Decent showing from Matt Mosley’s NFC East blog (which I’d found a bit forgettable to date) this afternoon. Not only did he manage to get a T.O. quote out of Dunavin (Why we gotta be bringin up old sh*t?), but he got Jon Runyan to speak ill of Shawn Andrews:
Runyan wants to believe that Andrews is truly sincere about suffering from depression, but something doesn’t seem right about it.
“It’s hard to believe it because I know how he is,” Runyan said. “Knowing him, he could be playing a joke on all of us….”
Runyan said that Andrews apologized to the team, but even that didn’t impress the veteran player.
“He apologized a little bit, but if you’re truly sick, what should you have to apologize for?”
There are a lot of ways that being an NFL player is different than, say, going to my job every day. One of those ways appears to be that you can publicly question the mental health diagnosis and condition of coworkers. (Read the rest of this story.)
“(Justice) is a good offensive tackle, man,” Umenyiora said. “He’s not a bad football player. I hate the fact that when people mention his name right now, they just associate him with having given up those sacks. But everybody seemed to be watching that game. I felt bad for the kid. But I had to do what I had to do.”
Felt bad for the kid, huh. I’m flattered that you felt badly for him, and I hope that in your generosity and kindness you can be a bit more forgiving next time around.
If I were Justice, I’d be pretty miffed by the overall level of condescension (admittedly warratned in this case as Osi is a baller and Justice is a backup). Personal bulletin board material and whatnot. At the very least I’d take a moment to review my copy of True Romance:
We’re now on the fourth day of the Shawn Andrews unexcused-absence-but-not-because-of-a-contract-dispute subplot. The absence of any legit details on the story renders the whole thing a bit dull. What we know: Andrews told Andy Reid that he wasn’t coming to camp on Thursday, his agent insists it isn’t about money, and no one is saying anything interesting (or really anything at all) about whatever the hell is going on with Andrews.
Of course, Shawn Andrews being Shawn Andrews (that is, one of the most underappreciatedheadcases/ space cadets on the team), there’s a decent chance that this holdout is actually not just about money (and might be about something completely ridiculous). Shawn Andrews does like talking about his sensitive little feelings.
Also, I’m finding it semi-curious that none of the players have really commented on the situation, though most were willing to at least offer a “That’s his business” in re: BWest’s threatened holdout. And Andy Reid seemed a bit short about it as well. I dunno. Why doesn’t someone call his brother (plays for the Benglas, right?). It all seems a little more odd than average.
Thus, in the absence of any real data, I’m going to irresponsibly speculate about the reasons for the holdout; my hypotheses, in order of actual likelihood (as in, most likely to not-in-a-zillion-years): (Read the rest of this story.)
Holy shiznit! Did I ever learn a lot about Winston Justice yesterday!
Between this and this and this and this (and that last one is actually a compendium of OTHER Justice articles), I can feel very comfrotable knowing that (a) young Winston isn’t thrilled that he stunk against the Giants last year, (b) that we don’t actually know if said game means that he can’t play the Blind Side in the NFL, and that (c) Hugh Douglas thinks he’s a wuss.
As to points (a) and (b), well, I’m certainly hopeful that Winston gets another shot to prove himself this year, and that he performs well. He was an expensive draft pick; that’s not one the team can afford to get wrong. Given the respective ages of the Birds’ starting tackles, we certainly should expect that Justice will be needed for at least a few games this season.
I don’t ask for much in this world. I sat through that hideous first Giants game at the Meadowlands and watched the Birds get pummeled. It wasn’t sweet. In my smaller and more bitter moments, I’d remind Giants fans that they didn’t play all the well that night either (16 points?), but that’s just sour grapes. They beat our team badly.
The thing is, as mentioned here previously, the Giants are definitely my least favorite team in the NFL. Big Blue, freakin’ royalty up there in New York, the darling of the league office (you mean they got the extra home game for the second time in three years? Really? That isn’t a big deal?), no cheerleaders, the geriatric fans, the Scott Norwood miss, Michael Freakin’ Strahan, tell us how awesome and personable you are, Tiki Barber, tell us how awesome and personable you are, etc etc. Really don’t like them. Would very much prefer if they lost horribly today.
There’s a big difference between this week and September 30: the Eagles’ best player will be on the field. (Read the rest of this story.)
I’m going to stay positive about last night’s game. Some highlights:
1. I had a totally sweet sandwich at the tailgate. See above. Seriously, it was delicious. Luca Brasi’s in Hoboken. Good stuff.
2. We had a nifty parking pass that allowed us to park in this structure that was reasonably close to the stadium (and not in Lyndhurst, NJ). It momentarily convinced me I was going to the mall and not to an imitation pro football game to watch the Birds’ imitation offense give an imitation effort.
3. I was only sacked twice by Osi Umenyiora (once in the men’s room, the other in the beer line; both were Winston Justice’s fault).
The short answer is that I think the Eagles are going to win the Super Bowl.
(I say this every year, and you can check my old blog if you’re not convinced. I say, put it in writing, wager on it, etc etc. I’m — unfortunately — something of a true believer w/r/t the Eagles’ Super Bowl chances each year since, oh, about the age of fifteen.)
I really had no idea that Shawn Andrews would become the breakout media star of training camp.
With a string of space cadet quotes (we might even suggest that they are Randall-esque!), Andrews has already established himself to be a go-to player for enterprising blathermonkeys looking for a goofy/ semi-controversial quote. Just weeks after declaring that his visit to a doctor in re: his ankle had been a real “tear-jerker,” today he declared himself to be in good health and insisted that his earlier, ahem, more emotional comments had been part of some sort of cunning ruse designed to deceive the assembled blathemonkeys:
All sorts of emotional farewells and tearful goodbyes at the Novacare Complex attended Jeremiah Trotter’s last day at work yesterday. I didn’t get the e-mail about the Farewell Drinks, but I do feel like I got all sorts of needs and/ or feelings from the football TV show yesterday.
This was definitely a heckuva PR stunt. They let Trotter give a farewell address (with Dawk and Spikes standing by, no less!) and Andy Reid shared all manner of wistful memories about Trotter’s legacy with the team. And despite most of the vets expressing complete shock at the move, Trot played along and said he agreed with it (!):
“I agree with his decision, too,” Trotter said. “Obviously, I want to be here, but he’s making a decision that he feels is best for the team. That’s what this league is about; the turnover ratio is big every year. They’re always bringing in someone to try to better the team. Who knows what the future holds, but . . . now it’s my time. I understand why he did it - I know he didn’t want to do it - and that means a lot to me.”
Asked whether he thought Reid should rethink the decision, Trotter said:
Add me to the list of hyperactive lunatics who were “concerned” about Eagles Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews’ ankle injury. I wasn’t impressed with the offensive line on Monday, and was counting on another big season from Andrews (which, in my mind, equals lots of running and opportunities for Brian Westbrook to the carry the team/ keep the pressure off 5 — seriously, this is a big deal).
The “concern” surfaced earlier this week when Andrews said that his conversation with his ankle specialist was a “tear-jerker.” Whoa! Tear-jerker! That sounds serious! I thought this was a minor injury! Maybe there’s more here than the Birds are letting on!
Of course, Andy Reid corrected this assessment in his press conference this morning and indicated that he thought Andrews would be set for the season opener (that’s just “him being Shawn”).
Right, so pursuant to our earlier post in re: Andrews being slightly un-footballish in his singing ambitions, um, now it sounds like he gets all screechy about minor setbacks and blubbers to the press? Congrats, Shawn, you’re now officially the flakiest dude on the team!
