Eagles

[Shell]

I didn't realize that Duce Staley was holding out for a contract extension (even though he is a year left on his :roll: ) That will hurt dem birds!

Lurie hopes Staley 'comes to his senses'
By REUBEN FRANK
phillyBurbs.com

BETHLEHEM - In the strongest words yet to come out of the Eagles' front office, owner Jeff Lurie yesterday said he hopes holdout running back Duce Staley "comes to his senses."

Lurie, during his annual state-of-the-team address at Lehigh University, said Staley is making a big mistake by boycotting Eagles training camp and said he expects the 28-year-old running back to return to the team that he's contractually obligated to play for.

"I hope Duce realizes he's only hurting himself," Lurie said in his first public comments since Staley failed to report to camp 10 days ago. "I fully expect him to come to his senses."

Staley, scheduled to earn $2.2 million this year, is still home in Columbia, S.C., waiting for the Eagles to open contract talks. The Eagles have no plans to do so and are fining him $5,000 per day, an amount that could increase to over $129,000 if Staley misses any preseason games.

The Eagles open the preseason on Monday in New Orleans with a nationally televised game against the Saints.

"Anyone who knows me knows I'm personally very fond of Duce Staley," Lurie said. "We go back a long way and I like him very much as a person.

"But there are 350 to 400 players in the NFL entering the last year of their contract - Warren Sapp, Anthony McFarland, Charles Woodson, Bobby (Taylor) and Troy (Vincent) here, Jevon Kearse, Peyton Manning - and we as a football team reserve the right to determine how we are going to assemble the roster.

"There's no reason a player under contract shouldn't be honoring his contract."

High expectations

Meanwhile, Lurie's expectations for the Eagles are certainly high despite the Eagles' loss of Brian Mitchell, Hugh Douglas, Sean Landeta, Shawn Barber and others.

"I think we're a team that can dominate this league," he said. "The team is capable of winning every time it goes out on the field. ... We are poised to win big. We are poised to win championships."

Lurie also said he doesn't buy the notion that the Eagles' window of opportunity is closing.

"I completely disagree with that," he said. "I think it's possible to maintain this."

[Guyute]

:mad:

didn't think Duuuuuuuuuuuce was the type of guy to do this. been watching him for quite a few years (since he played with the 'cocks -SC Gamecocks :p )... he's always been a team player.

idiot needs to wake up. you have a contract. you have a team that has a possibility to go all the way. stop your bullsh.t and go play ball.

course.. he could just be doing this to get out of camp. heh

[mr. chubby]

as an Eagles fan, I recognize that Duce is a valuble asset to this team. however, the birds are pretty deep this year and i think they can win without him. When McNabb went down last season, the Eagles kept winning. Duce is no where near as important to the team as the general.

we got a scare yesterday as one of Duce's "replacements" Brian Westbrook, went down with a bone bruise to the knee and is unlikely to play this saturday.

however, that injury aside, the eagles are in the drivers seat here and if duce is smart, he'll fire his agent and get his ass into camp.

[Guyute]

sweet. another philly fan. :D

but yes, our boys proved last season that they are a TEAM. Many people thought McNabb was the team. that was clearly not the case.

[Shell]

Eagles' Duce Staley ends 26-day holdout, practices with team
posted August 24 @ 16:38, EST

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Duce Staley returned to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, choosing to end his 26-day holdout without the contract extension he was seeking.

"I'm not afraid to say that I was stubborn," Staley said on his first day of practice. "It's behind us. It's over. It's squashed. It's time to move on and bring something new to the city - hopefully that's a ring - and stay positive."

Staley, in the final year of a contract that will pay him $2.2 million US this season, held out to try to pressure the Eagles to give him an extension.

The Eagle have a pair of young running backs in Correll Buckhalter and Brian Westbrook and made it obvious that they weren't prepared to make a long-term commitment to Staley, a fan favourite.

Staley and his agent, Derrick Harrison, met with coach Andy Reid at least twice last week and again when Staley arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday.

"It started with communication," Staley said. "I had a chance to sit down and talk and he let me know where I stood and where I stand. That's all I ever wanted. I want to be here, there's no doubt about it. I'm looking forward to getting an opportunity to get a contract extension."

Neither Staley nor Reid said what was discussed in their meetings.

"We feel good going forward, both sides," Reid said. "It's important Duce has the time to get himself back into football shape. We're going to ease him into playing shape and good things will happen."

Staley rushed for 1,029 yards and five touchdowns last year and had 541 yards and three touchdowns receiving. He stayed away from the team's voluntary minicamp in June along with cornerback Bobby Taylor, who is also seeking a contract extension.

Taylor, however, reported to training camp on time.

"I think guys have respect for each player's individual circumstances," Taylor said. "I'm happy he's here now and hopefully he can get all the questions answered and move on and play football."

While Staley held out, the team gave wide receiver Todd Pinkston a six-year extension.

Earlier this month, Staley released a statement criticizing Eagles management for not "seriously" discussing his future with the team.

"I really wanted to come back in and get back with my teammates," Staley said Sunday, after practising with the second-team offence. "I really wanted to come back and be with the fans and let them know I still want to play. I still want to be here."

[Guyute]

Staley said, "It's time to move on and bring something new to the city - hopefully that's a ring - and stay positive."


And that, is all that matters. we're due.

[Shell]

Posted on Wed, Sep. 10, 2003
Eagles defeated and depleted
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer

The injuries suffered in Monday night's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may prove to be even more damaging to the Eagles than the insult of the 17-0 loss in their season opener at Lincoln Financial Field.

It's possible, even probable, that the Eagles will be without safety Brian Dawkins, cornerback Bobby Taylor and defensive end Brandon Whiting on Sunday when they play the New England Patriots.

"All three of these, we'll know a little bit better in the next 48 hours," Eagles coach Andy Reid said at his day-after news conference yesterday at the NovaCare Complex.

According to a report on comcastsportsnet.com, Dawkins could be out for an extended time. The report, quoting unnamed sources, said Dawkins has a Lisfranc injury to his right foot. The same injury, involving ligaments and bones at the top of the foot, caused running back Duce Staley to miss the final 11 regular-season games and the postseason in 2000.

A source close to the situation said the Eagles still were awaiting test results last night.

Dawkins told team officials he did not know how he injured his foot. He was carted to the X-ray room after the game, and Reid said yesterday that he had a sprained foot and would undergo an MRI examination.

The all-pro free safety left the NovaCare Complex yesterday afternoon on crutches and had a walking boot on his injured foot. He was helped into the passenger seat of his silver pickup by his wife, Connie.

One ominous sign was that Reid spent the early-morning hours meeting with Tom Heckert, the team's vice president of player personnel, to discuss possible backup plans for the injured players.

Taylor left Monday night's game in the second quarter with a strained left foot. He briefly returned midway through the second quarter before retiring for the evening, leaving second-year cornerback Lito Sheppard to take his place.

Whiting, meanwhile, was helped off the field with 10 minutes left in the game. An MRI exam Monday revealed a strained right hamstring, the same injury that forced him to miss the first two weeks of training camp.

"We have backup plans - absolutely," Reid said when asked about the injuries to the three defensive starters.

The Eagles likely would insert either Sheppard or Sheldon Brown at cornerback to replace Taylor. Sheppard, at 5-foot-10, had serious problems covering the much taller Keyshawn Johnson and Joe Jurevicius on Monday night.

Jurevicius' first touchdown was thrown over the outstretched hands of Sheppard and Johnson made three of his six catches with Sheppard covering him in the second half.

"As a corner, I thought [Sheppard] did some good things," Reid said. "I think there are a couple of things he'd like to have back. He got out there and competed and he was around the ball and was normally challenging it."

The Patriots' receiving trio of David Patten, Deion Branch and Troy Brown is not nearly as physically imposing as Jurevicius and Johnson, but quarterback Tom Brady is among the NFL's most accurate passers. Brady picked apart the Eagles with Sheppard and Brown at cornerback during the preseason meeting between the teams last month.

At least Sheppard and Brown have some NFL experience.

The bigger problem could be at free safety, the only position where the Eagles can absolutely claim they have the best player in the NFL. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson expressed concern about the lack of veteran depth at safety dating back to the team's minicamps in May and June.

His worst fear could come true this week. Should Dawkins miss the game, the Eagles probably would have to start Clinton Hart, who played in his first NFL game Monday night, mostly as a special-teams player. The Eagles liked what Hart did during the preseason, but they didn't plan on inserting him into a critical role so quickly.

If Taylor and Dawkins sit out Sunday, Troy Vincent will be the only member of the starting defensive backfield with more than two years of NFL experience.

Veteran options at safety appear limited.

Rashard Cook made a brief appearance in training camp and played in the team's final preseason game, but it did not appear as if he had recovered enough from a serious knee injury to return to action. Tim Hauck, 36, is still out there, but he was not in anyone's training camp this summer after playing in just three games last year with San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the Eagles' situation at defensive end also has become an unnatural disaster worthy of a call for emergency aid.

When they played the Patriots 19 days ago, they thought that position was one of the team's greatest strengths. Since then, they have lost Jamaal Green, Jerome McDougle, Derrick Burgess and now Whiting to injuries. N.D. Kalu is the only original member of the defensive-end rotation who has remained healthy.

Whiting replaced Burgess as the starting left defensive end Monday night against the Buccaneers and played a solid game. That job could fall to veteran Marco Coleman, who was signed last week after being among Jacksonville's final cuts.

The Eagles were trying to add a defensive end to the roster yesterday. One possibility is Lorenzo Bromell, a five-year veteran who has played with Miami and Minnesota.

They also could bring back Ivory McCoy, the free agent who was among the team's final cuts. He, of course, remains the only man to score a touchdown for the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

[Guyute]

friggin defense is dropping like flies. Troy is gonna have to run the secondary. great start to the year. :sick:

[Shell]

(I updated the article above if anyone cares).. and now for a giggle...

Inqlings | Sapp keeps expecting someone to expectorate
By Michael Klein
Inquirer Columnist

Warren Sapp may be a defensive standout on the football field, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle can be offensive - or at least paranoid - in restaurants.

Yesterday, hours before the Eagles-Bucs game, he and six friends - including Portland Trail Blazer Rasheed Wallace and businessman Jonathan Felix - dropped into the Palm for a late lunch. Sapp wore a retro Jerome Brown jersey, a tribute to the beloved Eagles defensive tackle who died in a 1992 car crash.

When their appetizers arrived, the waitress noticed that everyone at the table traded plates. See, in January at Smith & Wollensky steak house before the last Eagles-Bucs matchup, Sapp fretted aloud that an Eagles fan in the kitchen might spit in his food. He switched plates then, too.

When the server brought the table's entrees, she good-naturedly asked: "Would you like me to switch them, or would you like to switch them after I leave?" Felix says. She joked that she understood why he might be worried.

With that, Sapp got second thoughts about the rest of his lunch. The 6-foot-2 300-pounder glowered at the waitress and declined to eat, leaving her to slink off to the kitchen and cry. Sapp's buddies had no qualms about scarfing down their meals, a source at the restaurant said.

Sapp went to Jim's Steaks afterward.

[Jeff O Rocks]

The 6-foot-2 300-pounder

A big boy like that scared of a little spit.. :D and if I had cooked food for Rasheed Wallace he might have had to worry about worse!! :p

[tommy]

Ok, McNabb was sacked SEVEN times... and NE recovered 4 fumbles (yeah, thats right... I had NE in on Defense for my fantasy team and they got me 29 points)... what on earth is Philly's problem?

[Shell]

I don't know, but it doesn't make me sad LOL

Washington 2-0
Philly 0-2

Things are quite nice at our house ;) :p

[Guyute]

Philly has 'Canes-syndrome. 2 pro-bowlers out for weeks. half of their defence is missing...

and the guys that Are there, seem to have forgotten how to play. :roll:

but hell... us philly fans are very used to having high expectations, and watching great teams end up play sub-standard ball.
it makes me sick watching those kind of games.... but what can ya do.

Shell's just happy because she was just a young lass the last time the Skins looked good. :p :D