Trade voided: Welcome back, Ronnie Brown!

Apparently the Eagles won't be able to get rid of Ronnie Brown after all.  Due to Jerome Harrison not passing his physical with the Eagles, the trade of Harrison and a 7th round pick for Brown has been voided.  That's too bad because Harrison felt like a much better fit for the Eagles offense.

Welcome back, Ronnie Brown!  I have a feeling we will continue to see much more of Dion Lewis from here on out.  Don't count on Brown getting another goal line carry any time soon.

RB swap: Eagles deal Ronnie Brown, re-acquire Jerome Harrison

Ronnie Brown won't ever have a chance to redeem himself to Eagles fans for his atrocious pitch at the goal-line against the Niners.  At the NFL trade deadline today, the Eagles dealt Brown to the Lions for Jerome Harrison and a 2013 7th round pick.

Brown exits the team as a player without a role in the Eagles system.  Whether it was due to the emergence of Dion Lewis or because of his goal-line gaffe, Brown was a forgotten man in the Eagles offense the last few weeks.  He will likely take on a big role with the Lions as insurance for the injured Jahvid Best.

As for Harrison, he should fit right back into the Eagles scheme that he thrived in as a backup to LeSean McCoy last year.  Expect Harrison to share duties with Lewis but he should continue to be a nice change of pace back and a recieving threat out of the backfield.  I had hoped the Eagles would bring Harrison back in the offseason so this trade allows them to correct their mistake in letting him go.

The 7th round pick in the deal is simply a bonus.  I'm not sure why the Lions had to throw in the pick since the two backs are pretty even in terms of skills.

Eagles downward slide continues in choke against Niners

We have a disaster on our hands, Eagles fans.  After making a number of mistakes in the first half and still building a 20-3 lead, the Eagles allowed the Niners to score the final 21 points of the game to win, 24-23.  Here are my thoughts on a brutal loss for the Eagles:

-Were do we place the blame for that loss?  On the defense that still can't stop the run?  On Jeremy Maclin for not protecting the football?  On the rookie kicker who can't make a chip shot?  On the defensive coordinator who is clearly overmatched?  How about on the coach who put this mess together?  I've never been a "fire Andy Reid" guy but something has to give after what happened today.  The pieces are all there but this isn't working.

-I don't have a clue how to fix this defense with the current personnel.  You have to be able to stop the run, which they can't do.  You also can't let Alex Smith throw for 291 yards.  How you can have three of the best corners in the game and let the Niners crop of mediocre receivers be open all game long is a complete mystery.

-One guy who is giving his max effort on defense is Jason Babin.  He was disruptive all game long and picked up three sacks.  The d-line continues to consistently create pressure but the rest of the D is letting them down.

-Another guy I can't blame for this loss is Michael Vick.  He had a few bad throws here and there but at least he was busting his butt on every play.  With the offensive line still barely able to block anyone, Vick made the most out of what he was given.  His career high 416 yards passing and 75 yards rushing only added up to 23 points, though, and that just isn't enough.

-How about giving LeSean McCoy more than 9 carries?

-David Akers must be dying of laughter right now.  Alex Henery is a rookie and games like this will happen but he had two chances to put the game away and couldn't do it.  Akers missed one, too, but a million bucks says he doesn't miss that 4th quarter attempt from 33 yards.

-I almost forgot about Ronnie Brown.  What the heck was he thinking?  That could have been the worst play I've seen a professional football player ever make.  Even high school kids don't do that.

Something has to give with this team, something has to be changed.  Someone needs to get fired or this is all going to keep happening.  I'm not looking forward to the game against a good Bills team next week at all.  At least we have the Phillies!

Ronnie Brown is a genius

Your guess is as good as mine as to what Ronnie Brown was thinking on this attempted throw while being tackled at the goalline.  If he wasn't a veteran he would be cut after such a bone-headed play.

The positives and negatives from the Eagles third preseason game

Now that's more like it. A week after looking lackluster, the Eagles bounced back in their third preseason game, beating the Browns 24-14. I don't have time to get too in depth on the game but here are some of the positives and negatives I noticed:



Positives:



Secondary: Yeah, these guys are pretty good. From Asante Samuel's pick to DRC's blocked field goal to Nnamdi covering like glue and drawing a penalty, is there nothing they can't do?



Special Teams: Two fumble recoveries on punts and a blocked field goal, their second of the preseason, means Bobby April has plenty to smile about tonight.



Running backs: This group is stacked. With LeSean McCoy catching everything in sight, Ronnie Brown looking like the best backup in the league and Dion Lewis looking like a dynamic threat, the Eagles have a ton of weapons in the backfield. Heck, even the quarterbacks are good running backs on this team.



Kurt Coleman: A great game and a big hit mean he could be targeted to start at safety in Week 1.



Negatives:



The offensive line: Rookies Danny Watkins and Jason Kelce were a nightmare from the start, letting the Browns D-line have free shots at Michael Vick. They shaped up as the game went on but the Eagles, and Vick specifically, will be in serious trouble if they don't improve quickly. I think its time to give Jamaal Jackson his job back.



Wide Receivers: The running game was working and so were the dump-offs to McCoy so the receivers were a complete non-entity tonight, with none picking up more than 2 catches. This group really just needs to get healthy and the line needs to give Vick more time to look downfield.

Eagles sign RB Ronnie Brown

The Eagles are killing this free agency thing. Needing a backup running back, the Eagles have signed former Dolphin Ronnie Brown to a one year deal. Though Brown is a step or two slower than he was in his prime, he does have a thousand yard season under his belt and is a solid pass-catching back.

Brown should be an excellent backup for LeSean McCoy. The 6 year veteran fits the Eagles mode of a dual threat out of the backfield and he will be a contributor on third down. While his yards per carry dipped below 4 last season, Brown will thrive in a limited role. Should McCoy go down with an injury, Brown is capable of carrying the load for a few weeks. Brown also has some experience in the Wildcat so don't be surprised if the Eagles pull out that trick sometime this season.

The Eagles have addressed just about every hole in their roster with a quality player. All that is left is some insurance at linebacker but the Eagles might not view that as a priority. I personally wouldn't call them a "dream team" but, on paper, this is the best Eagles team ever assembled.