Results tagged “litosheppard”

In last year’s NFL Draft, the Eagles traded out of the first round and selected QB of the future Kevin Kolb with the 36th overall pick, leaving many fans underwhelmed. What would they do in 2008? Trade out of the first round to take a DT, leaving many fans underwhelmed. Hey, at least they’re consistent.

It's in a Philly sports fan's nature to bitch and moan about the often nonsensical moves made by the people in charge of our sports teams. Of course, we're not always rational beings ourselves. Hell, we're getting excited about the Sixers, who are—let's face it—a mediocre basketball team. So how can we possibly expect the people who run our teams to be rational? But we've just about had it with the Eagles' front office. It's not that Asante Samuel isn't a blue-chip cornerback. But is the guy who dropped an easy interception that would have sealed up the Super Bowl and a perfect season for his team worth $57 million over the next six years? Especially considering that, just last off season, the Birds didn't want to pony up the cash for Donte' Stallworth, who, by the way, signed a seven-year, $35 million deal with Cleveland this week. Maybe Stallworth isn't a true top-tier wide receiver, but the Eagles don't even have a "pretty good" wide receiver. We don't need a receiver who can stretch the field so that defenses don't just lock in on Brian Westbrook or anything. Plus, signing Samuel means that either Sheldon Brown or, more likely, Lito Sheppard will be heading out the door. Some Birds fans are pretty excited about signing Samuel. Anyone else remember when we were excited about getting Jevon Kearse and Takeo Spikes? Yeah, we cut both of them in the course of a week. (The Kearse cut doesn't bother us, but we're a little disheartened by losing Spikes, as it leaves the Birds' linebacking corps without a veteran leader.) Oh, and the whole city was super excited when we got Terrell Owens. That worked out well for us.

There are several questions that will rattle around in our heads for a while, tormenting us while seeing highlights of the remainder of the playoffs, particularly while at whatever dispirited Super Bowl party we attend, telling ourselves it's about being with friends instead of "the game." The 2.5 million dollar commercials will be funny at times, there’ll be lots of beer, some disgusting nacho dip that defies ocular sense by tasting good, and maybe it’ll actually be a good game, though we think a rematch of Super Bowl XX would only see a boring landslide victory in favor of the Pats. Yes, Brady versus Manning - with the Colts revamped D - will be the real Super Bowl.

Game Time: Saturday, January 13th at 8pm

The Eagles have come a long way. After being left for dead in late November - they lost McNabb in a 31-13 loss to the Titans, which was followed by a 45-21 loss to the Colts - they reeled off five straight wins with a quarterback that all the NFL considered a washout after showing some ability in San Francisco. The super undead Eagles - coach Reid himself, as well as several players, was using the zombie comparison in the last two weeks - go charging into the playoffs as the hottest team in the NFL, akin to a fully restored and fully revved hot-rod that's been unleashed on the streets after years lying under a tarp.

They did it. The Eagles came, they played hard and well on defense and offense, and then, most importantly, they finished the game, winning a huge, hard-fought victory over division rivals the Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps even more satisfying, they completely defeated ex-teammate Terrell Owens, making him a non-factor in the game. The Eagles might not have been the only ones involved in removing him from the game; there might also have been some bad juju working against him, thanks to a couple of recent promotions by local radio stations, wherein piles of T.O. jerseys were burned in a gigantic bonfire, and a car with "81" spray-painted on it was attacked by fans armed with sledgehammers and other implements of destruction. But regardless of what did it, T.O.'s stats in the game speak for themselves: three catches for only 45 yards and zero touchdowns. T.O.'s main contribution to the game was whining and complaining on the sidelines. The fans treated him to some brutal "O.D." chanting, while he dropped passes, or waited for throws that never came.