The Philadelphia Eagles have made the first big splash in free agency.

The Eagles and free agent cornerback Asante Samuel have agreed to terms on a 6 year deal worth an estimated $60 million.

A press conference was held at the Eagles NovaCare practice facility Friday afternoon to announce the signing of the best cornerback on the market, and one of the best FA players overall. This is undoubtedly a huge move for the Eagles, and they locked down Samuel before he could visit other interested teams like Tampa Bay and New Orleans. If you recall, a few years back they were in line to land FA LeCharles Bentley, only to have him sign with Cleveland. The Eagles have truly bolstered their secondary with this pro bowl signing.

Asante Samuel’s numbers the past 2 years:

2006: 15 GP - 64 tackles - 14 PD - 10 INT for 120 yds

2007 : 16 GP - 44 tackles - 18 PD - 6 INT for 89 yds and 1 TD

Not only does Samuel bring you great coverage in zone or man styles of defense, but he has terrific speed and has a downright nasty instinct of where the ball is going. He has played in at least 15 regular season games in 4 of his 5 NFL seasons. This is a stark contrast to Lito Sheppard, who has been quite injury prone in his young career.

With the signing of this superstar, the Eagles have to make a decision on said disgruntled corner Lito Sheppard. He has made it public that he is unhappy with his current contract, and if the Eagles can find the right deal for a WR (Roy Williams, Larry Fitzgerald are both big rumors), Lito will most certainly be packaged in that deal. That news is still yet to come.

In other Free Agency news, the Eagles are very close to signing former Oakland Raider defensive end Chris Clemons to a deal as well. Pending a physical, the talented pass rusher could sign with the team as early as Saturday. He had 8 sacks last season, and would likely swap in and out of the now open DE position with Victor Abiamiri.

In about 90 minutes free agency will officially begin in the NFL. This is a huge time for players who are finally free agents, or players that signed one year deals last year to avoid hold outs, can finally get their big pay day. This is also a time for owners and franchises to become aggressive to make their team a threat months before the play actually begins. In 2004 the Eagles made a couple a moves you might remember on the first day of free agency. Kearse and Owens anyone? Fast forward to 2008: what’s the market have to offer? Well, there isn’t a lot. But in the small number of good free agents, there are some very talented football players. Some notable FA’s include CB - Asante Samuel, LB - Lance Briggs, and RB - Marion Barber.

The Eagles finished 8-8 last year, winners of their last 3 games and look to have a healthy Donovan McNabb back under center. There is no reason this team shouldn’t be towards the top of the NFC again if they fix a few holes. In accordance, the big, big rumor swirling around the Birds right now is cornerback Asante Samuel. There are rumors on just about every site about it, but it’s beginning to pick up heat. Samuel, a pro bowler this past year, would be a significant help to the Eagles secondary. Strangely enough, the once fantastic secondary is the weakest part of the defense. The line is coming into it’s own (spare one more DE) and the line backing crew is getting better and is very young for the most part as well. So, what would Samuel mean for the Eagles?

Whether or not you send Sheldon Brown to safety if you get Samuel is up in the air. Let’s say you do, then your starting secondary looks something like this: CB - Sheppard, Samuel, S - Brown, Dawkins. That’s 3 pro bowlers plus Sheldon Brown: not too shabby. If you Keep Sheldon at corner though, the move still makes sense. Hasalio Hanson signed a tender today to stay with the Eagles, and why not? He played real well down the stretch last year. But you don’t want to rely on him if this team is going to go far. If you sign Samuel, the Eagles would have 3 great cornerbacks (Sheppard, Brown, Samuel) to rotate in 2 spots, with 1 of them playing primarily on nickel and dime situations.

McNabb and other Eagles are clamoring for a playmaker, and Samuel obviously, is not the offensive player he was talking about. But you need to get better in the back of this defense if you’re the Eagles, and signing Samuel would do that. If you go through with this, the Eagles will still have plenty of money to pursue the other things needed via trade, free agency, or lastly..through the draft: a DE, a WR, and OL (tackle or guard).

A lot of mock drafts have the Eagles taking an O-lineman in the draft. I think that a “boring pick” of an 0-lineman would go over better in Eagles nation if they do make this splash in free agency in about…75 minutes. There’s lots of things to talk about as we get closer to midnight for the weeks and months ahead. The Eagles need to be agressive. One rumor: sign Samuel and trade Sheppard and 1st round pick to Arizona for Larry Fitzgerald. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, that’s nowhere close to even happening. But…it is nice to think about isn’t it?

Dave: C- Although they remain the best team in the NHL, they have struggled of late. They went on an eight game losing streak not long ago and have still not completely gotten themselves out of the funk. They got a pretty good defensive player in Brad Stuart at the trade deadline but that won’t be enough to light the fire under the skates of these guys. Brian Rafalski, captain Nic Lidstrom and the fossil that holds what once was the remains of Chris Chelios are all injured so they definitely needed to make a move on D but they needed more.

Jeff: D This team has really struggled and to think that Brad Stuart is the solution to all of their problems is ridiculous. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dallas passes them in the standings.

Dave: A++ I didn’t realize how close the Stars were to being the class of the West. My mistake. Don’t sleep on this team. They thought they were one player away from beating the Red Wings and they found their man; Brad Richards. The Stars are a great defensive team and now Mike Modano has a playmaker to score goals with. Look for Dallas to make a serious push to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Jeff: A++. This team was already great and to add a player of Brad Richards’ caliber is huge. He will do wonders for that already explosive offense, which will likely result in the President’s Trophy. Great contender to hoist Lord Stanley.

Dave: C The Wild are already a pretty tough team so I’m not too sure what the thought process was behind acquiring wild child Chris Simon from the Islanders but kudos to New York for getting him off their hands, he’s a heap of trouble both on and off the ice. They probably could have used another scoring forward to distance themselves from the Calgary Flames who are hot on their tail.

Jeff: A - The Wild did not really do anything, and for good reason. They added the convict Chris Simon from the Isles. Why? I’m not really sure, but the team was already solid.

Dave: B I dig the non-move from the Ducks. They are already a strong team and recently got Teemu Selanne to come out of retirement and he is just getting hot. They might not repeat, but the Ducks are just as big a force in the West as they were last year.

Jeff: B. The defending Stanley Cup Champions did not really add much to their team and can you really blame them? They won the Cup last year. I do, however, give them a B because they traded Andy McDonald away earlier in the season, which left me scratching my head.

Dave: A+ The Sharks were already a scary good team. They added one of the most sought after defensemen in Brian Campbell. His ability to move the puck will only help the Sharks score more goals. They are pretty good on the other side of the puck (and got better defensively with Campbell also) and have a great goaltender in Evgeni Nabakov.

Jeff: A The Sharks added coveted defenseman Brian Campbell from the Sabres to help shore up their defense. Great move, did not seem like they gave up a lot except for the fact that Bernier scored 2 goals and added an assist in his first game with his new team. They should be a tough team come playoff time.

Dave: D They gave up Matt Cooke who looks to be a good fit in Washington and didn’t really do much to improve the team. Sooner or later Roberto Luongo is going to get fed up playing for another mediocre team.

Jeff: C+ Now the Canucks had to have seen the moves being made in the conference (Campbell and Richards in particular) and the best they could do was pick up Matt Pettinger from the Caps? I feel they needed a little more to help out the twins (Sedin brothers) and Borat (Loungo) to improve their ranking in the standings.

Dave: B- Apparently the Av’s are looking to bring their Stanley Cup team back together. Look for Ray Bourque and Patrick Roy to come out of retirement and join Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote. The verdict is still out on both of these aging players. Forsberg is a huge question mark with a still injured right foote (sorry, I couldn’t help myself).

Jeff: A - They were already getting Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny back from injuries and illnesses, but to bring back some of the Cup team from the mid 90’s should help with the younger players. Who knows if Forsberg will play a game, or if Foote can go back to his “glory days” but at least they have tried to improve their team. Could be just enough to get into the playoffs.

Dave: F The Predators are on the verge of a playoff spot and apparently they aren’t aware of it. At least Colorado made an effort to get better. I don’t really understand the lack of a move on Nashville’s part. Look for the Av’s to distance themselves from the Preds in the playoff race.

Jeff: D - Earth to Nashville??? hello? anyone there? They held the 8th and final spot before the deadline and will now surely fall for their lackluster effort at improving their team for a playoff run. Did they not see all of the teams improving their respected clubs? Especially Colorado. Jan Hlavac and Brandon Bochenski are definitely not the missing pieces to the puzzle for a Stanley Cup run.

Check back tomorrow when Jeff and I break down the Eastern Conference playoff race and who the biggest winners and losers were at the trade deadline.

It took guts for John Stevens to put Danny Briere in the third and final slot of a shootout for the second time in a week amid his slump which resembled the horridness of the team’s 10 game winless drought. What was perhaps even more surprising was that Briere made the shot. The Philly fans helped warm up Briere for the senseless booing he received in his former city of Buffalo, yet the $6.8M man proved he didn’t totally forget how to put the puck in the net.

After the Flyers put an end to the grueling 10-game, they took a step towards a playoff berth when they acquired Vaclav Prospal from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defensive prospect Alexandre Picard and a conditional pick in 2009. This is a pretty good trade on both sides. Although originally I didn’t know how accepting I was to parting with Picard, defensive prospect Ryan Parent appears to be just as good, if not better than what Picard was thought to someday become. On the Flyers end they have Vinny Prospal for the second time. They originally drafted him in 1993 and had given the Flyers fits since they parted ways in 1998. Prospal, now 33, has 57 points this season with Tampa this year and will definitely add to the scoring depth. He makes $1.9M this season and will be an unrestricted free agent when the season ends.

The Flyers improved Monday night but were quiet Tuesday, not making a trade at the 3 p.m. deadline. The only team in the division that made a notable trade was Pittsburgh. They picked up Marian Hossa from Atlanta but there is question as to whether or not they actually improved their team overall. They gave up highly touted prospect Angelo Esposito, forwards Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen and a first-round pick. Although this helps the Pens short term (Hossa is an unrestricted free agent after this season), they traded away two young developing players that showed promise and were getting valuable NHL experience, and a high-energy youngster in Angelo Esposito who is expected to be very good.

Although the Flyers potentially could have done better, perhaps picking up another scorer in addition to Prospal and a puck moving defenseman, they are an improved team as they look to move forward and make a serious playoff run. If the Flyers can actually buckle down and play the way they did in December and January they could pose a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. Next up for the orange and black are the Ottawa Senators. Thursday night the two teams will face off for the fourth time this season. The Flyers are 2-1 against the Sens with the loss coming in the form of a shootout last Tuesday. The Senators just got embarrassed Monday night losing to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0.

As if things weren’t bad enough for Flyers fans, not even Peter Forsberg can save us now. Foppa will return to the Colorado Avalanche. Yes the surest thing the Flyers had, which came in the form of an injury-plagued 34-year-old center, is now gone. The Flyers face Buffalo tonight on Versus and the rest of the season will rest on the shoulders of the next 24 hours. If the Flyers don’t make a move by the trade deadline tomorrow, stick a fork in them.

At the beginning of the season it would have been crazy to say the Flyers were going to contend for a top spot in the east. But, they did it, and were as high as the 2nd seed behind Ottawa in parts of December and January.

In January, when they were the 2 seed and atop the Atlantic, it would have been crazy to say the Flyers could possibly miss the playoffs; even in a tight eastern conference race, they were clicking on all cylinders. But yet again, a once crazy thought is becoming more and more likely. The orange and black h

ave been beaten in routes, heartbreakers, and overtime games too. The bottom line is that they are 0-8-2 in their last 10, and have picked the very worst time to start falling apart. The team has played bad hockey, there’s no getting around that. However, there have been injuries to key players…lots of injures. It’s as if the sports gods are yet again pulling the rug out from under another potential championship Philadelphia team.

When talking of recent Flyers injuries, the lead off is obviously your reliable, play making 40+ goal scorer Simon Gagne. Advised by concussion specialists in North Carolina to sit out the rest of the season, the team has a huge hole to fill offensively. He’s only played in 25 games this year, but he had 18 points, and is always dangerous when healthy and consistently on the ice. How about Joffrey Lupul? He’s probably the most successful (and surprising) acquisition of the off-season. Lupul was recently sidelined after his own teammate, Derian Hatcher, laid him out by mistake. After finally coming back he re-injured himself, this time a high ankle sprain, against Montreal on the 16th. He’s missed 3 games so far and is expected to be sitting out for another 2-3 weeks. His numbers speak for themselves when you wonder what you’re missing by losing Lupul: 18 G, 21 A in 44 games. And speaking of Hatcher, the big man is also injured right now with a right knee injury that’s expected to keep him out 3 weeks as well. A disappointment last season, Hatcher has played his defensive position with excellence this year. He looks quicker, handles the puck better, and can still throw his weight around pretty darn well. Steve Downie also recently joined the MASH unit formally known as the Flyers locker room. Downie suffered a concussion and is listed as day-to-day. With his injury you obviously are missing a physical aspect of the game and a great fighter(let’s face it, Riley Cote is an awful at it). But fighting and checking aren’t the entirety of Downie’s game; he has showed the ability to score a pretty goal and know where to be for his linemates to create offense. Another huge loss. Oh yea, and all-star center Mike Richards is also injured with a hamstring tear. He’ll miss a couple weeks, but he hasn’t done that much, right?

Teams in every sport will tell you that injuries are unfortunate but in every case, they are part of the game. When faced with challenges and players dropping like flies, the rest of the team has to step up. Players must excel in a higher level of play, and every game is magnified as your team races towards the playoffs with a shorter, and now less experienced, bench. But an 0-8-2 record in their last 10 games says that nobody has stepped up. No single player has took it upon them self to become the leader that the Flyers need without a Richards or Hatcher. The team has not gelled together with the lines constantly being shuffled around to try and find a combination of offense that works. Getting rid of Jim Vandermeer (although fantastic) is not enough to right the ship. The first player to look at with a feeling of bitterness and disdain is the man with the big contract, Danny Briere. Yes, he has 22 goals so far this year. But when he scored against Florida a few days ago, that was his first goal since the beginning of the month. A man who was signed to a contract of over 50 million has to give you more than that. Also, if Briere isn’t giving you that goal scoring ability, he has to be able to excel in other parts of his game. The fans are starting to boo Briere when he touches the puck, and for good reason. He holds a -23 plus minus for the season, and has been somewhat of a bust so far.

But this doesn’t all fall on the shoulders of Briere. There are lots of guys on this team that are more than capable of upping their game and haven’t. The results have been ugly; their play looks like that of last year: the 22 win team. They can’t find a way to score. They aren’t getting the bounces. They’ll score and let up a goal 30 seconds later. It’s the little things like that which take the wind out of your sails. It’s the little things that the Flyers need to start doing if they want to even have a chance at the playoffs. The game against Florida was a perfect example of the recent 0-8-2 stretch. The Flyers were up 1-0 and Briere was our goal scorer. It wasn’t often the Flyers have had the lead in any game recently, but they were up 1. Now, it wasn’t a pretty game, that’s for sure. The offense still looked out of sync, unable to piece anything together with great consistency, but they were about to get 2 very important points and that’s all that mattered - ending this losing streak. Then with under 4 seconds left, Florida scored. The fans at the game who were standing and cheering were sent into a trance. It was complete shock and disbelief, which later turned into rising anger and frustration when Olli Jokinen fired a slap shot into the net with just over a minute left in the extra session. All you can really mutter is “unbelievable.”

Is the chance for a playoff berth over? Hell no. The Flyers have played 62 games, leaving 20 very important contests to determine their berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs. As of right now, they are on the outside looking in, essentially tied for 9th with the Islanders, with 67 points. It’s hard to believe that all this has happened so fast. Just a month ago the Flyers were atop the division, 2nd in the east, and a goal scoring machine. Fast forward to the present and it’s painful to watch them play. They can only do one thing now, and that is go out and play one game at a time. Cliche, I know, but every potential 2 points are so essential for the Flyers. They’re bruised and battered, but not out of it. A chance to end the 10 game losing skid comes tonight when former Sabre and the rest of the Flyers visit Buffalo: the team sitting in the 8th spot with 1 more point than the Flyers.

If they want a shot at the playoffs they better start winning, and fast. Tonight would be a good time to do so.

As a guy who didn’t really agree with this trade to begin with, I can’t say I expected this, but I’m not 100% surprised either. Brad Lidge, the new Phillies closer will go under the knife, and be out an expected 3-6 weeks, to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. This will be Lidge’s second surgery on the same knee in five months. Although he is optimistic that he will be available on Opening Day when the Phils take on March 31 against the Washington Nationals. So far we’ve seen Lidge on crutches when he was introduced as a Phillie, off crutches for Meet the Phillies and the first week or so of spring training, and now he’s being held up by crutches once again. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Phillies fan just like everyone else in Philadelphia, but I didn’t buy this trade from the beginning and I won’t until I can see that he can succeed here. After his infamous pitch to Albert Pujols in 2005, Lidge really hasn’t been the same.

This is a city where you really have to be able to take a mental beating in order to succeed. It’s a wonder Pat Burrell was able to have such a good year last year after the verbal abuse (although well deserved) he took in years past. Lidge was shaken when Aaron and I took it to him last year at a Phillies/Astros game in pre-game warm-ups. Can he handle that pressure every day? Yes, Lidge had a bit of a good streak last season, but an inconsistent year all-in-all.

So what now for the Phillies bullpen? Basically they’re at the same place they were last year at spring training, expecting Tom “Flash” Gordon to take the reigns as closer in the absence of a real closer. Flash has experience at the back end of the pen so it isn’t devastating that the Phils are without their new closer…yet.

The 40-year-old relief pitcher blew five saves and only saved six in 44 games last year with the Fightin’s. Although he turned it up down the stretch to the playoffs, Gordon was as inconsistent as they come overall in 2007. So what happens if Lidge’s condition gets worse and the Phils call starter-turned closer-turned starter and resident prankster Brett Myers back to the bullpen to re-assume his closer role? Most are already worried about the starting rotation as is, knowing there is a very good possibility that Adam Eaton could actually be the fifth starter.

There’s a name that hasn’t come up in Philadelphia for a few months that could still be an option if Pat Gillick is willing to open the Phillies wallet a bit; Kyle Lohse. He is still unsigned and if he stays that way much longer, his price tag is bound to drop. I’m just puttin’ it out there but I would rather see Lohse make the starting five than Adam Eaton.

With the exception of the third period and overtime of last night’s loss to Ottawa, all of the previous eight games, all losses, have been rather emotionless for the Flyers. The sense of urgency is lacking which Kimmo Timonen alluded to in a post game interview with Steve Coates. Those who have followed the Flyers all season long find it frustrating to watch as this team continues to skate like it’s last season with no hope of breaking this season long drought.

Yes, this team is injury plagued. Simon Gagne is trying to re-coop after his third concussion of the season. Derian Hatcher, one of the orange and black’s most reliable defensemen is out with a knee injury for three weeks (although apparently he is healthy enough to be swimming with sharks). Joffery Lupul is out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain. Steve Downie has a concussion and is now missing time. Despite these key components, the Flyers definitely have the potential to win but they have not. Coach John Stevens has juggled the lines more times than Peter Forsberg has put on new skates. The team is lacking both chemistry and heart, although we saw a bit of the latter towards the end of last night’s overtime loss to the Senators.

One reason is obviously a lack of scoring. They have scored only 17 goals in this eight game skid. A move the Flyers made yesterday was a good one. They brought up Claude Giroux all the way from juniors and the 20-year-old was allotted over nine minutes in his NHL debut and was the first to attempt a breakaway in last night’s shootout. He made a pretty move and narrowly missed the net despite juking Ray Emery out of his pads. Giroux’s presence is exciting and sends a message to the rest of the team that they need to step it up.

Lack of defense has been a problem lately for the Flyers too. They took a step in the right direction by acquiring a veteran defenseman in Jaroslav Modry. I was being a bit sarcastic yesterday about his age, but I was not kidding when I said that Jim Vandermeer was terrible. I would rather have that inflatable Le Goalie thing out on the ice than watch Vandermeer’s mediocrity.

Look for the Flyers to pick up an offensive playmaker before the trade deadline because I don’t think the Modry deal is the last one for this team. That is unless of course, Peter has fooled us all. And so continues the drama surrounding Foppa. Either way, the Flyers need improvement and they need it fast. They have already slipped to eighth in the East with the Buffalo Sabres breathing down their necks only two points behind. If they don’t make the playoffs, this will be one disappointed city.

39-year-old Jim Dowd now has someone to trade old war stories with. The Flyers made a move today although it wasn’t quite the big name on the blue line we’ve hoped for. Jaroslav Modry was acquired today from the LA Kings for the Flyers 2008 3rd round draft pick. Modry will turn 37 years old later this month. He has a whopping six points in 61 games with the Kings. Hopefully this move will mean less ice time for the god awful resident turnover man, Jim Vandermeer.

Also coming to the aid of the Flyers is 20-year-old Claude Giroux. He will play tonight in Ottawa against the Senators as the Flyers try and stop a seven game losing streak from getting worse. Giroux has recorded 33 goals and 55 assists with 31 penalty minutes in 47 games for the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL this season.