Via CSNPhilly – Chase Utley is set to begin a 20 day minor league rehab assignment beginning tonight with the single A Clearwater Threshers. The expectation/hope is that Utley will be activated to the Phillies’ roster sometime within the next 20 days, and if he suffers a setback he is allowed to sit out for a few days and the 20 day clock can be reset. Utley absolutely killed it in his two extended spring training games and is expected to DH for Clearwater.
Daddy's Home
I honestly am not going to get my panties all up in a bunch until I have physically witnessed Utley play the field, as he said he doesn’t feel any pain in his swing and I think moving laterally is the main issue. Regardless, this is great news for the Phillies who initially said having him back before the All Star break was wishful thinking. I do, however, think we should let him move at his own pace with this knee thing, tendinitis is usually a reoccurring issue and there’s no reason to rush him back when we have the best record in the National League. Still, this is good news as it looks as though we’ll have him back in a month or so barring a set back.
Sidenote: If you’re not watching the pitchers duel tonight between Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson, you shouldn’t be considered a Phillies fan.
The best draft in all of the four major sports came to an end yesterday, and the Eagles now have 11 new players to add to their team (provided that the lockout ends relatively soon). Overall, you have to like the players that they got, although they didn’t address the right cornerback position of the defensive line, widely regarded as the two weaker points on the Eagles team last season. Here’s a brief look at a few of the new Eagles:
With their first round pick, the Eagles selected Baylor guard/tackle Danny Watkins. A lot of people without brains (Cowboys fans) were quick to point out that Watkins will be 27 years old during his rookie season but that is the least of my concerns. From what I have heard and seen in YouTube, Watkins is an incredibly tough kid who basically just kicks the shit out of people all game long. He didn’t start playing football until he was 22, and the fact that he was All Big 12 in his 4th year playing the game speaks to his natural ability and work ethic. Many scouts believe Watkins will step in right away, which I’m sure the Eagles do too, and someone even said it’s possibly for him to be a Pro Bowler in his first year. Yes he is old, but he is the best guard in the draft and we need to focus on keeping Michael Vick healthy. Getting someone who will start right away was pretty important to me.
New Eagles guard Danny Watkins
With their second pick, the Eagles took Temple safety Jaiquawn Jarrett. Its not likely that the Eagles will resign Quentin Mikell at the price he would like, and while Kurt Coleman played pretty well when he got the opportunity, it’s never bad to add depth and competition to the strong safety position. In Jarrett the Eagles get an absolutely ferocious run defender who is likely to see his fair share of fines from Roger Goodell throughout his career. I am 100% down for that. As of now he is adequate in pass coverage and he’ll need to get better but I’m confident he will. He draws a strong comparison to Brian Dawkins, which many Eagles fans will love. I also should add that Jon Gruden called this pick before it was announced on TV and anything Jon Gruden says is right in my book. Solid pick. Here’s a video of Jaiquawn knocking some people out.
In the third round the Eagles selected Curtis Marsh, a cornerback who was converted from running back from Utah State. Really don’t know much about him but it’s good to see the Eagles drafted a corner taller than 5’10″. He’ll most likely see time at nickel where he’s likely to battle with Trevard Lindley and unfortunately Dimitri Patterson. It seems pretty apparent that the Eagles starting right cornerback will come from free agency in the form of Nnamdi Asomugha, Johnathon Joseph or maybe even Antonio Cromartie. One of my favorite picks of this year’s draft was fourth rounder Casey Matthews out of Oregon. He adds on the family’s NFL pedigree and appears to be incredibly motivated to break out of his brother’s shadow. He can play any linebacker position and I expect him to battle for the weakside job this season and make an impact on passing downs as a pass rusher. High motor guy, and the Eagles can always use linebacker depth.
Casey Matthews
Needless to say, I am very very excited to have Dion Lewis in the Eagles backfield. I had some doubts on how Dion’s ability would transfer to the next level because he is small but he without a doubt has phenomenal vision and can definitely be a Darren Sproles-like back for the Eagles. Can’t hate on an all Pitt Panther backfield. I expect Shady to quickly take him under his wing and hopefully Dion will surprise some people with his lateral quickness and elusiveness in The League. Lastly, the pick of Alex Henery likely spells the end of a great career for David Akers as an Eagle. 4th round is a little high for a kicker and for that reason there is no way the Eagles keep two kickers on the team. Henery kicked and punted for Nebraska last year and is the most accurate kicker in this class. With the new kickoff rules, perhaps his biggest benefit to the team will be getting a lot of touchbacks. He has a very strong leg and it’s no secret that Akers was a little suspect in the playoff loss to Green Bay, albeit due to the illness of his daughter. Either way, Akers didn’t sign his contract tender at the end of the season and the Eagles chose to purue a different route.
The Eagles continued their University of Pittsburgh pipeline by drafting running back Dion Lewis
It’s likely that the Eagles will fill their CB hole via free agency and most likely add one or two defensive lineman to provide some depth for new D-Line coach Jim Washburn. We’re also in a wait-and-see approach regarding what will happen with Kevin Kolb. It’s likely we’ll get a first rounder for next year and a player or possibly more 2012 draft picks. Here’s to hoping the league year starts soon and we can sign these rookies and a couple free agents.
“I hate the fans. It is bad enough that they bother us during the season, but they will not leave us alone in December when we go out to eat. We stayed here during the off season last year, but we will be going to California this year. There must be something particularly bad about Phillies fans because all the players leave in the off season.” – Sarah Madson
Safe to say Sarah probably should avoid attending Phillies’ games for a little while. Listen lady, you are the wife of a World Series champion. Philadelphia fans are passionate and smart enough to fucking know what our players look like. If I was sitting next to you and Mr. Madson, I personally would not interrupt you for an autograph because I’m not an idiot, but please believe if he played for any other team in any other city there’s probably going to be people looking for autographs or pictures from a semi-famous baseball player. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, it just kind of comes with the territory. Surely you must know what you got yourself into in the first place. Secondly, I don’t think players leave Philadelphia in the off season because of the fans. Probably more because many baseball players come from warm states like California, Texas and Florida where baseball is played all year round. Oh and maybe the fact that all of them are fortunate enough to be able to afford multiple homes which usually are located in warm areas. Sorry to bother you Sarah, but this is an experience that is shared by just about every professional athlete in the United States.
Just found this gem on yahoo.com. This has gotta be an important call. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! We’re on offense, might as well answer this phone call. O shit the ball is right here. Doesn’t say hold on, just slimes his way over and merks this dude who’s comin in hot. Can you imagine that conversation? This takes “amateur” to a whole new level.
This video is absolutely hilarious. Phenomenal over-exaggerated Philly accents. “I have the best landscapers on the Main Line. Guatemalans, which is the type of Mexican that can do algebra.”
Kevin Kolb would like to be wearing any color but green next season.
I am so sick of this labor battle between the NFL and players union. Not only because it’s annoying to hear about how two sides can’t split $9 BILLION dollars, but because this mess is really hurting the Eagles right now. The market could not be higher for quarterbacks, and considering the availability of Kevin Kolb, the Eagles possess the most talented quarterback in the 2011 NFL Draft. They could without a doubt move into the top 10 of the draft via trade with a number of teams that include the Bengals (4th overall pick), Cardinals (5th), 49ers (7th) or Titans (8th). This would give the Eagles a legitimate chance at Patrick Peterson, who is widely regarded as the best player in this draft and is as close to a sure thing as you can get. Even if he’s off the board, Prince Amukamara is a stud also. We have gaping holes at corner and offensive tackle, but anyone can draft a behemoth of a man in the 2nd or 3rd round and turn him into a good lineman sometime down the road. I’m going to be pessimistic (maybe even realistic) and say that there won’t be a new CBA before the draft. The next best thing would be for the judge to rule for an injunction, which would allow the league year to start immediately under last year’s rules. This would mean trade and free agency would commence. For the Eagles, that’s the best thing that could happen but I think that it’s also viewed as somewhat of a long shot.
So what do we do if neither of those two things happen? Our first option would be to trade Kevin Kolb to one of the aforementioned teams for 2012 picks, hope that team has a terrible year while the Eagles make a deep playoff/Super Bowl run and also end up with a high draft pick for 2012. The second option is to communicate with a team that wants Kevin Kolb on the down low. We tell them to draft X Player, we wait until there’s a new CBA and then we flip Kolb and maybe one of our late round picks for said player. I doubt this would happen because, to quote The Departed, “This shithole (the NFL) has more leaks than the Iraqi navy.” The third option, and the one I feel is most likely to happen, is we keep Kevin Kolb for the 2011 season. This allows Michael Vick to do what he does best but also provides insurance for the inevitable monster hit to the face/ribs/knee that he gets for not sliding even when he’s 35 yards past the first down. When the seasons up, we piss off Kolb even more than we already have and franchise him, which would effectively give the Eagles two quarterbacks on the roster making over $15 million dollars for the 2012 season (assuming we resign Vick). Then we trade Kolb in offseason leading up to the 2012 draft or on draft day.
