With all the attention on Brian Dawkins’ exit to the Broncos, the story that got lost over the weekend was the signing of Stacy Andrews as the new right tackle. With both Tra Thomas and John Runyan being free agents, the Eagles needed to do something at both tackle positions. Prior to the start of free agency, I thought it was a close call as to which of those two guys the Eagles should bring back, although I slightly favored Runyan. With the signing of Stacy Andrews, it guarantees that John Runyan will not be coming back. It still remains to be seen if the Eagles will bring back Tra Thomas to protect McNabb’s blind side.
As for the right tackle, I think the signing of Stacy Andrews is a great pick up. He has started 29 games over the last two seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals. While he did have to have off-season knee surgery, he should be back by the beginning of training camp and a knee injury is not near as big a deal as it is for a player who needs to make quick adjustments like a running back, wide receiver or defensive back.
However, the biggest impact of this signing may actually be the effect it has on Shawn Andrews, who is Stacy’s younger brother. Shawn Andrews is the three time Pro-Bowl right guard for the Eagles. Before last year, he was clearly one of the best young lineman in the NFL. However, during last off-season, Shawn Andrews missed most of training camp as he was suffering from severe depression. Eventually, he was able to come back and he started the first two games before missing the rest of the season due to a back injury. If nothing else, hopefully the signing of older brother Stacy will help Shawn Andrews remain grounded and allow him to stay mentally healthy and ready to play.
Other Free Agent Notes
A few other thoughts about the Eagles and free agency so far:
TJ Houshmandzadeh: I know there were a lot of Eagles fans who were anxious to see the team upgrade the wide receivers by signing Houshmandzadeh. I was not one of them and was just as glad he ended up in Seattle. I think that Houshmandzadeh will suffer from what I refer to as Alvin Harper syndrome. For those who don’t remember Alvin Harper, he was the wide receiver on the Cowboys in the mid-nineties when the Cowboys were winning their Superbowls. He had very impressive stats and eventually left to get out from under the shadow of Michael Irvin and be a star receiver with Tampa Bay. How did it work out? He was not a star. Turns out, Harper was good because defenses were paying so much attention to Irvin. Houshmandzadeh has been playing opposite Chad Johnson these last few years and no doubt did not receive the attention in coverage because of it. Always be wary of #2 wide receivers who try and go to another team to be a star. It rarely works out the way the player and new team would hope it would.
Joselio Hanson: Before free agency began, the Eagles made a bold move in signing Joselio Hanson to a long term deal. You may recall that I really liked the way Hanson played but figured the Eagles wouldn’t be able to keep him as a nickel corner. The fact that the signed him to a long term deal tells me one thing: he is the future for the Eagles at cornerback or at least the Eagles see him that way. This was further played out when Lito Sheppard was traded to the Jets at the start of free agency. Anyone who didn’t see the Sheppard trade coming hasn’t been paying attention as Sheppard has wanted to be out for the last year. That being said, Hanson outplayed Sheppard this year, so it is no surprise to see the Eagles resign the younger Hanson over Sheppard. The real question this raises is what does this mean to the future of one Sheldon Brown? For now, the Eagles will probably be content to have three starting corners on their team in Assante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Joselio Hanson since they use three corners quite a bit in their defensive sets, but in the long term, I would expect to see Sheldon Brown move on. Of course, Sheldon could also become trade bait now as well. Anquan Boldin anyone?
Shawn Springs: Today the Eagles met with free agent Shawn Springs of the Washington Redskins. Springs has played cornerback throughout his twelve year career, but he would most likely be used as a safety in the Eagles defense. As a veteran presence, he would hold the position at free safety until Quintin Demps is ready to take it on full time. All in all, it probably wouldn’t be a bad deal, but if the Eagles sign him, I’ll be anxious to see how much guaranteed money is in the contract. If they have to pay a big signing bonus or guarantee a lot of money, I think I’ll go nuts because they could have done the same thing with Brian Dawkins. Somehow it always comes back to Dawkins, doesn’t it? I know, I have to let it go.
As for the right tackle, I think the signing of Stacy Andrews is a great pick up. He has started 29 games over the last two seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals. While he did have to have off-season knee surgery, he should be back by the beginning of training camp and a knee injury is not near as big a deal as it is for a player who needs to make quick adjustments like a running back, wide receiver or defensive back.
However, the biggest impact of this signing may actually be the effect it has on Shawn Andrews, who is Stacy’s younger brother. Shawn Andrews is the three time Pro-Bowl right guard for the Eagles. Before last year, he was clearly one of the best young lineman in the NFL. However, during last off-season, Shawn Andrews missed most of training camp as he was suffering from severe depression. Eventually, he was able to come back and he started the first two games before missing the rest of the season due to a back injury. If nothing else, hopefully the signing of older brother Stacy will help Shawn Andrews remain grounded and allow him to stay mentally healthy and ready to play.
Other Free Agent Notes
A few other thoughts about the Eagles and free agency so far:
TJ Houshmandzadeh: I know there were a lot of Eagles fans who were anxious to see the team upgrade the wide receivers by signing Houshmandzadeh. I was not one of them and was just as glad he ended up in Seattle. I think that Houshmandzadeh will suffer from what I refer to as Alvin Harper syndrome. For those who don’t remember Alvin Harper, he was the wide receiver on the Cowboys in the mid-nineties when the Cowboys were winning their Superbowls. He had very impressive stats and eventually left to get out from under the shadow of Michael Irvin and be a star receiver with Tampa Bay. How did it work out? He was not a star. Turns out, Harper was good because defenses were paying so much attention to Irvin. Houshmandzadeh has been playing opposite Chad Johnson these last few years and no doubt did not receive the attention in coverage because of it. Always be wary of #2 wide receivers who try and go to another team to be a star. It rarely works out the way the player and new team would hope it would.
Joselio Hanson: Before free agency began, the Eagles made a bold move in signing Joselio Hanson to a long term deal. You may recall that I really liked the way Hanson played but figured the Eagles wouldn’t be able to keep him as a nickel corner. The fact that the signed him to a long term deal tells me one thing: he is the future for the Eagles at cornerback or at least the Eagles see him that way. This was further played out when Lito Sheppard was traded to the Jets at the start of free agency. Anyone who didn’t see the Sheppard trade coming hasn’t been paying attention as Sheppard has wanted to be out for the last year. That being said, Hanson outplayed Sheppard this year, so it is no surprise to see the Eagles resign the younger Hanson over Sheppard. The real question this raises is what does this mean to the future of one Sheldon Brown? For now, the Eagles will probably be content to have three starting corners on their team in Assante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Joselio Hanson since they use three corners quite a bit in their defensive sets, but in the long term, I would expect to see Sheldon Brown move on. Of course, Sheldon could also become trade bait now as well. Anquan Boldin anyone?
Shawn Springs: Today the Eagles met with free agent Shawn Springs of the Washington Redskins. Springs has played cornerback throughout his twelve year career, but he would most likely be used as a safety in the Eagles defense. As a veteran presence, he would hold the position at free safety until Quintin Demps is ready to take it on full time. All in all, it probably wouldn’t be a bad deal, but if the Eagles sign him, I’ll be anxious to see how much guaranteed money is in the contract. If they have to pay a big signing bonus or guarantee a lot of money, I think I’ll go nuts because they could have done the same thing with Brian Dawkins. Somehow it always comes back to Dawkins, doesn’t it? I know, I have to let it go.
with this blog, I'm going to be more informed about the football season than I ever was in my lifetime! Living near Pittsburgh and now Boston, some seasons, I don't even know who some of the Eagles players are! If it wasn't for Sunday night games, I'd probably be in even worse shape. I think I'll name my next kid Houshmandzadeh Bowne.
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