The Eagles are popularly linked to Nnamdi Asomugha in free agency speculation, but they may be eyeballing an in-state cornerback option instead. Citing multiple sources, Adam Caplan of FOXSports.com reports that the Eagles “will show strong interest” in free agent Ike Taylor when the lockout ends. Taylor, of course, has spent the first eight years of his career with Pittsburgh. Caplan also hints that Philadelphia is considering playing more zone coverage under first-year defensive coordinator Juan Castillo in order to complement changes up front. Along the defensive line, new position coach Jim Washburn is implementing a “wide-nine” philosophy in which both ends line up well outside of the
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Report: Eagles will show "strong interest" in Ike Taylor
If Kevin Kolb is traded before the NFL season begins (whenever that may be), the Eagles will be in need of another backup alongside Mike Kafka. And if Andy Reid and co. want to make another splash like they did with Michael Vick, NFL.com senior analyst Pat Kirwan suggested they sign a player similar to Vick: former Titans first-round pick Vince Young.
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Could Vince Young be the Birds’ backup?
Justin Tuck has a message for LeSean McCoy –- it’s personal now. The Eagles running back recently took shots at Osi Umenyiora, calling the Giants defensive end overrated, soft and the third best defensive lineman on the Giants on Twitter. Umenyiora responded by referring to McCoy as “she” and Lady Gaga. Now Tuck has something to say about McCoy. “Well, two things, yes we will take that personally,” Tuck said in an interview on Mike and Mike in the morning “And two, he might want to watch some film before he starts talking about a defensive end of Osi’s quality. I don’t know where he would say something of that nature. Obviously Osi’s stats back up the fact that he is a pretty good NFL
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Tuck: It’s Personal with McCoy
As the NFL owners and players continue to negotiate in hopes of solving the labor impasse, the lawyer for a group of retired players has fired a shot across the bow at management and the union. Attorney Michael Hausfeld, who is representing Carl Eller and a cluster of other players who have sued to gain control of health, disability and retirement benefits, said that his group will not sign off on a court settlement until its demands are satisfied. More troubling is that Hausfeld said his side has not been involved in the mediation of the lawsuit. “If our side is not heard and our desire for change is not met, we will not agree to a settlement of this case,” said Hausfeld, whose suit on
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Retired players group threatens settlement talks
It’s not exactly the Hatfields making peace with the McCoys, but in the contentious world of National Football League labor negotiations, what’s happening right now is a pretty significant step. DeMaurice Smith, the National Football League Players Association executive director, asked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to speak at the NFLPA rookie symposium, and Goodell agreed. The commissioner’s appearance is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Sarasota, Fla. The symposium, titled The Business of Football: Rookie Edition, is being held at the IMG Academy in nearby Bradenton, Fla. Goodell and Smith, in Minneapolis on Tuesday for the first of four days of labor
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Goodell agrees to speak at NFLPA’s rookie symposium on Wednesday
Very often in the NFL, there is a debate in the war room right up until the minute the ultimate decision is made on a draft pick, particularly in the first round. That was not the case in April for the Eagles, who failed to do as expected by both staying at their original position (No. 23) in the first round and then pulling the trigger on 26-year-old but relatively inexperienced Baylor tackle Danny Watkins, a Canadian native who only began playing the sport four years earlier. Head coach Andy Reid, offensive line coach Howard Mudd and general manager Howie Roseman all were on the same page from the moment they were on the clock. More incredible is their plan to make him a guard, a
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Eagles put first-round pick Watkins on fast track
It’s the fall of 1987. NFL players are on strike and Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville is sitting in a room with officers from the Houston Police Department. They’re about to watch a surveillance video of two alleged Oilers leaving the picket line to smash the windows out on a bus that brought Houston’s replacement players to their first practice. “The police say to me, ‘Coach, if you can identify these guys, we’ll arrest them and they’ll be in jail within two hours,”‘ Glanville said last month. “I said, ‘OK, boys, let’s do this.’ So we look at the video and I’ll be damned. It’s my two starting safeties.” Uh-oh. “The police say, ‘Coach, can you identify these two men?”‘ Glanville said.
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NFL strike of 1987 was full of drama and hilarity
Another new face showed up at the Eagles’ lockout workout Monday. No, not Donovan McNabb. Keenan Clayton, the Eagles’ second-year linebacker, worked out with several teammates for the first time this season at the Memorial Sports Complex, doing drills under the supervision of the Power Train staff. He joined fellow second-year linebacker Jamar Chaney, offensive tackle Austin Howard, defensive tackle Trevor Laws, running back Eldra Buckley and professional hockey player T.J. Brennan, a Buffalo Sabres draft pick. After the hourlong session on a muggy morning, Clayton discussed the benefit of working alongside Chaney, a staple of the lockout workouts, and made what sounded like a prediction
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Clayton brings big ideas to Eagles’ workout
Players involved in labor negotiations with the NFL traveled to Minnesota on Monday, but not just to meet with their legal team. They are there for a fifth round of “secret talks” with the league, a source with knowledge of the situation said. Minnesota is home to Arthur Boylan, the U.S. magistrate judge assigned to run court-ordered mediation and who has been present for the previous talks. Also constants in the room have been NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, New York Giants owner John Mara, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, New York Jets fullback Tony Richardson, Baltimore Ravens
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Minnesota welcomes league, players for labor negotiations
Joe Gibbs had witnessed the jarring scene too many times. “A player would be upset with his contract, (and) we’d be in serious discussions,” says the Hall of Famer who guided the Washington Redskins to all three of their Super Bowl titles during his 16-year head coaching career while recalling moments that typically unfolded in his office. “And during the conversation, it dawns on you, ‘Are you in financial trouble?’ That happens over and over again. “It played out a lot.” Even in retirement — Gibbs stepped down from his second stint with the Redskins after the 2007 season — he remained bothered that so many players were flirting with fiscal ruin. So he reached out to Redskins owner Daniel
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Joe Gibbs behind NFL rookie financial seminar this week
The clock continues to tick. And the NFL and players continue to work. With the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears — the participants in this year’s scheduled Hall of Fame Game — scheduled to open training camp just three weeks from Friday, time is beginning to run short for negotiating teams as they look to preserve the preseason in its traditional form. The two sides return to the bargaining table later this week for a fifth round of “secret talks.” The league and players have spent a total of nine days in four different locations — suburban Chicago, New York’s Long Island, Maryland’s Eastern Shore and suburban Boston — during this phase of negotiations. They’ve also communicated away
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Parties must reach resolution soon to preserve full preseason
The NFL is negotiating with TV networks about a new early-season eight-game package that would start as soon as next season, according to several sources. The potential Thursday night package could be worth as much as $700 million per year, the sources said. Such a windfall, providing a sudden increase in overall league revenue, could help soften the blow to the players from the emerging labor deal in which they are likely to receive a smaller percentage of revenue than they previously have received. The new package would not affect NFL Network’s schedule of live games, as the league has decided to keep its channel’s eight-game Thursday night slate in the second half of the season intact.
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NFL shops new 8-game package
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