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Post by scorpion42 on Mar 20, 2009 14:18:17 GMT -7
Andy Reid says Eagles can win without Brian Dawkins
Andy Reid said he still thinks the Eagles can win the Super Bowl, even without Brian Dawkins. "You can take the team we have today and go compete for a championship in the National Football League," the Eagles' coach said. "Now, you may have to move some people around to do some things there, and we have to get a little bit more depth at some positions, but with the people we have here, we know we can compete for a championship." Reid's comments came during a discussion with an Eagles employee and were posted on the team's Web site yesterday. The Inquirer asked to speak with Reid yesterday, and the request was denied. "Change doesn't hurt," Reid said. "Sometimes it can be good, and sometimes it can be bad. The way we evaluate what we've done we think is good." Ben's Take: Andy you should worry about beating the Cardinals in a playoff game before talk Super Bowl. Since he won't say it, I will. The Eagles screwed up letting Dawkins go. -- Philadelphia Inquirer
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Post by scorpion42 on Mar 20, 2009 14:19:46 GMT -7
Andy Reid says Eagles can win without Dawkins By Bob Brookover Inquirer Staff Writer
Andy Reid said he still thinks the Eagles can win the Super Bowl, even without Brian Dawkins.
"You can take the team we have today and go compete for a championship in the National Football League," the Eagles' coach said. "Now, you may have to move some people around to do some things there, and we have to get a little bit more depth at some positions, but with the people we have here, we know we can compete for a championship."
Reid's comments came during a discussion with an Eagles employee and were posted on the team's Web site yesterday. The Inquirer asked to speak with Reid yesterday, and the request was denied.
"Change doesn't hurt," Reid said. "Sometimes it can be good, and sometimes it can be bad. The way we evaluate what we've done we think is good."
Reid was asked why the Eagles had taken a conservative approach in free agency when they have considerable salary-cap room.
"You can say it's a conservative approach, or you can just say it's smart," Reid said. "People are hesitant to say that, but . . . because you have the money, you just don't go blow it on something that you don't think is good enough quality to put on the Eagles uniform. That can be perceived different ways. We're going to try to bring in the right people here and do the right things in free agency that we feel are best for this football team. That's the way we have approached it, and I think that's the way you have to approach it."
The Eagles' most significant off-season loss was Dawkins, who played safety for the team for 13 years, including all 10 of Reid's seasons in Philadelphia.
Reid was asked why the Eagles did not complete a deal with Dawkins even though they had more than enough salary-cap room.
"You set the money aside, and we did what we thought was fair, and Denver did what they thought was fair, and they did a great job with it," Reid said. "And we move on. That's how these things work. There is no animosity towards Brian. That's just business. I think Brian understands that, we understand that, and you just go on."
Reid suggested second-year safety Quintin Demps would get the first opportunity to replace Dawkins.
"We feel like we've groomed Quintin Demps to step in and fill that position," Reid said. "If that doesn't work out, we've signed a couple of free agents in Sean Jones and Rashad Baker that we think are good football players. Are any of them Brian Dawkins? Well, no, it's not fair to compare any of them to Brian right now. But they are young guys who have the opportunity to try and strive to be as good as Brian has been."
Reid said running back Brian Westbrook would be "out-of-his-mind ready to go" for the 2009 season after off-season knee surgery.
"His procedure was basically a clean-out," Reid said. "It wasn't like they had to go in and start picking things, scraping things. There was no chisel involved, and that's a good thing."
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