AGRI Biz

Remember how in the EaglesÆ second-quarter report I said that ôthe more things change, the more they stay the same?ö If you compare the third quarter of the BirdsÆ 2009 season to the same time frame a year ago, that statement actually couldnÆt be more wrong. After a 5-3 start in 2008, the Eagles almost fell apart in the first half of the second half. Following a tough home loss to ...

Consider the headline as blasphemous as you want, but itÆs the truth. Sometimes in battle, you need a little help from your enemies to eventually win in the end. See also Chris WebberÆs phantom timeout or Grady LittleÆs non-pull of Pedro. For the Philadelphia Eagles, a Dallas Cowboys win this week is exactly the help they need. With the Birds winning big over Atlanta earlier today, they moved to 8-4àso yes, a Giants ...

ôThe Philadelphia Eagles have signed Brent Celek to a six-year contract extension that will keep him in Eagle green until 2016. The extension could be worth up to $33m and contains $10.5m in guaranteed moneyùquite a haul for a man making the league-minimum $460,000 this season." When I first saw the above news on Tuesday, I was happy. In only his third NFL season, Celek has exploded onto the scene and ...

I posted last week that EaglesÆ defensive coordinator Sean McDermott had a chance to earn his stripes last weekend. Working with a patchwork squad, he would truly have to coach them to victory. Consider those stripes earnedàand it was a total team effort. From sack machine Trent Cole all the way down to the twenty-fourth man, everyone on the EaglesÆ defense pitched in and made it happen. But to borrow a page from ...

There are a lot of things someone who covers the Eagles could write about today. In the wake of SundayÆs loss to San Diego, the Birds have dropped two straight. Andy ReidÆs play-calling continues to be questionable, the defense fell apart, and theyÆve now been embarrassed twice on the West Coast. But at 5-4, theyÆre still tied with the Giants, Falcons, and Packers for the two NFC Wild Card spots and have ...

Apparently, the NFL doesnÆt want to have a little Captain in them. Or so it seems after the league banned poses similar to the one Brent Celek struck after scoring a touchdown this past weekend. You know the one: right leg up as if standing on something, right hand on right knee, and left hand on left hip. You know, the ôCaptain Morganö pose. Yes, thatÆs right. The league, claiming knowledge of a ...

YesterdayÆs look at the EaglesÆ second-quarter offense saw them drop an entire letter grade. Without trying to spoil the show, the defense wonÆt do the same. While they have fallen a bit (they rank tenth in total defense as compared to third at the last checkpoint), theyÆre still eighth in the league in points allowed and are doing well in several other categories. Without further ado, on with the show. Begin ...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Last year, the Eagles were 5-3 at the halfway point. This yearàthe Eagles are 5-3 at the halfway point. The same play-calling issues, the same inconsistencies and the same health concerns (Kevin Curtis and Brian Westbrook, where are you?) plague them. Yet this season, the NFC East is wide open, and theyÆre only a game out of first place. But fresh off their ...

Yes, you read the headline right. As far as this Eagles fan and journalist is concerned, the big man is 100 percent culpable for what happened Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. Yes, Donovan McNabb had a poor game and continued his recent alarming trend of throwing passes at his receiversÆ feet. Yes, the run game did much of nothing; yes, the offensive line gave up four sacks; and yes, Miles ...

á "Follow my steps is the road to success..." -Jay-Z, ôSwagga Like Usö Fitting how a rap lyric from a New Yorker was somehow intertwined with advice that led to the destruction of one of his hometown sports teams à if Andy Reid read what I wrote last week about how to wake up the EaglesÆ offense, that is. OK, so he probably didnÆt, but those three keys to success certainly played ...