“He was a big part of the process,” Babin told The Associated Press on Thursday. “What he did for me was two-fold. He believed in me and gave me an opportunity to play and he allowed me to play the way I wanted. He saw the potential in me.”

Babin played for the Eagles in 2009, and recorded 2.5 sacks in 12 games. He signed with the Titans in free agency and had a career-best 12.5 sacks while earning his first trip to Hawaii. Washburn joined the Eagles in January, replacing Rory Segrest as the defensive line coach.

“He has unwavering principle,” Babin said of Washburn. “He wants the best guy to play. That defensive line room is a selfless room. Everybody wants everybody to do their absolute best.”

The Eagles won’t be able to officially announce an agreement with Babin until Friday. He can join the team and take part in meetings, but won’t be able to practice until Aug. 4.

“I guess I’ll take notes,” Babin said. “I like to work out and I’ll keep doing that.”

A first-round pick by Houston in 2004, the 31-year-old Babin never had more than five sacks in a season until last year. He has 30 career sacks in seven seasons playing for five different teams.

Babin will play opposite two-time Pro Bowl end Trent Cole. He joins a crowded line that includes 2010 first-round pick Brandon Graham, Juqua Parker, Ricky Sapp, Darryl Tapp, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and Philip Hunt. Graham isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the season after having surgery for a torn knee ligament late last year.

The Eagles prefer to rotate their linemen, keeping guys fresh late in games against weary blockers. Babin has no problem being part of a rotation.

“If you truly go as hard as you possibly can on every single play, you can’t play every down,” he said. “You would be lying to yourself, the coaches and the fans. A rotation gives guys a chance to play and it keeps everyone happy.”

Babin chose the defending NFC East-champion Eagles for another reason besides reuniting with Washburn.

“This is my last contract and I wanted to go to a team with a high-powered offense,” he said. “With Mike Vick, (LeSean) ‘Shady’ McCoy, DeSean Jackson and the receiving corps, we’re going to score a lot of points and that means we get to rush the passer.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles have reached agreement on a five-year contract with Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin, who had a breakout season with Tennessee last year.

Babin played for the Eagles in 2009. He signed with the Titans in free agency and had a career-best 12.5 sacks playing under defensive line coach Jim Washburn. He’s now reunited with Washburn, who joined the Eagles in the same role during the offseason.

The Eagles won’t be able to officially announce an agreement with Babin until Friday, but his publicist Amanda Mitchell confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Babin wrote: “Back to Philadelphia, Back with Washburn….” on his Twitter site.

A first-round pick by Houston in 2004, the 31-year-old Babin never had more than five sacks in a season until last year. He has 30 career sacks in seven seasons playing for five different teams.

Babin will play opposite two-time Pro Bowl end Trent Cole. He joins a crowded line that includes 2010 first-round pick Brandon Graham, Juqua Parker, Ricky Sapp, Darryl Tapp, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and Philip Hunt. Graham isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the season after having surgery for a torn knee ligament late last year.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP

With the draft three weeks away, it’s time to look closer at team needs for every NFL club.  (Translation: We have nothing else to write about.)

We’ve already looked at the Rams, 49ers, Giants, and Cowboys.  Now up: The Eagles.

CB: The artist formerly known as Toastelio Hansen is actually a solid nickel back.  But if Hansen remains a No. 3, the Eagles having a gaping hole across from Asante Samuel for the other starting cornerback job.

Dimitri Patterson struggled badly late in the year and is set to be a free agent. Even if the Eagles brought in a big free agent, they need depth here.

LB: Jamar Chaney is the only Eagles linebacker definitely coming back that the team has no reservations about.   Moise Fokou isn’t great in coverage and Stewart Bradley could be an unrestricted free agent.  The Ernie Sims era should thankfully be over.  Whether Chaney plays the middle or not, the Eagles need more talent here.

G/C: Right tackle is a problem, but the Eagles aren’t going to just give up on Winston Justice.  The bigger problem is in the middle, where the Eagles can get pushed around.  Guard Max Jean-Gilles is a free agent.   New line coach Howard Mudd usually prefers smaller, athletic linemen.

DL:  This makes the list out of habit.  Defensive end Juqua Parker is better than people think, but last year’s first-round pick Brandon Graham is coming off a torn ACL.   Andy Reid could also invest at defensive tackle.  There are plenty of bodies on the defensive line, but not enough difference makers.

Overview: The Eagles successfully transitioned their offense from the McNabb era with a series of excellent skill position picks.  They need to do the same with their defense and offensive line now.  Besides Trent Cole, when was the last great player the organization drafted on defense?

The team could use a backup running back to LeSean McCoy, but this draft should focus on defense, with a few offensive linemen thrown in to keep Andy Reid happy.

Updated Feb 28, 2011 6:25 PM ET

One of the least reported stories about the possible NFL player lockout is how the younger players will be able to earn money without football.

Players only get paid their yearly salary during the 17-week regular season.

They won’t receive workout bonuses, sometimes as high as $500,000, if there’s a work stoppage until training camps start. Offseason workouts generally start in March and end sometime in June. Roster bonuses that become due won’t be paid until there’s a new collective bargaining agreement.

In no surprise, players have been borrowing money.

According to Phillysportsdaily.com, Philadelphia Eagles defensive Brandon Graham has been approached by some of his teammates for some cash.

“100K,” said Graham, who just finished his first season in the league, when asked how much is the most players have asked to borrow from him.

“They try not to make it awkward, ” he said. “They’ll come to you like they’re joking, but they’re serious. They’re trying to feel you out, to see what you’ll say.”

Graham has yet to give any teammates money.

“I’ll be like, ‘What are you going to do with it, other than blow it?’ I don’t want to be beefing with guys on my team because they owe me money,” Graham said.

By BOB GROTZ
Journal Register News Service

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles fans are going to like Jim Washburn.

The veteran defensive line coach gets results, having made journeyman players such as Jason Babin into Pro Bowl performers. And he shoots from the hip a la Rex Ryan, and his Pop-Pop.

Washburn is an attacking coach. During a media availability Wednesday, he couldn’t resist mentioning how he and defensive end Trent Cole, his best player, are serious hunters.

“He bought an assault rifle – no kidding – four days ago that I bought four weeks ago,” Washburn said. “Well, my daughter bought it.”

Washburn, 61, and veteran offensive line coach Howard Mudd, who turns 69 Thursday, are major reasons Eagles head coach Andy Reid decided to elevate Juan Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator.

Their experiences are legend. There isn’t much Washburn or Mudd haven’t seen, except in the case of Washburn, the iPod.

“If I had one I’d have (Lynyrd) Skynyrd and Allman Brothers,” Washburn said. “You guys into Skynyrd and Allman Brothers?”

Let the record also show that in the educated opinion of Washburn, the Tennessee Titans haven’t had a quarterback since “Steve McNair, God rest his soul.” Vince Young and Kerry Collins, who both beat the Eagles, just don’t stack up to Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb.

“I had some opportunities in several different places and it was sort of tough to leave,” Washburn said. “We had a farm out there in the country and I’m a country boy. I’m a bubba in a state of bubbas. It’s sort of like home. That was hard. But it really was a no-brainer between the other teams and this place because it’s got a quarterback. And it’s about that simple. … They’ve got two, I guess. You aint got a chance if you don’t have a quarterback. And we haven’t had a quarterback in Tennessee since Steve McNair left.”

You get the idea. Washburn brings a swagger the defense lacked even before Rory Segrest took over as line coach the last two years. Continued…

Preliminarily Washburn doesn’t feel the Eagles’ personnel is as bad as its critics. He blames himself for passing up end Trent Cole.

“This is a guy I really screwed up on when I was evaluating colleges,” Washburn said. “I guess I got lazy and didn’t watch enough tape. I think he had an ankle or lost weight or something or ran bad at the combine. Fifth round? He’s a great player to me.”

Washburn said Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham begged him to select him during a visit just before the 2010 draft.

Washburn said Eagles defensive end Darryl Tapp wanted to play for him before Tapp wound up with the Eagles, that he coached Juqua Parker and that he couldn’t talk about the temperamental Albert Haynesworth, who said Washburn deserves all but a fraction of his $100 million contract.

“Yeah, the check’s in the mail, huh?” Washburn said. “I can’t talk about Albert. Albert plays for the Redskins. Next question.”

Babin, the part-time undersized pass rusher, also endorsed Washburn as a coach. Previously a bust, first-round pick Babin registered 12 1-2 sacks with the Titans this past year to earn a trip to Hawaii.

“Babin wasn’t any good when he was here, was he?” Washburn said. “Bleeped at Seattle, right? Failed at Houston. Right or wrong? It aint me. It’s just the system we ran. And he was like chicken on a June bug.”

Oh, and Babin still isn’t a free agent, so Washburn stopped there.

All of that said Washburn conceded he put in a call to Reid to help bring Mudd aboard, enabling the switch to Castillo. Washburn feels Mudd is cut from the same cloth as the late Bobb McKittrick, a formidable line coach with the San Francisco 49ers. Mudd agreed Reid told him he had to come out of retirement to give the entire plan legs. About an hour before Reid called, Mudd told his wife he was through, partly because he didn’t feel like chasing a job.

“I don’t know if some kind of providence was there,” Mudd said. “He told me the story about Juan and how he had interviewed a number of people. He said “This isn’t going to work unless we can get somebody like you to coach the offensive line. … Andy is pretty persuasive.” Continued…

By BOB GROTZ
Journal Register News Service

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles fans are going to like Jim Washburn.

The veteran defensive line coach gets results, having made journeyman players such as Jason Babin into Pro Bowl performers. And he shoots from the hip a la Rex Ryan, and his Pop-Pop.

Washburn is an attacking coach. During a media availability Wednesday, he couldn’t resist mentioning how he and defensive end Trent Cole, his best player, are serious hunters.

“He bought an assault rifle – no kidding – four days ago that I bought four weeks ago,” Washburn said. “Well, my daughter bought it.”

Washburn, 61, and veteran offensive line coach Howard Mudd, who turns 69 Thursday, are major reasons Eagles head coach Andy Reid decided to elevate Juan Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator.

Their experiences are legend. There isn’t much Washburn or Mudd haven’t seen, except in the case of Washburn, the iPod.

“If I had one I’d have (Lynyrd) Skynyrd and Allman Brothers,” Washburn said. “You guys into Skynyrd and Allman Brothers?”

Let the record also show that in the educated opinion of Washburn, the Tennessee Titans haven’t had a quarterback since “Steve McNair, God rest his soul.” Vince Young and Kerry Collins, who both beat the Eagles, just don’t stack up to Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb.

“I had some opportunities in several different places and it was sort of tough to leave,” Washburn said. “We had a farm out there in the country and I’m a country boy. I’m a bubba in a state of bubbas. It’s sort of like home. That was hard. But it really was a no-brainer between the other teams and this place because it’s got a quarterback. And it’s about that simple. … They’ve got two, I guess. You aint got a chance if you don’t have a quarterback. And we haven’t had a quarterback in Tennessee since Steve McNair left.”

You get the idea. Washburn brings a swagger the defense lacked even before Rory Segrest took over as line coach the last two years.

Preliminarily Washburn doesn’t feel the Eagles’ personnel is as bad as its critics. He blames himself for passing up end Trent Cole.

“This is a guy I really screwed up on when I was evaluating colleges,” Washburn said. “I guess I got lazy and didn’t watch enough tape. I think he had an ankle or lost weight or something or ran bad at the combine. Fifth round? He’s a great player to me.”

Washburn said Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham begged him to select him during a visit just before the 2010 draft.

Washburn said Eagles defensive end Darryl Tapp wanted to play for him before Tapp wound up with the Eagles, that he coached Juqua Parker and that he couldn’t talk about the temperamental Albert Haynesworth, who said Washburn deserves all but a fraction of his $100 million contract.

“Yeah, the check’s in the mail, huh?” Washburn said. “I can’t talk about Albert. Albert plays for the Redskins. Next question.”

Babin, the part-time undersized pass rusher, also endorsed Washburn as a coach. Previously a bust, first-round pick Babin registered 12 1-2 sacks with the Titans this past year to earn a trip to Hawaii.

“Babin wasn’t any good when he was here, was he?” Washburn said. “Bleeped at Seattle, right? Failed at Houston. Right or wrong? It aint me. It’s just the system we ran. And he was like chicken on a June bug.”

Oh, and Babin still isn’t a free agent, so Washburn stopped there.

All of that said Washburn conceded he put in a call to Reid to help bring Mudd aboard, enabling the switch to Castillo. Washburn feels Mudd is cut from the same cloth as the late Bobb McKittrick, a formidable line coach with the San Francisco 49ers. Mudd agreed Reid told him he had to come out of retirement to give the entire plan legs. About an hour before Reid called, Mudd told his wife he was through, partly because he didn’t feel like chasing a job.

“I don’t know if some kind of providence was there,” Mudd said. “He told me the story about Juan and how he had interviewed a number of people. He said “This isn’t going to work unless we can get somebody like you to coach the offensive line. … Andy is pretty persuasive.”

The same could be said of Washburn.

Castillo is counting on Washburn and four other assistants, including the newly hired Johnnie Lynn, to use their strengths and share equally in the weekly game plans. With Washburn in the room, it should be entertaining.

“I think it will work,” Washburn said. “I mean it’s going to work. I mean, why not? (Castillo is) a smart guy. You know two of the best things about being here? I don’t ever have to coach against Juan Castillo again and I never have to play against Howard Mudd again.”

 

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 22 (UPI) — Rookie defensive end Brandon Graham, a sometimes starter for the Philadelphia Eagles, had surgery Wednesday to repair a ligament in his left knee.

The operation on Graham’s torn anterior cruciate ligament was performed by Dr. James Andrews.

Eagles Coach Andy Reid said Graham and safety Nate Allen, who had surgery Tuesday to fix a torn patellar tendon in his right leg, will soon begin rehabilitation.

Graham, the 13th overall in this year’s draft out of Michigan, was injured in Philadelphia’s Week 14 win at Dallas.

In 13 games, including six starts, Graham had 13 tackles with three sacks.

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Eagles rookie safety Nate Allen has a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee and will have season-ending surgery.

Allen, drafted with the second-round pick Philadelphia acquired from Washington in the Donovan McNabb trade, is the fourth defensive starter to go down for the season.

A potential fifth, middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, is out with a dislocated elbow and may not return until the playoffs.

Allen was hurt in the Eagles’ 38-31 win over the New York Giants. His knee appeared to buckle while he tackled Mario Manningham.

He’ll join rookie defensive end Brandon Graham and cornerback Ellis Hobbs on injured reserve. Rookie Kurt Coleman, a seventh-round pick, takes Allen’s starting spot.

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles rookie safety Nate Allen has a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee and will have season-ending surgery.

Allen, drafted with the second-round pick Philadelphia acquired from Washington in the Donovan McNabb trade, is the fourth defensive starter to go down for the season.

Eagles rookie safety Nate Allen has a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee and will have season-ending surgery.

A potential fifth, middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, is out with a dislocated elbow and may not return until the playoffs.

Allen was hurt in the Eagles’ 38-31 win over the New York Giants. His knee appeared to buckle while he tackled Mario Manningham.

He’ll join rookie defensive end Brandon Graham, defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley and cornerback Ellis Hobbs on injured reserve. Rookie Kurt Coleman, a seventh-round pick, takes Allen’s starting spot.

— The Associated Press