Kate's Philadelphia Eagles

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Can It Be?
2008-02-29 17:42:00
Wow I'm very excited about the opening of free agency today, the Eagles are rumored to be moving fast, but nothing is in place yet.Patriots Cornerback Asante Samuel is scheduled to visit the team today and according to Profootballtalk.com, sources are reported he already has a deal in place with the Eagles. That would be awesome.Nothing matters until Samuel signs on the dotted line but this is an exciting time with the Eagles right now and would be great to get a Pro-Bowl cornerback like Samuels, onto this roster.To sum it all up, the Birds need to sign Samuel because he is the most highly touted cornerback on the market, if not most wanted free agent in general. So the offers are going to be on the table, it's no secret that Asante wants a lot of money.

The End Of The Freak
2008-02-28 23:32:00
Jevon Kearse's time in Philadelphia has come to an end as he was released by the Eagles today. A disappointment since he was signed going into the 2004 season, Jevon's career has been on a steady decline ever since his phenomenal 1999 rookie season with the Tennessee Titans.Kearse's 26 sacks in the first two years of his career in Tennessee (26) are only a few more than the entire sack total he accumulated in his 4 years in Philadelphia (22). After inking a hefty $66 million 8 year contract in free agency to come and play in Philadelphia in 2004, there were high expectations for Kearse despite the fact his numbers had declined in recent years.In 2002 Kearse broke a bone in his left foot and missed 12 games with that injury, the following season when he returned he put up 9.5 sacks, and had a good year but it wasn't enough for the Titans to re-sign him in free agency. So with a big contract to his name, the 2004 season was disappointing at the time because Jevon's 7.5 sacks wer...
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Drafting At OL
2008-02-27 20:55:00
With the combine having just wrapped up, a free agency yet to begin in a couple of days I want to take a glance ahead at the draft while these college players are on my mind.Right out of the gates I'm going to explain that, I don't watch college football. Casually during the season if a big game is on I'll tune in but the way that I follow the Eagles, can't even be compared to my knowledge of college football. So I've talked about before, and will reiterate that when the offseason hits I cram a little bit with top prospects that are receiving media attention, but acquire all of my information regarding how these players look, from the experts. So in contrast to the NFL when I analyze players myself, considering I don't watch college football, any mention of a player is just from what I've learned recently.Alright now it might seem like because of this issue I have no place in talking about who I think the Eagles are going to draft, that's kind of true. But I do know one thin...

Who's Telling The Truth?
2008-02-21 01:45:00
Rumors have been circulating, and denied, about Lito Sheppard being given permission to seek a trade. The Eagles have come out and matter of factly stated that, "Any report suggesting that we've allowed Lito or his agent to seek a trade is absolutely, undeniably false."Now there doesn't seem to be much room for interpretation there, they have come right out and completely denied those rumors.But still, something had to spark this idea to even become a story to begin with and Profootballtalk.com, complete speculation keep in mind, brought up the idea that maybe Sheppard isn't happy with his contract. Reportedly making " $3.45 million in 2008, $4.45 million in 2009, $3.7 million in 2010 and $4.25 million in 2011", PFT.com doesn't believe that's much money for a cornerback of Sheppard's caliber.So maybe Sheppard's agent started this story up as a way to show that Lito is unhappy with his current contract and wants to either re-negotiate or be traded. Now tying into that as...
More About: Truth , The Truth

Who Is That? Naming The Un-Named
2008-02-13 17:43:00
This time of year it's common to be scrolling through the Eagle's roster and wonder...who the heck is that guy? Right after the season ended, within a few days in January the front office went out and did some shuffling around of the roster. The players that were on the practice squad are moved around, some get re-signed to the roster while others are just let free on the market. As of right now, without any real knowledge of how they're going to adapt to the team considering we haven't even had these players in a mini-camp yet, this is all speculation. But tough they might seem like no-names right now, those kinda guys tend to surface around training camp and sometimes make a contribution to the final roster. Just look around, we have a few of these "bounce around" players, guys that usually went undrated, are picked up by a team and go through a few rounds of cuts with various franchises before making their way to Philadelphia. Sometimes the Eagles are just added to the list...
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Kickers Cashing In
2008-02-13 02:02:00
Just got thinking after seeing news that Kicker Laurence Tynes of the Giants is close to finalizing a long term deal with New York and the Buc's re-signed Martin Gramatica...what's in the future for our own David Akers?Now this really doesn't have to do much with a contract because currently Akers is under contract until 2010, but there is some curiosity as to his performance next season.Having been Mr. Reliable in the past, Akers had a rough season going going only 2 for 10 in field goals over 40 yards. Now out of those field goals upwards of 40 yards he nailed a 47 yarder in Week 1 against the Packers and a 53 yarder against the New York Giants 3 weeks later. Not to be forgotten was his 4 field goal performance against the Redskins, accounting for all of our 12 points in the match up.But from that point on in the season, there's not too much to complain about with Akers because in the grand scheme of the things he is still a very good kicker, but his performance has definitely...
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Ocho Cinco Not So Happy In Cinci
2008-02-09 21:32:00
Even though every year is full of stories like this, there seems to be an influx of disgruntled players around the league right now. The primary names are Jeremy Shockey and Chad Johnson, with Chad speaking out about his current situation and Shockey keeping quiet thusfar.With Drew Rosenhaus as his agent Chad Johnson wants the Begals to renegotiate his contract...sound familiar anyone? Having been selected to the Pro-Bowl, Johnson is currently in Hawaii with those festivities and is using this opportunity to be able to speak to the media on his contract situation. In addition to calling out some of his teammates, "All the voices talked for 16 weeks. I don't hear them now. Where you at? Now's the time to let it out. The only voice I hear is mine", you would think a lot of those Bengal's players are pretty fed up.Rosenhaus has said that Chad will not hold out and will play in 2008, but he wouldn't go far enough to say he would definitely play for the Bengals so this seems like it...
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L.J. Smith Gets Franchise Tag
2008-02-08 01:30:00
The Eagles placed the franchise tag on L.J. Smith , taking one step towards securing the tight end position for the 2008 season.Just to clarify for those that might not be very familiar with the "non-exclusive" franchise tag, this means that Smith was offered a 1 year tender with the Eagles, for $4.522 million, the averaged salary of the top 5 paid tight ends in 2007.So now the ball is in L.J.'s court, if he decides to sign the 1 year tender he will be under contract for at least 1 more season (technically that's not the case because NFL contracts aren't guaranteed but for a player of his caliber, if he signs the deal he'll be here for a year). Obviously this is not his ideal situation, he wants to sign a big contract and get a nice signing bonus, but this is a step in the right direction towards getting that long term deal.From the Eagles perspective, if they could get Smith to sign the deal and than see how he plays for a season before giving him a long term contract, that woul...
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Quarterback Offseason Analysis
2008-01-03 18:18:00
Let's get it out of the way, the part of the team that gets all of the focus at all times is of course the Quarterback and with Donovan McNabb as our Quarterback that couldn't be more true.I underestimated the real impact that McNabb's 2006 torn ACL really would have on his play this season. Once the news started coming out throughout the offseason that McNabb was getting back on the field, he worked his way through training camp, on and on, I had full confidence that he really was going to be able to overcome any struggles his return might bring him. In one sense he did do just that, McNabb did not miss a game due to his previous ACL injury all season, but along with that throughout the beginning of the season he was just not the same player.As much as it was talked about, the mental aspect of returning from such a serious injury, I still felt that McNabb had enough will power and determination from recovering from previous injuries that it wasn't going to be a problem. My thin...
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I'm Back To Start All Over
2008-01-03 17:59:00
This is where we have led ourselves, after an entire offseason of predicting and analyzing the season ahead, too many things went wrong. Sitting here with the 2007 season completed in a disappointing fashion, considering we didn't make the playoffs, we start the cycle all over again.It's evident that my frustrations rose to an all time high with this team in the fact that I did not post all through December. At that point I just felt all was lost, there was nothing left that I could even honestly talk about that was football related. The news seemed to focus entirely around Donvan McNabb's future, every single week, and the constant speculation without any real facts was driving me crazy.After one of my many hiatus's through the past 2 years I'm anxious to get into actually one of my favorite parts of the year, the offseason where moves are being made and everyone starts with a clean slate.The continuous circle of football, the fact that the league is in action all year long de...
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Home Depot Neighborhood MVP
2007-11-26 22:58:00
In addition to his own the field talents Brian Dawkins has been named as one of the eight finalists for the Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP Program written about in the following press release:"EIGHT FINALISTS SELECTED FOR THE HOME DEPOT NFL NEIGHBORHOOD MVP PROGRAMNFL Players Honored For Their Commitment In Giving Back To Their CommunitiesATLANTA, Nov. 16, 2007 – The Home Depot ®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer and ‘official home improvement sponsor’ of the National Football League®, today announced the eight finalists for The Home Depot NFL® Neighborhood MVP award. The Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP is a national program that recognizes players who are making a positive impact in their local communities through charitable programs and contributions.The eight finalists, narrowed from a field of 17, will receive a $5,000 donation to the charity of their choice and are now in the running to be honored as The Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP. The national MVP ...

Historical Spread
2007-11-24 18:36:00
Talk about a challenge, New England Patriots on national football, at Gillette Stadium and without starting Quarterback Donovan McNabb. At this point things are almost humorous, the odds can not be placed against us anymore than they already are. Apparently the 23 1/2 point spread is the largest in the history of the NFL, that isn't a part of history that I ever really wanted this team to be a part of but I guess you take what you can get. That spread mostly speaks on behalf of the ridiculous success the Patriots have had this season, combined with the fact that they continually score points throughout a game. In the past, such dominant teams often back down towards the end of a game when they have a huge lead, but the Patriots do not follow that pattern. Despite what the point differential is, Belichick keeps his team aiming for the endzone.To say we need to come into this game with a chip on our shoulder is a major understatement. I've never witnessed a game where we were this m...
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The Transplanted Philly Fan
2007-11-20 02:23:00
I'm a guest blogger on The Transplanted Philly Fan todayBe sure to check out the site on a regular basis, it's also listed in my favorite links.

Still Searching For Balance
2007-11-20 00:53:00
Before Donovan went down with the ankle sprain and A.J. Feeley took over, the offense was stalling early and often. At one point on the teams 2nd possession of the day the drive began with a 23 yard reception to Kevin Curtis and we saw the first sign of execution. That was followed with a perfect 46 yard touchdown pass to Reggie Brown, but that was called back due to a very arguable holding call. It was disheartening having that touchdown taken back, but I thought the back to back down the field completions were giving us a glimpse of the success we would be seeing for the remainder of the game. That was not the case though considering that from that point forward McNabb threw two interceptions and didn't complete a pass longer than 7 yards. Did that nullified touchdown really deflate the offense that much? I don't know, but what I do know is that with already so much criticism of Donovan this season, leaving a game with 2 interceptions and having Feeley step in with 1 touchdowns ...
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Goal Line Standing Strong
2007-11-19 23:26:00
With the Quarterbacks of the day throwing a combined 3 interceptions, they gave the Dolphins every opportunity to put points on the board and take a massive lead. Thankfully, the defense came up huge on the day, not allowing rookie John Beck to take advantage of any turnovers his defense produced, and repeatedly putting the ball back in our offense's hands. Turnovers are dangerous because of the fact that they often put the opposing offense in great field position, making putting points on the board, that much easier. But considering our defense did not allow Miami to produce any points from the turnovers that we handed them, the interceptions were less of a game killer and more of an annoyance. This 17 to 7 win would have had a very different outcome had the Dolphins taken advantage of the 3 interceptions their defense produced that gave them the ball back and a chance to score. But our defense allowed only 109 passing yards and held Chatman to 72 rushing yards, a net total of 186...
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Keeping Them Winless
2007-11-19 19:30:00
Bringing our record up to 5-5, breaking even for the first time all season is a relief, but the way in which it came about wasn't very fun. Nothing seemed to go right in this one, after both teams started with 3 and outs, once our offense go the ball back it looked like we might be getting right on pace. A beautiful pass from Donovan McNabb to Reggie Brown looked to be a 46 yard touchdown, but thanks to a holding penalty on L.J. Smith, who had a day plagued with problems, the touchdown came back. But despite that misfortune on what seemed to me, to be a very bad call on the refs part, just one play later McNabb seemed to take things into his own hands on 2nd and 22 rushing for 26 yards. That excitement though was soon nullified when 2 plays later McNabb threw an interception while attempting to get to ball to Reggie Brown, "There was just miscommunication. There's no need to go into it. It's my fault. Maybe I should have just thrown the ball away.", said McNabb.The miscues kept o...

Two Underdogs On Miami Offense
2007-11-13 18:11:00
At a time when many Philadelphia fans are whining out our Quarterback situation, facing off against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday should be a big wake up call. This Dolphins organization is on their 3rd head coach (excluding John Bate's filling in to finish up the 2004 season after Dave Wannstedt was fired) and have had 11 starting Quarterbacks since the departure of Jimmy Johnson and Dan Marino in 1999.This year the team traded with the Chiefs for Trent Green after he basically lost his job to Damon Huard in part to a concussion he suffered last season. The idea wasn't for Green to necessarily be the QB of the future but to hold the job down while they groomed future prospect, John Beck who they drafted in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft.That idea only lasted so long as Green not only showed little to no success at the position, but ended up being placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a concussion against the Houston Texans in Week 5. With Green no longer active, the door was ...

Let's Get On A Roll
2007-11-13 17:54:00
With the latest win over the Redskins it's great to know that we're not dead in the water. We finally were able to beat an NFC East opponent, making it critical for us to beat the Giants and Cowboys when we face off against them again later in the season. But the issue we have yet to overcome is the fact that we haven't posted back to back winning games yet. Every time we've won, there has been the expectation we will get on a roll like in years past and string a few wins together. That hasn't happened. After the hammering of Detroit, we fell flat against the Giants, returning from a rested BYE week we beat the Jets, but then crumbled in the final minutes against the Bears. Following that disappointment we went on to shut down Adrian Peterson and show glimpses of offensive success in the red-zone, but that hope was soon deflated with a domination by the Cowboys. So lets try this one more time. The Miami Dolphins are in the most desperate of situations, win less through their fi...
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Through It All
2007-11-12 16:46:00
Things are far from easy for Andy Reid right now, we all know that, he is facing serious problems within his family which have become the focal point of local media. I have not talked about the issues with his sons much up until this point, I see no correlation between how that affects this football team because I know that Reid is a true professional and does everything in his power to not let outside distractions affect his work with this franchise. But regardless of if it affects his work, Coach Reid is still human and has to be feeling the pressure of all that he is going through at the moment. Not only has he been facing the troubles with his family but things have been far from easy with his team as well. From the team aspect of things, the coach has been through a lot over these last 9 seasons in Philadelphia. Ranging from on the field issues like losing in the NFC Championship games to the final 2 minutes of the Super Bowl, even going back to the should he or shouldn't he h...

Rising Through Adversity
2007-11-12 16:24:00
Kevin Kolb anyone? I don't think so.Donovan McNabb, the man who received so much criticism all week, came out and threw for 4 touchdowns, completed 71.4% of his passes (20 of 28) and also rushed for 37 yards. This performance at least will shut everyone up for one week, but if the stones are still being thrown at Donovan it doesn't seem to matter anyway, he always shines when faced with adversity.Nothing was perfect, fumbling in the 4th quarter is unacceptable, especially for a veteran like McNabb. At this point something like ball security shouldn't even be an issue and considering this is his 6th fumble of the season (has lost 4) and he began the Dallas game last week with a fumble, it needs to be addressed. Quite often when an issue like this arises it will only be addressed if it leads to losing the game. Thankfully it didn't pan out that way this time, but McNabb needs to focus on keeping that ball tucked away. From the standpoint of our defense it had to be severely frust...
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Westbrook Always Pulls Through
2007-11-12 15:51:00
Yet again we have another week where Brian Westbrook really pulled through, shouldering so much of the offensive production and adding that spark that was needed to leave Washington with a win. With his 100 rushing yards on 20 carries, 5 grabs for 83 yards, and a combined 3 touchdowns, the Redskins were not able to contain the prime weapon on our team. Down by 5 points in the 4th quarter with 3 minutes and 29 seconds left to play, Westbrook took the game into his own hands and showed how dangerous he is as soon as the ball is in his hands. With McNabb under pressure, he bought time and then threw off of his back foot to Westbrook, ready for the dump off. That was all he needed as Westbrook then maneuvered down the field, 57 yards, his longest reception of the season, and brought it in for the touchdown to take the lead. The Redskins worked all day to prevent the big play from happening, with their safety's placed so deep they wanted to force us to work underneath all day. That can ...

Don't Make McNabb Another Casualty
2007-11-08 18:00:00
I don't watch any other sport besides football so I'm not going to even try and delve deep into the topics of other Phiadelphia sports. But to me there seems to be a lot of irony regarding the recent talk about former Flyer Eric Lindros deciding to retire. I can't tell you one thing about Lindros besides the fact that he was beloved in Philadelphia for his talent and then eventually left on bad terms. The same goes for Allen Iverson, honored as a god at one point in his career but after years of ending seasons without a Championship, among others issues, he was run out of town. We can't let that happen again. No matter what you want to say about Donovan McNabb and what he hasn't' done for this team, bring home the Lombardi Trophy, he has done more than any other Quarterback has done for this franchise in recent history. For history's sake you have to honor Norm Van Brocklin leading the Eagles to a win over the Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship game, but when talk...
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Hanging In The Balance
2007-11-06 22:23:00
The man that we have invested so much money and time into as the starting Quarterback of this team, now is in the most unsecured position throughout his entire career. Over and over again for years the questions of Donovan McNabb's capabilities and criticisms about his play have surrounded this franchise, but never has it gotten as serious at it is now. For so long I've always said, the only person with a guaranteed position on this team is Donovan McNabb. That was a combination of the talent that he had along with the business side of things, the money, confidence, and time that had been invested into him ever since he was drafted in 1999. When yells were made for Koy Detmer to replace McNabb, Jeff Garcia, A.J. Feeley, on and on, I always denounced the claims that he would be benched. It never made any sense because McNabb has always been much more talented than the man that have been listed behind him on the depth chart. But now things are starting to look a lot less secure and ...
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How Has This Happened?
2007-11-06 22:09:00
I was optimistic, hopeful that we would witness magic happen on Sunday night, but it all pretty much blew up in our faces. Whatever could go wrong did, losing on a national stage with Terrell Owens working his way all over the field, not my idea of a good time. Now there are even more questions about where we go from here. A big consensus has given up on the year, I'm not going to lie, I labeled the Dallas match-up a must win, and we ended up losing.But the thing is that I don't have the mental capacity to sit here and just cash it all in, the season is only mid way through and I would go crazy if I started looking to next year. We all know anything can happen, reference last year for a perfect example, but the odds are that we aren't going to make the play offs. Even larger than that though is what the team is going to do to finish out the year. Donovan McNabb's role has often been questioned on this team, well now the criticism is at an all time high and there are serious call...

Awaiting The Headlines
2007-11-04 18:16:00
Awaking to the Inquirer bolstering celebratory headlines on Monday morning is one of the best parts of winning on a Sunday. Right now the optimism is riding high because hope is all that we have. Hope that the season can be saved with a win tonight, in front of a national audience, and best of all...against the Dallas Cowboys. Of course in perspective just being victorious tonight isn't going to do anything, we'll even our record out to be .500, but besides that we'll still be last in the divison. The thing is though that to work our way up, we have to start somewhere and starting next week is going to be too late. Donovan McNabb declared at the beginning of the season, "The time is now", the time for this franchise to finally buckle down and finish out a season with a Super Bowl win. So far, we haven't seen any sign of that happening but all is not lost. Logisitically for things to start heading in the right direction a turn around needs to happen immediateily. Not only would i...
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Getting Dawk Back
2007-11-02 14:33:00
After two straight days of practicing with the team Brian Dawkins seems to be right on track for a return to the field Sunday Night. The heart beat of this team could not return at a more crucial time, with so much on the line the intensity is going to be there regardless, but to have Dawk suited up will definitely help that side of things. For the past 5 weeks we've seen Dawk pacing the sidelines, playing coach just as much as cheerleader. There is no denying that he still finds a way to stay involved with the team, becoming a very valuable resource on game day, suited up or not. Whether Dawk has been standing on the sidelines screaming at the crowd, trying to get them pumped up, or walking over to talk to Matt McCoy after he committed a moronic Personal Foul, you have felt his presence.But as much as we appreciate what he can bring to the locker room and sideline, having him back on the playing field would be a great addition. Thankfully, despite our offensive woes, our defense h...
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Good For Him
2007-10-31 22:02:00
David Akers has been named the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Month...very good to hear, for Akers. From an individual perspective he is of course deserved of the honor and I'm happy that he has been recognized in this fashion, having gone 9 of 12 on field goals in October and racking up 31 total points, but those high numbers don't say much about our offense.In fact, this is extremely representative of the problem we have faced all season, having to settle for field goals as opposed to putting the ball in the endzone. Thank god we have a talented kicker in Akers who is able to consistently put those points up for us, but from a team perspective we shouldn't even be giving our kicker that many opportunities. With Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and Kevin Curtis this offense shouldn't have to "settle", if anything the defense should have to settle with us putting up touchdown after touchdown. Regardless, that hasn't been the case which is seen through our ranking as 31st in ...
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No Fear Here; 'Boys Are Overrated
2007-10-30 17:43:00
This week is huge. Whenever Dallas comes to town, the intensity rises, that intensity has even risen since the 2006 addition of Terrell Owens. But now from a strictly Eagles perspective, the pressure is on. The 6-1 Cowboys are coming to town on Sunday Night Football, off of a BYE and with Quarterback Tony Romo ready to confirm that he is worth the 6 year $67.5 million contract that he was signed to this week. Romo has far exceeded my expectations in what he has been able to accomplish so far this year, but I know what our defense is capable of and I'm not afraid to declare this team as far overrated.Are the Dallas Cowboys a good team? Yes. Are they are a very good team? Sure. But great? I don't think so. The 6 wins and 1 loss, seems to determine that they are a very strong competitor, but just look down the schedule. The one loss is extremely understandable, they faced off against the ridiculous New England Patriots, but take a glance at the wins.They have defeated: the Giants, Mi...
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Dawk Ready For Dallas? There's A Chance
2007-10-29 21:44:00
Update: Dawk is expected to practice WednesdayCould Dawk be back for the Dallas game? That would be amazing.Having sat out the past 5 games with a neck injury, there is hope that Brian Dawkins could be back on the field Sunday night. With plenty of time until the game there are still many variables that need to be accounted for but the possibility is at least there. As of now there is still no indication of what his role would be, how much playing time he would see, but anything would help. Up until this point Quintin Mikell, despite a ridiculous unnecessary roughness penalty (one of way too many by the team as a whole on the day), Mikell has been doing a very good job in filling in for Dawk. There is no way to replace a player of Dawkin's caliber but Mikell has done his job well while working within this secondary that has experienced a round of injuries between Considine and Sheppard as well.
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McCoy's Lapse In Judgement Loses Job
2007-10-29 21:33:00
We can't afford stupid mental mistakes and that is something that Matt McCoy fell victim to on a punt against the Vikings. For some reason McCoy felt it was necessary to blindside a hit on punter Chris Kluwe, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty. Though we still were able to put 3 points on the board and move the ball, you don't want to put your team in that position to begin with because of a mental lapse in judgement. The 15 yard penalty that McCoy drew put us back into our own territory despite Reno Mahe fielding the punt on the Minnesota 45. If we would have been defeated in that game, this would have been even more of an issue because you could look back on it, but thankfully we came out with the victory and the penalty had no effect on the outcome of the game. Regardless, no one was happy with McCoy's poor decision making with that play and on top of that, he has been a major disappointment since he was drafted to begin with. So today the team released McCoy, possibly u...
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