Eagles Need Weapons, But Should They Be Gun Shy?

Phil Sheridan's column today focuses on the looming NFL free agency period, which is set to start later this week, with many rumors surrounding the Eagles. After watching the Sixers and Flyers remain relatively quiet through their respective trade deadlines, Sheridan notes that the Eagles surely need an A-lister, but he also cautions about the money that is often poorly spent when free agency and trading times come around.

Are the Phillies happier with Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard, or with Jim Thome and Kevin Millwood, Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton?

Did the Eagles get more last year from Trent Cole and Mike Patterson or from Jevon Kearse and Darren Howard? Would you rather watch Stewart Bradley and Chris Gocong develop or Dhani Jones play air guitar?

As much as we Eagles fans at times look to free agency as a panacea, you have to admit he makes an excellent point. By no means does Sheridan say the Eagles should stand pat, concluding that "They need some magic, and now." Instead, he emphasizes the importance of making the right moves, which in the current market, may not be too easy.

Any bold predictions as to what might happen? What do you think should happen?

>>The Eagles could use an A-list free agent [Phil Sheridan]

Comments

[fitch]

id like to see bryant johnson come in, and see us grab a second tier Dback. i dont think we need an A-lister, but if the price isnt too outrageous, id take one. i just can justify spending nate clements money on an aging asante samual.

[PhillyFriar]

A trade might be the Birds' best option for picking up an impact player. The franchise tag devastated the free agent market, but the Eagles have creatively used trades over the past few years to bring in impact players (TO, Stallworth, Spikes).

[rosco]

i'd like to see them pursue bryant johnson too, even stallworth for the right price. i hope they take a look at gibril wilson. anything to keep considine off the field.

[gootman]

I would love for the Eagles to build from the draft, but first they have to change their philosophy on rookies and actually give them some playing time otherwise the only way to improve the team is through free agency.

I see them making a run at Asante Samuel but coming up short. I see them signing some diamond in the rough type of guy and trying to sell us on him. They have to do something though to show the team and fans they are actually trying to get better, although I don't see many free agents that will make a big difference on the team.

What I think they should do... Give Samuel what he wants and try to package Lito and a pick for Fitzgerald, Chad Johnson, or some "weapon". We're not rebuilding if McNabb is our QB, so make the moves necessary to win the Super Bowl.

[HLH]

Larry Fitzgerald

[BFH]

I think they go after Gibril Wilson pretty hard and probably get him. It just makes sense given Dawkins age and Wilson's price tag, which should be (relatively) low.

They may look at Stallworth again, who is the deep threat they clearly lacked last year. Whether or not they get him will depend on if Stallworth even wants to come back and how much other teams offer him.

They may look at a DE, like Odom. They know Juqua Thomas is not a starter, but they don't want to spend big money at that position.

I think, if the unspeakable happens in Arizona and Fitzgerald's contract mess can't be straightened out, the Eagles will be at the front of the line for his services.

[xl4xlus3iehl]

I see his argument but disagree. You could also ask questions like:

Were the Pats happier with Chad Jackson or Randy Moss?

Were the Saints happier with Aaron Brooks or Drew Brees?

Were the Packers happier with Don Majkowski or Brett Favre?

We can all play revisionist history on these things. Bottom line is some trades and FA work out as expected and others don't. Don't overanalyze it. The most important thing for the birds is and should be avoiding overpaying a big name FA (Jevon...). Often the gap in talent isn't enough to justify the money.

[Andrew Rush]

I don't trust Andy Reid as a talent evaluator when it comes to signing or drafting defensive lineman, so let's stay away from that area in free agency. I agree, get Gibril Wilson, do NOT over pay for Asante Samuel, and I'd love them to bring Stallworth back - he can stretch the field enough (when he's not hurt) to open things up more for curtis.

They should also give Westbrook a raise to send a message to guys in the locker room that if you actually outplay your contract the team will take care of you. Who knows, it might provide some incentive for guys like Reggie Brown to actually improve.

[BFH]

Andrew Rush -- I understand your frustration with guys like Jerome McDougle, Kearse, and Howard.

But you have to give them credit for guys like Cole, Patterson, Bunkley, Thomas.

You also have to give them credit for knowing when to "cut the cord" on guys like Hugh Douglas and Corey Simon. The Douglas one, in particular, was unpopular (but correct) at the time.

[Chamomiles Davis]

My gut reaction says to pursue a defensive end, either through free agency or the draft. I've pondered this at length elsewhere.

[xl4xlus3iehl]

@Chamomiles Davis - I agree on DE, although CB could become more important if there is any truth to the trade speculation around Lito. If they do anything other than DE/CB/S I think many people will be surprised.

[Jonn]

There's gotta be a balance between bringing in young talent and bringing in bona fide FAs. Give skinny some credit, he does a great job of bringing in the young talent. Look at the production we are getting out of Westbrook, Cole, Jackson, and I'm sure you can find other mid-low draft class guys.

Question: are you really gonna criticize drafting Jerome McDougle? He got shot. As long as no one in the Eagles organization did that, I don't blame them for that.

Andy Reid is briliant with the draft. But as young guys are learning the system you need to fill holes with veteran FAs (unless you are just training for the future, but the Birds haven't been sellers since 99).

I agree with Spadaro (don't slay me). The line played awful, the play calling was worse, and that won't be fixed with a star WR. But it sure couldn't hurt. We still need one but that's not the only problem with this team.

Don't sign Samuel, take Wilson, trade Lito for a WR (fitz or 85), resign James, and (here's a random thought) maybe we should actually do something with our full back. Get a good one? Put a TE back there? Run double half back?

Your thoughts.

[Kulp]

First off, let's kill some of these trade rumors. Number one, Larry Fitzgerald is not available. It would be nice if he was because his 10 touchdowns are exactly what this team needs. And number two, if for some reason the Eagles do trade Lito, which is very, very unlikely given the lack of depth at corner, it definitely will not be for Chad Johnson. I am in total agreement about the need for a playmaker at wide receiver, but Johnson wants a new contract and has an attitude problem that this team just isn't interested in.

With that out of the way, we can address the free agent crop of receivers. I keep seeing Bryant Johnson, Donte Stallworth, and Bernard Berrian being tossed around. People, these are not the kind of players that are going to help this offense. Johnson is essentially a possession receiver, and Stallworth is the same kind of player as Kevin Curtis. Berrian stands out, but deep threat is not their problem; they need somebody who can get open in the red zone, someone bigger than everyone else, and the only way they're going to get that is in the draft. The only free agent that even closely resembles this skill set is Ernest Wilford.

Given their track record, I know most people don't want to believe the Eagles will draft a wide receiver like Malcolm Kelly or Limas Sweed, but if they can address their defense in free agency then it's entirely possible. With all the available defensive linemen and backs, I think you might see a different approach to the signing period this year.

[GreggyD]

How can you suggest to not sign Samuel and then trade Lito? That makes no sense. We are already paper-thin in quality depth at CB and that would make it even worse. I do not see Will James coming back. He was pretty damn awful and a big disappointment considering Joselio Hanson outplayed him. I think that if we sign Samuel that it would be great, but it's going to take a record deal and I'm not such a fan of that. Nate Clements got $80 million, Samuel could be looking for $90 million.

Right now I am very big on signing Gibril Wilson. He was a great player for the Giants last year and he knows the defense considering he played under Spagnuolo last year. I like Quentin Mikell, but Wilson would be a significant upgrade and with Dawkins getting older every year, I don't know how much longer he will stick around.

I am not optimistic about a trade for Fitzgerald, but I would be willing to give up as high as a second round pick for him. Fitzgerald is better than any other wide receiver that you could get at that point in the draft hands down. And forget about Ocho Cinco. Cincinnati has made it a point to say they do not want to trade him and if you look at his game log from last season it was kind of disappointing. I know that he had 1440 yds receiving and 8 TDs, but he was very inconsistent (He had 3 TDs in the first two weeks and then didn't score again until week 12 which was a 3 TD game, and then he didn't score until week 17 when he got 2 more) Houshmandzadeh was doing the work for the Bengals offense last season. Johnson just doesn't seem like a good fit. They definitely need a WR, but they need to pick the right guy for this system. I don't want Stallworth back either. He's too oft-injured. I can't wait for free agency to begin!

[Weapon X]

I don't agree that CB is a priority. We didnt get enough pressure on opposing QBs so they have all the time in the world to pick us apart. Upgrade the D-Line get some pressure and you'll see the play of your secondary improve ten fold

[GreggyD]

I personally would be thrilled if the Eagles drafted Kelly or Sweed. Those guys have the ability to play right away in a pro offense in my opinion and I sometimes think that getting either of those guys as rookies would be better than signing any of the free agents that are out there (minus Moss). I just hope that the Birds don't get too anxious (which I highly doubt) and draft DeSean Jackson out of Cal. Yes he would be a fantastic kick returner but he is only 5'10 and we need a red zone threat, not another average sized WR with pretty good speed.

[Joe Manning]

Did some commenter up above (John) just suggest that we "re-sign James". Do you mean Will James?

::head explodes::

[Zack]

I would love for the Eagles to draft James Hardy in the second round (if he is still there)...i think this guy is exactly what they need

[Pete D]

They should NOT sign Asante Samuel to the 5 years, 55 million that has been floating around...shore up the pass rush first.

[HLH]

^^^^

I've liked Hardy ever since the Penn State game. He is a very good redzone target. He needs work but alot of receiver's fresh out of college need to hone some aspect of their game. If we don't wind up with Williams or Fitzgerald I wouldn't mind drafting him. But I doubt he makes it past the 49ers in the first round. I don't think the Eagles are looking at him though. There are a couple of other wr's they have their eye on.

[John]

I like Hardy as well. Assante Samuel is not the answer. I doubt the Eagles are serious about trying to sign him. I like Wilson as a FA pickup and Berrian would be good too.

[GreggyD]

I think that Bernard Berrian is overrated and he is only 6'2 I believe. I just don't see him turning into the next big thing. The only reason people keep bringing his name up is because he is the best free agent wide receiver available besides Moss in this pool of wide receivers that is abysmal.

[Kulp]

We all want the Eagles to add a receiver, but what the offense actually needs are red zone production and touchdowns. Before anyone says "we should add Player X," please take the time to look at their profile and statistics to see whether or not they can fill that hole.

Berrian has never scored more than 6 touchdowns in a season. Stallworth's career high came in his rookie season when he had 8. Bryant Johnson only has 9 in his entire career, and that number wouldn't even have made the top 10 this season! And Johnson is the only guy on this list that even cracks 6'2", so none of these players likely have the potential to suddenly become scorers.

Again, just for the record, Fitzgerald is not available and I don't want anybody who refers to himself as "Ocho Cinco."

I have to agree with the points about improving the pass rush, but secondary is still at least as big a need. They are always one injury away from playing with scrubs. I don't care if they sign Samuel or not, they just need to add a player at both corner and safety. And even if they do that, trading Lito is not an option, so let's just give that story a rest until there is some factual evidence to the contrary.

[Castor&Cottman]

Sign Asante Samuel and trade Lito to move up in the draft to nab a top DE prospect. We really need to sure up our defense and a good pass rush with a solidified Secondary would put us way ahead of where we were last year. Now concerning the offensive side of the ball of course I would love Randy Moss to be wearing midnight green but honestly the likelyhood of that happening is very slim. So, why not take a fly on Jevon Walker or Donte Stallworth. I like both recievers but they can't stay healthy so it would be either a huge risk huge reward.

[Jonn]

sign them both and hope at least one stays healthy? ; )

[JGS]

Anyone thinking the Eagles are going to sign a loud mouth receiver, get you head out of your ass. If you have forgotten, they signed one three years ago who tore the team and city apart, his name was TO, this is the eagles we are talking about, they like to keep a low profile.

I love their moves so far. The best move they made was releasing Kearse, I hated that move from the get go. I love that Asante is now an eagle......this move will pay off. I think they should keep Lito and move Brown to safety, or trade Litto and pick up a safety....... anything to keep Considine off the field; he gets picked on whenever a big play is needed.

The one thing the Eagles need is a PLAY MAKER. This is something the Eagles have failed to address in past years. I know they have Westbrook but he is also their go to......he can't be both. I don't care if this PM is a WR, TE, RB, or FB they need one.....desperately. I hope I'm surprised in draft.......anything other than OL or DL would be a surprise.