LINKS
• "Why A Ryan Howard Trade Makes Sense." Interesting viewpoint, as long as you're applicable to the idea of ever trading the slugger. [Crashburn]
• Potentially big signing for the Phillies, adding Brad Wilkerson on a minor league contract. A career .326 hitter at Citizens Bank Park. [Beerleaguer]
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• The Phillies were all business at team photo day. [Big League Stew]
• The obligatory "Briant Westbrook should walk away for his own good" story. I don't necessarily disagree, but you know how pro athletes are, always sticking around a few seasons too long. [CBS Sports]
• The Chester Taylor bandwagon grows. Ray Didinger explains why he would be a good fit for the Eagles. [CSN]
But for right now, I think the Eagles need to bring in a veteran to share the load with McCoy. It doesn’t make much sense to have a rookie backing-up a second-year player like McCoy. You need an experienced guy. Chester Taylor is an interesting option. He will be an unrestricted free agent, and even though he is 30, he has never been asked to carry a big workload so he doesn’t have a lot of mileage on his body.
Taylor had a good year in Minnesota backing up Adrian Peterson. He caught 44 passes and played well in the NFC title game when Peterson was benched for fumbling. Taylor understands the role and would accept sharing time with McCoy. He won’t have trouble picking up the Eagles offense since he played in a similar system under Brad Childress in Minnesota. Just a thought.
• Ryan Miller getting plenty of love for his performance in net for USA. [Yahoo!]
• And the Inquirer's own Phil Sheridan has a good piece on the team's 2-0 battle with Switzerland. [Inquirer]
COMMENT OF THE DAY
I agree w/ VP...we need to add a couple players to the D before even thinking about our offense!
Report came out today that Dunta Robinson is going to hit the market...I think him and Carlos Dansby would be at the top of my FA wish list. Could then either say goodbye to Sheldon Brown or try to move him to FS and draft a rookie for future (Mays, Earl Thomas).
- beau
While I agree the defense is a priority, there's no reason the Eagles can't focus on addressing all their needs.
As far as specific players, I don't expect them to be interested in Dunta Robinson. With the exception of Asante Samuel, who is one of the top playmaking corners in the league, they've made it a point to develop their own guys in the secondary. Sheldon, Mikell, Hanson, Dawkins, Lito, Michael Lewis, Rod Hood, etc. Doubt they would look at a guy like Dunta, who has a history of injuries and isn't an elite player already.
It also sounds like Dansby has other teams in mind, and the Eagles don't typically spend a ton of money on the position. He would be a nice addition, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
THE EXTRA POINT