Westbrook's The Main Man...Then Who

The most dangerous weapon that Donovan McNabb has to utilize is none other than running back Brian Westbrook. It is very arguable that the best player we have on this roster is Westbrook, even over McNabb. Of course there are plenty of people who would say that, especially the ones who aren't as in favor of Donovan as I am, but just taking into account that McNabb plays the most high-profile and yet important position on the team, I give him a step above Westbrook.

The term running back has been forever changed since the likes of Thurman Thomas and Marshall Faulk, both players leading the way for a versatile pass catching halfback like Brian Westbrook. Previously the idea of a running back was defined by simply handing the ball off, an alternative to passing the ball, now there is a much broader spectrum of what a running back is expected to do.

Within the expanded ideals of what a running back is, there are extra duties that these players are asked to fulfill that require more knowledge of verbiage, alignment, and assignment.

It is often harder than expected for a running back to learn this West Coast Offense because outside of simply running the ball they are asked to pass protect, run receiving routes out of the backfield, run block, and even line up wide in the slot. This influx of responsibilities often slows a rookie running backs integration into the offense, which we have especially seen with 2005 draft pick Ryan Moats.

The third round selection out of Louisiana Tech has not had an easy transition into the NFL to say the least. The pick was criticized from the beginning because of Moat's small 5'8" 210 lb. frame, which didn't seen to vary that much from the starter we already had in Westbrook. For a fan base that has been begging for a "big back" for years, there was some frustration with this selection.

In his rookie season though Moats surprised some people towards the end of the year when he saw playing time in the final 6 games accumulating 3 touchdowns and 55 attempts for 278 yards. The increase in playing time was due to the fact that Brian Westbrook was injured for the final 4 games, and the team had the tendency to run the ball more with Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer at QB in place of the injured McNabb.

With Westbrook having such a great season in 2006, Moat's opportunities dropped significantly from a lowly 55 attempts in '05 to only 22 attempts for 69 yards. The year started off rough with Ryan suffering a strained knee ligament in training camp which really held up his development for the majority of the season. Despite not showing much of anything last year though Andy Reid still has full confidence in the pint sized back saying that he is just "a snap away from being in there and playing full time", now I don't know think that means he would be listed over Buckhalter if Westbrook was injured but if he was even able to fill a role similar to Buck's last season, that is a big improvement from what we've seen these first 2 years.

Speaking of Correll Buckhalter, he received a vote of confidence from the front office this offseason with the team re-signing him to a 2 year contract instead of letting him leave in free agency. The uncertainty with the status of his knees that existed all of last year is still going to be around, that's the price you pay when you are injured 3 out of 4 years.

The comeback story that I had dreamed of for Buck ended up working out pretty well last year as he provided a nice complement to the running game when Westbrook was allowed to rest for a few snaps. Though the team still experienced some rough moments of not being able to come up big in many 3rd and short situations, the production Buck had in the receiving game offset a few of those failed 3rd and short pick ups.

The 83 attempts for 435 yards rushing were great but what really impressed me with Buck was how much he flourished in catching passes out of the backfield. His numbers weren't gaudy, 24 catches for 256 yards, but he was able to make big plays in key situations, with almost 50% of his receptions going for first downs.

It might have taken a long time to get back to the point of scoring touchdowns, with Buck bringing in a total of 3 this year, but he was involved in one of the most exciting plays this season. After years of arguably being one of the unluckiest guys in the NFL, as far as injuries are concerned, we saw Buck score his first touchdown since 2003. Ironically that '03 touchdown against the Dolphins was exciting in itself, with Buck practically somersaulting into the endzone, but this "welcome back" score was pretty priceless: When Donovan connected with Reggie Brown on a pass against the Redskins, the luck finally seemed to work out for Correll...as Reggie accidentally let the ball slip out of his grasp, it landed perfectly in Buck's hands who had been running alongside Reggie to block for him.

The former troubles of making a slight wrong move at the wrong time, which lead to injury after injury for Buck before, finally didn't get in the way as he was actually in the right place at the right time, with the ball slipping right into his hands as he jetted away to the endzone. Unbelievable.

Hoping to one day make plays anywhere near as exciting as that showing, the team actually drafted 2 backs this season. The guys who were taken, 3rd round pick Tony Hunt and 7th rounder Nate Ilaoa, both could potentially fill that "big back" role that has been missing.

Hunt is primarily known for his physical mentality, doing a good job protecting in the passing game as well as run blocking, two things that the Eagles value very much in a back. His hard nose style of running is something that could really work well in this system, especially considering we have not had a guy like that in a long time, someone who primarily works north to south as opposed to east and west like Westbrook and Moats. Hunt is someone who we would love to get a nice solid production out of, use him as a change up from Westbrook to keep a defense off balance, and being able to dig in and get the nose of that football across the line in goal line situations would make him a great addition.

The more interesting of the two backs would be Ilaoa, someone who doesn't look much like the prototypical running back you see these days. The build on Ilaoa is one not often seen, as one reporter mentioned during Marty Mornhinweg's press conference, he seems to be built more like a "fan" than a football player. The 245 pound mass on a 5'9" frame is definitely unique and that poses a lot of questions as well as provides a lot of reason for intrigue as we wait and watch his development.

As for the main man, Brian Westbrook, I don't need to go on a tangent about him, we all know he is an amazing player. I mean simply the numbers speak for themselves: 1217 rushing, 699 receiving yards, need I say more. The man is a beast.

This group of backs has become a lot more diverse with the rookie additions and it has also maintained some consistency in the re-signing of Buck. Right now we are just playing a waiting game to see is Moats can make something of himself, find a role on this team, Buck can stay healthy, and the rookies can work themselves into transitioning into pro backs.

What We Have Learned...

With Monday concluding the first mini-camp of the 2007 season there was some progress made in checking the injury status of some players as well as introducing the rookies and new veterans to the team. Though there might not have been a ton of action during the limited practice that was held, there are a few things that we know now that we didn't know on Friday:

• Broderick Bunkley is a different person, much more focused than last season and in great shape, ready to take advantage of new opportunities. After the disappointment in 2006, Bunk is the starting right defensive tackle as of now, there's a lot of excitement about what he can bring to this team.
  
• Jevon Kearse looks great as well, his rehab seems to have gone well because he was out on the practice field this weekend. The only difference with Kearse right now is that he's lighter than usual, after the rehab he has to put a little bit of weight on but Jim Johnson stressed that is not a concern.
  
• Donovan McNabb's progress is right on track, if not ahead of schedule. Andy Reid said that he is on track to be ready for the start of training camp, that would be amazing. If Andy has enough confidence to say that to the media I have 100% belief that we will see Donovan on July 27th at Lehigh University, ready to play
  
• The coaches have high expectations of Chris Gocong telling him that the starting SAM linebacker job is his to lose. Of course there will be some competition with Stewart Bradley and Tank Daniels as well, but Gocong is their man. His development is going to be key for this defense and he will see a lot of playing time in the preseason to get acclimated to this position change from college to the NFL.
• The combination of Jeremiah Trotter and Takeo Spikes is one to be watched and could prove to be one of the most exciting defensive duos we've seen in Philadelphia for a long time, not trying to get ahead of myself, but if injuries stay away, this could be amazing.
• Jeremy Bloom has made great strides, looks much stronger, since being put on injured reserve at the end of training camp last year with a persisnent hamstring injury. He has a step up on the returnman competition right now considering that Bethel Johnson is battling a stress fracture in his tibia that he suffered in his own offseason conditioning program.
• The punters are going to have some nice competition between newly signed Australian, Saverio Rocca and current punter Dirk Johnson. Rocca is still inconsistent at this point in his transition to the NFL, but he has a very strong leg and is taking aggressive swings at the ball according to Rory Segrest, Special Teams Coordinator.
• Saverio Rocca has also done well at holding on field goals with Andy saying he's very "natural" and "efficient" at the job. That alone could give him a step up on his competition, Dirk Johnson, because we saw last year that Koy Detmer was re-signed to hold kicks in the playoffs since Akers and Johnson were not as comfortable together.
• Coming off a Pro-Bowl season Shawn Andrews has lost even more weight, putting him in line to have another great year after his initial weight loss began going into the 2006 season.
• With the competition at linebacker there are no answers as to exactly where each player is going to fit in right now but Omar Gaither will get on the field one way or another, whether he is starting over Jeremiah Trotter or not. Right now that competition at MLB is not necessarily open, I think it is leaning more towards Trot to start just because of his previous credentials, but if Gaither really steps it up the job could be his. Either way, he'll at least get in when Trot needs a rest and especially in nickle situations.

What A Difference A Year Makes

One year ago we were all still excited about a draft that seemed very successful. Acquiring both Broderick Bunkley and Winston Justice seemed too good to be true, and it basically was.

Though Justice hasn't had much opportunity to start, considering that both William Thomas and Jon Runyan are above him on the depth chart, we had expectations for Bunkley to see a good deal of playing time in his rookie season. That didn't end up happening, mostly because Bunkley missed a critical learning period when he held out of training camp for two weeks.

Once he joined the team he came in with a bad attitude and lack of focus, the contributing factors of being behind as well as not in shape, resulted in a menial amount of playing time. The worst part was we had been set to rely upon Bunk at a lacking defensive tackle position but he had not prepared himself well enough to contribute.

In the words of Jim Johnson, "What a difference a year makes", the 2nd year player met with the coaches at the beginning of the offseason and he told them that he was going to change, be at Nova Care every day, and make a commitment to the team. Though that is a promise that Johnson often hears from struggling players, Bunkley stayed true to his word and has come into this first mini-camp as a "different person".

Bunkley said that he is coming into this season with a new mind set and the struggles that he had last year really "rung a bell" for him. He was able to come in with the motivation of getting stronger, quicker, and to slim down, all of which he has done. Now that re commitment to the team has put Bunk in a great situation with the team showing their confidence in him with the release of Darwin Walker. Now the coaches have put Bunkley in the #1 spot, on track to be the starting right defensive tackle, with the responsibility to get it done and hold his own.

Putting the extra hours in these past few months is going to pay off for Bunkley because as of right now the coaches are seeing that he is working hard around the complex every day, being attentive and picking things up. Without a contract to worry about anymore or any distractions in the way Bunk should be able to get in here and work strictly on the football aspect of things.

Spirits are high for Bunkley and Jim Johnson is seeing that he is the player they originally thought he was when they decided to draft him with that 14th overall pick. The physical force that was seen in college still has plenty of work to do to be able to transfer that college success into great pro statistics, but as of right now Bunkley is definitely on the right track.

"Tickled To Death"

There was no hiding how Jeremiah Trotter feels about the teams acquisition of Takeo Spikes this offseason, unable to even hold back a smile Trot said he is "tickled to death" about the addition of the Pro-Bowl linebacker to the team.

Veteran leadership, size, speed, play making ability: Trot had high praise when describing Spikes. Going right down the line there were compliments being dished out all over the place between the two linebackers, it is very evident that both possess a strong respect for one another and that dates back 10 years considering they have been friends since they came out of the same 1998 draft class.

For Jeremiah Trotter this is a make or break year, after a rough 2006 he is rededicating himself to the position and that was seen through the fact that he stuck around Philadelphia this offseason, training hard, all to come into camp in the best shape he can be in.

There was no hesitation when asked if he felt any pressure with the younger Omar Gaither on his heels vying for the starting position, Trot replied with a simple but yet stern "No". As a self described "self motivator" Trotter plays the game because he loves it and has a passion to play so there is no worries in his mind about another guy taking his job. There's no doubt he thrives off of competition and he notes that every player from top to bottom is fighting for their job every year, but he honestly does not feel any more pressure this year than in the past.

Right now we are going to have to see where Omar Gaither can fit in on this team because last year he proved that he is a very good player, still developing and making mistakes, but there's no doubt he has a lot to contribute to the team. With the addition of Spikes the job where we expected Omar to be, WILL LB, is most likely taken so it seems the only other place for him would be back-up MLB.

There's no denying that part of what has even brought Trotter to this point, of being questioned about his status as a starter, has to do with age. I can't even begin to imagine the toll hit after hit has to take on a players body in one game, so it's unbelievable to see how they endure hits, or at least dishing them out in Trot's case, year after year. It was seen in 2002 how detrimental and injury can be to a player when Trot tore his ACL and than was never able to fully recover the next season until he was cut by the Redskins and re-signed with the Eagles in 2004.

That aging process obviously affects everyone, but it becomes the prime factor in the decline of a players career. Takeo Spikes knows all too well about battling those injuries as his last serious injury, a torn Achilles tendon, that occurred in 2005 was his first injury, only missing 1 game in the previous 112 matchups. Trot had one bad season after tearing his ACL but then got back to 100% and had a Pro-Bowl year in 2004. This past year was Spike's off year after tearing his Achilles in 2005 and as of right now he says he feels "real good".

Looking back to this time last year Spikes sees a difference like night and day. In the first mini-camp of the season with the Bills last year Spikes was not healthy yet and was on the sidelines watching everyone and feeling left out. Things seem to have really turned around as he is not only excited about the condition he is in but about the new opportunities that are presenting themselves in Philadelphia.

Not only was the increase in media coverage different from what Spikes experienced in Buffalo but just getting back to the firezone blitz scheme that he started with his rookie year in Cincinnati is something that has him thrilled. Despite being in a completely new city Takeo already feels at home working under Jim Johnson, "I hate that it took me 10 years to get here", as this is a place where he believes he can thrive. This is a team that will utilize his strong points of doing just about everything: dropping back in pass coverage, coming off the edge, blitzing up the middle, and most importantly, attacking the run.

Having Takeo work together with Jeremiah Trotter not only elates all of the fans but it brings joy to both of these linebackers. Together they feel like with 10 years of experience each and knowing the ins and outs of the game, there are great things to come. Currently these two guys want to develop a chemistry together so they are able to know what one another are doing and be able to communicate on the field.

Just the thought of having both Jeremiah Trotter and Takeo Spikes in our linebacking group is unbelievable. There are so many great things to watch this year and this dynamic duo is number one on my list.

Rookie Beginnings

There was an anxious first day of school feeling around the Nova-Care Complex yesterday with the 2007 roster, excluding Brian Dawkins who was excused from camp for personal reasons, joining together for the first time of the 2007 season.

The focus was on the rookies that were getting their first introduction to being Philadelphia Eagles, starting with the swarm of media that was ready for them as they arrived at Nova-Care. This is the beginning for all of them, though they have all reached success by being drafted, none of that matters if they are unable to live up to their potential and eventually contribute.

For a player like Rashad Barksdale, a former college baseball player who used his last year of eligibility to play football, this camp is extremely important, especially considering he only played NCAA football for 1 year, because it is the true foundation for how he will succeed in this first season. Looking back to this time last year SAM LB/DE Chris Gocong was unable to attend the first post-draft mini-camp because Cal Poly had not graduated yet, which is a requirement for transitioning college to pro guys, they can not attend these camps if their school had not officially reached graduation yet.

Not to say that being away from taht team for the first weekend was detrimental to Gocong's year but once he even reached training camp he was already behind with a lot on his plate in his positional move from defensive end to strong side linebacker. It didn't end up helping that Gocong got hurt during training camp which hindered him even more, but my point is that even missing a little bit of time, the beginning of the process, has impacted players in the past.

So with Barksdale proclaiming "expect the unexpected" regarding how he will fare this season, getting a lot of work done during this weekend will only improve his chances of having a productive first year. Now is the time to attach some praise to your name, everyone from 1st round picks down to 7th round picks have positive points of some sort but if those notes that are written about in a scouting report do not transfer onto an NFL practice field, the coaches won't even have enough confidence in a player to give them playing time.

The rookie that intrigues me the most right now is strong side LB, Stewart Bradley from Nebraska. The declared "natural SAM linebacker" is vying for a starting position that is currently wide open after the team released Dhani Jones. One of the strongest competition's in camp is going to be seen between a 2006 3rd round selection (Gocong) and this year's 2007 3rd round selection (Bradley). With people describing Bradley as a "natural SAM linebacker" he defined that by saying it has to do with his size, 6'4" almost 260 pounds, along with the fact that he had great experience at the position in college covering tight ends and slot receivers, which is going to be his main focus in the NFL. Even though Bradley believes that he is a versatile linebacker, having played all 3 positions, the team is going to primarily work him at SAM and hope that the size that he does have provides a much better matchup for us during our annual face offs against guys like Jeremy Shockey and Jason Witten.

As for 2nd round pick defensive end Victor Abiamiri out of Notre Dame, the only thing he cared about was getting out on the practice field on Saturday and taking some snaps. It was evident with Victor that after the Combine and Draft he is chomping at the bit to just be able to play some football. Now those hits a physical player like Abiamiri wants to dish out, aren't allowed in the non-contact practice's that will be occurring Saturday thru Monday but at least running some drills and working his cleats through the field at Nova Care will help hold him over a little bit for the season.

What is always hard for me to grasp is how the rookies must feel when they walk into the locker room for the first time and see Donovan McNabb over in one corner, Jeremiah Trotter walking through the door, Takeo Spikes tying up his cleats, all Pro-Bowl star players that they have watched on television throughout their high school and college careers, now sharing the same locker room. Former Penn State running back Tony Hunt described those situations as "wild", just being in the presence of players of that caliber. The novelty of all of that wears off very soon I'm sure especially considering these guys were drafted among possible future Pro-Bowlers like JaMarcus Russell and Calvin Johnson.

As for the most talked about rookie, (who probably/hopefully won't get any playing time outside of the preseason), Quarterback, not like you wouldn't know who he is, Kevin Kolb probably has the most work to do. Working towards one day being a starting QB, which is the center of a franchise, Kolb is staring down a very long path towards where he wants to end up. His anxiousness to meet the team shows from the start that he cares about the players around him, already showing signs of great leadership. Even with Donovan McNabb sitting out this mini-camp the QB depth chart is still crowded as Kolb will be sharing snaps with A.J. Feeley and Kelly Holcomb besides that though this time is very valuable for the Houston QB who needs to really appreciate every snap he gets.

Not to be forgotten at this camp are the veterans, they were just smart enough to not arrive at the camp until the last minute on Friday to avoid having to talk to the media, all tricks of the trade that these rookies will eventually figure out. A player still at the prime of his development is WR Jason Avant didn't play much last season and wants to get as much route and timing work in with the QB's as possible. Speaking of QB's, A.J. Feeley emphasized the importance of this weekend in building a foundation for which to build upon in working towards a winning year.

Overall this camp won't feature any shocking news it just lets everyone get together for the first time, introduce rookies and new veterans to the system, and develop a chemistry that will be needed deep into January.

Mini-Camp Begins; Rayburn Released

As I'm typing this the players are making their way to the Nova Care Complex for the first mini-camp of the 2007 season. With the optimism and anticipation that surrounds the beginning of mini-camp the harsher side of the NFL is seen today as Sam Rayburn's time in Philadelphia has come to an end.

Rayburn, a former undrafted rookie free agent, who saw some playing time in his first season followed with his peak year being 2004. He did not join the team with high expectations but after the potential he showed in 2004, there was disappointment with his performance the past 2 seasons.

With the additions of Montae Reagor and Ian Scott this offseason, there just isn't room on the roster for Rayburn. Now a group of younger players are leading the way with Mike Patterson, Broderick Bunkley, and LaJuan Ramsey creating a lot of excitement but leading to the release of Rayburn.

Breaking The Vow Of Silence

It is what it is. That is the sentiment that McNabb echoed a few times during his much anticipated interview with Howard Eskin, the first time McNabb has spoken publicly since the drafting of Kevin Kolb.

No amazing revelations came about when McNabb expressed his opinion, what seems to be grabbing the headlines is that he was "shocked" when he learned of the team's decision to draft a Quarterback with their first pick. That statement alone is not surprising in anyway considering that everyone was shocked, even Kevin Kolb admitted that he was caught off guard with the decision so of course, Donovan, who was going to be most affected by the decision was going to be shocked.

What Donovan seemed to make clear was that he had no control over the situation, it was just something that he had watched unfold like everyone else, so there was no reason for him to react negatively to the move. If McNabb spent time worrying about things outside of his control and allowed himself to be influenced by moves within the organization the distractions would be endless. If it's not T.O. than it's Garcia if it's not Garcia than it's Kolb...it never ends.

McNabb acknowledged that his job is to focus on rehab and get himself ready to go for the start of the season. Any time that he wastes worrying about things that he has no control over, the less of a chance this team has to be successful. According to McNabb his priority right now is to make sure he's healthy at 100% so he's able to get back on the field and start competing.

This is the way the business of the NFL works, younger players are drafted to eventually replace the veterans, its a constant rotation of talent. McNabb noted that he has seen this process at many positions whether it was Lito and Sheldon being drafted which lead to the eventual exit of Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor or even when Brian Westbrook ended up replacing Duce Staley.

Donovan is not going to waste any time looking over his shoulder to see how Kolb is developing. Even a great like Brett Favre has made it clear that it's not his job to nurture and teach his eventual predecessor, the thing is that McNabb actually said he looks forward to working with Kevin Kolb and getting to know him. While they are working together McNabb will make sure to be a great influence, but the best way he'll be able to do that is just by letting Kolb watch him.

What this all boils down to is that Donovan McNabb is the starting Quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, as he said "I'm a Philadelphia QB and have been for the past 8 years and I forward to being a Philadelphia QB for the next 8-10 years." Of course the 8-10 years part is an exaggeration, one that simply arises with the amount of competition and fire for the game that lies within Donovan. If he had a choice he would play the game forever but as of right now his eyes aren't even ready to look that far in the distance, there's no need.

I truly believe that this is going to all blow over once the season starts and we see Donovan put together a great season. Of course i have concerns about how he is going to bounce back from the latest injury but up until this point, the word coming out of the Nova Care Complex is that he is very healthy and could even be ready to play in the 1st preseason game. Though McNabb doesn't seem to want to get too far ahead of himself, he thinks aiming for the 2nd or 3rd preseason game is more accurate (which of course would work out for him considering most starters like to limit their preseason playing time to begin with.)

Some extremely unfortunate things have happened to Donovan, injuries that are out of his control but yet still lead to frustration. It is not to be overlooked in any sense that Donovan had the 2005 and 2006 seasons cut short due to a sports hernia than a knee injury, that he missed the final 6 games of the 2002 regular season with an ankle injury, before returning to play in the playoffs. Also an abdominal injury is tied to the NFC Championship loss to the Panthers and a concussion is tied to the Super Bowl loss to the Patriots.

That list is extremely long but this team is actually very fortunate. A list of injuries like that is enough to take a player down for good. These injuries can not bring into question McNabb's toughness considering that he played on the broken ankle, through the sports hernia, and with a chest injury and concussion. The only thing these injuries have to do with is something uncontrollable, whether that be luck, karma, who knows.

But with the way that we have seen McNabb return from injuries in the past and put forth every ounce of effort he has to win, I have no doubt in my mind that Donovan will do great things this season. Though Kolb is important for the future, he's not fresh on my mind at this point, right now it's all about McNabb and I have complete trust in him.

Only Question At CB: Replacing Hood

There were no earth shattering moves made in regards to the secondary this offseason. As far as cornerbacks go the biggest change is Rod Hood signing with the Arizona Cardinals. Beyond that the only addition to the position is rookie Rashad Barksdale out of Albany. There was another defensive back drafted, C.J. Gaddis who has a lot of people excited, but he's most likely going to play safety.

William James has just as much mystery surrounding him this season as a rookie like Barksdale does. The Eagles signed James back in October to provide some depth at the position, he didn't see much playing time, making 7 tackles in 3 games that he appeared in. His strongest game was in December against the Washington Redskins where he had 5 tackles and tipped a pass which Michael Lewis grabbed for an interception.

A big surprise last season was Joselio Hanson, he came into camp as basically just a body, no one had any clue that he would end up making the team. His season had typical ups and downs while he was forced to learn very quickly. Hanson made the roster with the expectation that he provided great depth but would still be given time to learn behind such set starters in Sheppard, Brown, and Hood, but that changed once both Sheppard and Hood were injured early in the year. The most notable of Hanson's struggles were during his game in Week 2 against the New York Giants where Eli Manning really picked Hanson apart all day.

It's going to be a battle between Joselio Hanson and William James to see who gets that 3rd CB spot and replaces Rod Hood at nickleback. At this point just looking at size and experience alone, I think James might win the job but the competition hasn't even begun.

The area where no real questions exist is in the starting two cornerback positions between Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. Both players had excellent seasons in 2004, with Lito heading to the Pro-Bowl, move onto the forgetful 2005 season and an ankle injury cut Lito's, already disappointing season, short.

At the beginning of 2006 it seemed that the story might be the same, on the 1st play of the Week 1 game against the Houston Texans, Lito suffered an ankle injury. Things rebounded in a much bigger and better way though we ever could have imagined.

In Week 5, October 8th, a day that will forever live in infamy, the chants of "T.O., T.O., T.O., T.O" that formerly echoed through Lincoln Financial Field quickly changed to "Li-to, Li-to, Li-to, Li-to" with Sheppard's game winning interception return for a touchdown in the 4th quarter of T.O.'s welcome home party. That ability that Lito has to come up in clutch situations seemed to happen quite often last season with the amazing pick over Keyshawn Johnson that really lit a fire under this team to not give up, as well as another 4th quarter Dallas interception, except this time it was on Tony Romo and on Christmas day.

Now the 6 interceptions that Sheppard had should not in anyway overshadow the production that Sheldon Brown had in 2006. In many ways it can even be argued that Brown had a better season. The often overlooked cornerback put together a consistently successful season and my favorite part of all was how he topped it all off, with the earth shattering, bone crunching, mind numbing hit on Reggie Bush. Ouch.

Of course beyond these guys, are some developmental players who are currently on the roster as training camp fodder. Every once in awhile you'll have an undrafted rookie free agent emerge, like Hank Baskett last season, but the majority of these players end up crawling across the waiver wire.

Dustin Fox from Ohio State is a 3rd year player who made a brief appearance on the team last season when we were waiting for both Lito Sheppard and Rod Hood to recover from injuries. Fox played in only 1 game before he was cut in October and resumed his role on the practice squad. Then right in the same category with Fox is Nick Graham an undrafted rookie free agent that was just signed out of Tulsa. Both players have a tough shot of making the roster, their best hopes are just impressing the coaches enough to stay around on the practice squad.

The cornerback position is one that is definitely not flawless, there are questions especially regarding how the absence of Rod Hood will affect this defense. But with the presence of two great cornerbacks at the starting positions, I feel we already have a step up on every single offense we face this season.

Add into the equation the additions that we have made at both linebacker and defensive line, improvements in those areas just make the CB's jobs that much easier. Though the secondary had struggles last year, key additions made all around the defense will provide much more room for error as opposed to last season where the secondary was pretty much hung out to dry in many situations.

It will be interesting to watch how Rashad Barksdale develops during his rookie season and if he can make a push for some starting time.

Current Situation:
Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown, William James, Joselio Hanson, Rashad Barksdale, Dustin Fox, and Nick Graham

Drama Aside, This Is Football

With the amount of drama that seems to constantly encircle this team, sometimes we forget about what it is all about.

This is football, though it is a game of intense emotion, there's no doubt that frustration arises when the last thing we ever seem to talk about is the actual game of football itself.

In reality when we speak about the Eagles drafting Kevin Kolb, we need to see it from a football perspective. There is uncertainty regarding the health of our Quarterback along with the fact that our QB is getting older, so a smart decision was made to draft a predecessor. That hopeful predecessor is not here to kick McNabb to the curb, especially after all that the Eagles have invested in him up until this point.

I knew from the moment I heard the word "Quarterback" when our 1st pick in the draft was selected, that we were in for a media frenzy. The hardest part about all of this is as of right now, everything that we are dealing with is complete speculation.

Donovan McNabb has not said anything bad about the Eagles drafting Kolb, but what seems almost just as bad at this point, he hasn't said anything at all.

This situation is somewhat similar to what happened when the Cowboy's signed Terrell Owens last year, assumptions and suspicion were allowed to fester when Bill Parcells never took an opportunity to address the media about such a big, but yet controversial, addition to the team.

This waiting game where everyone tries to gauge how McNabb feels about a certain occurrence is one that we were just playing a few months ago during the entire "Jeff Garcia race to the playoffs" show was happening. At that point we were pretty caught up in the actual football that was being played since there were still games every Sunday but once we lost to the Saints and the excitement subsided, the speculation returned once again.

Things got even worse during the Jeff Garcia waiting game when Andy Reid canceled a press conference that was scheduled for Donovan to speak about his rehab and such, but mainly how he felt about his team being led to the playoffs without him. Though the move made sense in the reasoning that nothing good could really come of the press conference, it just gave the media more information to feed off of and quite possibly manipulate, the fans still deserved to get a feel for what was going on.

Now here we are in yet another controversial situation, with all of the negative publicity the NFL has been getting this past year with the criminal problems of players such as Tank Johnson, Pac-Man Jones, and Chris Henry, you would think that the media would put a situation like this in perspective. We aren't dealing with players facing suspensions or drug charges, or anything like that, but we still find a way to put a negative spin on a lot of different actions.

Donovan McNabb's silence up until this point regarding Kevin Kolb is deafening. The fact that his father has spoken to the media but yet he still has not, is somewhat obnoxious, especially when you take into account that his father wanted to let people know that if the Eagles aren't in McNabb's future "there are 31 other NFL teams he can play for", not the best statement to make at a time like this.

As much as I support McNabb and realize that he isn't required to say anything regarding the teams off season acquisitions, he never released statements about signing Takeo Spikes, it would just make things a lot easier if he came out and showed everyone that this decision doesn't bother him. Frankly, if it does bother him I don't really want to hear about it, he doesn't have much to complain about.

The longer these questions go unanswered the more things get blown out of proportion. In the broad scheme of things, Kolb has no influence on how many games this team wins this season, so when looking at the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles, there are much bigger issues that need to be resolved.

It is Donovan McNabb's responsibility as the leader of this team to go out to the media, force them, through not only his words but his actions, to push this news story aside and focus on our run for a championship.

A Commitment To Improvement

With the Eagles history of often not going out in free agency and just throwing money around, some fans get the impression that the front office isn't seriously committed to winning. I view the consistent winning seasons as a great thing, it's exciting to constantly be in the hunt, but others just grow frustrated with the fact that we always fall short in the end.

I'm part of the group of people who would much rather go 12-4, 12-4, 12-4, year after year but I acknowledge and respect the fact that there are others who would give it all just to go 14-2, win a Super Bowl and than be in the gutter for the next 5 years.

This off season we didn't trade for Randy Moss or sign Adalius Thomas (it's very hard to believe that the Patriots of all teams did both those things within the past few months) but we have made key moves to improve upon last season. I'm actually shocked in how much we have grown, at least on paper so far, in comparison to the end of last season.

My favorite fact to keep in mind is that we made it to the divisional playoffs last year without our starting QB. Of all of the things to talk about, it's great to know that we have a 5 time Pro-Bowl QB on this roster. The fact that McNabb is still rehabbing from a very serious knee injury is not to be ignored, but I just have enough confidence in him to know that he'll be back and in the best shape of his life whether it be Week 1 or Week5, his contributions will be felt enormously and this teams success really hinges upon him.

Ok enough of my usual "I love Donovan" rant, moving onto the rest of this team.

The biggest move of all, one that I was stunned by and still elated about is the trade for Takeo spikes. As of right now we are not completely sure where he will fit in, he can play any of the 3 LB spots, but his strength is at weakside. The problem, of course, arises there considering that we saw Omar Gaither step in and flourish at that weakside position , but we do need to keep in mind that Gaither wasn't presumed to even play WILL, it was expected he would probably replace Trotter one day, so there are question all over the place.

In an effort to not completely break down the linebackers right now I'll just say that Spike's impact will be felt no matter where he is on the field, currently I'm expecting that he will be put at his strongest position, WILL, and the rest of the linebackers will be built around him accordingly.

Moving onto my 2nd favorite deal this offseason, signing wide receiver Kevin Curtis. Not a flashy player to say the least, but a solid receiver that can be relied upon to simply go out and catch the ball with speed and elusiveness. The loss of Donte' Stallworth would be felt on this team if Curtis wasn't added but once Stallworth moved onto the Patriots, Curtis was signed to replace him.

Curtis will work great on this team, finally getting a chance to see many more balls thrown his way without having Torry Holt or Issac Bruce before him on the depth chart, as it has been throughout his entire career. There's no Terrell Owens on this team but there is a group of guys in Curtis, Reggie Brown, Hank Baskett, Jason Avant, and Greg Lewis who will collectively make great contributions.

Most recently has been the signing of defensive tackle Ian Scott who is the second DT that has been acquired. Both Montae Reagor and Scott were on the rosters of the teams that appeared in this years Super Bowl, even though Montae Reagor was technically on injured reserve, he still was in the environment of a winning organization for the past few seasons. So the drive and mentality of knowing what it takes to win is something that isn't missing in either of these players, that especially can be said for Reagor who is overcoming many odds to bounce back from the serious injuries he suffered in a car accident.

On Special Teams there will be a change seen not only in the roster but at the coaching position as well with John Harbaugh moving on to be a secondary coach in an effort to widen his coaching resume. Former Special Teams quality control coach Rory Segrest was promoted to the Special Teams coordinator to replace Harbaugh. Having worked under Harbaugh in 2006, there shouldn't be much change expected, things will be pretty much the same as far as we'll be able to tell.

Something that will be different though is that receiver/kick returner Bethel Johnson was signed early in the offseason to compete for the starting KR job. Johnson will most likely compete with 2nd year player Jeremy Bloom for the job, that's something that will be watched during training camp.

The most overlooked but yet important moves are ones that are made within the organization, not only this past offseason but even during last year with many players getting contract extensions. Specific free agents that the team re-signed were Quintin Mikell, Correll Buckhalter, and Juqua Thomas all who would have been missed if they were allowed to sign with other franchises.

With all of these moves made, not even thinking about the draft, there's no reason to think this franchise isn't committed to success, at least not this time around. There's no doubt in my mind this team is better than the one that lost to the New Orleans Saints this past January.

Now we are coming upon the time when the rosters are pretty much set, plenty of players will be released of course, but there is no real chance of picking anyone up that can really make a contribution. From this point forward we will be working with these current players and starting from next weeks mini-camp onwards, there is a lot to improve upon but even more to be excited about.

Ian Scott Adds To DT Group

After the announcement that was made earlier today that the Eagles were hosting ex-Bears defensive tackle Ian Scott at the Nova Care Complex, he signed a 1 year contract with the team.

This brings the collection of players at Defensive Tackle to Broderick Bunkley, Mike Patterson, Montae Reagor, LaJuan Ramsey, Sam Rayburn, and now Ian Scott. This group has changed since the end of last season with the trading of Darwin Walker and the additions of both Montae Reagor and Ian Scott.

Currently there appears to be no obvious starters at the position, previous to these acquisitions it was figured that Mike Patterson and Darwin Walker, possibly Broderick Bunkley would be starting at the beginning of this season, but right now things are looking different.

Not to over hype the talent of Scott or Reagor, but still they are starting caliber players who have the potential of really stepping up in training camp and influencing the amount of snaps they get in that defensive tackle rotation. There's not much significance in who is in the starting lineup at DT considering that we rotate the guys so often, but it will be interesting to see if the presumed starters at the beginning of the off season (minus Darwin Walker), Bunkley and Patterson can keep their roles or if they'll lose some snaps due to an influx of competition at the position.

Whether Scott becomes a welcome addition to the team or never makes it past training camp, remember Ed Jasper?, that's something we will deal with as it happens but at least the team is pursuing talent.

That pursuit to pick up players is showing that the team isn't letting guys just walk out the door without adequate replacement. Darwin Walker was part of a very beneficial trade in vastly improving our linebackers by acquiring Takeo Spikes, but the team still found it necessary to at least get someone that has the potential of replacing Walker or that can at least compete for the position.

Interest In A Super Bowl DT

Chicago Bears nose tackle, obviously in the 4-3 defense he'd play DT here, Ian Scott is in Philadelphia today for a visit. The free agent DT has played in 49 regular season games racking up 96 tackles, 2 sacks and an interception. As usual with DT's, it's tough to just base their value on statistics alone, there are a lot of factors that go into how well they might have played.

Looking at the group of DT's we have right now, there doesn't appear to be an immediate need for a player to step in but competition is being brought in to put together the best crop of guys by the time the regular season begins.

Currently the locks to stay on the roster, after the trade of Darwin Walker in the Takeo Spikes deal, are Broderick Bunkley, LaJuan Ramsey, and Mike Patterson. The new addition to the team at the position has been Montae Reagor and as much as I think he will stay around, based there is still some uncertainty regarding his health after the car accident that ended his season early last year.

The last DT on the team is the one who I believe will be released if Scott is signed and that is Sam Rayburn. A disappointment in the past few seasons after breaking onto the scene in 2004, if no one new is brought in he has a good chance of staying around, just depending on how many DT's the coaches plan to keep on the roster.

No matter if this develops into anything or not with the drafting of Victor Abiamiri, resigning of Juqua Thomas, and addition of Montae Reagor, the team is addressing a defensive line that let a lot of people, especially myself, down last season. Hopefully though Jevon Kearse can returned to the team at full strength, if that is the case than a huge difference will be felt immediately with his presence.