If
Eagle Management is nothing else, it is consistent. How does the saying go? “Find a strategy and stick to it”. Last year, the Eagles watched their best
linebacker – All-Pro Jeremiah Trotter – become lost to free agency. They managed a late acquisition of Levon
Kirkland who proved to be a slow liability in the middle of their otherwise
solid defense.
This
year, the Eagles watched their best linebacker – Shawn Barber – become lost to
free agency. The Eagles rapidly negotiated
a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for Mark Simoneau and announced that the
Eagles had acquired a new starting WILL.
Last
year Eagles managed through deft planning and negotiating skills to downgrade
the Middle Linebacker play. This year,
through astute financial balancing and trading brinkmanship, they managed to
downgrade the Weakside Linebacker position.
What is
the likelihood that replacing the most productive Eagles Linebacker with a
three year bench warmer will improve the Eagles Defense? Mark Simoneau could not even crack the
starting lineup of the Atlanta Falcons who use four starting linebackers in
their 3-4 defense!
But the Eagles believe that he is capable of starting for them and
replacing the best linebacker on the second best Defense in the NFL!
Today Joe Banner announced on a local sports radio station that the Eagles had an exciting off-season plan. Perhaps the Eagles next exciting move will be to replace All-Pro DE Hugh Douglas with a rookie or with a free agent who amassed 2 sacks last year. Now that’s excitement!