BirdsFan - A Philadelphia Eagles Blog

New Location

birdsfan — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:25:39 +0000

If you’ve ever read this blog and enjoyed it (or thought it was garbage), please follow us on our new domain at www.BirdsFan.com.

We look forward to you following us over!

Quality vs. Quantity

birdsfan — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:11:32 +0000

I have seen countless articles the past couple days debating whether or not the Eagles will run the ball more next season. People believe the Eagles will run more after obtaining a real fullback, two large tackles, and a second-round running back during this offseason. This is a large debate because many think that the Birds don’t run the ball enough.

So will the Eagles run the ball more next season?

You can’t come flat out and say yes they will. Every team in the NFL runs the football. Teams that run the ball more are just teams that are able to run the ball effectively. If you can consistently gain four or five yards per rush and just drive right down the field on a team you will obviously continue running the ball. There’s no reason not to. The Eagles haven’t had this type of success in the past and that’s why they have the 60-40 ratio you hear so much about.

The Eagles will not make any changes to the way their offense performs. They will look to throw the ball but will also put the ball on the ground. If they have success when running, you will see the ratio get closer and closer to 50-50. When you’re successfully running the ball, there’s no reason not to continue the trend.

Weekend minicamp report

birdsfan — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:29:32 +0000

Check out the articles below from PFT regarding the Eagles minicamp headlines from this weekend:

Eagles Saturday minicamp report

Eagles Sunday minicamp report

Brown shows up at mini camp

birdsfan — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:54:45 +0000

Sheldon Brown, much like he said he would, has shown up for this week Eagles mini camp. Although his showing up should be to prepare for the season, his contract is the only thing he is getting asked about. Brown has restated that he is unhappy with his contract and wants to work something out.

I don’t think a distraction like this is what the Eagles need. They need to focus on making sure all the new players to the team (which there are a lot of) are ready to learn this system and be successful. The Eagles do not want to redo Brown’s contract and more than likely will not budge. At this point, I think the Birds need to shop him hard and see what they can get from him. The team doesn’t need him hanging around and causing distractions.

Comments from the new additions

birdsfan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:00:29 +0000

Former Eagle Gary Cobb has recently spoken with many of the new faces of the Eagles organization asking for their thoughts on the team and the type of contributions they think they can make. The group seems to be confident and ready to get down to work for the upcoming season. I like the attitude the players are expressing because they don’t seem to be cocky but they feel that they can definitely make an impact for this organization. One thing to evaluate when bringing a player in is their attitude. Some players are just mental wrecks (bet a certain wide receiver comes to mind). All of these players seem to be level headed and determined to show the city of Philadelphia what they can do.

Check out what some of the new guys told Gary and check out his thoughts as well.

Cornelius Ingram
Jeremy Maclin
Victor Harris
Ellis Hobbs

Donovan finally happy?

birdsfan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:43:34 +0000

As I mentioned when discussing the playmakers the Eagles picked up in the draft, it would seem that Donovan McNabb would be happy with what the team has done. Today, Donovan posted on his blog saying that he is “ready to move forward.“

I believe that with what the Eagles have done in the offseason, there is no way that Donovan can be upset. They have brought in established talent like Stacy Andrews, Sean Jones, and Jason Peters as well as young guys who can step in and be threats right away like Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. The Birds are making their usual steps to impress us during the offseason so they can crush our hopes in the regular season.

Eagles sign undrafted free agents

birdsfan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:15:30 +0000

Well the day after the draft, the Eagles have added nine undrafted prospects to the squad. The list is below.

Walter Mendenhall – RB – Illinois State
Dallas Reynolds – OG – BYU
Brandon Robinson – WR – Boston College
Courtney Robinson – CB – Massachusetts
Sam Swank – PK – Wake Forest
Marcus Thigpen – RB – Indiana
Josh Gaines – DE – Penn State
Reshard Langford – S – Vanderbilt
Marcus Mailei – FB – Weber State

Eagles second day picks

birdsfan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:10:09 +0000

If you watched the second day of the draft, you may have been frustrated by how the Eagles traded back on multiple occasions. However, I think most people are viewing Sunday and the draft as a whole a success for the Eagles.

The Eagles took the following players Sunday:

5 17 (153) C. Ingram TE Florida
5 21 (157) V. Harris CB Va Tech
5 23 (159) F. Tupou OT Oregon
6 21 (194) B. Gibson WR Wash St
7 4 (213) P. Fanaika OG Arizona St
7 21 (230) M. Fokou OLB Maryland

Ingram and Harris are good additions and should definitely make contributes to the team somewhere down the line, and we know that Maclin and McCoy should be able to step in and make an impact right away.

Take a look at Todd McShay’s draft review and look at the compliments he gives to the Eagles for the picks they made.