Philadelphia Eagles, cheap?
Jack McCaffery renews my faith in him being an idiot today. Good for him. Today McCaffery argues that Jeff Garcia got the “T.O. Treatment.” Whatever the hell that means. Did Garcia get suspended? Did the Eagles garnish his wages?
McCaffery also commits a cardinal sin in my book, when he calls the Philadelphia Eagles cheap. Nothing could be farther from the truth. People like to throw around this cheap moniker without actually caring to do any kind of research on the matter. Angelo Cataldi is a big offender here.
This is why I love sports writers. They love to float half baked opinions as facts, and in today’s information age, the practice just doesn’t cut it anymore. So the Eagles are cheap you say? I can see how the uninformed could derive such an opinion, as the Eagles are notorious for letting high profile veterans fly the coup. Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, Hugh Douglas, Jeremiah Trotter, and now Jeff Garcia.
Well lets do a little research shall we? Below is the total payroll for all NFL teams spanning from 2002 through 2005. All of this data is readily available on USAToday.com, but why would anyone waste his/her time to actually fact check an opinion?
Top Ten NFL Teams Total Payroll 2002-2005
ATL: $351,484,610
HOU: $340,589,013
SEA: $337,158,888
PHL: $337,065,140
OAK: $334,405,448
WAS: $330,046,303
NYJ: $327,161,752
CHI: $320,930,666
NYG: $320,038,767
NOS: $318,718,579
So the Eagles are actually the fourth biggest spender in the NFL from 2002 through 2005. A couple more questions:
Were the Eagles cheap when they made Donovan McNabb the highest paid player in NFL history (2002)?
Were the Eagles cheap when they made Brian Dawkins the highest paid safety in NFL (2003)?
Were the Eagles cheap when they made Jevon Kearse the highest paid defensive lineman in NFL history (2004)?
And to think, these guys get paid a full-time wage to publish this nonsense.
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Posted on February 28, 2007 by Dave | Filed Under Philadelphia
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What an idiot. The Eagles are smart not cheap, they spend money wisely and if they feel they can replace high priced veterans with youth then thats what they do by drafting well. Is any Eagles fan saying I wish they would have resigned Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent now that Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard filled their shoes? Why is Garcia and Stallworth getting so much attention? The Eagles are smart by focusing on defense. They also have a long term back up for McNabb in signing Feeley which in my opinion was a smarter move - both in a football and financial sense. The Eagles receivers are good enough to get the job done as well.
- Philadelphia Sports News
As much as I like to defend Jack, you one-upped him here, Dave.
The Eagles have spent more money than the Redskins? Wow, that’s hard to believe.
I hate to keep picking on the guy but he provides so much good material.
“The Eagles have spent more money than the Redskins? Wow, that’s hard to believe.”
The Redskins have signed big contracts, but they haven’t always paid the actual big bucks, since the contracts are backloaded, and the players frequently cut or traded after only a year or two.
The USA Today wesbite shows the actual cash outlay teams have made - salary + bonuses. Almost every year, the Eagles are right up at the top, just as Dave shows.
Awesome analysis. And all along I bought into the “Eagles are cheap” myth with the caveat that they are also smart. But I was wrong…not only wrong, but duped. How embarrassing.
go job, somebody should pay you.
I totally agree. I think I should be showered with money.
It is simple. Every team that does not win the Super Bowl and still has cap room is cheap. Either spend more money, or spend the money you do more wisely. There is only one team each year that can completely validate the money they spent. Everybody else is just fooling themselves. This is not Pop Warner, you do not get an award for participation. One team finishes 1st and the rest finish last. The better you do without winning simply means poorer (and cheaper) picks come draft time. So are we cheap or incompetent. I would rather be considered cheap.
Matt are you Ricky Bobby? “If you’re not first you’re last.”
Way too black and white. I really don’t get the logic. In the salary cap era, teams cannot max out their cap every year and expect to consistently win anything. Every year you’d be forced to cut numerous players in order to stay within the cap. Historically, teams that are active in free agency don’t win anything. Look at the Colts - 21 or their 22 starters last year were home grown. Super Bowl.
I understand the point you are making, but I am consisently plagued by one question. Is one Super Bowl win worth a few years of mediocrioty? I am pushing 25 years of being a Philly fan (every year of my life) and just like all the rest I am desperate for one year, one moment, that we can call our own.
I agree - I want a championship too. I’m 28 years old. I have never experienced it. But, here’s my question, who was the last freak Super Bowl winner? Just look at the past Super Bowl Champs, every single team was consistently good for a number of years prior to their Super Bowl victory. There aren’t many losing teams that sign a whole host of free agents, and go on to win the Super Bowl.
True. But there are plenty of teams that win Super Bowls after having been a good team and then making some small changes. So far the small changes we have made have not amounted to much of a difference. So, what do you think can change this?