Can somebody explain why Tony Gonzalez isn't an Eagle?

3 reasons

1. hes old

2. this would be a 1 stop shop for him.

3. brent celek is very good and just needs to develope blocking skills.

An old TG is 10x better than LJ.

AGREED!

I agree there also, plus we sure can use the help in the red zone

He is 1 year older than McNabb!! Chad Lewis was 2 years older than Tony when he had his best year with the Eagles, and TG is the best statistical TE in the history of the NFL at the age of 32, so do not attempt to throw that worthless age claim into the mix!! The man keeps his body in tremendous shape and he has the softest hands at the TE position in the NFL, hands down!!!! That includes Witten. Let's not forget his amazing blocking ability and the fact that he could have been inspired to be on a winning team! This is beyond any form of stupidity on the Eagles part! If you were willing to get him for a 4th, and the clock is ticking, give them a 3rd and the shut us all up!!!! If the Eagles made this trade the fan base would have absolutely nothing to complain about, even if it was a complete bust!!!! We would have at least known that they care about us as fans!!!! It is obvious they don't, at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As far as the 1 stop shop argument, he is still under contract through 2009 and was only a 1 million dollar cap hit this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4 million next year, so if he didn't work out (which is highly unlikely) we would have cut our losses!! I know we would be out a 3rd rounder but the organization would have come out looking like they actually cared about their fans!!! The day Andy Reid is out of Philly will be a glorious for all Eagles fans whether you agree with me or not!!!

The so called expert fans wil say "If you look at the formula the Eagles best scouts have verified all the angles and calculation to 90 possible outcomes and determined that the angle of the dangle was not worth it!" - Heres the truth....come closer....come closer.....................a little more...........................THEY ARE CHEAP B$%TARDS THAT CARE NOTHING ABOUT WINNING SUPER BOWLS AND ONLY ABOUT PUTTING A PRODUCT OUT THAT JUST TEASES FANS SO THEY CAN TURN A PROFIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Celek just needed to develop his blocking skills - why isn't he out there????? I know that LJ is Bavaro - you are fooling yourself!

im not foolish im realistic... get off your knees and stop blowing gonzalez. celek will be out there more but the eagles are paying LJ 5 million this season to suck. and plus LJ is very strong and physical and can block very well. he just sucks at catching and holding on to the ball. We NEED a tall, fast, physical WR not an old over the hill TE that doent have much fuel left in the tank

How long ago did Andy Reid take you into his office and hypnotize you to believe this garbage!! I'm convinced that you are Andy Reid coming onto yardbarker to defend yourself under a different alias! Look I don't want to insult you because you are a fellow Eagles fan, and I respect you opinion, but our FO really shi* the bed on this one!!! TG would have paid HUGE dividends, I promise you that!!!

Good blocker? Our red zone performance suggests otherwise. Even patsies like the 49rs went through him like crap through a goose. There were plays where he was physically picked up and thrown aside like a rag doll. He did make a nice reception for a touch but they are few and far between. He may be an average tight end but with this offense we need better.

LJ is probably the worst blocking TE in the league

mmmm i dont know about that zz... hes better but i dont know about 10x

Gonzalez can still play at a high level, definitely higher than LJ Smith. He has about 3 good years left while we haven't seen one good game from a 7 year veteran in his contract year has shown 32 teams that he can't catch, can't hold onto the few catches he makes, can't block, can't run presise routes on an aging OLB who's less than 2 years removed from an ACL tear, can't line up in his right spot, and has the nerve to complain about not getting more opportunites. A 3rd round pick is nothing when you just cut one 18 months after he was drafted and don't dress the one you drafted this year!

Well said! I second everything just said. The Eagles have had 1 outstanding 3rd round pick in the last 10 years (Westbrook). 3-4 have become solid players and 50% of them were never heard from again. Billy McMullen, Ryan Moats, Matt McCoy (late 2nd), should I continue?

Not to mention that the eagles don't really use their draft picks too wisely i mean they did cut Jerome McDougle a former 1st rounder and they cut Tony Hunt a former 3rd rounder, so Instead of just releasing draft picks put them to good use!!!!!!!!!!

what you guys seem to forget is that the eagles dont target TE alot in their offense. now were would gonzalez fit in... what would we spend all that money on him for. This is a west coast offense and the TE doesnt have a huge role besides blocking. Once again i'll say it... he NEED a tall physical speedy WR not a tight end... i think alot of you eagle fans are being delusional and just want a big time player just to say we have them. get over it... we NEED a WR!!!!

Actually the tight end is supposed to play a good a part in this offense. We just don't have a CONSISTENT one yet. I will however agree with you we need that other receiver.

damn im upset that you don't know what you are talking about, because i agree that LJ is better than most people think and i love mcnabb too... but the TE is one of the biggest targets in west coast its all tight end and running back

agreed eaglesboy, can anyone say chad lewis? for anyone to say chad lewis was not effective or not anything better than what we have in lj they would have to be a moron. we are the same 8-8 team last year that could pretty roll between the 20's and do nothing in the red zone. funny how reid at the press conf. says that the fade route to baskett only works against certain defenses and that's something we shouldn't look for every week. if you're trying to fake out opposing defensive coaches by saying that then that is fine, but really you can't fool anyone and i sure as heck hope he doesn't really believe that.

Okay i agree Gonzalez would have been worth a 3rd but thats all i'd give. especially when the Patriots got moss for a 4th. but LJ is a great blocker and TE isnt a big role in this offense

DM5lover cant agree with you on this one a TE should be more involved in this offense and T.Gonzalez is going to be known as the greatest TE when his career is over. He's got alot left in the tank..... Why dont we deserve a good TE when the SKINS and Cowboys have All-World guys at that position? While I like the idea of WR we shouldve taken what was out there for the time being...

The Eagles try to target TEs a lot, they drop a lot to the point the McNabb has no trust in them. The Eagles do need a receiver, but why not go after someone the middle of opponent's defences have to pay attention to which would make it easier for DeSean to go deep and take pressure off Westbrook. It's not just receivers, it's about bringing in the best at whatever position is available.

Because the FO is content with the crap they have on the field, and they know no matter how angry the fans get you'll all be back to fill up the LInc, attend draft day parties and teh carnival and buy merchandise. I on the other hand wont, I'm tired of this fake gold stardard crap. We are no longer that, we are being surpassed by the NFC EAST. I hope this is the end of the Reid Era for real!!!!!

They tried they offered a 3rd rounder

Look its getting to the point were i dont care what we do... we need to get playmakers and get alot of pressure off westbrook and mcnabb... these guys are getting killed and we are slowly but surely running westbrook into the ground. we NEED other playmakers and we didnt get it done... i think as a team the eagles will be fine but westbrook and mcnabb will not be. i think thats why mcnabb gets injured yeart in year out because #1 he has noone to throw to and #2 westbrook is the only player the eagles have to take pressure off mcnabb

KILO... look at every other west coast offense in the nfl... the TE isnt targeted much but has a huge role blocking in a west coast offense. Some teams want a tight end who has girth, ballast and strength. For these teams, the tight end is one of the primary keys to their offensive system because he has the size and physical tools to secure the point of attack. If the tight end is able to block a defensive lineman who is positioned on the edge of the offense, then a team automatically has an increased likelihood of having a running game with just that single feature.

You also need a receiver who can get open abd catch the ball DM, which we don't have. They blew it with this one.

""what you guys seem to forget is that the eagles dont target TE alot in their offense. now were would gonzalez fit in... what would we spend all that money on him for""

well dm5lover, did you ever think the reason we don't target the TE is because we dont have one who can catch? maybe if we had a quality TE like Gonzalez we would start using him. Also im pretty sure were paying LJ more then we would be paying Gonzalez. remember he is franchised tagged, meaning he gets the average of the top 5 paid TE's. I just looked it up LJ is makin 4.5M and TG is making 4.3, so therefor hes worth it. He is a better blocker, reciever, and all around player/person. Even if he has 1 year left in him at the least, thats all LJ has aswell, his contract is up.

Were playing to win NOW not later, so spend the money, trade the draft picks, and fill the hole eagles, its now or never!

Wow I remember when we had chad lewis(A TIGHTEND WHO CAN CATCH) WE ALWAYS USED THE TIGHTEND, GREENBAY ALWAYS USED THE TIGHTEND, SEATTLE ALWAYS USED THE TIGHTEND,THE OLD 49ERS ALWAYS USED THE TIGHTEND, AND EVERY OTHER TEAM WHO EVER RAN THE WESTCOAST OFFENSE USED THE TIGHTEND, SO DM5LOVER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WEST COAST TEAM YOU WERE LOOKING AT BUT YOU NEED TO KEEP YOURMOUTH SHUT BECUZ YOU SEEM TO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WEST COAST OFFENSES, OR MAYBE YOU JUST STARTED WATCHING THE EAGLES SINCE LJ ARRIVED, IF THATS THE CASE THEN I CAN SEE WHY YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT UR TALKING ABOUT, BUT IF YOU BEEN WATCHING LONGER YOU NEED TO STFU, WE NEED A TIGHTEND AND A WIDEOUT, IF YOU THINK WE'RE FINE THAN YOUR JUST AS BLIND AS REID AND THE FRONT OFFICE, WE HAVE GLARING NEEDS ON THIS TEAM AND ANYONE WHO THINKS DIFFERENT IS JUST PLAIN STUPID, ENOUGH SAID I VENTED FOR THE NITE. GO EAGLES!!!!

Well you guys can keep dreaming because the trade deadline came at 4:00 pm... its too late now. so your saying LJ is making 200 thousand more than TG. so what do we do with LJ if we did sign TG??? sit him... that would be a waste of 4.5 million dollars. and just because you fans dont have faith in lj doesnt mean mcnabb doesnt. mcnabb has alot of trust and faith in all his players. i personally like LJ and i just think that he has had his better years behind him. he has been there clutch for mcnabb in the past and they have built a strong rapport together. Tight ends specialize in one of 2 things blocking or catching... LJ is a blocking TE in the NFL and thats what he was at rutgers. If you look at the NFL "super bowl" GIANTS kevin boss is a blocking TE and they did better with him then they did Shockey. We need a receiver with the abilities of Plaxico Buress to complete this puzzle thats all im saying. we can go back and forth on this all day long but i believe a tall, fast, physical WR is more important than a TE with great catching ability especially against the fast, strong stacked defensive lines in the NFC east.

stop worrying about TE's if we should of picked up anyone it should of been shaun alexander. Hes an improvement over buckhalter and who knows how long westbrrok is gonna be healthy for or when hell come back

NALDY GROW UP AND CHILL OUT DUDE!!! you must have your period or its past your bedtime!!!

5 keys to a west coast offense.

1. Run most of your plays with two running backs, using Standard Pro or Heavy sets. Formations include Far, I, Near Split, and Trips.

2. Design a wide variety of swing passes to the outside, for your running backs. Throw to both sides of the field and keep the patterns under 10 yards.

3. If you have two productive tight ends, keep both of them in the game during passing situations. Send them deep OCCASIONALLY.

4. Emphasize slant routes over the middle for your wide receivers. Go deep when the defense plays tighter.

5. Keep your ratio of passing and running plays to an even split.

A receiving capable tight-end is ideal and i never said it wasnt you lil b*tch im just saying that in 2004-05 season when the eagles went to the superbowl they had a tall, fast, physical receiver and i believe that if the eagles got another one of them then we would be a better offense now then we were then. i just dont think that a tight end with great hands and route running abilities would immprove our offense to be contenders for the super-bowl. We dont get the TE involved in the game as it is why would things change if we got TG. Im not trying to piss people off or start arguments im just saying that a WR should be a PRIORITY and if a good TE comes along that would be a bonus.

Naldy also as far as needs go the kicker should be #2 on that list and TE #3

i respect what you have to say just look at the offense Andy Reid has ran since hes been the head coach and he doesnt really utilize the tight end as much as WEST COAST OFFENSE MASTER Bill Walsh, or mike Holmgren did. Thats all im saying.

agreed wubanga when REID is out of here it will be a great day... i have supported REID all the way up to the loss to the bears... it was a horrible poor playcalling loss and should be a "W" on the board. The loss to the redskins just made me want to kick his ass and then no move today and just allowing the cowboys to get Roy Williams made me want to hunt him down... but im over it and as eagle fans we just need to stay positive.

HAHA na im not andy reid and im not a fan of our f.o. at this time. They have done some great things for us in the past im just not trying to look at this situation right now as a bad thing. over the past couple years us eagle fans have seen the nfc east get stronger and stronger and seeing the giants win the superbowl was a smack in the face and i dont want to get smacked in the face again by the cowboys or redskins. i feel as if there were many different ways the eagles FO could have approached the situation of signing a playmaker. I think they didnt take the idea of boldin coming here seriously, i think they lied about talking to randy moss and larry fitz, and they had a chance at roy and tony and did nothing... we just need to stay positive. i like this eagles team alot and i feel that there is alot of room for improvement and i just feel that, that improvement would start with a WR and not a tight end thats all. I DONT LIKE TO COME ONTO THIS SITE TO ARGUE WITH FELLOW EAGLE FANS IF I WANTED TO ARGUE I WOULD GO TO THE LANDRYHAT.COM. (sorry for caps) i was just trying to keep it positive with my eagle family here on yardbarker.

someone posted a comment earlier about getting a new kicker and i was pretty pumped for that!!! i would love a new kicker.

all i ask is that the eagles CUT L.J. SMITH!!! HE STINKS!!!

WHAT HAPPENED TO CELEK? HIS HANDS TURN TO STONE?

Bottom line...the Eagles could have had tony g for a 3rd rd pick and change but instead they hang onto that 3rd rounder so they can draft another bust like tony hunt in the third. same old, same old

Gonzales is a guarantee win for the Eagles. Wow, I love watching him go to work. That is too bad the eagles are sleeping on this trade.

who cares if he's old. HE is better than any of the eagles tight end. The chiefs were asking for a 3RD ROUND PICK come on that's a late pick and maybe the piece eagles needed. He would be a big threat in the eandzone. But andy reid had to be the dum and sit there and watch cowboys pick up r williams.

OMG I THOUGHT LJ SMITH WAS THE MAN .....ATLEAST THATS WHAT ALL OF U WERE BARKING BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED,AND NOW HE STINKS? U EAGLE FANS CAN NEVER MAKE UP YOUR LITTLE MINDS.

well what pisses me off is that we had a chance to make an upgrade at a much needed position, i would take a wide out before anything, i'm all for the wide out, but when we sit back and watch the other nfc teams improve, and we sit back and do nuthing, thats whats pisses me off, i was more pissed when we didnt get roy, but it hurt even worst that we didnt get anyone.