Thoughts on the Eagles, 4/14/08

4and26sports.com provides some weekly commentary on the Philadelphia Eagles.

    To address all the people who come up with absurd rumors on what new, exciting receiver the birds will trade for: cease and desist. Yes, it would be amazing if we got Brandon Marshall or Roy Williams or Anquan Boldin. But just because a receiver has a contract dispute or asks to get traded or just looks like he would be a great addition to the Eagles doesn't mean he's going to get traded. It's all speculation. Would a gamebreaking receiver be nice? Of course. Maybe the Eagles are happy with their current crop of wideouts, and will most likely add in the draft. But hey, maybe they're not and won't. Simply put, we don't know, and seeing as none of us are in the Eagles organization, we won't find out.
    Just because you want a receiver doesn't mean he's being targeted by the Eagles. Stop it. Instead, focus on real possibilities, like the draft. I personally think Devin Thomas of Michigan State would be a great addition. Curtis is a solid receiver, and Brown/Baskett/Avant have their moments. We've gotten deep into the playoffs with the likes FredEx, Na Brown, and Todd Pinkston (and who can forget the legendary Torrence Small).
    And to everyone who immediately says "BUT WITH T.O. YOU GUYS GOT TO THE SUPER BOWL !!!1!1! LOL", we didn't have him when we waxed Randy "Straight Cash, Homey!" Moss and the Vikings. We also didn't have him when we annihilated Mike "insert joke about dogfighting here" Vick and the Falcons. To address your next point, T.O. sympathizers, Mr. "Get Your Popcorn Ready" did play well in the Super Bowl. But did we win? No. Maybe it was partly Donovan's fault, and maybe Andy Reid executed some of the worst clock management in recent memory. But the fact is a marquee receiver did not equate into a championship, whichever way you slice it.
    Eagles + Awesome receiver ≠ guaranteed championship, for those of you playing along at home.
I'm not even going to mention the fact that he absolutely obliterated the team after that and did situps on his lawn because he didn't like his contract, then called out teammates he didn't like, thereby earning himself a yearlong suspension. Hey, you may say that's Donovan's fault too, but did he ever have trouble with anyone else besides T.O.? Just asking.
    So let's quell the annoying "trade rumors" (note the quotations). They are just that: rumors. For all you know, they could have been made up by some guy in his basement. But I digress.

On a completely different note, what the hell happened to Ryan Moats? Does anyone remember his hundred yard performance when B-West and Buck went down?
    Moat's running ability has never been the question. He averaged 5.1 ypc his rookie year and got 114 yards on 11 c arries in a start against the Giants on Dec. 11, 2005. But he hasn't learned the playbook, and he can't pick up the blitz. It's a shame that someone with his talent can't crack the top three of the depth chart. Bizarrely, he got lucky he messed up his ankle last season. If he didn't go on injured reserve, he would have gotten cut. I hope he works out, but the way it looks, he's going to be the odd man out. Westbrook is the best running back in the league, Buckhalter is a solid 3rd down back, and Tony Hunt may develop into a fine back one day. There's really no room for Moats.

    The only possibility I see is perhaps training him to return kicks and punts- he's certainly shifty and fast enough. But he's most likely gone.