Author Archives: gordonglantz

DeSean-Gate: Risky Business

Leave a reply

Image

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE — It’s business, not personal.

In the curious case of the release of Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson, the Philadelphia Eagles – the team in town that lays claim to business acumen but has gone the longest, 54 years, without a championship – are trying to run this one up the flag pole.

I’m not saluting.

And neither should you.

With the Eagles winning a Super Bowl , at least while I still have my own teeth, forever resting atop of my SBL (Sports Bucket List) – above such lofty events as Temple beating Penn State in football or reaching the Final Four in hoops – I can’t help but feel a step further away, not closer, with Jackson gone.

It doesn’t matter to me that Jackson was a “me-first” diva whose primary concern was making plays, often for his own highlight reel. Unless his showboating proved costly, like when he spiked the ball before crossing the goal line in Dallas as a rookie, I didn’t care what he did to celebrate.

And neither should you.

He was a big play waiting to happen, a weapon opponents had to game plan around. And that’s not easily replaced.

Sometimes it takes a football lifetime to replace a key player. Consider Brian Dawkins and what has happened at safety since the Eagles let him go.

Thinking you can just plug in Damaris Johnson or B.J. Cunningham and get the same results is nothing shy of sheer top-down arrogance after but one season of surprising success in which the Eagles were really an 8-8 team dressed for the playoffs in a 10-6 disguise.

They are not in a position, not yet, to jettison talent from its nucleus.

Everything being funneled to the masses through the gullible media as rationale is a carefully crafted façade designed to keep Eagles Nation distracted from the bottom line that they screwed up.

Royally.

Unless someone can prove a misdemeanor, let alone a felony, I really only have limited interest in Jackson’s personal life.

If you left the NFL with just boy scouts and choir boys, it would be more of a No Fun League than it is already.

That Jackson lived paycheck to paycheck, despite making millions, is on him.

He is not the first athlete to do so, and he won’t be the last.

He preferred gangsta rapping to sitting around team campfires, joining hands with Jeff Maehl and Roc Carmichael and singing “Kumbaya” while drinking a Chip Kelly smoothie during a team-bonding drill?

I should care?

You should care?

Maybe, in the abstract, but I don’t.

And neither should you.

We have been sticking by this team through owners, coaches and players. They come and go, sit in the back room and count out the millions while we suffer.

Maybe they don’t owe us an explanation, and maybe they can’t legally give us one anyway. But they owe us better than what they gave us in a scenario that is sure to come back and haunt us in our nightmares.

The reality is that the Eagles, in trying to take the high road, have made it way more personal.

And it’s going to hurt business.

Jackson missed team charity events? Blew off his mandatory exit interview after the season-ending loss to New Orleans in which he was a spark in a comeback bid? Didn’t return phone calls from his coach?

Not good. The team, no team, can have separate sets of rules for players.

But they could have handled it differently.

If they believed he was a detriment, then try the trade route. At least you can control where he goes and get something, even if it’s not equal value, in return.

Because the NFL is dysfunctional in this regard, making trades hard to swing without being creative, they were left with one choice.

Make it work.

Call him in the first day the team reconvenes and lay down the law. Tell him this season is his last chance to stay an Eagle, which would mean his last chance to play for big bucks.

Tell him he is going to run laps, instead of plays, for missing the exit interview.

And then he begins with the third string.

Think he is embarrassing you with his antics? Embarrass him back.

It would blow over soon enough.

It’s better than letting him walk for nothing and facing him twice a year for the next three seasons while he has a chip on his shoulder.

The system is great, but talented players kind of make that engine go.

And they gave one away. Gift-wrapped.

I don’t care if they take one of the many stud receivers available in May’s draft at No. 22 and then hedge their bet with one of two more from the bumper crop.

Heck, I don’t care if they trade up and pluck the gem of the class, Sammy Watkins of Clemson.

Rookie receivers, no matter how much freakish talent they may possess, usually need refinement in the nuances of the pro game – nurturing lasting into their second or third seasons – before being able to reach their full potential.

The Eagles had a sure thing at the receiver position. They re-signed both Riley Cooper, who thrived against single coverage for a career year while Jackson attracted attention, and a medical question mark in Jeremy Maclin. Then, they cut good guy Jason Avant – the purported babysitter for Jackson – to keep from having too much money dumped in the wide receiver stable.

It was believed that Jackson, with Cooper and Maclin, was going to make for a trio that would be impossible to defend – particularly with tight end Zach Ertz primed for a breakout sophomore season and veteran all-purpose back Darren Sproles added to the mix.

With opponents gasping for air while the Eagles run plays every 15 seconds, it would have been open season for quarterback Nick Foles and running back LeSean McCoy to take advantage of the litany of mismatches.

Pull Jackson from the mix?

Well, the picture is a bit different, isn’t it?

On top of that, adding insult to injury, the Eagles stumbled on the run here. They were clumsy in their long-shot trade attempts and were forced to release him after a report from NJ.com – one that would have gotten a D-minus from any mail-order journalism class – that merely reiterated a bunch of guilt-by-association babble about the three-time Pro Bowler coming off his best statistical season.

Realizing they couldn’t trade him at that point, and not being men enough to give it another shot, he was released.

Jackson was signed by a division rival, the Washington Redskins, at a pay rate that maybe could have been renegotiated – albeit with some guaranteed money to continue living in the moment – to stay here and make it work.

All in all, I would say it was a poorly played hand.

If the decision was that the NovaCare Castle wasn’t big enough to hold both the egos of Kelly and Jackson, there were still better options.

Why not release him before free agency and have more money freed up to sign a better safety – i.e. Jairus Byrd, T.J. Ward, Donte Whitner – than using spin control to make Malcom Jenkins sound like the second coming of Ronnie Lott and bringing back the soft-hitting Nate Allen on the premise that he was “better” than awful last season?

Instead of career special teamers, like Chris Maragos and Bryan Braman, maybe they could have made a play for pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware when he was released by the Cowboys.

Instead, the dire need for an edge pass rusher remains unaddressed.

There are players who do that type of thing in the draft, but now the Eagles are boxed into a corner and have to load up on receivers because they couldn’t find a way to make it work with Jackson.

This, my fellow sufferers, is bad business.

Make that 55 years without a championship.

Tough to swallow when you weren’t even alive in 1960 and have since invested so much time, emotion and energy in this team.

So, yeah, I’m taking it personally.

And so should you.

This column first appeared at http://www.phillyphanatics.com

 

The Gift

Leave a reply

Image

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE — Blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours shine any brighter.

When I first saw that scroll through Facebook one day, I was moved to tears (and I’m man enough to say it).

I woke up one day – maybe around 2010 – and found myself in a work environment where this anonymous saying should have been recited like the pledge of allegiance, and plastered on the wall as a reminder to those refusing to salute.

Sometimes I think that if I had come up with that idea, the storyline may have gone differently.

But the reality was that, if only because it would have been my idea, it would have been dismissed offhand.

That’s how it was going by the end of the roller-coaster ride.

My star had fallen.

It was what it was.

Playing it back in my mind, I had been on the endangered species list for a while, making me not unlike many of the middle-aged jobless souls cast adrift across the country.

I had overstayed my welcome, plain and simple.

The script said I was to ride off into the sunset on my own terms, with dignity, but I kept hanging on.

For reasons I can’t explain, I needed a little push out the door.

That came when my candle was blown out by a Kangaroo court.

Whether or not it ever made anyone else’s shine any brighter is something I ponder less as the days, weeks and months pass.

I think I know the answer, which speaks more about that place than it does about me.

It is what it is.

And it is what it became.

A blessing.

They gave me a gift.

A gift I have been unwrapping ever since.

 All Good

Instead of taking my blood pressure three times a day to make sure I wasn’t going to follow family tradition and drift into stroke terrain, it has been normal since the morning after.

Although my medication had been changed and tweaked, the real life-saver was my little girl.
When we first told Sofia that Daddy wouldn’t be going back to work anymore, the reaction of our young old soul was to cry.

All she had known for what was then six years on earth was visiting with me, although I brought her there less and less the more hostile it got. People didn’t even want me around, let alone my daughter.
Still, there were fond memories. It was the place where she took her first steps and where certain people who don’t run with the pack still made a fuss over her.

Plus, I think she understood that the job, for all its increasing stress and negatives, provided me with a place in the world.

It wasn’t uncommon for strangers to approach in public and ask if I was me – and she was Sofia – based on the regular mentions of her in my Sunday column that, for a while, made her the best known toddler in Central Montgomery County.

So, in her own little way, her initial reaction was to mourn the loss.

But it didn’t last.

How could it?

When we added that it meant she would see me all the time, especially at night, she did one of those smiling-through-the-crying things that kids do.

And it was all good.

And it has been all good ever since.

Lucky Seven

Before the axe fell, I drove Sofia to school in the morning, picked her up, set her up with a snack while anxiously waiting 15-20 minutes for a babysitter and then zooming into work like Steve McQueen  – where I would still get the evil eye from the CBB (Candle Blowing Brigade) for being tardy in their judgmental eyes.

By the time I got home, post-midnight, the best I could do was a kiss on the cheek while she slept.

All told, that was about an hour per day with the child we waited a long time to have. Yeah, we had the weekends, but I was often so exasperated that I needed to sleep off the week, exhausted from defending my candles from those conspiring to blow them out (not easy when it is most often happening when I’m not in the building).

This last year?

All Sofia, all the time.

And I couldn’t be any more content.

Sofia just turned seven. We have a tradition of staying up until her birth time,10:31, to officially ring in her new year – although she had a party for her school friends, a snack-time party at school last week and a house party for friends and family this past weekend.

And, in typical Sofia fashion, she got choked up.

We reminded her of all the good things that happened when she was six, like the addition of a pain-in-the-ass dog and the several trips we were able to make this past summer.

It was also the year she and Daddy got to make up for lost time.

I see and hear those parents who can’t wait to get a break from their kids, hoping against hope that snow doesn’t postpone school, and I just don’t get it.

Maybe they need to walk a mile in the shoes of a parent longing to be with their child during her wonder years – those before it becomes all about the friends, and the boys – instead of breathing in the air of a toxic environment alongside miserable people perfecting the art of throwing rocks from glass McMansions.  

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

I was accused of wanting everyone to like me, and being too focused on that, but that dime-store analysis was off-point.

It was more about what I really loathe.

It was about being misunderstood.

They were the hunters, and I was the witch.

I admit that it was new for me in an environment where I was once beloved, but surely nothing new for many of you reading this.

It happens.

Things just snowball.

It soon became easier for those above me in the food chain to go with that flow, to ignore their self-created litany of double standards and join the lynch mob and point to the blown-out candle I had become, and give it credence.

They have to live with themselves, and look at their own sorrowful images in the mirror.

I am living with myself, and thriving in the process.

All the Write Stuff

A writer by trade, I am actually writing more – way more – now than before. People are paying me to do it, and I can do it from my own home, meaning I eat dinner with my family and can watch my daughter grow while willingly chauffeuring her to her myriad of activities.

The only aspect of my past life I miss is the connection with the readers. Some of you found me on Facebook and caught the midnight train to Gordonville here in the Blogosphere.

I also know that a lot of my readers don’t have computers, so connection is lost.

Just be assured that the writing is alive and well. You will hear from me again. I’m working on one book, with a few others on the backburner.

My first step into writing was song lyrics, which began in high school, where teachers probably conned themselves into thinking I was taking fast and furious notes about whatever yawn-inducing subject they were yammering about.

It continued in college and pretty much ended once I started working for the man.

I am writing songs now at a similar clip. And with 30 years of life experience – and an enhanced vocabulary — in my hip pocket, I am putting my adolescent self to shame (although some of the college-era songs were pretty darn good, if I must say so myself).

In any event, my songwriting partner and I will be putting out a CD of 13 original songs – some old, some new — this year. It may go somewhere, and it may not. Either way, a sense of satisfaction I was not feeling will be there.

I want to live forever, but we share the same fate.

At the very least I’ll have this music bug scratched off the bucket list, although the hope is that this is only the beginning.

And the fact that Sofia has been with me to the studio has added to the joy. I play the songs in the car, and she sings along, as she knows all the words.

My words.

When it’s a new song, she’ll offer an opinion, which I not only value but look forward to hearing more from as her palate grows.

 A Sense of Smell

The inevitable happened recently when Sofia asked if I had written any songs about her yet. For all the odes, via columns, I have yet to cross that bridge.

When I do, I know it can’t be generic. It has to be “Born To Run” or “Thunder Road,” not “Born To Be Alive” or “Thunder Island.”

She would expect no less, as a burgeoning music buff.

Sofia’s favorite song these days is “Let It Go” from “Frozen.” She sings it a lot. Some parents would get annoyed, but I’m not some parents.

While off-key, it is with a passion that sends chills up my spine.

I’m not kidding myself. She sings it because she likes it, but I can’t help but feel like she is singing it for my benefit, telling me to let it go.

All I can say in response is that I have, and she is the main reason why.

I always felt the adage about smelling the roses was a waste of time. My theory about life was that you only go around once, so why bother with the detour?

But that’s the point.

You only go around once, so you should bother.

And what you shouldn’t bother with is blowing out someone else’s candle so that yours will shine brighter.

If you believe in karma, you will get burned.

Willie Nelson Quote

 

 

Memo to NFL: Keep The Change

Leave a reply

Image

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE – Is one’s gut instinct always the best?

Let’s put it to the test.

When my Internet trolling led me to the headline that that NFL was about to convene to consider more rules changes, my gut screamed “nooooooo” … kind of like your pooch running into the street with a bus coming. (This actually happened the other day, but said school bus was stopping anyway and Rex did a U-turn and came back on his own, realizing that a walk was no fun without yanking my shoulder from its socket).

If there is anything the NFL doesn’t need, it is more rules about its rules – unless they are passing a rule banning future rule changes (except one to address my pet peeves of players showing up officials by making official gestures for what they think should be called and announcing whole teams, instead of individual starters, at games).

But upon further review, not all proposed rule changes are created equally. With that – presuming you can put down your NCAA bracket, seeing if one school you couldn’t find on a map beat another one you never heard of before and never will again – join this mad scientist in his lab as he places the proposed changes under the microscope.

Here is the list of the 13 proposed changes:

1.  Move kickoffs to the 40-yard line, from the 35, where they are now.

Reaction: Well, this would bode well for touchback-challenged Alex Henery, the Eagles’ kicker, but it seems a bit extreme. It didn’t seem too long ago that the league moved kicks from the 40 to the 35 to avoid touchbacks (I remember lining my men up at the 40 in electric football). Hey, NFL, let’s cut to the chase. You want to take kickoffs out of the sport? Just do it then. I grow weary of your foolishness.

2. Making all personal fouls reviewable.

Reaction: About time! (Note: I don’t come by exclamation point easily, either.)

3. Eliminating overtime in preseason games.

Reaction: I shouldn’t even comment, because this is a done deal. It’s more about time and money than the risk of injury, despite how it will be spun. Honestly, since I’m certifiable, I enjoy preseason games. It’s only rookies and journeyman on the roster bubble who are playing that late in the game anyway, so why not have a chance to get a longer looksee at them? I get the final preseason game, when rosters have been trimmed, so maybe only have overtime in the first two preseason games. In the third, maybe if one or other teams have already been in one, then they can opt out of it.

4. Extending the goalposts vertically by 5 feet on each side.

Reaction: Hey, why not have them moving, too. It can like a game at Chuck E. Cheese’s.

5. Moving extra-point attempts to the 25-yard line, making it a 43-yard try. (This was proposed by the Patriots.) The competition committee separately is proposing one preseason game this season where extra-point snaps will take place from the 20.

Reaction: Proposed by the Patriots, because they are annoying like that, this is a bit extreme. I can live with the counter-proposal of the competition committee to make a preseason the guinea pig, but only from the 20. Maybe the whole idea will die a slow death from there.

6. Adding six cameras to all boundary lines on the field to supplement TV camera angles.

Reaction: The more eyes, the better.

7. Allowing any officials’ decisions to be challenged by coaches, not just specific kinds of plays.

Reaction: This goes to a deeper issue. The league needs to re-evaluate how its games are officiated. The old methods, in a changing sport, are increasingly inefficient. This would be a start. Not a destination, but the start of a journey.

8. Protecting players from getting their legs rolled up on from the side — and not just from the back — as a penalty.

Reaction: Since this happens by accident most of the time, I’m not sure how it can be regulated, but leave it to the NFL to fake concern about injuries with rules that will affect outcomes of games and not reduce injuries at the same time.

9. Allowing the referee to confer with members of the NFL officiating department in New York at the league office during replay reviews.

Reaction: Stealing from the NHL again, eh? Be careful what you wish for, as those Canucks north of the border need some fine-tuning as well (just ask the Flyers). That aside, absolutely.
10. Changing review rules on the recovery of a loose ball — aka, the “NaVorro Bowman rule” from the controversial NFC championship game non-call — in the field of play.

Reaction: Yes, yes, yes. Pet peeve of mine for years. This would necessitate an overdue reorganizing the replay section of the NFL rulebook, meaning two for the price of one.

11. Keeping the clock running on quarterback sacks at all times of the game.

Reaction: Ok … why?

12. Changing pass interference so that it can be called within a yard of the line of scrimmage.

Reaction: Something to consider, but it doesn’t seem like a pressing matter.

13. Enforcing defensive penalties behind the line of scrimmage from the previous spot, instead of from the end of the play or from the spot of the foul.

Reaction: Never quite understood why it is done how it is now in the first place, so … come on with it.

The Pesky Bylaws

The above are all on the field of play. What also intrigued me, and hit at some questions I have longed to see answered, are off-the-field issues that will be addressed this week at the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando.

Here is a look at the few being bandied about that won’t put you to sleep:

1. Raising the number of active players on game-day roster from 46 players to 49 for non-Sunday or Monday regular-season games, excluding Week 1. The league has Thursday games throughout the season, as well as some late-season Saturday contests.

Reaction: I have a major issue with Thursday night games to begin with, and rarely – if ever – is there a well-played one (at least by both teams). And the league, claiming to have an interest in player safety, has major cojones to even have Thursday games for teams who aren’t coming off their bye weeks. The human body wasn’t meant to play football on a Sunday and again on a Thursday. So, yeah. Heck, yeah. Not the ultimate solution, but at least it is the recognition of a problem.

2. Raising the practice squad roster size from eight to 10 players.

Reaction: There are rumblings of a new spring league, the A11FL, so player development is essential. Why not? No downside.

3. Allowing teams to test and time up to 10 draft prospects at their own facilities, and allowing any rival team to come witness the testing and timing at the other team’s facilities.

Reaction: This is a snoozer, and was not going to make the final cut here, but it was proposed by your Philadelphia Eagles. Way to be on it, boys.

4. Allowing a team with a retractable roof to open or close its stadium roof at halftime, and not having to determine before the game whether it will be open or closed.

Reaction: Makes sense in theory, but it opens the door to controversy.

Welcome to the big-time.

This column originally appeared at http://www.phillyphanatics.com

A New View

Leave a reply

Image

A year back, I took turning 48 unusually hard. Maybe it was because 48, unlike 47, rounded up to 50. Maybe it was because I was unhappy with parts of my life that are in the rear-view mirror now. Today, I turned 49, and I’m pretty content. The view is not so bad. As a matter of fact, I am enough at peace with it that I think I will stay here — stuck at 49 — permanently. Every year, from now on, will be my 49th birthday. Side benefit, Sofia gets to stay six days shy of turning seven.

Not Head Over Heels

Leave a reply

Image

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE — America’s voyeuristic pop culture world went into shock during the final episode of “The Bachelor” Monday.

Juan Pablo, who had all the bachelorettes smitten at hello and lost them all before goodbye, spurned Clare and picked her archrival, Nikki.

But he did not propose to Nikki. He kept the ring in his pocket, even though she had already professed her love for him.

After giving her the final rose, which she accepted (probably thinking the visibility will launch her modeling career), they did an on-camera smooch.

And he said, to the groans of the live studio audience and millions watching from their sofas, “I like you … I like you a lot.”

What else would you expect from a playboy ex-jock named Juan Pablo?

Love at first sight – particularly with the willowy Nikki – would come from the likes of guys named Byron.

A day later, when NFL free agency kicked off, I was feeling a bit like Juan Pablo myself.

The Eagles were decisive, busting some moves – signing a B-list safety in Malcolm Jenkins, special teamers Chris Maragos and Bryan “Don’t Call Me Norman” Braman and cornerback Nolan Carroll.

Like Nikki, they would likely want me – as a season ticket holder and perpetual naysayer –to fall in love.

But like Juan Pablo, I can’t fully commit.

I like it, though.

I like it a lot.

The book on Jenkins, a converted corner, is that his strength is a lack of obvious weaknesses.

That is certainly an upgrade after watching safeties in the post-Brian Dawkins era whose weakness was their lack of any discernable strength.

He is not Jairus Byrd, T.J. Ward — or even Antoine Bethea or Donte Whitner – but signing Jenkins is better than sitting on their hands or worse (bringing back Nate Allen and/or Kurt Coleman, although Allen’s return is not a dead issue).

But as long as they add another safety early in the draft to compete with second-year man Earl Wolff for the role of Robin to Jenkins’ Batman, I’m good with it.

Maragos played behind one of the best safety tandems in the league in Seattle, so he might have some upside as a fourth safety (which is why bringing back Allen would be an unnecessary move). Braman adds wedge-buster size (6-foot-5, 250 pounds) and reckless abandon (the Yiddish word “mashugana” comes to mind) to the special teams, and Carroll, a physical corner with starts under his belt, could push for playing time this season and could be a starter by the following season (when cornerback Cary Williams’ contract balloons).

The Eagles also made a trade, sending a fifth-rounder to New Orleans for utility back Darren Sproles.

If you went to a factory and asked them to custom build the quintessential third-down back, the 10th-year man out of Kansas State would be it. Sproles is dangerous on draws and screens and returns both kicks and punts. In fact, his kickoff return in the playoffs last season sealed the Eagles’ fate, as it set up the game-winning field goal as time expired in a 26-24 Saints’ win.

Still, when the trade was announced, you would have thought it was Christmas in March around the Delaware Valley.

Seems like premature adulation.

Not to get all Juan Pablo on you, people, but I don’t love it.

I like it. I like it a lot.

But I’m not giving out the ring – in this case, Super Bowl rings.

Sproles, who will be 31 years old by training camp, never carried the ball more than 93 times in a season. And this coming season, 2014, will put him three beyond his peak season of 2011, when he set a benchmark for all-purpose yards with 2,696.

Despite his back-breaking return in the playoffs –more the combination of a feeble kickoff, subsequent coverage breakdown and an experienced return man taking advantage – Sproles is not as explosive in that area as he was in the past.

He has not taken a kickoff all the way to the house since 2008 or a punt since 2011. Last season, he had career lows in kick return (21.3) and punt return (6.7) average. That is almost identical to what the Eagles averaged last season – 21.4 on kick returns and 6.6 on punt returns.

And for around the same monetary investment, the Eagles could have gotten a similar player in his prime, Dexter McCluster, 25, who was the AFC’s Pro Bowl selection as a return specialist last season. The former Kansas City Chief, who was also a second-team All-Pro return man last year, signed for a fairly modest $12 million over four years. If the Eagles snapped him, it would have had the added benefit of sticking it to Reid.

Sproles comes from a good team, and good teams don’t let good players walk without good reason.

The fact that he was available should keep you from falling head over heels in love, like the Eagles brass apparently has already.

Despite throwing nickels around like manhole covers, they already gave him a two-year extension with guaranteed money.

The most troubling part of the deal is that Joe DiFannio, fueled by the irresponsible and Tweeter-happy media – from talk radio to television to print – is already concocting trades for backup running back Bryce Brown.

And this, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, really has my Irish up.

The Eagles committed highway robbery in 2012 when they drafted Brown in the seventh round. A blue-chip high school recruit, he had only played one full year of college ball at Tennessee (463 yards, three touchdowns as a true freshman) before transferring to be with his brother, Arthur (now with the Baltimore Ravens), at Kansas State and then leaving that program.

The pick of a 220-pound back with sub-4.4 speed was a stroke of genius, and his play as a rookie was one of the few bright lights in the darkness of Andy Reid’s final year of steering the ship aground.

He fumbled a lot, though.

This past season, with Kelly deploying a new offense and blocking scheme, Brown seemed tentative running, but hit his stride as the season wore on, scoring touchdowns in the final two regular-season games (including the game-winner against Dallas to seal the NFC East).

It was widely questioned – by many of the same closet GMs trying to ship him out of town now for a bag of deflated footballs – why Kelly didn’t ride Brown’s fresh legs a bit in the aforementioned playoff loss to Sproles & Co.

The Eagles have no reason to unload Brown – or fellow promising third-year back Chris Polk, for that matter. They were empty milk containers on trash night, and both are still playing on their rookie deals at bargain salaries (Polk was an undrafted free agent).

Comparing Sproles to Brown – or Polk – is not apples to apples. They don’t really play the same position.

Expect Sproles, still a prolific receiver, to be on the field a lot at the same time as LeSean McCoy, lining up a lot in the slot. Brown and Polk, who is not as talented as Brown but is a better blocker and a special-teams contributor, are there to spell McCoy from the tailback spot.

And consider the worst-case scenario, one the Eagles artfully dodged during last year’s typical charmed life under a first-year coach ‑- a substantive injury to McCoy.

When Reid stupidly left McCoy in the game late in a blowout loss against Washington in 2012, leading to a concussion, it gave Brown the chance to play – and run regularly, as opposed to a carry here or there – and he responded with big numbers (247 yards in his first two starts, along with four touchdowns … and three fumbles).

If McCoy went down this season, even for a game or two, would you entrust that workload to the 5-foot-6 Sproles?

The best chance they would have of still functioning, and frightening other teams, would be a combination of Brown (13-15 carries) and Polk (8-10 carries) with Sproles still lining up all over the field.

Just because Sproles is listed as a running back, like Brown and Polk, doesn’t mean he takes away one of their spots on the roster. That would only be if his arrival put them up against the cap, which it clearly doesn’t.

Just as it seemed obvious the Eagles could re-sign Jeremy Maclin and add him to the receiving corps without also bringing back Riley Cooper after a breakout season, they are not in either/or mode here.

They are not an import-export business, not when it comes to stockpiling offensive weapons.

Sproles’ greatest value to the team is that he fills a lot of needs and they have some roster flexibility, no longer having to carry as many receivers on their active roster as they have in the past.

Sproles almost becomes your de facto fourth or fifth receiver, depending on if one is drafted, while tight end Zach Ertz is also likely to line up outside or in the slot, creating mismatches with linebackers and slower safeties.

Sproles is a nice addition, another piece to the puzzle intended to end the championship drought.

It is not a cause for subsequent subtraction of an ascending player with age on their side.

And you have to like that.

You have to like it a lot.

The column originally appeared at http://www.phillyphanatics.com

Byrd for Birds? What a day for a daydream

Leave a reply

Image

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE — You are about to go shopping and you have $24.1 million in your wallet.

When one considers the merchandise at the marketplace where the goods and services of NFL free agents are being bought, $24.1 million could be perceived as a lot or a little.

That is the balance the Philadelphia Eagles, a team looking to build upon its mercurial rise from 4-12 obscurity to a 10-6 record and a first-place finish in the NFC East, have left on their credit card (after taking care of some in-house business before turning their attention to free agency). Teams and players began talking Saturday and the first hints, if not the VIP visits and announcements of signings, can come as early as Tuesday (4 p.m.).

While the next step remains cloaked in mystery, what is clear is that the Eagles – with general manager Howie Roseman spending owner Jeff Lurie’s dough – have a pragmatic plan.

Offense is fine

There was no pressing need to reinvent the wheel on offense after surging to the top of the charts with rookie head coach Chip Kelly’s fast-break attack that didn’t seem to lose much traction with Nick Foles, a less-than-mobile quarterback, behind the wheel.

They brought Foles’ favorite target, Riley Cooper, back on a five-year deal for $25 million. Despite a vibe that it was going to be an either-or choice between Cooper and Jeremy Maclin, who missed last season with torn knee ligament, Maclin was also resigned to a one-year deal.

The downside was that veteran Jason Avant, one of the team’s spiritual leaders, was a cap casualty. Not wanting to have too much money plunked into one position – in this case, wide receiver – Avant was sent packing after eight seasons as an Eagle.

The Eagles also locked up all-pro left tackle Jason Peters for five years and center Jason Kelce for seven, all but assuring that both will finish their careers in whatever shade of green the uniforms morph into over the coming seasons.

The only open spot on offense would be a receiver to replace Avant, which allows the Eagles to most likely address that need at some point in a talent-rich pool in May’s draft.

Meaning, they have set themselves for the obvious. If they are to continue to evolve and get to the next level, the area of greatest need will be the primary focus of both free agency and the draft.

That means defense, defense and more defense.

If you need any more convincing, look at the template of recent Super Bowl champions (Seahawks, Ravens and Giants won the last three).

Potential surprises

Before we get to the defense, there could be some surprising signings in other areas.

Kicker Alex Henery seems to inspire no confidence in Kelly, and some good ones are on the market. The list includes Steven Hauschka (Seahawks), Phil Dawson (49ers), Adam Vinatieri (Colts) and … David Akers (Lions).

The most realistic choice could be Dan Carpenter, who made 33 of 36 kicks for Buffalo last year after his career slowly tanked in Miami after making the Pro Bowl in 2009. The issue would be what to do with Henery. A competition would be healthy, but they would be paying both through training camp. It’s more likely a rookie with some leg and a resume is drafted late.

And with trade rumors swirling around DeSean Jackson, another receiver – one with return skills – is not out of the question, either.

Consider: Julian Edelman (Patriots), Dexter McCluster (Chiefs), Ted Ginn (Panthers), Josh Cribbs (Jets), Trindon Holliday (Broncos) and Devin Hester (Bears, pictured left).

Signing one of these receivers/returners isn’t likely, but Roseman might be surprised what he catches if he goes fishing with less bait than one might expect, particularly from the back end of that list. With all due respect to Brad Smith, Cribbs and Hester would be dollar-store upgrades.

Then there is the whole issue surrounding backup quarterback. Could Michael Vick return? Well, how can you pay him more than Foles’ $750,000 to be his backup, even with it clear that Foles will get a king’s ransom next offseason with a close replication of this season?

But how can you pay Vick less? You can’t.

That leaves either the scrap heap – Jimmy Clausen (no team in 2013), Charlie Whitehurst (Chargers), Brady Quinn (Rams) or worse (Tim Tebow) – or the middle-to-late rounds of the draft, or keeping G.J. Kinne as the No. 3, with Matt Barkley moving up to No. 2.

Birds need a safety … or two … or three

But we digress.

The Eagles were the worst team in the league against the pass last year. The pass defense got better as the season progressed, and a lot of those numbers were bloated because they were involved in games where they got comfortable leads and gave up garbage-time yards while clinging for dear life, but it still remained the Achilles’ heel.

A more consistent pass rush would have helped, as would a shutdown corner, but let’s be real.

Even Stevie Wonder could see the most glaring weak spot is safety. The Eagles seemed to concur. They were more than content letting three free agents – Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman and Colt Anderson – walk. Moreover, a few more million can be added to the $24.1 budget if Patrick Chung is jettisoned.

That leaves second-year man Earl Wolff and a practice-squad guy, Keelan Robinson, as the only warm bodies.

Eagles Nation would welcome All-Pro Jairus Byrd, who could not come to terms with the Buffalo Bills before free agency arrived, into the nest with almost the same verve as it did Terrell Owens in 2004.

The need, the obvious upgrade, is that great.

If it is presumed that if Byrd’s price tag is too ridiculous – he may start off asking for $10-12 million per year and end up “settling” for $9 million – the Eagles can look to T.J. Ward from the Cleveland Browns for around $6-8 million.

Ward played college football at Oregon, including one season with Kelly as his head coach. Byrd was also a Duck, but only when Kelly was the offensive coordinator.

Signing one of the former Ducks at safety makes sense, and could happen, but the Eagles could opt to use free agency address other defensive needs – an edge pass rusher from the outside linebacker spot, a rotational defensive lineman (Matt Shaughnessy from Arizona was being floated before Cedric Thornton was given an extension) who can help stuff the run, and a corner who might be buried on a depth chart elsewhere.

If the Eagles are keeping their master plans close to the vest, it will slowly unravel in the light of day Tuesday.

If they are courting on Byrd and Ward, or maybe even Donte Whitner from the San Francisco 49ers or Antoine Bethea of the Indianapolis Colts, it is clear they are looking to put their proverbial eggs in one basket and look for help in the other areas of need from a draft pool that is deep at almost every position (except safety, where the talent falls off after two obvious first-rounders, Alabama’s Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix and Louisville’s Calvin Pryor).

If they are instead talking to the second-tier group of safeties that includes Chris Clemons (Dolphins) and Malcom Jenkins (Saints), among others, then expect an outside linebacker and defensive lineman in the shopping cart.

They could also try for a 2-for-1 deal at safety, signing Clemons, Jenkins or Mike Mitchell (Panthers), and bringing back Allen (left) or Coleman or taking a chance on a one-year contract for one-time hot prospect Taylor Mays (Bengals), who has the size (6-foot-3, 220-230 pounds) and speed (sub-4.5) and age (26) to warrant a low-risk look. The oft-injured former three-time All-American at USC made just $630,000 last year.

Addressing other needs

If that’s the route Roseman chooses, then what?

Money will be left, and more can be freed up. Beyond Chung ($3.25 million), linebacker Brandon Graham (just under $3.4 million) and third-string tight end James Casey (close to $4 million) can be shed for most their salaries.

One would think Graham and Casey could have some value if shopped in a trade, at least in theory, but the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears recently learned – from trying to shop running back Darren Sproles and Hester before releasing them – making trades is easier said than done.

Outside linebacker Trent Cole, who came on strong at the end of last season before disappearing against a rookie left tackle in the playoff loss to the Saints, is due a significant salary bump after the season. Translation: This is likely No. 58’s last year here.

Graham, who was coming on a defensive end at the end of the forgettable 2012 season, does not appear to be the answer now that the team deploys a 3-4 alignment.

The most appealing linebacker on the free agent list was Brian Orakpo, but the rival Washington Redskins more or less took him off the market by placing the franchise tag on him. Next on the list? Jason Worilds re-signed with the Pittsburg Steelers for close to $10 million for one year.

Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess. The Eagles could have their eye on an unheralded type of guy like O’Brien Schofield (Seahawks) that they can cultivate, but they are reportedly quite high on Travis Long, who spent last season on the practice squad.

Roseman would be happy to have money left in the till to throw at Foles, and others, after next season and kept the team’s core intact.

Don’t overlook the draft

Additionally, there is the draft to consider. The Eagles, at No. 22, have no shot at Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack and little shot at UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr. However, there are oodles of OLB/DE types scattered throughout all rounds of most reputable mock drafts.

If they find themselves without a shot at either safety or edge rusher at No. 22, they could always trade back, picking up extra picks, and come away with a player like BYU’s Kyle Van Noy or Auburn’s Dee Ford and be more than satisfied with the value.

As for cornerback, they Eagles are in a similar place with Cary Williams as they are with Cole, as Williams’ will see a salary increase after this season. A developmental fourth corner could be identified in free agency, but there are also plenty in the draft.

They could come away on Day 2 (second and third rounds) with a player like Ohio State’s talented-but-underachieving Bradley Roby and bring him along. There are also the likes of Nebraska’s Stanley Jean-Baptiste, who is attracting a lot of attention because he is a huge (6-3, 220) converted receiver like Seattle’s Richard Sherman, and Division II standout Pierre Desir (6-1, 200).

While it is not as sexy to throw out names of college players that are largely not known by NFL fans, Roseman is right in his assessment that the best teams are built through the draft.

He learned the hard way in 2011 – as part of the “all-in” spending spree that built a Dream Team that turned into an 8-8 nightmare – of the right path.

The last two drafts have been stellar, and that is still the way to go.

Yet, free agency is not as much a dead end street as it is a “T” intersection. It’s just a question of which way they will turn.

We are soon to find out.

The column originally appeared at http://www.phillyphanatics.com

Next … Is Rex

1 Reply

Image

By GORDON GLANTZ
@Managing2Edit
 
GORDONVILLE – Rex.
Not the first name I would have picked for a dog.
Not the second, third or 35th.
I usually go for an Eagles quarterback and it seemed that Nick (or Nikki for a girl) would have had the best odds in Vegas.
But then again, Rex – a black lab mix at that awkward half-pup, half-adult stage of about 18 months old (according to his teeth) – kind of picked me.
And in the intervening week, the name he came with is kind of growing on all of us.
The dog on “The Waltons” (RIP, Ralph Waite) was named Reckless, so our official story is that this is a variation.
The actual story?
It all started on one of the Antarctic days when Laurie and I went to SuperFresh at the Centre Square shopping center to stock up on supplies for the snowstorm du jour.
A weekend day, it meant that the kind folks from Home At Last Dog Rescue in North Wales, were outside – braving the harsh cold – to have the dogs available for adoption interact with passersby.
We had been there before, often reaching over and under other people to pet a pooch while a volunteer pretty much ignored us.
No time for such frivolity that day.
Because we had an alternate agenda, I made it clear that we were not looking at any dogs, as tempting as it may be.
It was too cold, and we had to reach over and under people to get bread and milk and eggs.
I did add one caveat: Unless, of course, I’m struck by the same kind of thunderbolt that found Michael Corleone when he first locked eyes with Apollonia while on the lam in Sicily.
It happened that way back in 1990 at the Philadelphia SPCA on Erie Avenue. That’s when and where another black lab mix, Randall, looked into my soul from behind the bars of his cage.
He was one day overdue to be put down, and it was 10 minutes to closing.
He lived with us in three different places – from Northeast Philly to center city to the current suburban homestead – until 16 ½ and is still spoken of in rightfully revered terms.
We later added Kelly, who was more sweet and pretty than special and intelligent like Randall, but they – along with cat named Tyler – were like the three musketeers.
Kelly died first, battling through a litany of health issues to last until 10 ½, and Randall went while Laurie was pregnant with Sofia.
Tyler passed on to Rainbow Bridge, but new cats were added.
Somehow, despite being “dog people,” we became a three-cat household – with the current lineup consisting of Hank (5), Licorice (nearly 2) and Hershey (nearly 1).
We often spoke about adding a dog, as it seemed the last piece of a puzzle – along with a new kitchen and bathrooms – to make our house truly a home.
And with memories of Randall, we set the bar pretty high.
We felt Sofia was a year or two away, but there was no target date. Maybe her eighth or ninth birthday, or one of the Christmases in between, but nothing concrete.
It was going to come down to being struck by the thunderbolt, and that came that frigid Saturday in early February when a woman was walking Rex away from the crowd of volunteers and frigid shoppers and the dogs when we crossed paths in front of the Jade Garden Chinese Restaurant (our personal favorite).
His resemblance to Randall caught my eye, so I stopped to interface with him. Laurie was already half into the store when I called her back. The woman walking him began telling us Rex’s heart-wrenching story.
He was a recent arrival from South Carolina – Darlington County, the setting and title of a Springsteen song – and was apparently beaten in front of shelter workers there when his previous owner surrendered him.
From what I gather, he stole the hearts of the Darlington County people enough that they didn’t want to put him for a long period of time in one of their multiple-dog outdoor kennels where fighting is common and where any dog who fights – even in self-defense – is summarily put down with the aggressor.
An angel of mercy named Roz, who networks with the Darlington shelter, had seen and heard enough. She agreed to foster Rex and he was shipped to the frozen north (not that the south was much better) in a massive vehicle of small cages.
Roz, who had only had Rex in her care a short time, joined our conversation. By that time, a very timid Rex was warming up to us.
I looked up at Laurie for guidance. She looked at me with that “it’s up to you” look.
It’s a look that comes with consequences, because I was going to have to live with my decision.
But I had already been struck by the thunderbolt.
When we pried ourselves away to walk into SuperFresh, Rex started to follow us.
When we left, and loaded up the car with the typical haul to last 12 winters, Laurie wheeled the shopping cart back toward the store (we do that, unlike some others who would be named if I knew their names) and Rex spotted her and started pulling away from the next group of people fawning over him and waged his tail while looking in her direction.
I started the engine, turned on the heat to about 90 degrees and looked up again to see people engaged with Rex.
“Get away from my dog,” I muttered.
My dog.
Yep, my dog.
He found me.
Went home, filled out the online application and he was with us a week later.
The prime directive is a lot of TLC, which is always on the menu as a blue-plate special at the Glantz Diner.
The vet, who gave Rex a clean bill of health, warned against spoiling.
But that’s how we roll.
All things considered, he is doing well.
Not sure if he realizes just how lucky he is to have it made in the shade with us, but we can take the satisfaction of providing him with a place to land.
Rex is generally mellow – when I’m weaving my written tapestries at the laptop on the dining room table, he usually lies down underneath it — but he seems to be coming out of his shell.
The housebreaking is … well … coming along slower than expected, but I blame that on the weather and the lack of places to walk that aren’t snow-covered.
He had an adventure after just a few days, staying overnight in a pet-friendly hotel (Comfort Inn in Montgomeryville) and was an instant attraction with staff and other powerless refugees.
My mother, who lives with us, has a phobia about dogs. She tried to be afraid of Rex, but it’s impossible.
She declared, upon getting him, that she won’t be joining me in the car to pick Sofia up from the school if he is there, too.
After three days, her butt was in the car while Rex snoozed in the back, only to perk up when his favorite playmate, Sofia, appeared.
Rex has also signed peace accords with Hank and Licorice. For some reason, he senses weakness and fear in Hershey and gives him a hard time, but we have seen recent signs of thaw.
Just like this bitter winter that was made better by one moment when time froze.
And the thunderbolt struck.
 
 

The Lame Gang

Leave a reply

Image

Pet Peeve: UMC Suburbanites — white, Asian, black, brown, green — throwing around gang signs in their social media pictures. You want to be urban? Here’s a idea. We can go on a little field trip. We’ll pile on a bus and let you all out in the Badlands of North Philly or in Watts, collect your cell phones and make you get off the bus. We’ll back in 48 hours. Enjoy, yo!

Image