A Young Rick Tocchet

Flyers drafted Steve Downie of the Windsor Spitfires (OHL) yesterday with their first round pick. He had 21 goals, 79 points, 179 pm last year. Says Downie, "I like to fight, I like to score." Amen brother.

In other Flyers news, the team traded away Todd Fedoruk to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The trade was spun as giving the popular player a chance at more ice time. Personally I would have liked to see the Flyers move Donald Brashear instead of Fedoruk, who progressed nicely in the AHL this year. Brashear spent the off-season getting suspended from a Canadian semi-pro league for goonery. Quite odd for a guy who was a moody NHL fighter.

Other Flyer picks in the draft were:

Third round, 91st overall: Oskars Bartulis, 18, a 6-foot-2, 184-pound defenseman. He played at Moncton in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He's not a scorer, but as assistant general manager Paul Holmgren said, "He's a good puck mover who should develop into a player."

Fourth round, 119: Jeremy Duchesne, a 6-0, 200-pound goalie. The American butterfly goalie from Silver Spring, Md., split time between Victoriaville and Halifax in the QMJHL. He is the son of former NHLer Gaetan Duchesne.

Fifth round, 152: Josh Beaulieu, 18, a 6-0, 180-pound center. From Windsor, Ontario, he played for London of the Ontario Hockey League and scored 22 points with 159 penalty minutes with minimal ice time. "Down the road, we think he will develop into a two-way player," Holmgren said.

Sixth round, 174: John Flatters, 18, a 6-1, 203-pound defenseman. From Calgary, he played for Brent Sutter at the Western Hockey League's Red Deer, one of the Flyers' favorite drafting grounds. "He likes to initiate contact," Holmgren said.

Seventh round, 215: Matt Clackson, 20, a 5-11, 196-pound left wing. He's from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and played for Chicago in the U.S. Hockey League. He led his club with 270 penalty minutes.

Sounds like a lot of projects, but the Flyers generally draft well. Because this years draft was relatively weak, the team stockpiled 3 picks for next year. Flyers draft picks.

Lockout officially over

The owners of the 30 NHL teams unanimously voted for the new labor deal today ending the lockout. Here are the highlights of the deal:

• There will be a 24 percent salary rollback on all existing contracts.
• The salary cap for 2005-06 will be $39 million; the floor will be $21.5 million, based on projected revenues of $1.7 billion.
• Player salaries cannot - on a leaguewide basis - take up more than 54 percent of revenues next season. In ensuing years, that percentage may increase.
• A percentage of salaries will be put into escrow until the new salary cap can be calculated at the end of each season.
• No player can earn more than 20 percent of the team cap. For the 2005-06 season, that means no player can earn more than $7.8 million.
• The age for players to become unrestricted fr ee agents will remain 31 this summer, but it gradually will drop to 27 by the end of the 2007-08 season.
• The leaguewide minimum salary rises to $450,000 from $185,000; it rises to $500,000 in the sixth year of the deal.
• Under the revenue-sharing plan, the top 10 money-making clubs will donate to a fund shared by the bottom 15 teams - from $3 million to $8 million per club.
• Under a two-way salary arbitration plan, players and owners can elect to go to arbitration. Only players had that right in the previous deal. The plan allows owners to downgrade underperforming players.
• Teams can buy players out of their contracts at two-thirds of their value at no cost toward the salary cap within 10 days of the collective-bargaining agreement officially taking effect. That is designed to help teams fit under the cap, but the clubs won't be able to re-sign those players. Teams have between tomorrow and next Friday to determine their buyouts.
• Teams will not be allowed to restructure existing player contracts in an attempt to fit a big salary under the cap.
• There will be a minimum of two drug tests a year with no advance warning. A player will receive a 20-game suspension for a first-time offense, a 60-game ban for a second offense, and a permanent suspension from the NHL after a third violation.
• There will be NHL participation in the Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, in February 2006.

I really like this agreement even though it's an overwhelming victory for the owners. I like it because it mimics in some aspects the labor agreement that has made the NFL the greatest sports league in history. The adoption of a salary cap and the revenue sharing puts teams on equal footing and maybe will lower ticket prices(?) The lowering of the highest salaries and the raising of the lowest is probably unfair to the top players but overall it benefits more people. As a balance though the top players do get to become unrestricted free agents at a younger age where they can probably get more money sooner. Also interesting is the owners now get the right to take underperforming/overpaid players to arbitration. Speaking of LeClair and Amonte, if the Flyers buy them out as expected, they can't be resigned at a lower salary. Oh well.

While I think they were largely successful in restructuring the league, they blew it on the rules.

• Institution of a shootout, to ensure that every regular-season game will have a winner.
• Goalie pads will be shrunk by about 11 percent. The width of the pads will be reduced to 11 inches and the glove, upper-body protector, pants and jersey will also be smaller.
• Goaltenders can only go behind the goal line in a trapezoid-shaped area.
• The neutral-zone edges of the blue lines will be 64 feet from the attacking goal and 75 feet from the end boards in the offensive zone. That adds 4 feet in each zone, with the thought it will increase scoring -- especially during power plays.
• Although no-touch icing wasn't added, players who make long, home-run type passes that miss their target will not be whistled for icing.

First of all the shootout is a horrible idea. It's a gimmick that basically allows a team that's getting beat as a team to steal points via an individual skills competition that's larded with a heavy dose of luck. To me an equivalent would be taking the QB, kicker, and running backs on opposing football teams and see who can throw through a swinging tire, kick long distance field goals, and do the tire drill best to settle ties. Stupid. Also where is the elimination of the 2 line pass? (they did eliminate the 2 line pass, my bad) And not adopting no-touch icing is another bad mistake but then they compounded that by allowing players to get away with bad passes. But the real problem with that is putting another easily botched judgement call in the hands of the linesmen and referee. Look for this idiocy to increase levels of referee disparagement. And still no sniff of eliminating the instigator rule. Weak.

Stupid Roenick

Taking a page from the whinin' and cryin' Phillies and/or Freddie Mitchell's playbook, poor ol' Jeremy Roenick is complaining about fans complaining.

Philadelphia Flyers center Jeremy Roenick has some advice for hockey fans who blame the NHL lockout on players' greed: Once it's finally settled, stay home.

"We're going to try to make it better for everybody, period, end of subject. And if you don't realize that, then don't come."
(...)
"We don't want you at the rink, we don't want you in the stadium, we don't want you to watch hockey," he said Saturday at the Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational in suburban Pittsburgh.
(...)
"I say personally, to everybody who called us 'spoiled,' you guys are just jealous ... we have tried so, so hard to get this game back on the ice," Roenick said.

What an idiot. The NHL has about 3 fans, 2 of which think the players were greedy. That leaves you with 1 fan and no national television contract which doesn't really matter since you don't want people to watch anyway. If you think you won't be making any money now, it can get alot worse.

And guess who else thinks the players were greedy? Who thinks it was a mistake to not take the owners offer in February and instead continue to hold out for no salary cap? That's right, other players including Jaromir Jagr and even the super genius Jeremy Roenick himself admits the same. And the fans should feel sorry for them.

I know we are going to give up probably more than any union has ever given up in the history of [professional] sports and, to me, I think that's enough to bring the fans back -- to know what their players are going to give up as much as they have in the last year," Roenick said. "If people are going to chastise professional athletes who are making a lot of money they need to look at the deal we are probably going to end up signing in the next three weeks."

Because you guys were greedy and stupid we should take pity now that you think you're getting screwed? Classic case of redirecting anger at those totally unresponsible for one's own "crappy" situation. You have no one to blame but yourself and fellow players, Roenick. The fans had nothing to do with it.

Eagles picked to be champs

As we continue to ignore the mediocre Phillies and their endless, tedious season we might as well start thinking about the Super Bowl right? USA Today did a short article that summarizes the various NFL magazine's prognostications for the upcoming season. Athlon and Street & Smith's both correctly picked the Patriots over the Eagles for last year, both have the Eagles returning, but only Street & Smith's has them winning it in Detroit. Other magazines also have the Eagles winning.

I think this ignores history. Teams that are runners-up often don't even make the playoffs let alone return to the Superbowl. And Owens of course will have a lot to do with how the Eagles fare. Andy Reid is just as wrong now when he says "the receivers are good enough" as he was before they got Owens. The receivers are good enough with Owens, they are not without him. Of course when and if he returns his subsequent behavior will also be a determining factor.

And as an aside, one stupid thing people say about Owens is that he's selfish as if that's important on the field. Is he selfish in the way that Randy Moss is selfish where he takes plays off and gives up on winning and leaves the field early? People like Eskin try and denigrate his amazing effort to get healthy enough to play in the Super Bowl as merely a selfish effort to bring attention and glory to himself. If anyone remembers, he had the best game of anyone on the field and contributed tremendously to the Eagles chances of winning that game. If only the rest of the Eagles were that "selfish". I'm not saying Owens isn't selfish and self absorbed, but who cares what his motivation is as long as it leads to the Eagles winning games.

Phantoms go for the Cup

Without the Flyer's annual Spring time choking to entertain us, Ron and I have been feverishly following Philadelphia's farm teams- the Phantoms and the Trenton Titans- as they battle it out in the playoffs. The Titans have emerged victorious, winning the ECHL's Kelly Cup. Meanwhile, The Phantoms took a 1-0 lead in the Calder Cup finals with their victory over Chicago last night. Game 2 of the Calder Cup finals will be on Comcast Saturday night at 8pm. Watch if only to see some genuine Flyers stars of the future in Jeff Carter and Mike Richards.

So what have the Phantoms done to prepare for the Cup run? Watch a lot of movies, apparently. Check out this review of Gladiator by tough guy Josh Gratton:

I would like to think I pattern myself after the main character in the movie, Maximus. That boy could really kick some you know what. I'd say it's one of the better movies that have come out recently. I think it even won best picture. I highly recommend it.

Read others Phantom's opinions (including Todd Fedoruk's sweet review of Napoleon Dynamite) here.

Sixers can another coach

Unlike the Phillies who insist on second chances cubed and continue to go with what will never work, the Sixers seem to be in a hurry to jettison their mistakes and they dumped Jim O'Brien only a year after hiring him. I like Cheeks but I'm just afraid they hired him because it's a popular move with the fans. Also, it never seems to work out when teams hire fan favorites to coach their former teams. Oh well, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

NA-NA-NA-NA, HEY-HEY-HEY, GOO-OOOOD BYE!!!

Alas, the disgruntled underachieving sucker is gone. It wasn't until this year that I had issues with Freddie. I had maintained several times on this board that it wasn't his fault he was a 1st rounder. I thought he did his job well: posession receiver who wasn't afraid to go across the slot. Then, he started grumbling, and running his yap against his own teammates and hall of fame superbowl champion coaches. That was enough.

Freddie, we've all seen and heard plenty of you. We won't miss you. May it not take you 3-4 seasons to put up numbers worthy of a single season, ya DOG! Thanks for 4-26. Your 14 second scramble to get open by a tenth of a stride wasn't impressive.

P.S. Don't call Eskin up during next season. We've heard enough from you.

At least they won a game

Another Philadelphia team, another season without a championship. No one seriously thought the Sixers would be able to beat the Pistons and I even thought they would get swept. But after game 3 they stirred some hope. They should have won game 4 but blew it with a combination of stupidity and very unclutch shooting. To be up by 9 in the 4th quarter at home and lose in OT something is wrong with you. Weak.

Last night once again showed why people love Allen Iverson, even though he seems to have picked up a touch of Emmitt Smith Exaggerarted Injury Syndrome (ESEIS). While there was pretty much no hope he still gave it his all. That's what the sports fan wants maybe even more than winning. I also want some competent refereeing but that truly is too much to ask.

Iverson had a great series except for maybe game 2. Dalembert really stepped up and played with a fire I really hadn't seen before. I was actually impressed but enough with the drives from the top of the key and fadeaway jumpers please. Webber was his usual inconsistent self and he didn't deliver last night. What he is consistent at is disappointing Sixers fans. Iguodala was what you expect from a rookie in his first playoff series. He should maybe have been a little more assertive offensively but you can't complain about the defense. Well maybe you can because he was on Hamilton or Prince, who both lit the Sixers up but then again those guys are really good. The other starter that was new to the playoffs, Korver, was horrible. If you're not going to hit a shot and you're a defensive liability why are you on the court? From the bench, Willie Green was alright, Mark Jackson totally lost any game he had once the playoffs started and was the worst player on the team, Rodney Rodgers was good for a couple minutes in game 3 but didn't do much else, and I don't remember anyone else contributing anything.

So in the end the best player was Iverson but you need the better team to win. There's always next year, for the 1,000,000,000th time.

The draft

First Pick - Mike Patterson

One of the premier nose guards in the collegiate ranks, Mike Patterson was nicknamed "Baby Sapp," as his style of play is very similar to that of Oakland's Warren Sapp. Both rely on their suddenness off the snap, instincts and aggression to make plays in the backfield, despite yielding considerable bulk and size to the offensive linemen ... Patterson has excellent quickness and plays with recklessness and an aggressive style. He shows good pursuit speed to cover ground from sideline to sideline. Might be a little too short to play the two-gap system, but his explosion, long arms and strength make him ideal to handle the trash and double teams at nose guard. Patterson plays very quick in the short area, as his clocked 40-yard speed indicates. Does a very good job of avoiding blockers and making plays.

This guy wasn't a first round pick in any of the mock drafts I quickly scanned but he benches 520 and squats 700 and still runs a 4.83 40. Warren Sapp is his favorite player. I hate Warren Sapp.

Second pick - Reggie Brown

Brown is a very athletic pass catcher with excellent field vision and determination ... Has good overall muscle development, tight waist, good bubble and knotted calves* ... Off the snap, he shows good quickness to get into his routes and does a very good job of dropping his weight to get in and out of his cuts ... Works the short to intermediate routes well, displaying good body control and the ability to adjust to the poorly thrown ball ... Has good sideline awareness and the ability to catch outside his frame ... Will make the tough catch in traffic and can snatch and pluck the ball with ease

The negatives:

While he has the strength to gain yardage after the catch and good initial quickness, he is not a blazer and lacks the second gear to accelerate instantly ... Runs crisp short and intermediate routes, but rounds his cuts and breaks too early on the ball on deep routes ... Has made marked improvement reading zone coverage schemes, but struggles to maintain concentration on the ball, resulting in drops of easy passes ... Will disappear for stretches on the field, especially when he is not involved in the play

Seems like the perfect replacement for FraudEx, but at least Fraud caught most everything.

Third pick - Matt McCoy

McCoy is a product of hard training, having joined the Aztec program as a 200-pounder and developing into the 235-pound tackling machine that he is today. Blessed with sudden explosion off the snap, he teamed with Kirk Morrison to give San Diego State a punishing 1-2 punch in their linebacker unit. ... Has a short, but solid frame with good chest thickness, muscular arms and legs, good bubble and tight waist* ... Sudden, explosive mover who plays with very good effort and energy ... Instinctive athlete with good body control and change-of-direction agility ... Reads and reacts with a quick first step to attack at the point ... Has a nose for the ball and will not be fooled by misdirection ... Plays low to the ground and fast, seldom getting blocked when he explodes off the edge ... Readily avoids and slips past blocks and plays strong for his size, never giving blockers a clear shot at his body ... Drops back fluidly in pass coverage and breaks sharply coming out of his backpedal.

This guy seems good and fast but a little small -- another Simoneau? A criminal justice major genius.

Fourth pick - Ryan Moats

Moats is a jitterbug type of runner with excellent quickness through the rush lanes. The Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year ... Has a stout build, with broad shoulders, thick thighs and smooth skin* ... Shows suddenness coming out of his stance ... Has a quick initial burst and suddenness to gain advantage ... Accelerates through the holes, doing a nice job of keeping his feet while working through traffic ... Picks and slides with ease in the hole, displaying a proper feel for the cutback ... Doesn't create much on his own, but makes good adjustments on the move ... Not an inside power runner, but compensates with his ability to pick and slide through the trash ... Not a vocal leader, but lets his actions talk for him (good team player)

Seems like a Westbrook type of player except Westbrook can create on his own. Is a Basic and Career Studies major and has smooth skin.

*Doesn't this stuff sound somewhat like something you'd hear at a slave auction?

Who will the Eagles pick?

Below are a bunch of "experts" best guesses. This year's draft has disagreement right from the start so knowing the Eagles pick at 31, take all this with a large rock of salt and remember how great they did last year.

Eagles needs seem to be filling the annual wide receiver hole, tight end because Chad Lewis appears on his way out, defensive line especially at the Corey Simon spot, running back probably but maybe that can wait till next year, and they can always use more offensive lineman and linebackers. I don't think they'll draft a wide receiver, linebacker, or running back early. A tight end or defensive lineman is my guess for their first pick. The player I hope they draft in the later rounds is Craphonso Thorpe for obvious reasons.

First Round Guesses

About.com
Heath Miller, TE Virginia
The Eagles could use another weapon at wideout, but Miller can do as much to loosen up opposing defenses as any receiver Philadelphia could add at this point, and he is a tremendous value this late in the round. The Eagles also like to run a lot of two-tight end sets, and with Chad Lewis and Mike Bartum nearing the end of their careers, bringing in some youth should be a priority.

The Sporting News
Matt Roth, DE Iowa
The Eagles lost free-agent defensive end Derrick Burgess and are looking for a two-way replacement to play opposite Jevon Kearse, who will get pressure off the edge and play strong run defense. Roth plays with nonstop hustle and sometimes gets a little out of control. To adapt to Jim Johnson's upfield scheme, Roth would need to improve his pass-rush discipline to match his great potential.

TSN
Roscoe Parrish, WR Miami
This is a need pick and might be a reach, but Terrell Owens needs a little help. Parrish is a speedy player who could play the slot position in Philly's offense. He is also a dynamic punt returner, which would alleviate RB Brian Westbrook from that maintaining that responsibility.

Don Banks on SI.com's site
Reggie Brown, WR Georgia
Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell are simply not enough of a threat to keep folks off No. 1 receiver Terrell Owens. Brown turned a few heads with a good week at the Senior Bowl, and he has nice size and reliable hands.

Don Banks on philly.com's site
Demarcus Ware, DE/OLB Troy

CBS Sportsline's 3 experts
Anttaj Hawthorne, DT Wisconsin
It would have been nice to control the Patriots up the middle.
Kevin Burnett, LB Tennessee
Eagles start collecting depth with eyes toward the future.
Heath Miller, TE Virginia
They need a player to replace Chad Lewis. Miller has slipped some, but he's still the best tight end.

Yahoo Sports
Matt Jones, WR, Arkansas
The former Razorbacks' quarterback is making the switch to wide receiver. It's rare that a player who switches skill positions when he enters the league is picked in the top-10. Then again, it's rare that a player stands 6-6 and weighs 240 lbs., yet is able to run a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash. We'll feel even more confident in this sleeper projection if the Eagles make good on the rumors that they intend to release or trade loudmouth wideout Freddie Mitchell.

Fox Sports
Barrett Ruud, ILB Nebraska
Linebacker is the only weak link on an elite Eagles defense. Jim Johnson likes to blitz from everywhere and needs smart, playmaking linebackers to be most effective. Ruud, a versatile defender, isn't the most gifted athlete, but he plays smart and has great character, both important traits to the team.

Frank Coyle, Draft Insiders' Digest via USA Today
Chris Henry, WR West Virginia

NFL Draft Countdown
Roddy White, WR U.A.B.
In recent years the Eagles have been very proactive when it comes to the draft, not afraid to trade up for a specific player they have targeted. That will likely be the case again this year since they have so many choices, all of which can't possibly make their roster. When all is said and done look for them to package a number of picks and move up for a shot at someone like Travis Johnson since that is a position they are looking at considering Corey Simon's long-term future with the team is in doubt. However, since it doesn't make sense to predict trades the best player available on the board for them is White, who will provide them with depth and insurance with the Terrell Owens situation lingering. Todd Pinkston has been a disappointment on almost a weekly basis and now appears afraid to catch the ball where he might be hit while Freddie Mitchell's bark is much worse than his bite (just ask Rodney Harrison) so to land White here would be a coup. White is an underrated player who many don't know a lot about but he is a dynamic receiver with a great combination of size and speed who is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball due to his ability to run after the catch. Philly could also be looking defensive tackle here with guys like Johnson, Shaun Cody and Luis Castillo being possibilities and with the losses of Nate Wayne and Ike Reese linebacker depth is a major concern as well so don't rule out names like Darryl Blackstock and Kevin Burnett either.

Second Round Guesses

35. Ciatrick Fason, RB Florida
63. Elton Brown, OG Virginia

35. Justin Tuck, DE Notre Dame
63. Roscoe Parrish, WR Miami

Iverson Leads Sixers Into Playoffs

Ok, I don't really care much at all, but there's nothing else going on in Philly sports right now (I heard them talking about another freakin' horse on WIP yesterday).

Is Iverson really learning how to share the ball (12 more assists last night), or is this just a byproduct of playing bad teams? Angelo was adamant about his quest to guarantee the Sixers will not win a single playoff game, but I gotta believe they can do that - but not much more.

BOOOOOOOOO! to T.O.!

Will TO Prove To Be A Boobie?

First of all, I have no issue w/ TO and his contract desires if he shows up to training camp in August and plays hard on the field. Can't rip him personally for trying to get a new contract, so long as his behavior is hard working and competitive and team oriented. Fine, skip the voluntary and "mini" camps in the off-season. I expected some of that. But, once training camp starts, he better be there.

However, I have no desire to see his latest contract complaints satisfied. He's in the NFL, where there are no guaranteed deals. It is the greatest thing for the sport and the reason why the NFL is the only professional sports league worth following anymore. The players all have incentives to play hard with a good part of their upside money on the line. And just because the teams can cut a player at any time, doesn't mean it is a lopsided deal for the players. They are guaranteed their signing bonuses. If the player gets injured or starts sucking, who eats that? Yes, the teams do.

TO signed a contract. He WANTED to play for the Eagles and claims that the Eagles used that to strong-arm his numbers. I say he USED the Eagles to get him out of a place he didn't want to go. Why didn't he just fight the situation by himself and once a free agent go make his deals? There was VALUE to him in having the Eagles sign him and fight for him. He said he wanted to play for the Eagles, cuz they were winners and he was the missing link. Well, he proved to be just that and the Eagles went to the Superbowl. There was VALUE in that. He also said he wanted to play for DMac and that there was value in that over his former supposedly not-straight QB. Now he rips DMac as out of shape. I wonder how long until DMac is dubbed not-straight. TO got a signing bonus that he was hapy with at the time. He took the security offered by that money and opted out of more money in the base salary. Now he wants to undo that, given his solid performance last year. Gee, I want those options contracts back that I sold on Qualcomm 10 years ago, since the stock turned out to far outdo the money I got for the options. What a joke. Maybe I can blame my stock broker for a tip he gave me that was bad and I FOLLOWED, just like TO is blaming an agent he formerly employed. Sheesh, where does it end? Stand up and take some accountability for yourself amidst your verbal public bickering.

TO, quit your whining or go back to being property of the 49ers/Ravens. That's what you are if you're not an Eagle and the current contract is bogus.

Big Daddy B

Eagles 2005 schedule

Sep 12 @ Atlanta 9:00pm
Sep 18 San Francisco 1:00pm
Sep 25 Oakland 1:00pm
Oct 2 @ Kansas City 1:00pm
Oct 9 @ Dallass 4:15pm
Week 6 BYE
Oct 23 San Diego 1:00pm
Oct 30 @ Denver 4:15pm
Nov 6 @ Washington 8:30pm
Nov 14 Dallass 9:00pm
Nov 20 @ N.Y. Giants 1:00pm
Nov 27 Green Bay 4:15pm
Dec 5 Seattle 9:00pm
Dec 11 N.Y. Giants 4:05pm
Dec 18 @ St. Louis 4:15pm
Dec 24 @ Arizona 4:05pm
Jan 1 Washington 4:15pm

Is it me or is this year's schedule easier than last year's?

Highlights

So I watched some of the Phillies game last night. It was pretty boring but the Sixers were also blowing a 25 point lead at the same time so between the 2 of them I managed to stay mildy entertained.

The highlight of the Phillies game occurred in the 8th inning as Worrell was blowing the lead and the Nationals were hitting around. They showed Trotter on the big video screen and the loudest cheer of the night erupted followed by E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES! cheers reverberating around the stadium. These were then interupted by boos directed at the Phailing Phils.

Should He Stay Or Go?

The Birds are trying to deal Corey Simon for a couple of picks, but it isn't clear who has their best poker face on. The "TAG" did seem a bit pricey and some sort of a bluff. Does Simon really want to stay in Philly? Is he using this trade idea to figure out what his real longer term value is before signing a realistic multi year deal with the Eagles? I certainly wouldn't mind a couple of picks for him, but if the Eagles can reduce his price and sign him for a few years, that may be best.