Eagle’s Fans Hoping for Improvement After Promising 2013 NFL Draft

It’s been two long season’s for Eagle’s fans in Philadelphia. A self-proclaimed “Dream Team” in 2011 finished the year at .500 and fell well short of a playoff appearance in 2012 with a record of 4-12.

 

It seemed the Bird’s had hit rock bottom to bring in the New Year when long tenured Head Coach Andy Reid was fired on Jan 1. The Eagles also got rid of all big name veterans on defense in Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie and Jason Babin (at the end of the season). The re-building process had begun.

 

“I was thinking we were in for a long re-building process,” said Eagles fan Ben Becker, who attended The Draft at Radio City Music Hall with friend Ryan Woods this weekend. “We seemed to need help at every position.”

 

The Eagles first big off-season splash came when they landed Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly. The offensive mastermind brings with him a reputation for high-speed and fast scoring on offense.

 

“It’s exciting to think of the kind of points this team could put up next year, but the coach can only do so much. You still need to have the players to win.” said Ben.

 

The Eagle’s seem to have taken a step forward in acquiring those players.

 

After disappointing drafts the last few years, the Eagles seem to have finally come out on top and may even be the weekend’s big winner.

 

Ryan Woods, who resides in South Jersey said, “I loved a lot of these picks. The last few years has proven how important the Draft is. You can’t just go out and pay big name players. We showed that. Now, I’m excited to see how these young guys play.”

 

The Eagle’s decided to take advantage of the fourth overall pick to improve on one of the worst offensive lines in football in 2012, going with Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson. He was one of three offensive tackles selected with the first four picks.

 

“Crazy how many good offensive lineman there were, but I was really excited to get the Oklahoma kid,” said Ben.

 

And he should be. The 6’6, 300 pound tackle also ran a 4.7 at the NFL combine, the fastest time of all offensive linemen. His athleticism is unmatched, as he was a Quarterback in Junior college just 4 years ago. He put on size and power while at Oklahoma and should be a huge asset in Kelly’s offense, where lineman must be able to pull and get down field.

 

The Eagle’s continued with offense in round 2, selecting Stanford Tight End Zack Ertz. His catching ability makes him an exciting threat for the Eagles to use as Ryan Woods liked the pick. “Stanford has produced great NFL tight ends the last two seasons. Hopefully, he’s the next one and can make a quick impact.”

 

The Eagles moved to the defensive side of the ball in round 3, drafting Bennie Logan from LSU. He should help the Eagles in getting pressure on the Quarterback from the inside with his bull rushing skills.

 

The Eagle’s move of the draft came in round 4, when they surprised everyone and traded up in order to draft Matt Barkley the USC Quarterback. Barkley was considered a Top Prospect but was in the middle of a nose dive into day three of the draft before the Eagles scooped him.

 

“He’s definitely a work in progress and I don’t think he can start right away, but he has a lot of potential and is extremely smart. He could be the quarterback of the future and be an Eagle for a long time,” said Becker.

 

The Eagles wrapped up the draft by selecting Earl Wolff (S, NC State) in round 5, Jon Kruger (DE, Utah)/ Jordan Poyer (S, Oregon State in round 6 and David King (DT, Oklahoma) in round 7.

 

“Even with a lot of promise, until the players report to mini-camp, they are still just names on a piece of paper. Only time will tell if the Eagles are heading in the right direction,” Becker concluded.

 

Fans should find out soon enough, as the Eagle’s rookie mini-camp opens up on May 10^th.

Former 76er’s Head Coach Eddie Jordan Takes Over at Rutgers.

Rutgers University found their new Head Basketball Coach in current Los Angeles Laker’s assistant Eddie Jordan. He replaces Mike Rice who was fired on April 4^th after video surfaced of Rice cursing, using gay slurs and throwing basketballs at players during practice.

 

Jordan has had three different Head Coaching stints in the NBA with the Kings, Wizards and most recently the 76er’s. His career record is only 257-343, as Jordan has had more success as an assistant coach.

 

The Eddie Jordan signing has led to mixed reactions throughout campus. Current Rutgers Senior, Tim Colangelo doesn’t see Jordan as the answer. “He hasn’t really had any success in the NBA, and this is his first chance in college. He’s just not proven at all.”

 

Colangelo is a huge sports fan and has attended almost all of the football and basketball home games during his time at school. “The football program has obviously had more success but basketball games are a lot of fun. The crowd gets really into the game and has an effect. In all honesty, I thought Coach Rice had this program going in the right direction. Eddie Jordan has lost everywhere he’s gone.”

 

Mike Rice was known for having great success as the Head Coach of Robert Morris before being hired by Rutgers. In his three years at Rutgers, Rice hovered around the .500 mark.

 

“I just thought it was weird how all of his current players defended him. It’s a three minute terrible video of Mike Rice after hundreds of hours of practice,” said Colangelo. “If he was that terrible all the time, why did all his players defend him during the allegations?”

 

When the video first surfaced, former Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti had fined Rice $50,000 and suspended him for three games. Colangelo found this to be a fair punishment. It wasn’t until the video went public that more drastic measures occurred.

 

Rutgers graduate and current High School teacher/coach Anthony Brocco thought it was a fair punishment. “People have mixed feelings because it’s not nearly as bad as what went on at Penn State or now what they are saying about Auburn’s football program changing grades. No matter what though, when something goes public like that you don’t leave the people upstairs with much of an option.”

 

Brocco continued by saying, “A year ago Rutgers had a student commit suicide after being made fun of for his sexual preferences. Now, the Head Basketball Coach is shown using the same hurtful slurs. That’s not the kind of person to have leading a program.”

 

Rutgers hired Rice before the 2010 season even though he was known to have anger problems while at Robert Morris. However, the university decided that his success with wins and losses were worth the risk.

 

Eddie Jordan seems to be a much safer option. He’s used to being in front of the camera as an NBA head coach and shouldn’t have any problem with the local media coverage at the college level. His Princeton Style Offense didn’t work out well in the NBA but has proven to be successful at the college level. However, this will be his first attempt at recruiting high school players.

 

“It isn’t like Jordan is coming in to replace Phil Jackson. Mike Rice never made any NCAA tournament appearances and had most of his success at Robert Morris. If Jordan can start to turn this thing around, people will forget about Rice quickly,” said Brocco.

 

Only time will tell if Eddie Jordan can transition and be a success at the college level.

With Attendance Falling, Phillies Could Look to Cut Budget

It may not feel like it for Phillies fans, but October 27^th will mark the five year anniversary of their World Series Championship win. A lot has changed since that chilly fall night when the Phillies won in a three inning suspended game.

 

Brad Lidge and Pat Burrell were never the same and have long since retired. Jamie Moyer celebrated a 50^th birthday and President Obama is serving his second term in office. The Phillies have had some big names come and go such as Roy Halladay, Raul Ibanez, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee, twice.

 

Still, they declined in each of the next three seasons before missing the playoffs last year.

 

Even while falling short of goals, a core group of players such as Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels have helped Philadelphia to set a National League Record with 257 consecutive regular season sellouts.

 

That streak has long since ended and Phillies Concession Supervisor, Joe DiBello can see the difference. “Sales are way down and I only see concession numbers on my six carts each night. But, you can look around and see a lot of green (referring to the color of the seats) throughout the stadium. It’s not nearly as electric as it was say two years ago.”

 

The Phillies came into the season with the third highest payroll in MLB at a little over $165M. They trail only the huge markets of the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

 

“Things just don’t feel the same in the park. It was a really disappointing season last year and this hasn’t started any better. It doesn’t surprise me that attendance and all is down. There’s times when this team can be painful to watch,” said DiBello.

 

Analysts have begun to question if the Phillies have gotten too old, as they have the 5^th oldest average age in the league. If players are producing, this doesn’t matter. However, a record of 9-14 and sitting in fourth in the NL East isn’t helping to prove these analysts wrong.

 

DiBello feels that “the team has lost a lot of confidence over the last year. I remember when you would watch games and just wait for the Phillies to come back from behind and win. Now I wait for the bullpen to come in and blow a lead.”

 

If the Phillies don’t start turning things around, the question becomes is it worth having one of the highest payrolls in baseball to go along with a losing record and declining attendance?

 

If Phillies General Manager Reuben Amaro decides against it, the team has already proven they are willing to be sellers at the trade deadline. Last year, the Phils shredded salary and got younger by trading away outfielders Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino, as well as pitcher Joe Blanton for multiple prospects.

 

Those moves may have put the Phillies in position to sell again this year. Rumors have swirled that one of the first moves could be Cliff Lee who’s making $25M this season. This would be the second time in Lee’s career that the Phillies would trade the All-Star, after shipping him to Seattle in 2009.

 

Reuben Amaro has proven that he wants to keep the big three intact multiple times over the last few seasons. However, it may be time for the Phillies to get younger and begin building for the future.

 

The good news for fans is that we are only 23 games into the season and the Phillies still have three months until the trade deadline is here and real decisions need to be made. However, if things don’t turn around soon, this core group of Phillies will be placed into the history books with the likes of the 1980 team. Unfortunately, they only captured one World Series five years ago.