On Deadline, Eagles Will Not Use Franchise Tag

The deadline for NFL teams to apply their franchise tag is today at 4 p.m. EST. The franchise tag allows teams to retain the rights of a player who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent for one season at the average salary of the top five players at the player's position.

The Eagles will not be applying the franchise tag to any of their four unrestricted-free-agents-to-be. Those four players who could hit the open market on March 5 are linebacker Tracy White, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, safety Sean Jones and defensive end Jason Babin.
Several players who could have potentially been a candidate for the franchise tag like fullback Leonard Weaver will become restricted free agents because of the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement. The rest of the Eagles' restricted free agents are offensive lineman Nick Cole, linebacker Chris Gocong, wide receiver Jason Avant, offensive lineman Max Jean-Gilles, tight end Alex Smith, linebacker Omar Gaither and cornerback Ellis Hobbs.

Westbrook done in Philly

I think this is a big loss.
Brian Westbrook could break open a game from almost anywhere on the field.

Lined up in the slot, he could run a slant, beat a linebacker and take off with no one able to catch him. Out of the backfield, he was a 1,000-yard rusher who always kept defenses guessing -- and flailing.
But in his later years, injuries have defined Westbrook more than his dynamic offensive skills. And his age, salary and lengthy list of beaten body parts led the Philadelphia Eagles to release him Tuesday and save themselves $7.5 million due next season.I think we all know that Brian is one of the all-time great Philadelphia Eagles," coach Andy Reid said. "For what we've done here over the years, Brian has been just a huge part of building this program to the level that we're at now. My heart will always be a Brian Westbrook fan as we go forward here."

A former All-Pro, the 5-foot-10 Westbrook led the league with 2,104 yards from scrimmage in 2007. He rushed for 1,333 yards and accounted for 12 touchdowns that season.

But Westbrook spent much of last season on the sideline, missing eight games with two concussions and an ankle injury. Westbrook had just two touchdowns in 2009.

View On Possible Vick Trade Timeline

Bowen believes that if one of the 31 other teams approached the Eagles with the right offer today, it's hard to imagine Andy Reid and Co. would turn it down.
Bowen writes: "It is hard not to imagine that the Eagles aren't slowly playing the rest of the league when it comes to Vick — because there is interest in the former Falcons starter. We have heard his name mentioned in Buffalo and in St. Louis, but anyone who follows the league knows that if a deal is made, it would most likely come before the draft."
Bowen says that if a team is serious about acquiring Vick and inserting him as a starter, then a deal must be struck before the spring mini-camps and OTAs.
"He needs to be there. He needs to be in the playbook, in the meeting room and so on," Bowen writes.

Kolb: No Contract Talks With Eagles

Appearing on Philadelphia sports radio station WIP with Howard Eskin and Ike Reese, Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb shot down rumors that he and the Eagles have been involved in contract talks.

"We haven't even talked to them as far as I know," Kolb said. "That totally blew me away when that was reported because that was obviously false.

"I don't even talk to my agent that much about it because ultimately it doesn't have anything to do with what we say. So we're kind of just sitting back right now and letting things iron out. We know there's still some time here and I'm sure there'll be a phone call some time in the near future or a meeting. But as of right now we're just going to let it iron out and have faith that the right decision's going to be made."

Last week, Garry Cobb of gcobb.com reported that the Eagles had begun negotiations with Kolb about a contract extension. Kolb, along with Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick, is signed through the 2010 season. In his two starts in 2009, Kolb became the first player in NFL history to surpass 300 passing yards in his first two career starts.

Kolb said that although there have been no talks of an extension, he sees himself in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future.

Mikell On Football Without Helmets

One of the NFL's hot button topics over the past year or so has been the prevalence of concussions throughout the league. Two Eagles missed time in 2009 because of concussion-related symptoms, including running back Brian Westbrook who twice suffered a concussion during the season.

Often, the biggest hits in an NFL game take place in the secondary, where defensive backs are primed to "light up" a receiver. Recently, Eagles safety Quintin Mikell discussed what it feels like after a big hit, the biggest hit of his career and the role of helmets in football with Stephen J. Dubner, one of the co-authors of the best-selling book "Freakonomics". The full conversation can be heard on the New York Times' Freakonomics blog.

The biggest hit of my career "was with (Oakland Raiders' running back) Justin Fargas," said Mikell. Fargas "was running towards the sideline and I was running towards him and we're both headed towards the sideline. It was almost like neither one of us was going to back down because we knew it was either going to be a big collision or not. He could have run out of bounds, but I just knew he was going to try and run me over just watching him in film. Essentially what happened was we ran full speed into each other and pretty much knocked each other out. I tried to get up a little too soon and I fell back down and was wobbly-kneed. Eventually, the trainers pulled me out. They were like, 'You can't go back in right now.' Actually, he came out for a few plays too, so we both knocked each other out."

"As a competitor, you never know if he's going to get up or not so you want to be the first one up and you want to make sure that you didn't take the loss right there. Essentially, I think I won because I got up before he did, even though I was wobbly-kneed."

Mikell went on to give an interesting description of what one's head feels like following a big collision.

"It's a really odd feeling," he said. "The first thing you get is everything starts to vibrate. Like if you laid your head on your cell phone and put it on vibrate and had someone call you, that's what it felt like for me. So instantly, I actually saw it on film, instantly I tried to grab my helmet to try to steady everything and then after that initial vibration it's almost like you're kind of in a dream. You're just kind of floating and your legs are like jell-o. You're trying to stand up and your mind is trying to tell your body to do it but your body and everything is disconnected so you pretty much just fall back flat on your face."

Former Player Weighs In On McNabb

Former NFL player and NationalFootballPost.com columnist Matt Bowen has offered up some interesting insight on one Eagles' off-season move and an opinion on the team's immediate future at the quarterback position.
A former safety, Bowen tackled the rumors regarding the future of Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia in a recent article.
Not taking anything away from what Kevin Kolb did in limited action in 2009, Bowen is not sure if it's time for the Eagles to move on without McNabb.
Writes Bowen: "It is easy to point at Kolb's brief production this past season, and although it was very good (he threw for 300 yards in back-to-back games), is that enough to let McNabb walk? Once you give the huddle to Kolb, there is no turning back, and buyer's remorse at the quarterback position in the NFL is a franchise killer.
"Look, I am not trying to throw Kolb under the bus, but from the quarterbacks I saw during my career, it takes more than a couple of games to show a franchise that you are ready to play for an entire season and beyond."
Though a Super Bowl win has eluded McNabb, Bowen believes the quarterback's play is part of what helps the Eagles contend for a championship every season.

McNabb Gives Super Bowl Analysis On ESPN

Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb appeared live on ESPN's 6 p.m. SportsCenter on set in Miami to analyze this Sunday's Super Bowl.

McNabb offered up a breakdown of several matchups and then provided his prediction for the final score.

"I'm going to take the Indianapolis Colts," McNabb said. "I think what they've been able to accomplish all season, by being able to get the ball downfield, put points on the board, run the ball effectively when they needed to. I'm going to take the Colts (to win) by 17.

"It's definitely going to be in the 40's. What it's going to come down to is the third-down conversions. If a team is able to sustain drives and move the chains and come out with points, then you're going to see this thing go all the way down to the wire. But if teams can't convert on third-downs and certain situations, and defenses aren't creating turnovers, it's going to be a long day."

McNabb also offered insight as to what is going through the heads of the respective Super Bowl quarterbacks, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. McNabb, of course, played in the 2004 Super Bowl.

"Well right now they understand that they've been preparing for a week and a half now and by this time they've already broken down what they can do on first down, what they can do on second down and third down," he said. "They know how to attack the blitz. I think at this particular time, this is when you relax. You begin to spend time with your teammates, you go out to dinner, watch a couple movies and be able to understand what's at stake this weekend."

Eagles Add Competition With P Brooks

The Eagles signed punter Durant Brooks on Tuesday to bolster the depth at the position.
Brooks was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft after winning the Ray Guy Award for best collegiate punter in his senior year at Georgia Tech.
In addition to winning the award, Brooks has also been tutored by Guy.
The 6-foot, 204-pound Brooks played in six games with the Redskins his rookie season and had a gross average of 39.6 yards per punt and a net average of 32.1 yards per punt. The Redskins replaced him midseason with Ryan Plackemeier.
Brooks finished his rookie season on the practice squad of the Green Bay Packers and signed a future contract with the Packers at the end of the season, but was released at the end of training camp. It was reported that Brooks had a tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in December, but he did not play with a team during the 2009 season.
The Eagles have Sav Rocca in the fold, but Rocca is due to be a restricted free agent this off-season. Rocca is the franchise's all-time leader with a 37.1 career net punting average. Rocca's 38.3 net punting average in the 2009 season broke his own single-season franchise record.

Jackson Shines In Pro Bowl

DeSean Jackson had six catches for a team-high 101 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown receptions as the NFC All-Stars lost a 41-34 shootout to the AFC All-Stars in the Pro Bowl. As the NFC tried to come from behind on their final offensive drive, Jackson was the intended target of Tony Romo's pass that was intercepted by James Harrison. The AFC earned a pair of first downs which then allowed them to run out the clock. Jackson's second touchdown pass - a 58-yard strike early in the third quarter - came from Eagles teammate Donovan McNabb. That score put the NFC ahead 24-17, but the AFC answered with 17 straight points to take control of the game. Jackson's first touchdown came on a 7-yard screen from Aaron Rodgers in the second quarter. McNabb finished as the NFC's leading rusher with 26 yards on four carries. In the air, McNabb was 3-of-10 for 78 yards with the touchdown and an interception.