It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it the Summer Scramble, and we begin with the NFC East's looming position battles.
If these reports are accurate, it doesn't appear the Arizona Cardinals were able to drum up much serious interest in disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin in advance of the draft. The Bears apparently offered a second-round pick, and according to Kent Somers in the Arizona Republic, the best the Eagles offered was a third-rounder plus (also) disgruntled cornerback Sheldon Brown.
The Eagles may still be interested, though with first-round pick Jeremy Maclin in the fold they now have more leverage than they did before the draft. And there are still teams (Jets, anyone?) with glaring needs at receiver. But if all the Cardinals have been able to get are the offers mentioned above, it begins to look as if Boldin might not get his wish to be traded out of Arizona before training camps start.
Garrett Reid, one of the troubled sons of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, is back in prison after a fight in the halfway house where he had been staying.
NBC Philadelphia is reporting that the 26-year-old Garrett Reid is accused of beating up a fellow resident of the halfway house where he's been living as part of his court-ordered drug treatment.
As a result of the incident, Reid was taken immediately to Graterford Prison.
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.
Earlier this offseason Donovan McNabb said he wanted to see how the Eagles upgraded the roster before he would talk about a contract extension. After last fall, when things got so bad that Andy Reid benched McNabb for Kevin Kolb, it looked as if neither head coach nor starting quarterback would be in Philly another year, much less long term.
The first day of minicamps are over for the day and we recap some highlights.
Vikings coach Brad Childress could have taken the easy way out Friday when asked about retired quarterback Brett Favre.
Instead he said, "We haven't (talked about Favre); it doesn't mean we won't ... We talk about everything, from what's going on in the United States today. We talk about everything, so yeah, I'm sure we'll talk about that."
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.
The Eagles' perfect draft dream scenario actually played out last week: after opting not to re-sign 34-year-old Tra Thomas, the organization swung a deal for Jason Peters, one of the league's best young left tackles (or, if you're Andy Reid and into hyperbole, the best left tackle.) It cost Philadelphia the 28th pick, but given Peters' track record (even after an uneven 2008 season) -- as well as the uncertainty that comes with drafting a player to step into a starting role -- it was worth it.
Eagles head coach Andy Reid described Peters as "the best left tackle in football," which might be overstating it a bit, particularly after a rocky 2008 campaign. Still, Peters is in the top five, and he improves a team that, despite a tumultuous regular season, was a lousy quarter of football away from the Super Bowl.
Last month, the Eagles fired Dan Leone when, via Facebook, he referred to the organization's decision to let Brian Dawkins sign with the Broncos as "retarted". Leone, a game-day stadium employee, immediately apologized for his actions, but was still dismissed.
Leone subsequently made the media rounds telling his story in the hopes of getting his job back, and during an interview with FanHouse, he hinted that Dawkins' representatives might be in touch with him for his show of loyalty, even if misguided.
Last February, the Eagles franchised tight end L.J. Smith even though he was coming off an injury-plagued 2007 season where he played in just 10 games, caught 22 passes for 236 yards and hauled in a lone touchdown.
But the team's 2003 second-round pick had been a key cog in Andy Reid's version of the West Coast offense, and seemed worth the average salary of the league's top-five tight ends, especially since it was just a one-year deal.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
The Eagles underachieved for most of the 2008 season (the nadir had to be either tying the lowly Bengals are getting thumped by the Ravens -- take your pick) only to get hot during the last month of the season.
Philadelphia would eventually lose to Arizona in the NFC Championship game. And while nobody saw that coming as recently as Thanksgiving, the team did have high expectations heading into the season. Assuming Donovan McNabb is indeed in the organization's long-range plans, what do the Eagles need to do in the coming months to make a Super Bowl run?