Eagles Begin Setting Up Team For New CBA

The NFL's collective bargaining agreement negotiations are almost as watched as Charlie Sheen, and carry the same baggage as asking your girlfriend (or booty call) to confirm "It's Complicated" on Facebook. We're a few hours from when the CBA expiration, and so far, the players and owners have little to show for it. So here comes the obligatory CBA update: The players and owners were in negotiations today, with Jeff Saturday emerging a little after 5pm. Saturday confirmed rumors that the sides had agreed to a 24-hour extension to bargain with. Many at the negotiations say that this will likely only buy time to agree on a longer extension, of perhaps weeks. At this pace, negotiations on both sides seem to be slowing, and it appears we may be in for a long and ponderous spring. The good thing is that none of this really affects fans until August training camp, though the longer it takes, the less work coaching staffs will be able to get done with their players.

Now, on to things that are making progress.

Michael Vick has signed the franchise tag that the Eagles took their time offering him. This, perhaps, could mean that the team is banking on the franchise tag existing in the new CBA, or it could just mean they don't want anyone poaching their Pro Bowl quarterback. Vick may have been happy to sign his agreement, but David Akers is being much less obliging about his tender offer. Taking into account the kicker's age, the Eagles' hesitancy towards a long-term deal is understandable; however, given Akers' record with the team and ability on the field, his refusal at such a nebulous situation is equally understandable. The Pro Bowl kicker has been with the Eagles for more than a decade, and is the only remaining player from the NFC Championship game loss to the Rams, and even the Super Bowl run that ended against the Patriots. Akers feels he deserves a better deal from the team, and he may be right. It would be unwise for the Eagles to allow Akers to test his worth on the open market, especially with many calling him the best kicker in the league. The Eagles can ill afford to lose talent and experience of Akers' caliber.

Meanwhile, six other players were tendered over the last two days. Yesterday, linebacker Stewart Bradley, guard Max Jean-Gilles, cornerback Dimitri Patterson, and running back Eldra Buckley were given tenders. Patterson's tender could allow another team to pick him up, which would make pursuing Nnamdi Asmougha even more feasible. While Patterson's tender was a no compensation, Bradley's second-round tender and Jean-Gilles' fourth-round tender could be used to improve the offensive or defensive lines. Though the Eagles are set with LeSean McCoy at running back, with Leonard Weaver currently rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered in the playoff loss to Green Bay, it may make sense to help lock Buckley up from other teams at the cost of a 10% raise, a likely reason why he got the exclusive rights tender.

Today, running back Jerome Harrison was given a second-round tender and punter Sav Rocca was given a no compensation tender. Harrison, like Bradley, has a high-pick tender likely to improve the team through the draft, while the no compensation for Rocca is likely to entice him to stay for the 10% increase.

It will be hard to judge the value of these moves until after CBA negotiations are over, until then I'll have fun making my own predictions.

Follow on Twitter: @asprice18

Vick & Akers Get Tagged, Former Eagle News

In the background of the Eagles' defensive coordinator saga was the Michael Vick franchise tag saga. The new year rolled around and there was speculation. A week and a half ago there was talk of it. Then today there was a "this week" timetable, and that's when Reid, Banner, and Lurie decided to pull the trigger, franchising Vick and giving a transition tag to kicker David Akers. While there is still uncertainty about whether or not the franchise tag will have an analogue in the (eventual) new CBA, for the time being Vick is locked in to Philly, and will quadruple last year's salary. Not bad for the Comeback Player of the Year, but Aker's agent is not happy with the move. It gives the Eagles the right to block another team from interviewing Akers, and is a tactic the Eagles haven't used since 1998, according to ESPN's Matt Mosley. This could mean the Eagles will prolong contract negotiations with the five-time Pro Bowl kicker.

On the topics of the Eagles in the '90s, Ray Rhodes was just picked up by the Cleveland Browns as the senior assistant on defense. Rhodes coached the Eagles from the 1995 playoff run that ended against the Cowboys to the disastrous 3-13 1998 season, after which he left to coach the Green Bay Packers. Rhodes joins Eagles coaching alum Dick Jauron, the Browns newly-hired defensive coordinator.



In other former-Eagles news, Cris Carter (no 'h' there, kids) was passed over (again) for the Hall of Fame. the former wide receiver was drafted by the Eagles in 1987, and led the team in TD catches in 1989. Unfortunately, substance abuse led then-coach Buddy Ryan cut Carter from the team. Carter shone in the mid-90s with the Minnesota Vikings, ending his career in 2002 with the Miami Dolphins. And Cris, like the Eagles, will have to wait and see if a new year will bring better chances.

While Akers' agent wasn't happy with the transition tag, one person who won't be happy about Vick's franchise tag is Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle. Last week, Buehrle said in an MLB.com interview that he hoped Vick would get hurt in his 2010 comeback season. I'll give that a moment to sink in for everyone. An athlete hoping another athlete gets hurt while playing is a VERY rare thing for one reason: it's douchey. This is just another case in the pattern of people who decide they can prove they're an animal lover or otherwise morally above the rest of us by ripping on Vick. Meanwhile, the puppy-loving Chase Utley, one of if not the most popular athlete in Philly, and his wife Jen have said nothing about Vick, outside Jen's comments that Philly's SPCA should have been informed of the signing. See that folks? It's called class. Meanwhile, NBC Sports' Rick Chandler interviewed the bear Buehrle shot. With an arrow. Apparently Jim Thome was in attendance.

In player news, defensive end Trent Cole underwent elbow surgery yesterday. Players should cash in those benefits before March 4th, just in case the owners play hardball.

Follow on Twitter: @asprice18

Monday Morning Falcons Hangover

Hey, did you know NFL players played a game, and no one, not even the guys in the game, cared?

Yeah, the Pro Bowl. Yawn.

The big news ‘round these parts, or, you know, at least how they pertain to me and y’all, my dozens of readers, is that I’ve decided on how to format my columns / posts / rantings / ravings / whatever you want to call’em.

As I’m sure many of y’all have noticed, I post in the mornings, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I had one “breaking news” post regarding the Falcons losing their QB coach, and will write blog posts like that when the occasion presents itself, but I decided that since I have a fairly easy to follow schedule, I should have some kind of reliable format to help me write, to make it fun to read, and basically, every hack writing about the NFL has a schtick, and this will be mine in as much as I’m not the first to do such things, nor will I be the last.

My Monday columns will be known as Monday Morning Falcons Hangover (if you hadn't already noticed). During the season, the main story will of course by my op-ed take on the Falcons’ most recent Sunday Game. I’m sure I’ll be writing a short, facts-and-stats-based recap of game soon after it’s over, but the Monday post will be my opinion on what went wrong, what went right, etc.

After that, on Mondays only, I’ll post The Seven Things I Know in the NFL. The fun part is, this section won’t always be Falcons related, so it lets me spread my NFL wings a bit.

I’ll be calling my Wednesday posts: Wednesday Football Two-A-Days, because I’ll not only write about the Falcons, but about the Georgia Bulldogs Football team, the SEC, or college football in general for that true, Southern taste of football life.

My Friday columns will be called: Thank Goodell It’s Friday! Yeah, I know, cheesy. I’ll write about what the Falcons need to do to win that weekend’s game, and then I will give my full slate of predictions.

After the Seven Things on Monday, the College Football on Wednesday, and the Predictions on Friday will come the bits I’ll do for all three days I write. First up is Today In History. I love history. I love how history is a cycle that repeats itself. I am two classes shy of obtaining my history degree from UGA. I want to teach history. It’s fairly self-explanatory. I’m going to find an interesting piece of historical trivia and share it with y’all. Learning is fun!

After the seven things will come Film Real on Mondays, TV Dinners on Wednesdays, and The Jukebox on Fridays. I love movies, some tv shows, and music as much as I do sports, and I’ll share some of that with y’all.

After that comes Smart Quotes, which are some of my favorite quotes from famous (or infamous) people throughout time.

And I’ll finish my scheduled posts with Hey, Check This Out! which is the expression used most to rope unsuspecting bystanders into seeing some cool or funny video on YouTube. I will post said video for your enjoyment / amusement.

Alright, now that y’all have the roadmap for how this is going to work from now on, let’s roll.

The Seven Things I Know in the NFL

1) It makes total sense that MeAngelo Hall wins the MVP of a game predicated on individual skill and talent, and not meshing that skill and talent within the concept of TEAM.

2) If Commissioner Goodell and the owners want to make the Pro Bowl meaningful in any way (which would improve ratings), they would do away with paying the losers of the game and only pay the winners. All players get the trip to Hawai’i, but only winners take home a check for $50,000.

3) If I were David Akers, there is no way in HELL I could ever play for Andy Reid again. Not when Andy Reid knew what he knew, and still blamed Akers for the loss against the Packers. Just an inexcusable lack of tact from a coach who is able to find the time to coddle a dog-killing sociopath, but has no room in his heart for a father with a cancer-stricken child.

4) Megatron would look awfully nice in Falcons’ red after the 2013 season.

5) I know it was against a base defense (kind of like what Mike Smith has the Falcons play all of the time), but Matt Ryan can cut it loose longer than 20 yards. I hope Smitty & Mularkey were paying attention Sunday.

6) Anyone willing to pay $200 to stand outside Cowboys Stadium to watch the Super Bowl on what amounts to a big television is a fool, not worthy of his or her money.

7) The Green Bay Packers “PictureGate” is the kind of distraction that can derail a team’s drive for a title. Not good, Cheeseheads. Not good at all.

Today in History

On 31 January 1865, the United States Congress formally passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery for all states in the Union, including those in rebellion. This Amendment was deemed necessary by President Lincoln, because the Emancipation Proclamation was mostly a symbolic gesture that would have no power under Constitutional Law once the Civil War was concluded, and did not include the Border States, such as Kentucky. The 13th Amendment paved the way for American life as we know it today; suffrage for all, black, white, men, women. For Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. For the Civil Rights Movement. For an America that can elect a President who is a black American (whether he was actually worthy of those votes is another debate entirely NOT for this discussion). The 13th Amendment was a triumph of the goodness men can do. Let us be grateful today for the the anniversary of that momentous occasion.

Film Real

Late winter (after football season) is a great time to catch up on films that we wanted to see during football season, but perhaps never got around to due to real life (errands, chores, Honey-Do Lists, Holidays, etc) getting in the way.

A fun, well-reviewed film that was released at the end of the summer / beginning of autumn, Red, is a tale of retired CIA Agents played by Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren, who have become a liability for the Agency, so they send their best “cleaner,” played by Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings), to take care of the problems those four pose.

Red is sharply written, with a witty sense of humor and crack comic timing displayed by the leads, who are even more impressive with their action work. Also, look for Brian Cox (X-Men 2, The Bourne Supremacy) in an extended cameo as a former KGB Agent. The film was recently released on DVD, and you can find it at a RedBox, from Netflix, on demand, or on iTunes. I recommend this film for pretty much anyone who’s a fan of smart action films in the vein of the last two James Bond films, or the first Die Hard film. Trust me, you won’t be sorry.

Smart Quotes

Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments flit away and a sunny spirit takes their place.

Mark Twain, 1897

Hey, Check This Out!

The video is kind of grainy (okay, it’s very grainy), but this is by far the funniest moment in Late Night with Conan O’Brien’s history. Man, do I miss the Walker Texas Ranger Lever. Damn you, NBC for holding the rights to all of Conan's old bits as well as the video rights of Walker Texas Ranger! (And yes, that IS Haley Joel Osment)

Follow me on Twitter at @UGABugKiller