Philadelphia Eagles

Processing the NFL’s crazy 24 hours

Chris McGlynn Football, Free Agency, NFL , , , , ,

Everyone new that the start of the new league year was sure to bring some fireworks. I don’t think anyone saw that coming though. We are only a little over 24 hours into the 2015 NFL league year and the chaos is only now beginning to subside. We saw the Seahawks land the highest paid tight end in history. Darrelle Revis rejoined his old team for a small fortune. The Eagles continued to wheel and deal under Chip Kelly. Even Ryan Fitzpatrick changed teams (wait that happens pretty much every offseason). Time to take a second look at some of the teams involved in the fray after the dust has started to settle.

Winners:
This does not mean these teams won free agency, which, according to Michael Schottey of Bleacher Report, may not really matter. Either way, these are the teams who are in the best shape following the first day of signings.

Seattle Seahawks: No matter what you give up, getting arguably the best tight end in the NFL is a good deal. The Seahawks did give up All-Pro center Max Unger and their first round pick, but centers tend to be easier to replace than tight ends and with an historically week tight end class scheduled to hit the NFL next year, this was a good move. The Seahawks really need to work to rebuild that offensive line as both Unger and Carpenter are in new homes heading into next year. Still, for the defending NFC champions, this makes Russell Wilson even more deadly. Bringing in Cary Williams as a nickel corner doesn’t hurt either.

New York Jets: It is hard to look at the Jets and not think that this team looks infinitely better than it did on Sunday. The Jets have shelled out a lot of picks and money to do so but New York has made major strides in its rebuilding process. The secondary immediately becomes one of the best in the league signing Revis and Buster Skrine. The offense looks a lot better with the addition of Brandon Marshall. James Carpenter could prove to be an asset as well. The Jets were also smart to release Percy Harvin rather than give him the $10.5 million he was due. Bringing in Ryan Fitzpatrick is an upgrade over Geno Smith, especially under Chan Gailey. There is still more work to be done but the change is drastic.

St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford and his mega contract is gone. In return, the Rams now have Nick Foles suiting up. Both of these players are coming off of injuries but you would have to imagine that Foles is in much better shape. Bradford tore his ACL for the second straight season while Foles broke his collarbone. The Rams also managed to avoid giving up anything more than a fourth round pick this year. They might potentially lose a second rounder next year if Foles meets certain criteria but as a Rams fan, I am much happier having Foles as my prospective starter.

Losers

Philadelphia Eagles: On one hand, I look at the Eagles defense and I am impressed with how much better it looks now. Signing Byron Maxwell, Walter Thurmond and trading for Kiko Alonso will do that for you. However, I flip to the offensive side of the ball and I cringe. The Eagles are now without their starting quarterback, running back or leading receiver from a season ago. Pair that with Todd Herremanns leaving for Indianapolis and the Eagles have a lot of holes to fill. Signing Ryan Matthews could be the answer at running back but he is very injury prone, as is new quarterback Sam Bradford. Chip Kelly has taken the couple of questions surrounding Philadelphia and multiplied them ten-fold.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos did not make any splash signings and no one really expected them too. But the players they let walk away really hurt. Denver lost starting tackle Orlando Franklin to the division rival Chargers. Terrance Knighton also informed the Broncos that he would not be returning next year. Couple those two departures with Julius Thomas signing with Jacksonville and suddenly the Broncos are down three starters from 2014. With Nate Irving and Rahim Moore still unsigned, the Broncos could lose a few more starters before free agency is all said and done.

Indianapolis Colts: Indy has spent a combine total of $64.2 million on four players. The average age of those four players is roughly 32. These players all have big names but none of them are likely to make the impact the Colts are paying for. Andre Johnson is not going to return to Pro Bowl form any time soon. Neither is Frank Gore. Kendall Langford is a nice addition to the defensive line but pairing Trent Cole across from Rasheed Mathis give the Colts one of the oldest starting outside linebacker duos. With better players available, the Colts could have found a way to spend this money a little more wisely.

Free agency is far from over but after the first day or so of player signings, mixed with all of the crazy trades, this how the league appears to be trending. Some other things to note would if Oakland lands DeMarco Murray, the free agent class suddenly looks much better. New England will once again sit out on over spending for free agents, but don’t be surprised to see a trade involving the Patriots to surface. Lastly, the Saints have actually set themselves up fairly well for the coming future but their moves in the coming days will dictate whether or not this can continue to be a successful offseason. I will definitely be back with more in the coming days as more agents begin to sign.

Shocking trade changes the landscape of the NFL

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , , , ,

It might have only been a swap of two players but the impact is immense. A trade that no one saw coming was agreed upon today between the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles swapping to big name players. The Eagles sent star running back LeSean McCoy to the Bills in exchange for the promising Kiko Alonso. The trade will not be finalized until Tuesday because that is the official start of the new league year but it seems pretty safe to assume that this deal is going to go through. The deal is a shocking one that will impact much of both team’s offseasons.

If I am an Eagles fan, I am not happy right now. Sure, Alonso is one of the most talented young players in the league but he is still relatively unproven. He has played one season in the NFL in 2013 and then missed all of 2014 with a knee injury. So even with how productive he was as a rookie, Alonso is not a guarantee, particularly coming off the major injury. This also comes off as Head Coach Chip Kelly showing he will not be bullied in Philly. He landed yet another ex-Oregon player for his squad and while I think Alonso will be a boost to a battered linebacking corps, the team definitely had other needs.

On top of all of that, McCoy is now a Bill. Philadelphia just sent the best running back in franchise history packing because Kelly “did not like his contract.” With how much the landscape of the league has shifted to a pass-happy one, McCoy certainly does carry a hefty price tag at tail back but his impact on the game expanded well beyond the ground game. The man known as Shady did it all in an Eagles uniform. He racked up 1300-plus yards rushing in three of the past four years. He also caught at least 40 balls every year of his career but this last one. McCoy is a multifaceted player with the big play ability to break a game open. He will be sorely missed in Philly next year.

For the Bills, this shores up their injury riddled backfield. The addition of McCoy also ensures that C.J. Spiller will be on his way out, as he has already announced to the media. It also lessens the Bills’ concerns at quarterback. This takes a lot of the pressure off E.J. Manuel to lead this offense and gives him a new weapon in the passing game. Concerns have been raised about McCoy’s ability to hold up under the stress of another season of 300 plus carries but the likelihood is that Fred Jackson will spell him and keep his carry count down closer to 250 on the season. Rex Ryan has always been a fan of having multiple backs to shoulder the load. The Bills managed to do a lot to help their offense with this acquisition and avoided hurting their defense. Buffalo’s defense ranked in the top five last season even without Alonso and will be ready for the challenge again with few starters likely to be leaving.

What this means for both teams going forward is that their offseason plans have now altered. The Bills, who sit without a first round draft pick this season, will likely focus on adding depth to its front seven and offensive line with their draft picks. It also leaves them with plenty of money to resign a couple of defensive studs as well. There is no doubt that this team will be in play for a big name corner as well as Ryan loves cornerback depth. For the Eagles, they now jump into the top five of teams with money to spend this offseason. That could mean that they can lock up Jeremy Maclin to a long-term deal as well as take a stab at a big name free agent to solidify that defense. Byron Maxwell is already rumored to be headed to the City of Brotherly Love. Could Ndamokung Suh join him to solidify this defense? That is now a possibility with the $48 million the Eagles now have to spend. With no clear starting running back on the roster, the Eagles now become players to draft one of the talented rushers in this year’s draft.

Both teams ensured that they will look different heading into next year. It seems like the Bills will be buying into Rex Ryan’s ground and pound mentality with the two-headed dragon in McCoy and Jackson. Meanwhile, the Eagles are showing commitment to rebuilding a defense that let down the team in big games last season. Kelly also officially put his stamp on the team in his new role as head of personnel. Lots of work is still left to be done on both sides but this is clearly a big jump-start into the reshaping both teams are doing to make a run at the playoffs in 2015 after narrowly missing out on the action last season.

Counting down the most successful sports city

Chris McGlynn MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So following the Super Bowl and now starting the long four-month lull until another championship game is played, I thought it might be interesting to reflect back on the last 15 years of sports champions. More specifically, I am ranking the top ten sports cities in the US since 2000. This includes the five largest sports leagues in America, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS. The rankings will mainly rely on championships won by a single city but I will also take into account appearances in the finals as well. Let’s see if your city makes the list.

The cities just missing the cut are Houston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Houston has two titles, both coming from their MLS club the Dynamo. The Astros made a World Series run in 2005 but got swept. The Texans haven’t helped. Philly has four appearances in the big game but only one victory. The Phillies won the World Series in 2008 but then lost the next year. The Eagles lost in 2005 as did the Flyers in 2010. Baltimore has two titles but both came from the Ravens. The Orioles did not do enough to really pad Baltimore’s resume.

#10 Kansas City 2 total titles in 4 total appearances
Not exactly a massive market but Kansas City has been a pretty solid sports city since 2000 when it comes to success. The forgotten team here will be the MLS club. The Kansas City Wizards, who is now Sporting KC, won the MLS Cup in 2000 and later made it to the 2004 final. 13 years later, Sporting KC left its mark with a MLS Cup victory. Then just this past year, the Royals made a shocking run to the World Series, eventually losing to San Francisco. The Kansas City NFL team, the Chiefs, could have boosted this city up the list some but they have had very little playoff success since 2000, not coming anywhere near the Super Bowl.

#9 St. Louis: 3 total titles in 5 total appearances
The St. Louis Rams were actually the first team to win a sports championship in the new millennium, taking home the 2000 Lombardi Trophy (which I ranked as my most exciting Super Bowl game of all time). The baseball team in St. Louis has done most of the heavy lifting though as the Cardinals have been among baseball’s best in the past 15 years. The Cards have two World Series titles from the 2006 and 2011 campaigns. This MLB team also came up just short in both 2004 and 2013, at the hands of the Boston Red Sox on each occasion. A little help from the Blues in the NHL could’ve pushed St. Louis above the next few cities on this list.

#8 San Francisco: 3 total titles in 5 total appearances
The San Francisco Giants have been baseball royalty over the past five years. In that time span, they have nailed down three World Series titles. San Francisco also made a trip to the Series in 2002, eventually losing in Game 7 to the Anaheim Angeles. The football team in San Francisco is pretty good as well. The 49ers came close for years to making it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995. They finally accomplished that goal in 2013, but came up short against the Baltimore Ravens. Close, but no cigar. That Super Bowl victory could have vaulted San Francisco past the number seven city on the list.

#7 Pittsburgh: 3 total titles in 5 total appearances
If this were an all-time list, Pittsburgh would have to be higher up on it. As it is only since the year of 2000, the city takes a drop. This has still been a successful city though when it comes to sports titles. The Steelers have earned two of them, in 2006 and 2009. They also came up a touchdown short in 2011 of winning another one against the Packers. On the ice, the Penguins have been one of the top teams in the NHL for some time now. They are perennial contenders and managed to make a Stanley Cup run in 2008, losing to the Detroit Red Wings, before returning the following year to beat those same Red Wings. Unfortunately, the Pirates haven’t been much help to the Pittsburgh cause in a while. Pittsburgh has been good, just not as good as…

#6 San Antonio: 4 total titles in 5 appearances
Amazing that a city with only one professional sports team can make the list. Well that’s what happens when the San Antonio Spurs are that one team. After a win in the NBA Finals in 1999, the Spurs watched as the Lakers won three consecutive titles to open the 21st century. The Spurs retaliated by winning three out of the next five. After an eight-year finals drought, San Antonio got another shot at a ring in 2013, eventually losing in Game 7 to the Heat. The rematch the following year though fell the other way giving the Spurs their fourth title since 2000.

That is the bottom half of the list. Check back in tomorrow for the top half of the countdown.