According to Sal Pal of ESPN, the rumor going around the NFL these days is that our Birds will go hard after Asante Samuel of the Pats in free agency. Apparently, Samuel is high on the wish list of not only the Birds, but also Uncle Farrell's favorite team...The J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!
Frankly, I'm not surprised that the Birds are interested in Samuel. They have always shown that they will over pay for corners and Samuel is about as good as they get in today's free agent market. Plus, this would allow the Birds to move Sheldon Brown to one of the safety spots, where he is probably better suited at this point in his career. In this scenario, signing Samuel would actually improve two spots...corner and safety. We'll see if the Birds pull it off, but I would not be shocked if it happens. Who wants to play for the Jets anyhow?
However, signing the 5'10" Samuel isn't going to help the Birds stop this Eagle Killer:
Over the last couple weeks, I've started thinking about what the Birds can do to help slow this guy. Of course, the easy answer is to draft and/or sign a bigger corner. Well, that's not so easy, my friend. If you watch any college football lately, you'll quickly see that the big time colleges are no longer producing corners bigger than 6 feet tall. Players over 6 feet tall with the skill set to play corner are routinely moved to wide receiver once entering the college game. As a result, it is rare to see a corner in the NFL over 6'1" or so. Therefore, if you seriously want to slow down Plax, you have to turn to alternative measures. That's where the PSP Plan comes into play.....
If you watch college basketball, you know that there are a glut of (undersized by NBA standards) 6'2-6'3" two guards that run like the wind and jump out of the arena, but have no jump shot whatsoever, which translates into a zero chance of playing in the NBA. Surely, many of these kids would like to put their athletic skills to good use. So, why not give them a chance? I'm pretty sure you could convince these kids to give the NFL a shot.
Obviously, identifying these kids would be the hard part. I would interview all the Big Five coaches and Bruiser Flint of Drexel to help locate kids they've played against that fit the mold I laid out (taller than 6'2", athletic and not afraid to play defense). I would then bring a number of them in for a camp and tell them that two are making the squad (one for the team and the other for the practice squad.) I'm sure if you bring in enough kids with the right athletic qualities, you'll find a couple that have the skill and desire to match up against tall wide receivers such as Plax, Randy Moss, Roy Williams, etc.
Now go ahead and poke holes in my theory, but I defy you to come up with a better idea to find athletes that simply don't exist.
6 comments:
Are you retarded? I mean, I know you want to write about something Eagles, but to come up w/ a point guard to Corner Back theory is a joke. you played hs football, you know its not for everyone. Imagine Bobby Hurley sticking his nose in there on an off tackle play.
Now for the Asante sweepstakes. Here's the problem, they play a ton of zone in NE and we play a ton of man. I'm not sure he can play singled up in the NFC East against TO and Plax? I would move with caution here as hes gonna get a ton of $$$$'s and i'd want to make sure he fits.
Why don't you just have them open the bank up entirely, and get the guy you really want: Randy Moss.
(Then you can work on your 6'2" guard/cornerback scheme because there'll be no $$$ left in the piggy bank)
Tom F.
As a jets fan, I don't want this corner. Just too expensive. The eagles should draft a corner or even trade for justin miller from the jets. You need a return guy (pro bowl player last year) and is also a corner back. Granted, he doesn't have the size but you could fill two holes. (Insert the "that's what she said" joke here)
Uncle Farrell
Uncle Farrell, i'm gonna treat you like Michael treated Maury and Connie in Godfather II. You remember the scene where Connie asked Michael for money and his blessing to marry Maury.
I don't know this Justin Miller, I don't know what he does, I don't know what he lives on. I want you to tell this man that we're not interested, he'll understand believe me.
We don't want a stinking player who can't get on the field for the 4-12 Jets.
Retarded? Come on, dog...you know that while 18 guys on the field are playing football, the guys on the outside (the WR's and CB's) are playing two hand touch. (Think Bobby Taylor and Deion.) Are you telling me that an athletic guy that likes to play defense in hoops can't do that as a nickle back or 4th corner to match up against taller receivers?
I think you're being short sighted. I'm thinking out of the box. That's why I deserve a job working on a professional sports team. I know my shit and I'm creative.
Plus, when the fuck was the last time a NFL team ran an off tackle play? Jim Hornung and the Lombardi era Packers?
There is no reason this can't be done. Antonio Gates didn't play football in college and just today I read an article about a former hoops player from Michigan St trying to make it as a TE.
To extrapolate a little further on my point, I don't know why teams don't try to switch the position of a project player more often. What do they have to lose? Like I said, colleges aren't producing big corners anymore. Did guys like Bobby Taylor just disappear? No, they're out there just playing college hoops w/ hope for future employment.
Farrell, I'd take Miller as a fall back, but isn't he coming off an ACL tear? No thank you.
Capt...nice use of the Godfather line, but was the guy's name Maury? I don't remember him being Jewish.
it may have been Verne or Merle.
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