan, I will proudly admit that Pujols won't be winning too many home run or RBI titles with my man Ryan Howard around (or Raul Ibanez).

And while Pujols' .335 career batting average is first among all active players...it's probably not good enough. For Pujols—a man who has led the league in home runs, RBI, and batting average just ONCE in his career—to suddenly lead the league in all three categories is asking a lot.

Probably too much.

It could happen. I'm not saying there's no chance. If anyone could do it, it is Albert Pujols (although A-Rod is probably the AL's best chance).

But I don't think Pujols will ever do it.

Barry Bonds couldn't do it.

When Bonds smashed a major-league record 73 home runs in the 2001 season, his 137 RBI finished a distant 23 behind leader Sammy Sosa and his .328 batting average finished a full 22 points behind leader Larry Walker.

Manny Ramirez never did it, and although he was phenomenal down the stretch last season, it's unlikely he will win the award having just turned 37 years old and not getting any younger.

Alex Rodriguez certainly has the power to do it, having led the league in home runs five times in the last eight years and RBI twice, but he hasn't won a batting title since his first full season of '96, a year in which he hit 37 points higher (.358) than any other year of his career.

He has only finished in the top ten in the AL in batting average twice since '96, and playing in a league that includes perennial batting contender Ichiro Suzuki doesn't make matters easier for A-Rod.

This shows just how difficult the Triple Crown is for even the game's best hitters.

Those who are old enough to have seen Carl Yastrzemski and Frank Robinson in the mid-'60s should enjoy those memories of a Triple Crown winner, because it sure doesn't look like any hitter will be winning one anytime soon.

Recapping The 2008 Philadelphia Eagles Season In Just Five Plays

Cody Swartz — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:20:44 -0400

Play calling here in Philadelphia is a very sensitive subject. Most knowledgeable sports fans will agree Andy Reid is a very good head coach, with maybe one or two exceptions.

Play calling.

Personally, I feel Reid's struggles as a play caller are slightly exaggerated, but I do sometimes find myself questioning his methods.

The 2008 season – this one more than any other of Reid's years as a coach—seemed to be defined by the play calling. Five plays in particular stood out to me as a representation of the year, whether good or bad.

1) Screen pass

This play has been a huge part of the Philadelphia offense over the past five or six years, ever since the team selected Villanova running back Brian Westbrook in the third round of the '02 draft.

Westbrook's quick speed and incredible elusiveness make him great out of the backfield. His specialty is catching a short pass and turning it into a big gain, behind his wall of blockers.

Think the 52-yarder against the Bucs in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter in 2006. Or the 57-yarder to beat Washington a year later.

Or the play against the Niners in '03—his first season as a key piece of the Eagles' offense—in which Westbrook nearly broke Tony Parrish's ankles with his juke.

This year, it was Westbrook's memorable 71-yard screen pass to help defeat the Vikings in the first round of the playoffs. The play, which occurred on a standard three-receiver I-formation, capped off an exciting 23-14 win to help the Eagles advance to the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

I think we as Eagles fans can expect to see many more screens in the '09 season. Brian Westbrook is a master at this play and LeSean McCoy should be pretty good as well.

2) Westbrook off tackle

Last year against the Giants in Week 14, the score was 3-0 Eagles late in the first half. The Eagles lined up in an I-formation. Handoff to Westbrook, and six seconds later, he was jogging into the end zone for a touchdown and a nine-point lead.

It appeared on TV that the play had Westbrook designed to run behind Herremans at left guard. Upon crossing the line of scrimmage, Westbrook juked to his right and was off to his races.

Classic Westbrook.

Creating plays out of thin air.

3) The deep ball to Jackson

Remember how the 2008 season started?

That 55-yard deep bomb to DeSean Jackson down the right sideline, in which Jackson made a leaping catch over first round pick Tye Hill of the Rams.

Jackson emerged as the team's leading receiver for the '08 season, recording 912 yards for the year. Perhaps his most memorable play came on a 62-yard desperation heave late in the NFC Championsip Game to give the Eagles a 25-24 lead over the Cardinals.

The Eagles have always utilized the deep ball well.

Todd Pinkston, the lanky receiver from '00 through '05 who didn't even tip the scales at one hundred pounds soaking wet, made his living out of catching the deep ball. In fact, during the 2004 season, when Pinkston had T.O. opposite him, he averaged 18.8 yards per catch, tops among all NFC receivers.

Imagine the 2009 season.

DeSean Jackson. Jeremy Maclin. Kevin Curtis. Three speedy receivers. How could a defense possibly cover those guys?

And don't forget about Westbrook out of the backfield. Remember his catch against the Packers in '04, in which he basically ran a fly as a wide receiver would?

This is going to be a dangerous group of playmakers in 2009.

4) Short Yardage Runs

This was the downfall of the team in 2008. The inability to convert on short yardage situations, particularly on 3rd or 4th and 1 plays, particularly on primetime games against the Giants late in the fourth quarter.

Last year, the team desperately lacked a power back.

Westbrook—with all due respect to him, since he is a tremendous runner—is not a power runner. And it didn't help that All-Pro guard Shawn Andrews missed the entire 2008 season due to back surgery.

This past offseason, the team acquired Pro Bowl caliber fullback Leonard Weaver from the Seahawks. Weaver is a better than average runner, a solid run blocker, and a tremendous pass blocker. His addition should greatly boost a team that really struggled in short yardage situations.

With Shawn Andrews returning and the additions of linemen Stacy Andrews and Jason Peters, the Eagles have turned one of last year's biggest weaknesses into a probable strength.

5) McNabb Quarterback Sneak

This one has been in the Eagles playbook for quite some time. While McNabb isn't the runner he used to be, he is a bulldozer on those short runs up the middle.

He weighs a solid 240 pounds with one of the strongest lower bodies in the NFL. On a quarterback dive up the middle—such as the one against the Giants in the Divisional Game—McNabb is virtually unstoppable.

Center Jamaal Jackson is a good run blocker. The team should be even better next season with the Andrews brothers on the right side of the line and All-Pro run-blocking tackle Jason Peters on the left side.

How Andy Reid Has Turned The Philadelphia Eagles Into a Perennial Contender

Cody Swartz — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:11:23 -0400

What makes a team great?

Great players.

Right?

Look at the Eagles. This team wouldn't have reached the NFC Championship Game last season without the core of its players—five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb, speedy elusive running back Brian Westbrook, future Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins, and one of the best offensive and defensive lines in the NFL.

There is no denying that these star players performing at a top level made the Eagles one of the league's best teams last year.

However, what sets these Eagles apart from the other teams around the league is a tremendous coaching staff.

You don't get to five NFC title games and a Super Bowl without a top-notch head coach and group of assistants.

As the team's head coach, Andy Reid is perhaps the most scrutinized and criticized man in Philadelphia... but he's a darn good coach.

Reid joined the Eagles in '99 having never been an offensive or defensive coordinator at the NFL level. Ten years later, he is the second longest tenured head coach in the NFL and has ten playoff wins to his resume, one more than two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Jimmy Johnson.

Reid is one of the elite coaches of this generation, although it's a shame he will most likely be remembered more for his inability to win a Super Bowl than for his seven trips to the playoffs and five conference championship game appearances in ten seasons.

Reid's ability to keep the Eagles competitive each and every year is a testament to his coaching skills, particularly the five following steps.

1) Assistant Coaches

Reid is an offensive mastermind at heart, but the defense has been the strong suit of the Eagles during his coaching tenure. He has always made sure to surround the team with quality coaches for both the offense and defense.

Brad Childress was a tremendous offensive coordinator for the team, helping the Eagles score a franchise record 415 points in the '02 season. He has since departed for the Vikings, a team whom he led to an NFC North title this past year.

Perhaps Andy Reid's finest decision ever was picking up Jim Johnson to be the team's defensive coordinator. Johnson is a blitz-happy defensive specialist and arguably the greatest assistant coach in NFL history never to have a head coaching position.

His motto on the defensive side of the ball is blitz, blitz, blitz, and when that fails, blitz some more. Since 2000, the Eagles' defense under Johnson rank second in the NFL in sacks, third down efficiency, red zone touchdown percentage, and forced fumbles, and fourth in the league in both fewest points allowed and opponent quarterback rating.

Johnson is currently on a leave of absence due to a bout with cancer, which turns the defensive coordinator duties over to assistant coach Sean McDermott. While there is no doubt the team will miss Johnson for however long he is out, the Eagles should be fine with McDermott.

McDermott has had years of tutelage under one of the game's finest coaches. The talent is there to win football games. All McDermott has to do is use his players to his advantage.

Perhaps the finest proof of Reid's talent at picking his assistants is their success with other teams.

Brad Childress took the Vikings to the playoffs, winning the NFC North division, in just his second season as head coach.

In his first year as coach of the Ravens, John Harbaugh reached the AFC Championship Game, doing so with a rookie quarterback.

And Steve Spagnuolo was defensive coordinator of the 2007 Super Bowl champion New York Giants that kept the greatest offense in NFL history to just 14 points. He was just recently acquired to be head coach of the St. Louis Rams.

2) NFL Draft

Some coaches just have a knack for drafting good players. Chuck Noll sure seemed to have this skill for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the '70s, as he once picked four Hall of Famers in one draft.

I wouldn't say Andy Reid is a natural drafter, but he's done a pretty good job over the last decade. Sure, he has had his mistakes.

Just think Jerome McDougle, Freddie Mitchell, Reggie Brown, or L.J. Smith. None of those players turned out as expected, and all were selected in the first or second round.

But think about all the good, even great, players Reid has selected.

His first-ever pick was quarterback Donovan McNabb, who has become the face of the franchise. Brian Westbrook was a steal in the third round of the '02 draft. Trent Cole was a huge splash in the fifth round. And David Akers was just a waiver wire pickup back in '99.

There are those underrated picks – Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley in the first rounds of 2005 and 2006 – that often go unnoticed, but not unrewarded. Those two players have been the anchor of a defensive line that ranked third in the NFL in total sacks last season.

3) Staying Simple and Not Always Making the Sexy Choice

Too many times head coaches and owners get swept up in making the sexy choice.

Whether it's taking a chance on a player like Pacman Jones as Jerry Jones did last season with the Cowboys or offering Albert Haynesworth over $100 million over eight years, coaches often focus more on the name itself than the talent of the player.

Reid doesn't go for sexy, but his decisions work.

Look at Leonard Weaver, Sean Jones, and Stacy Andrews. Three players who were under the radar but will drastically improve the team in 2009.

Rather than make a huge splash for a wide receiver like T.J. Houshmandzedah or Chad Johnson—who probably wouldn't have been right for this team—Reid kept it simple and selected Jeremy Maclin out of Missouri in the first round of this past year's draft.

4) Knowing When to Pay the Stars

It's never fun to watch the stars walk away.

Use Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor as an example.

Vincent was coming off his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl season in 2003, after which he had helped carry the Eagles to the NFC Championship Game for the third year in a row. However, he was also 32 and had lost a step or two.

Taylor was 30 and coming off a solid season as starter. He seemed to have several years still ahead of him.

Reid allowed Vincent and Taylor to walk, two moves that seemed perplexing at the time.

It paid off though.

Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown – two players that had been drafted by Reid in the '03 draft – stepped in as full-time starters for the 2004 season. And what a pleasant surprise for the Eagles.

Sheppard earned a Pro Bowl selection and Brown filled in as one of the top starting cornerbacks in the league. The two of them helped to lead the Eagles to an NFC-best 13 wins and a Super Bowl appearance.

Other examples of stars Reid allowed to walk include Jeremiah Trotter (following the '06 season), Tra Thomas, Brian Dawkins, and Michael Lewis.

5) Personality

It's difficult to coach in Philadelphia.

The fans—myself included—expect nothing less than a Super Bowl championship every single season. Anything less is a disappointment.

It takes a strong-willed man to coach in this city.

Andy Reid is that man.

He is perfect for the job. He's boring, low-key, uninteresting, and uneventful. And that's precisely why he's perfect.

He's dealt with a lot.

One day, we all love him. The next day, we hate him. We second guess him for every single decision he ever does, and we're always calling into WIP to petition that he get fired.

He won't make national headlines by screaming at his assistants on the sidelines. He won't call a player out during a post-game press conference. And he won't publicly denounce the owner on live TV.

Reid's monotonous press conferences have become a classic here in Philadelphia. Virtually every Eagles fan has poked fun at Reid's statements. And they've driven us insane.

“I need to put my guys in a better position to make plays.”

THEN DO IT! Put your guys in better position!

But Reid's minimal dialogue is perfect. He is expressionless and emotionless, and if anyone can take the pounding of coaching in a tough city like Philly, it's Reid.

It's these five characteristics that make Reid one of the best coaches the league has seen.

Why The Philadelphia Eagles Are The Class of an Extremely Competitive NFC East

Cody Swartz — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:23:26 -0400

For the majority of my lifetime—or at least the years I can remember—my Philadelphia Eagles have had the misfortune of playing in one of the toughest divisions in all of football.

The NFC East is always a dogfight to the end, normally sending one or both of the wild card teams to the playoffs, along with the division winner.

Last year, the NFC East sent two teams to the playoffs. The Giants captured the division with a 12-4 record, while the Eagles outdueled the Cowboys in a Week 17 drumming to take the last wild card spot.

Both the Cowboys and the Redskins—the two teams from the division who failed to qualify for the playoffs—still finished with a record of .500 or above. It was one of just two divisions in all of the NFL to feature no teams with a losing record.

Since 2006, the NFC East has been responsible for five of the six wild card teams from its conference. And it is the only of the eight divisions that has sent a team to the playoffs as a wild card in every year since '05.

Every team in this division is a legit contender for the playoffs every year. There is no doubt this division will be tough in 2009, but here are seven reasons why I believe the Philadelphia Eagles appear to be the class of the NFC East.

1) Experience

Since the turn of the century, the Eagles have qualified for the playoffs seven times in nine seasons, tied for the second most among any team in football.

Eli Manning and the Giants may have that prized Super Bowl ring, but McNabb is the only one of the four quarterbacks in the East to have won a playoff game in two different postseasons.

In fact, McNabb has won a playoff game all six times in which he has reached the playoffs. Eli, Romo, and Campbell have won playoff games in just one season combined.

Say what you want about McNabb and his sometimes subpar performances in the postseason, but he is 6-0 in his first playoff game.

2) Motivation

Time is running out for Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid.

McNabb will turn 33 during the '09 season. His potential successor at QB (Kevin Kolb) is entering his third year on the bench, where he will learn from one of the game's finest.

I personally feel McNabb has five or six productive seasons ahead of him, but the Eagles' front office may feel differently.

As for Reid, he is one of the game's top head coaches, and has been over his entire tenure.

Football Outsiders did an interesting study on head coaches, concluding the demise and downfall of a head coach begins after his tenth season in the league.

Reid is entering his 11^th season as the team's head coach.

If these two want to be remembered as two of the game's all-time greats, they are going to need a Super Bowl win.

No excuses.

3) No Weaknesses

The 2008 Philadelphia Eagles were several glaring weaknesses away from a Super Bowl championship.

Those holes have since been filled, and every position on the team is now a strength.

There are no weaknesses.

The team has added a fullback, and not a converted defensive lineman, but rather a legit Pro Bowl caliber fullback who can block, catch passes out of the backfield, and run with the football.

Jeremy Maclin was drafted in the first round of this past season's draft to help bolster the receiving corps. The offensive line was upgraded with the acquisitions of All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters, arguably the finest at his position in the NFL, and solid starter Stacy Andrews from the Bengals, the brother of Eagles' Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews.

The defense is talented and exciting, and the Eagles now feature more legit return man than the team has had in all of Reid's career combined.

Simply put, the talent is there.

4) Speed

Has any roster in history ever had speed like this upcoming year's Eagles?

Jackson, Curtis, and Maclin all run a sub-4.3 40 yard dash. Teams will have to employ a dime formation at all times just to keep up with these playmakers.

But don't forget the rotation of Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy out of the backfield, two players who will give defensive coordinators nightmares before each matchup.

And don't forget about Super 5.

McNabb is a five-time Pro Bowl quarterback and one of the most dangerous weapons in the league. He is a threat both to throw and run the ball. With that powerful offensive line, the Eagles could lead the NFL in points scored when it's all said and done.

5) The Trenches

Football games are won and lost in the trenches.

Everyone knows that.

And the Eagles have probably the best offensive and defensive lines out of the four teams in the NFC.

The offensive line is HUGE. And talented.

Shawn Andrews is a two-time Pro Bowler and expected to bounce back from his hip surgery last year. His brother, Stacy, is a solid starter who helps to give the Eagles one of the best right sides of the line in all of football.

Jason Peters, acquired from the Bills, is an All-Pro and arguably the top left tackle in the NFL. He was one of the most underrated moves of the whole offseason and should be a major boost to the Eagles' running game.

Left guard Todd Herremans and center Jamaal Jackson are more than capable starters, and both Max Jean-Gilles and Nick Cole could start if needed.

As for the defensive lines, everyone knows the Giants are good up front. Very good.

The defensive line was the MVP of the team's Super Bowl victory over the undefeated New England Patriots in the '07 season.

But I'll still take the Eagles.

The Eagles played the Giants three times in 2008, including once in the playoffs? The Eagles didn't give up one sack to the G-Men. Not ONE.

The Eagles' D-line finished third in the NFL in sacks (48) last season, trailing just the Dallas Cowboys (59) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (51). The only difference?

The Cowboys had a linebacker (DeMarcus Ware) collect 20 sacks. The Steelers had a linebacker (James Harrison) collect 16 and another linebacker (LaMarr Woodley) collect 11.5 sacks.

The Eagles' top blitzing linebacker?

Omar Gaither, with 2.5 sacks.

That means the defensive line was THAT good. In fact, the linemen combined for 34.5 sacks.

The ability to put pressure on the quarterback that consistently is an enormous part of winning football games, especially in a division with three rival quarterbacks who are all above average passers.

6) X-Factor

Every team needs an X-factor.

For the Eagles, it used to be Brian Westbrook. The electrifying game changer had the ability to make plays as a runner, receiver, and return specialist.

However, Westbrook eventually became the team's feature back and thus was too valuable to simply be an X-factor.

Last year's X-factor was wide receiver DeSean Jackson, a rookie who filled in as the team's leading receiver and dynamic punt returner.

And the X-factor for next year?

It could be anyone. TE Cornelius Ingram is expected to push for the starting job as a rookie. RB LeSean McCoy and WR Jeremy Maclin should see significant action in their first year in the league.

Simply put, neither the Giants, Cowboys, or Redskins can match the potential X-factors the Eagles have to offer.

7) It's Time

There are no facts or statistics to support this point. But the Eagles are due. This is a team that has been so close to the edge for so many years.

The pieces have been filled. The talent is evident, and the time is right.

The Cowboys are too inexperienced. The Redskins just aren't good enough. And I can't see the Giants winning another title so quickly.

This is our year.

It's the year of the 2009 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Why the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles Are My Favorite Team Ever—So Far

Cody Swartz — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:17:16 -0400

I have been spoiled as an Eagles fan.

I know that, and I'll admit to it. No, I have never seen a Super Bowl champion—as any Giants or Cowboys fan would gladly remind me—but I have certainly been blessed to see my team qualify for the playoffs seven times in ten years, including five trips to the NFC Championship Game.

It's difficult to pick a favorite team out of all the Eagles squads during my lifetime. I am tempted to pick the '91 Eagles—a team with arguably the greatest defense in the history of professional football, a team that featured the most controversial coach in recent years, and a group of 11 guys on the defensive side of the football that NO team wanted to play.

However, I wanted to keep it to teams I actually remember, and I was just two years old during the '91 season.

My earliest recollection of an Eagles game would be that 58-37 massacre of the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card Game, a game in which at one point, when we had a 51-7 lead, I innocently turned to my dad and asked, “Do you think we'll get 100 points?!”

The obvious choice to me for my favorite team is the '04 Eagles, the only one of Reid's favorite teams to qualify for the Super Bowl. This was a team that rolled through the regular season to a 13-1 record, dismantling its opponents along the way.

And this was a team that finally slayed the NFC dragon, defeating Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons behind dominating performances from both the leader of the offense (Donovan McNabb) and the leader of the defense (Brian Dawkins).

There's just one reason that this team is NOT my favorite.

Terrell Owens.

I know, I know, when he was an Eagle in '04, he was great. He caught an Eagles single-season record 14 touchdown passes in only 13-and-a-half games and put up a heroic performance in the Super Bowl.

And even his attitude, which had been the major problem during his reign in San Francisco, was great for the majority of the season (other than a minor blip during the 27-3 loss to Pittsburgh in Week Nine, when Owens was caught on camera yelling at McNabb).

But looking back at that season five years later just reminds me of T.O.

His messy divorce from McNabb and Reid that subsequently led to him being suspended and then deactivated for the last half of the '05 season. And I can't even think of T.O. without hate and anger.

I almost put the 2006 season as my favorite.

That season was a roller coaster ride to say the least. It provided me with some of both my favorite and least favorite memories as an Eagles fan.

Lito's 102 yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to beat Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys in Week Five was probably my single greatest regular season moment as an Eagles fan.

We swept the Cowboys that year, winning a Christmas Day showdown against Tony Romo. It was an Eagles squad that became the first team in history to win three straight away divisional games in December.

There was Lito's tumbling Monday Night pick with 15 seconds to play to secure a narrow 27-24 victory against Carolina and keep the Eagles alive in the NFC playoff hunt. And there was the outstanding play of Jeff Garcia, Brian Westbrook, Shawn Andrews, and Brian Dawkins down the stretch.

Yet, I can't put the '06 season as my favorite.

I am a huge McNabb fan, a diehard supporter of No. 5, and I just can't justify having my favorite season as an Eagles fan a year in which Jeff Garcia was our primary quarterback.

With this in mind, there is no doubt in my mind the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles are my favorite team of all-time. Hopefully the '09 season will surpass last year, but as of now, this stands as my favorite of Reid's 10 seasons.

This '08 season had it all.

It was a roller coaster ride for the ages. There were times when I wanted to put my fist through a wall, but there were many many moments I will never forget.

This season tested the character of the team more than any year under Reid.

The whole world knows about the tie against the Bengals and the following week's loss to the Ravens, but I give all the credit in the world to McNabb for his performance down the stretch.

McNabb was playing for his pride, his reputation, his job, EVERYTHING. And he was phenomenal in the last five games.

I've never been more proud.

His first game following the benching was a four-touchdown performance against the eventual NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals. And it was on a primetime game on Thanksgiving night in front of a national audience.

Talk about clutch.

In the final five games of the season, McNabb led the Eagles to four huge wins to stay alive in the playoff hunt, including a 44-6 pounding of the Dallas Cowboys in a Week 17 playoff game, a game that truly showed the heart of this Eagles team.

Down the stretch, McNabb tossed nine touchdown passes against just one interception. In the 10-3 loss against Washington in Week 16—a game in which most of the football world thought the Eagles were subsequently eliminated from playoff contention—McNabb was harshly criticized for his inability to lead the Eagles to so much as a single touchdown.

However, he did manage to throw for 230 yards without an interception on 46 attempts to a less-than-mediocre group of receivers, all while leading the Eagles down the field on the final drive of the game, completing a pass on the last play of the game that would have been a game-tying touchdown had Reggie Brown not ran his route a yard short of the end zone.

This Eagles team set the franchise record with 416 points scored, breaking the mark of 415 put up by the '02 squad. And the defense was one of the best in the league, led by Pro Bowl and future Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins, playing his final season in midnight green.

What a team.

This was a group of 53 guys left for dead and a coach who took more abuse than any in the league. This team rebounded from three straight losses (technically, one was a tie) to qualify for the playoffs.

Once January started, the Eagles knocked off Adrian Peterson and the Vikings behind a stellar performance by McNabb and a pick-six by newcomer Asante Samuel.

The following week, the Eagles easily handled the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, winning by two scores on the road. McNabb was solid, the offensive line held one of the top defensive lines in the league without a sack for the third time of the season, and Samuel added another interception, almost for a score.

And the Eagles came within a defensive stop from an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl.

Watching DeSean Jackson throughout the season was a joy.

Sure, there were the occasional blemishes—the “fumble” at the one-yard line against Dallas. However, for every miscue, there were a bunch of great moments.

The 55-yard reception on the first play of his NFL career. The 60-yard punt return in the same game. The punt return to the house against Washington.

The bobbling 62-yard go-ahead touchdown catch against Arizona in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game, in which I jumped so high off the ground in celebration I felt like I was flying.

Our favorite All-Pro running back, Brian Westbrook, had what football fans refer to as a “down year,” but he still produced a new career-high 14 total touchdowns.

The defensive line was perhaps the best it's ever been under Reid, with underrated stars Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley anchoring the tackle positions.

The secondary featured two Pro Bowlers (Asante Samuel and Brian Dawkins) and an All-Pro (Quintin Mikell), and finished third in all of the NFL in fewest passing yards allowed per game.

And the only starter in the defensive backfield NOT to receive a personal accolade— Sheldon Brown—had arguably the finest year of the bunch, allowing a grand total of zero touchdowns in the regular season.

Weapon X was a terror in his last year as an Eagle, whether it was knocking down fumbles from Ben Roethlisberger or forcing fumbles of Tony Romo in the regular season playoff game.

This team lost six games and tied another, but very easily could have finished 15-1.

The Monday Night loss against Dallas could have easily been a win had McNabb and Westbrook not fumbled a handoff in the fourth quarter, but marched down the field for a touchdown.

In the Chicago game, the Birds had four tries from the one-yard line to score a touchdown and couldn't do so, although I swear on my life Buckhalter crossed the goal line on that last carry.

Against Washington, it shouldn't have been that difficult to hold onto a 14 point lead.

To beat the Giants simply required either a third-and-one or fourth-and-one conversion, and a subsequent go-ahead touchdown.

There were about a million different opportunities to win the Cincinnati game, as there were in the final Washington game.

The only true loss that couldn't have been a win was the Ravens game. This was a game in which Ed Reed and company simply outplayed our quarterback(s), handing this '08 Eagles team its only loss of the season of over one score.

To be extremely competitive in 15 of 16 games says something about the Eagles.

Yet what I like best about this Eagles team is the '09 version.

All the problems from last year have been fixed.

The front office has added a fullback. Not one who also plays defensive tackle, but one with Pro Bowl-caliber experience.

The team has rid itself of underachieving tight end L.J. Smith, one of the most useless players under Reid's tenure. There are new playmakers—a Brian Westbrook clone at running back in LeSean McCoy, and another DeSean Jackson type of game-changing receiver in Jeremy Maclin.

This team has it all: McNabb still in his best years, more speed than in an Olympic sprint, and a defense that is the strong suit of the team. And don't forget those dangerous return men.

The '08 Eagles were great. My favorite team of all-time, no question.

But I bet I will like the '09 Eagles even more.

20 Questions for The Eagles' All-Pro Shawn Andrews

Cody Swartz — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:49:09 -0400

I've always been fascinated by offensive linemen. Football games are won and lost in the trenches, yet offensive linemen seem to get so little respect. Perhaps my favorite lineman in the NFL is Shawn Andrews, the All-Pro right guard for the Philadelphia Eagles.

If I had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Andrews, these are the 20 questions I would like to ask him.

1. Describe the emotions you felt when you broke your leg in the opening game of your rookie season. Did you know right then that you would miss the entire year? What was it like to sit on the bench while this team dominated the rest of the league?

2. Would it have been bittersweet for this team to win a Super Bowl while you were on injured reserve?

3. You have played with some pretty good players while a member of the Eagles—Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Terrell Owens, etc. Who is the most talented offensive teammate you have ever had?

4. In your three years as a starter in this league, you have been selected to two Pro Bowls and named an alternate once. Do you believe, when you are at the top of your game, that you are the best offensive lineman in the NFL?

5. Do people recognize you when you walk down the street or eat in restaurants? Being six-foot-four and over 330 pounds, you probably get some glances, but do people know you are Shawn Andrews of the Philadelphia Eagles?

6. You suffered a neck injury during the 2006 NFC Divisional Playoffs and had to sit out the remainder of the game. Late in the fourth quarter, your backup, Scott Young, committed a false start penalty that nullified a key fourth and ten conversion that would have put your Eagles in good position to win the game. Do you feel the outcome of the game would have been different had you still been in the game? Would this team have advanced to the NFC Championship Game to take on the Chicago Bears?

7. You are currently signed by the Philadelphia Eagles through the 2015 season. Do you see yourself still in the league ten years from now? Do you hope to retire as an Eagle?

8. Your brother Stacy was just recently acquired from the Cincinnati Bengals this past offseason. Are you excited at the prospect of playing alongside your brother? How will that affect your play?

9. Which of the five spots on the offensive line best suits your abilities? Could you play all five? Where are you most comfortable?

10. What’s the biggest difference between the NFL and college? What surprises you the most about the NFL?

11. How well do you get along with the rest of the guys on the offensive line? Who is your closest friend on the team?

12. The Eagles made some significant upgrades this past offseason, notably the acquisitions of Jason Peters, Leonard Weaver, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, and your brother, Stacy. Do you think this team now has what it takes to win it all this season? Which member of the offense is most valuable to the team?

13. If you absolutely had to win a game, which quarterback in the NFL would you want to lead your team? Which running back would you want to block for?

14. Let’s be honest. Offensive linemen receive very little credit for the success of a team. Most of the credit goes to the quarterback or running back. Does that frustrate you? How do you try to not let it affect you?

15. What is your single greatest on-field moment as a professional athlete?

16. Eagles fans are known for their passion, intensity, and dedication to their team. Do you enjoy playing in the city of Philadelphia?

17. You are a Christmas Day baby. What was it like playing for the team that beat the rival Dallas Cowboys, 23-7, on Christmas Day in 2006 to clinch a playoff spot?

18. Who is the best defensive player you've ever squared off against?

19. If I told you 15 years ago that you would eventually be the All-Pro guard for the Philadelphia Eagles, would you have believed me?

20. Last year, you battled depression and a back injury that caused you to miss the entire season. How have you been able to rebound? Are you prepared for the 2009 season and do you think you will return in Pro Bowl form?

Are Demps and Jackson Handing the Return Duties to Hobbs and Maclin?

Cody Swartz — Sun, 10 May 2009 01:44:02 -0400

I wrote an article several months ago highlighting the thrill as an Eagles fan of having two explosive return men capable of breaking a kick for a touchdown on any given play.

This piece, titled “Quintin Demps and DeSean Jackson: The Future of the Eagles' Return Game,” told how the Eagles will most likely be blessed with having these players two returning kicks and punts for years and years to come.

All of a sudden, I'm not so sure.

And that's not a bad thing.

The Eagles recently acquired two more explosive return men to the roster—cornerback Ellis Hobbs from the Patriots and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin from the University of Missouri.

After several years of a return game that featured less than thrilling players like Reno Mahe, J.R. Reed, Greg Lewis, Dexter Wynn, and Rod Hood, the Eagles boast FOUR legit return men.

The rookie Jackson made his mark as a Joshua Cribbs type of punt returner last season, averaging close to 10 yards per return, including a touchdown. Three times (including once in the playoffs), Jackson returned a punt over 60 yards.

His east-to-west style of running won't last in the NFL, but Jackson seemed to be maturing by the end of last season. He seemed to be settling down and really excelling in his role as the team's punt returner, while also filling in as McNabb's No. 1 go-to-guy for much of the year.

Demps doesn't have Jackson's flashiness, but he can flat out return kicks. Demps averaged 25.3 yards per return last season, taking a kick return unit that finished 24th in '07 up to 11th in '08. Demps is a big play threat like Jackson, but he's also much less risky.

Demps is simply a solid return man who won't fumble the football or run backwards to try to gain yards. Rather, he'll just get you a solid return every single time.

Last year with Jackson and Demps returning punts and kicks, the Eagles were one of just four teams in all of the NFL to record both a kick return and a punt return touchdown. And these two players were a major reason the team qualified for the playoffs after missing it in '07.

Now as the Eagles begin to prepare for the '09 season, Jackson and Demps will be assuming much bigger roles on the team.

In '08, Jackson was the team's No. 2 receiver—although he wasn't expected to start until Reggie Brown went down with an injury. For this coming season, he is expected to battle with Kevin Curtis to be the team's No. 1 receiver.

Demps was a little-used backup safety to Philadelphia's one and only Weapon X last season. However, with Dawkins wearing Bronco Blue now, Demps will most likely step up into the team's starting free safety role.

Although the team signed Sean Jones, an underrated ballhawk from the Cleveland Browns, his contract is only for one year. I think Demps will be the starter for this team next season, with Jones filling in on three-safety sets frequently.

Having Demps and Jackson concentrate on their starting positions AND return kicks is asking for a lot. Some players have managed it, but with the addition of Hobbs and Maclin, I imagine the latter two will be featured as the Eagles' new returners.

Hobbs was received in a draft day trade for two fifth-round draft picks. A starting corner for the Pats' Super Bowl team in '07, Hobbs is also a dynamic return man.

He led the entire AFC in kick return average last season (28.5) and holds the NFL record for the longest kick return touchdown (108 yards). Hobbs has three return touchdowns, one for each season of his career.

Simply put, he is a dangerous return man.

It appears as of now that Hobbs will compete for the starting corner job with Sheldon Brown. I can't envision Brown staying on the team—especially with the Eagles paying $25 million over five years to a fourth corner (Joselio Hanson). That means Samuel and Hobbs will most likely be the starters.

Hobbs has been a starting corner and kick returner for two full seasons and a part of another, so he hopefully won't have too much difficulty handling both the tasks.

Maclin is a rookie in the NFL, a young 20-year old who made his mark as a freshman in college, setting the NCAA freshman record for all-purpose yards in a season (2,776). Maclin averaged just over 24 yards per kick return both as a freshman and sophomore,.

Maclin also returned punts for the Missouri Tigers. While he wasn't as effective as he was a kick returner, Maclin returned more punts for touchdowns (three) than he did kicks (two) in his college career.

He is expected to start the season as the team's No. 3 receiver, which would be a prime opportunity for Maclin to take over the punt return duties.

No matter how Andy Reid splits up the returning duties, those days of losing games because of the return game are over. Long over.