Home Depot Neighborhood MVP

In addition to his own the field talents Brian Dawkins has been named as one of the eight finalists for the Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP Program written about in the following press release:

"EIGHT FINALISTS SELECTED FOR THE HOME DEPOT NFL NEIGHBORHOOD MVP PROGRAM
NFL Players Honored For Their Commitment In Giving Back To Their Communities


ATLANTA, Nov. 16, 2007 – The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer and ‘official home improvement sponsor’ of the National Football League®, today announced the eight finalists for The Home Depot NFL® Neighborhood MVP award. The Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP is a national program that recognizes players who are making a positive impact in their local communities through charitable programs and contributions.

The eight finalists, narrowed from a field of 17, will receive a $5,000 donation to the charity of their choice and are now in the running to be honored as The Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP. The national MVP winner will receive a $25,000 donation to the charity of his choice and will be recognized during the week leading up to Super Bowl® XLII, which will be held Feb. 3, 2008 in Arizona. Starting today, Nov. 16, fans can go online at homedepot.com/NFL to vote for the finalist they think is most deserving of the national award. Fans can cast their votes through Dec. 31, 2007.

"Our inaugural field of finalists embodies The Home Depot and the NFL’s long-standing commitment to giving back to local communities,” said John Ross, vice president of Advertising and interim head of Marketing for The Home Depot. “We are proud to be associated with these players and applaud their dedication to making a difference in the lives of others.”

Throughout the 17 weeks of the regular season, The Home Depot associates work alongside the local MVP and community volunteers to refurbish football fields and build playgrounds at schools and community centers in the home market of each player. The Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP finalists include:
Isaac Bruce – In St. Louis Bruce was selected for his support of health and wellness programs for youth. Through the Isaac Bruce Foundation, which is focused on health, wellness, nutrition, fitness and education, Bruce reaches out to youth and teaches them at an early age the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
Brian Dawkins – In Philadelphia Dawkins was selected for his support of the Burn Prevention Foundation, dedicated to the ongoing care of burn survivors, facilitating the training of emergency service personnel and delivering burn prevention education to those at greatest risk to injury. Dawkins also supports YMCA programs, the United Way and the Maternity Care Coalition, among other local charities.
Warrick Dunn – In Atlanta Dunn was selected for his work in assisting single parents achieve first-time homeownership. Through the Warrick Dunn Foundation, he provides opportunities for economically-disadvantaged single parents and children who have demonstrated a commitment to achieve financial independence and stability.
John Lynch – In Denver Lynch was selected for his work with student-athletes in the greater Denver area. Through scholarship programs, regular school and hospital visits, and his work with local Boys & Girls Clubs and the United Way, Lynch has made a tremendous impact in his community.
Jason Taylor – In Miami Taylor was selected for his work in founding the Jason Taylor Foundation, which supports and creates programs that facilitate the personal growth and empowerment of South Florida’s children in need by focusing on improved health care, education and quality of life.
Marcus Trufant – In Seattle Trufant was selected for his work in founding the Trufant Family Foundation that focuses on supporting scholarships, financial aid, children's and family centers.
Kurt Warner – In Phoenix Warner was selected for his work in founding the Kurt Warner First Things First Foundation, an organization that promotes Christian values and blesses the lives of those less fortunate.
Roy Williams – In Dallas Williams was selected for his work in founding the Roy Williams Safety Net Foundation, which helps ensure low-income single mothers in the Dallas area receive support, guidance and assistance to enhance their quality of life.

Through the Neighborhood MVP program, The Home Depot has also teamed with United Way® to recognize consumers who are making a positive impact in their local communities. In addition, The Home Depot will also honor one of its store associates as the Associate Neighborhood MVP. Both MVPs will receive an all-expense paid trip to Super Bowl XLII.

The Home Depot became the ‘official home improvement sponsor’ of the National Football League through a multi-year integrated marketing partnership in late 2006. Through this agreement, The Home Depot became the official postgame sponsor of NFL Network's eight regular season games, called "The Home Depot Postgame Show," which will begin on Thanksgiving night and run through the final week of the regular season. Also under the agreement, The Home Depot has the right to use the following trademarks: NFL Kickoff, NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl XLI, XLII, XLIII, the 2007, 2008 and 2009 NFL Pro Bowls."

Historical Spread

Talk about a challenge, New England Patriots on national football, at Gillette Stadium and without starting Quarterback Donovan McNabb.

At this point things are almost humorous, the odds can not be placed against us anymore than they already are. Apparently the 23 1/2 point spread is the largest in the history of the NFL, that isn't a part of history that I ever really wanted this team to be a part of but I guess you take what you can get.

That spread mostly speaks on behalf of the ridiculous success the Patriots have had this season, combined with the fact that they continually score points throughout a game. In the past, such dominant teams often back down towards the end of a game when they have a huge lead, but the Patriots do not follow that pattern. Despite what the point differential is, Belichick keeps his team aiming for the endzone.

To say we need to come into this game with a chip on our shoulder is a major understatement. I've never witnessed a game where we were this much of an underdog, it actually make things really interesting.

We're heading into New England with the expectation from the entire league that we're going to lose. So there really is no pressure, nothing to live up to, because no one believes in us.

Then you look at the Patriots, there is pressure there because if they win, everyone realizes that should be the outcome, but if they lose?

No matter what the spread tells you, the game still has to be played, so lets see which way things go.

The Transplanted Philly Fan

I'm a guest blogger on The Transplanted Philly Fan today

Be sure to check out the site on a regular basis, it's also listed in my favorite links.

Still Searching For Balance

Before Donovan went down with the ankle sprain and A.J. Feeley took over, the offense was stalling early and often. At one point on the teams 2nd possession of the day the drive began with a 23 yard reception to Kevin Curtis and we saw the first sign of execution. That was followed with a perfect 46 yard touchdown pass to Reggie Brown, but that was called back due to a very arguable holding call.

It was disheartening having that touchdown taken back, but I thought the back to back down the field completions were giving us a glimpse of the success we would be seeing for the remainder of the game. That was not the case though considering that from that point forward McNabb threw two interceptions and didn't complete a pass longer than 7 yards.

Did that nullified touchdown really deflate the offense that much? I don't know, but what I do know is that with already so much criticism of Donovan this season, leaving a game with 2 interceptions and having Feeley step in with 1 touchdowns and 1 interception, is going to lead to a rough week for McNabb.

I support A.J. Feeley just as much as anyone else, but Feeley did not beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, he managed the game enough so that we didn't lose, but he was not a hero in any sense. On his 3rd time on the field for the day Feeley worked through a nice drive that resulted in a touchdown, but if any sole man is going to get credit for the success it's going to be Brian Westbrook.

Just like what we saw last season, when McNabb was on the field the play calling was out of balance, running the ball only 26% of the time. Now I understand that we are working within a limited number of snaps considering Donovan only played about 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter, but of the 22 plays that were called, only 8 were runs.

Now once McNabb left the game and Feeley stepped on, the play calling completely shifted with the percentage of runs more than doubling, from 26% with McNabb at QB to 56% with Feeley.

Once it was evident that McNabb wasn't coming back, Brian Westbrook ran the ball 24 times. From a team standpoint this was great, Westbrook put together 32 runs for a career high 148 yards on Sunday, but everyone needs to keep this fresh in their minds, because that is why we won this game, not because of A.J. Feeley.

I have an enormous amount of respect for Feeley, being a back-up QB there was always the possibility he could step in and without having practiced with the first team offense, commit mistake after mistake and lose the game for us. Thankfully that wasn't the case as he did a very nice job of controlling the game and minimizing turnovers.

But when fans see the offense sputter when McNabb was on the field and than be able to put up two touchdowns with Feeley at the helm, people jump to conclusions. What we really need to be looking at is the fact that the coaches provided Feeley with a much more balanced offense than McNabb, spurring a lot of the success that we ended up seeing.

The ideal situation was not for Brian Westbrook to touch the ball 33 times on the day, especially considering he battled an injury during practice this week and we need him fresh for the New England Patriots next week. But when the victory was in jeopardy, there was no looking to next week and we soon realized the only way this offense was going to get moving would be on Brian Westbrook's back, so we did just that.

I'm not trying to underestimate Westbrook's abilities in any sense but we can not put the ball in his hands that much on a consistent basis if we want him to last all season, which is precisely what we often do. What needs to happen though is we have to find a balance, a little mid way point between when McNabb was on the field and Westbrook's number was not called nearly enough, to when Feeley was at QB and Westbrook was touching the ball constantly.

Calling over 70% passing plays for Donovan McNabb to work with is ridiculous. Just like when Jeff Garcia stepped in last year, the coaches always balance up the offense after McNabb gets hurt, and that balance has seems to work efficiently. But that change often causes the misconception that the offense is benefiting so much from the back-up QB, when it is really benefiting from running the ball more. If the offensive gameplan that was called for A.J. Feeley was called for McNabb, we would see a much higher rate of execution.

There are no excuses for McNabb to turn the ball over, that goes without saying, but that isn't often the case with Donovan, he usually controls turnovers pretty well. What we do need to see happen though is the coaches to make it much easier for McNabb and that can be done simply by taking some pressure off of him and making sure Brian Westbrook gets a decent amount of runs called for him.

It's going to be tough for McNabb because there is no way he is going to sit out to heal this sprained ankle. To begin with he is too proud and we've seen him play through injury after injury, not giving in until surgery is required. Tied into all of that is the fact that if he does sit, that just increases the speculation that he will lose his starting job, which seems to be at an all time peak.

I think there is no question that Donovan McNabb should and will start against the New England Patriots, no thumb or ankle injury is going to hold back a man playing to salvage his career in Philadelphia.

Goal Line Standing Strong

With the Quarterbacks of the day throwing a combined 3 interceptions, they gave the Dolphins every opportunity to put points on the board and take a massive lead. Thankfully, the defense came up huge on the day, not allowing rookie John Beck to take advantage of any turnovers his defense produced, and repeatedly putting the ball back in our offense's hands.

Turnovers are dangerous because of the fact that they often put the opposing offense in great field position, making putting points on the board, that much easier. But considering our defense did not allow Miami to produce any points from the turnovers that we handed them, the interceptions were less of a game killer and more of an annoyance.

This 17 to 7 win would have had a very different outcome had the Dolphins taken advantage of the 3 interceptions their defense produced that gave them the ball back and a chance to score. But our defense allowed only 109 passing yards and held Chatman to 72 rushing yards, a net total of 186 in comparison to our offenses 352.

We still seem to be in a drought of producing turnovers but the highlight of the day by far came on the goal line stand that eliminated Miami from drawing closer towards the end of the 4th quarter.

Joselio Hanson brought Jesse Chatman just 1 yard shy of the endzone on a 17 yard run and though that seemed to be the predecessor to an easy touchdown, the defense held on strong.

On 1st down on the 1 yard line Trent Cole was able to break into the back field and drag Chatman down with him on an attempted run up the middle.

2nd down on the 2 was where Takeo Spikes shined, back in pass coverage on tight end Aaron Halterman he stuck his hands up in the air and was able to defend the pass just enough so that the tight end wasn't able to hold onto the ball.

3rd down, another Chatman run was attempted, this time to the left, but Spikes wasn't having it.

One more try, 4th down, moving things to the outside Chatman got a toss to the right only to be met by Juqua Thomas. With one of the most disciplined defensive plays I've seen all year Thomas proved why he was promoted to that starting defensive end spot over Jevon Kearse.

Keeping Them Winless

Bringing our record up to 5-5, breaking even for the first time all season is a relief, but the way in which it came about wasn't very fun.

Nothing seemed to go right in this one, after both teams started with 3 and outs, once our offense go the ball back it looked like we might be getting right on pace. A beautiful pass from Donovan McNabb to Reggie Brown looked to be a 46 yard touchdown, but thanks to a holding penalty on L.J. Smith, who had a day plagued with problems, the touchdown came back.

But despite that misfortune on what seemed to me, to be a very bad call on the refs part, just one play later McNabb seemed to take things into his own hands on 2nd and 22 rushing for 26 yards. That excitement though was soon nullified when 2 plays later McNabb threw an interception while attempting to get to ball to Reggie Brown, "There was just miscommunication. There's no need to go into it. It's my fault. Maybe I should have just thrown the ball away.", said McNabb.

The miscues kept on coming from that point forward, next drive resulted in a 3 and out yet again which didn't seem to be bad enough, it was topped off with an 87 yard punt return for a touchdown by Ted Ginn Jr. Drive after that? Ended with another interception from Donovan McNabb's hands to Jason Allen.

Things only got better when the following drive concluded with McNabb being taken down awkwardly on his ankle, causing him to hobble off the field, and ending his day with a sprained ankle.

Hand the reigns over to A.J. Feeley and things certainly didn't look pretty, but there was some accomplishment. Initially the transition seemed to be smooth with a nice 24 yard connection with L.J. Smith, but disappointingly after making it to 5 yards shy of the red zone, Feeley threw an interception on a pass intended for Jason Avant.

Eventually though after a 3 and out it became a team effort, J.R. Reed helped with a 25 yard punt return in the field position battle, and we were able to work our way down for a Correll Buckhalter 8 yard touchdown.

When things felt like they were trailing off once again the 3rd quarter, Feeley didn't fall victim to the red zone perils that seem to have plagued this team for much of the season. Despite it coming down to the wire on a 3rd and 4 on the Miami 4, Feeley was able to convert with a bullet right to Jason Avant, into the endzone. Increasing the lead, 17 to 7.

That 10 point differential was tested though as the clock dwindled down in the 4th quarter. After having already done a great job on the evening, the defense was able to produce a goal line stand and give the ball back to our offense, with the opportunity to run down the clock and close out the game.

The clock ticked away with just 25 seconds remaining when Sav Rocca was forced to punt the ball back to the Dolphins, soon clinching the victory.

Two Underdogs On Miami Offense

At a time when many Philadelphia fans are whining out our Quarterback situation, facing off against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday should be a big wake up call. This Dolphins organization is on their 3rd head coach (excluding John Bate's filling in to finish up the 2004 season after Dave Wannstedt was fired) and have had 11 starting Quarterbacks since the departure of Jimmy Johnson and Dan Marino in 1999.

This year the team traded with the Chiefs for Trent Green after he basically lost his job to Damon Huard in part to a concussion he suffered last season. The idea wasn't for Green to necessarily be the QB of the future but to hold the job down while they groomed future prospect, John Beck who they drafted in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft.

That idea only lasted so long as Green not only showed little to no success at the position, but ended up being placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a concussion against the Houston Texans in Week 5.

With Green no longer active, the door was opened once again for Cleo Lemon, a perennial back-up QB throughout the majority of his career. Lemon was initially signed as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Ravens, went to the Chargers in 2003, and then was eventually traded to the Dolphins in 2005 for A.J. Feeley.

It seems like right now Lemon is just kind of wasting time until the team feels comfortable enough to give Beck the start. Considering they really like the kid it's going to be a process of developing him well enough as opposed to just throwing him in the fire. Right now the season is lost so there's no reason to rush into things and jeopardize the confidence of the young Quarterback.

So while each game passes, the questions as to when John Beck gets his first start are going to persist. But if I were the Dolphins I would be very careful as to how I handle this situation, they have been through the new Quarterback scenario time and time again but it has yet to work out for them.

For now they should continue running their offense through Jesse Chatman, who really broke onto the scene last week with 27 carries for 124 yards, a career high of his past 5 years in the league.

Though neither have experienced much success within the past 5 years, both Jesse Chatman and Cleo Lemon were undrafted rookie free agents signed by the San Diego Chargers in 2002. Each have experienced their fair share of ups and downs but no matter what you want to say about either, they have hung around in a league that averages just a 3 and 1/2 season career for each player.

The combination of both underdogs are going to try and prove themselves worthy of sticking around once again and no one on the Eagles is going to underestimate their abilities.

Let's Get On A Roll

With the latest win over the Redskins it's great to know that we're not dead in the water. We finally were able to beat an NFC East opponent, making it critical for us to beat the Giants and Cowboys when we face off against them again later in the season. But the issue we have yet to overcome is the fact that we haven't posted back to back winning games yet.

Every time we've won, there has been the expectation we will get on a roll like in years past and string a few wins together. That hasn't happened. After the hammering of Detroit, we fell flat against the Giants, returning from a rested BYE week we beat the Jets, but then crumbled in the final minutes against the Bears. Following that disappointment we went on to shut down Adrian Peterson and show glimpses of offensive success in the red-zone, but that hope was soon deflated with a domination by the Cowboys.

So lets try this one more time.

The Miami Dolphins are in the most desperate of situations, win less through their first 9 games, the team that was expected to rise up within the past few seasons has fallen flat on their face time and time again.

Now when dealing with a team that has nothing to play for besides dignity at this point, there is always the chance that they will dig down deep and pull out a win just to per serve their own competitive spirit. In prior years we've faced situations similar to this, but we were usually a much higher ranked opponent at that time and needed to guard ourselves from a let down.

At this point it would obviously be an upset to drop a game to the Dolphins but it's not like we're on a winning streak, with a tendency to sleep on an opponent. It is necessary that we don't look ahead to the following week, a national game against the New England Patriots, but at this point that match-up just terrifies me.

If we can beat the Dolphins and build a little confidence, prove to ourselves that we can start putting some things together, then we're still in this thing.

But with the way things have gone so far this season, I guarantee you that no one is assuming anything.

Through It All

Things are far from easy for Andy Reid right now, we all know that, he is facing serious problems within his family which have become the focal point of local media. I have not talked about the issues with his sons much up until this point, I see no correlation between how that affects this football team because I know that Reid is a true professional and does everything in his power to not let outside distractions affect his work with this franchise.

But regardless of if it affects his work, Coach Reid is still human and has to be feeling the pressure of all that he is going through at the moment. Not only has he been facing the troubles with his family but things have been far from easy with his team as well.

From the team aspect of things, the coach has been through a lot over these last 9 seasons in Philadelphia. Ranging from on the field issues like losing in the NFC Championship games to the final 2 minutes of the Super Bowl, even going back to the should he or shouldn't he have gone for it on 4th down against the Saints in the divisional playoffs last season. Then as far as personnel goes there was the criticism of letting Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor go, saying goodbye to Jeremiah Trotter, and not re-signing Jeff Garcia. Plus you can't think Philadelphia Eagles controversy without remember two initials, T.O., and that whole ordeal that really had to have tested Andy Reid's durability as a head coach.

Now throughout the majority of those issues, there has been one common factor, only one person who has been with Andy through it all and that is Donovan McNabb. When it all comes down to it, the blame has been shared amongst these two men for the reasons as to why we have not won a Championship yet under this regime. There is a balance of who do you blame, did they call bad plays or was it poor execution? Pretty much any loss will always go back to one of these two guys, the head coach or the Quarterback.

Things don't get any easier when you also take into account the fact that both McNabb and Reid were intertwined with the Terrell Owens mess, McNabb rallied for him to come here while Reid went through with the decision. Then both of them ended up being thrown under the bus by the loud mouthed wide receiver and for a period of time were seen as the bad guys who had "lost the locker room" and "weren't leaders". But when everyone seemed to be turning their backs on such pivotal men of this organization, they supported each other.

More recently we faced the issues with Jeff Garcia and if there was going to be a Quarterback controversy between Garcia and the returning McNabb, that died quickly once the franchise decided not to re-sign Garcia. Then when it seemed like we finally got over the Garcia deal along came Kevin Kolb with the Eagles first pick of the draft and again we faced a few more months of questions and speculation regarding the Quarterback situation.

That issue seems to never disappear, it dies down for a short while but it just takes a little spark for it to be ignited once again. Hopefully McNabb's performance against the Redskins was the beginning of some consistency this season and he won't have to face another week like he did after his horrible game against the Cowboys.

Now what we saw at the end of the Redskins game between McNabb and Reid was not complete elation over a win or celebration that the season is still alive, but a sense of relief. As the seconds were winding down Reid grabbed McNabb for a moment and said something to him, the smile on his face was there, they both were able to take a deep breath, if only for a second.

With the way the season is right now, the competition within the division, those few seconds were really the only chance the team could really be happy about this win. There isn't enough time to dwell on a win or a loss, as serious as things are now, almost as soon as the game clock hits 0:00, the team needs to start focusing on the next opponent.

That common factor that has been there through it all, the combination of Reid and McNabb, is still around. They have supported each other and will continue to do so, as so much is on the line, more than just a season, but their future with this franchise.

Rising Through Adversity

Kevin Kolb anyone? I don't think so.

Donovan McNabb, the man who received so much criticism all week, came out and threw for 4 touchdowns, completed 71.4% of his passes (20 of 28) and also rushed for 37 yards. This performance at least will shut everyone up for one week, but if the stones are still being thrown at Donovan it doesn't seem to matter anyway, he always shines when faced with adversity.

Nothing was perfect, fumbling in the 4th quarter is unacceptable, especially for a veteran like McNabb. At this point something like ball security shouldn't even be an issue and considering this is his 6th fumble of the season (has lost 4) and he began the Dallas game last week with a fumble, it needs to be addressed.

Quite often when an issue like this arises it will only be addressed if it leads to losing the game. Thankfully it didn't pan out that way this time, but McNabb needs to focus on keeping that ball tucked away. From the standpoint of our defense it had to be severely frustrating because we had struggled with forcing turnovers all season, but the one time that we finally force Ladell Betts to fumble, the offense comes out and on the first play hands the ball right back to the Redskins.

When turnovers are few and far between to begin with, there is an urgency to capitalise on them no matter what. So far, we haven't given McNabb many opportunities to put points on the board after a turnover, considering we haven't had many, but when those chances to come around, we need to take advantage.

In opposition to the constant questions regarding McNabb's recovery from his knee injury, he was even able to get outside of the pocket yesterday and run to pick up some yards. Now Jason Campbell is not seen as a running Quarterback but he is prone to use his legs to pick up some yards every once in awhile so it was just interesting to see that Donovan McNabb, the 30 year old veteran returning from a torn ACL, actually rushed for more yards than the 3rd year Campbell.

Now there were blown chances in this game too, an overthrown pass to an open tight end was one, a few near interceptions by the Redskins, but when it all came down to it McNabb prevailed. The accuracy wasn't perfect, it never seems to be, and I'm not trying to ever make a case that McNabb is Peyton Manning but he is hands down the best we have, the best we'll have for at least another 5 years, and a very good Quarterback at that.

Westbrook Always Pulls Through

Yet again we have another week where Brian Westbrook really pulled through, shouldering so much of the offensive production and adding that spark that was needed to leave Washington with a win. With his 100 rushing yards on 20 carries, 5 grabs for 83 yards, and a combined 3 touchdowns, the Redskins were not able to contain the prime weapon on our team.

Down by 5 points in the 4th quarter with 3 minutes and 29 seconds left to play, Westbrook took the game into his own hands and showed how dangerous he is as soon as the ball is in his hands. With McNabb under pressure, he bought time and then threw off of his back foot to Westbrook, ready for the dump off. That was all he needed as Westbrook then maneuvered down the field, 57 yards, his longest reception of the season, and brought it in for the touchdown to take the lead.

The Redskins worked all day to prevent the big play from happening, with their safety's placed so deep they wanted to force us to work underneath all day. That can often be a good strategy because the idea in playing defense like that would be it's going to take a long sustained drive to be able to put points on the board, which provides the offense more time to make a mistake and have to give up the ball. But on the opening drive, thanks in part to 3 Redskins penalties, along with a true West Coast style offense, we were able to start the game off with a touchdown.

During that 11 play 82 yard beginning drive, the longest pass completion for to Westbrook for 12 yards, other than that McNabb just hung tight with the short high percentage completions. With precise execution from the start, we were able to start the game off on a good note and take the lead early.

We were able to see that with the talent on this team there is no way to eliminate all of Donovan's options. Though Kevin Curtis had his least productive game of the year, the Redskins focused on taking the big plays from the wide recievers out of the game, and for the majority of the game they succeed in that. But they grately underestimated our ability to not only sustain long drives but how hard it is to bring Brian Westbrook down once he had the ball in his hands.

Unlike many players, Westbrook doesn't need to go 30 yards downfield and then catch the ball to make a big play. He thrives in being able to just catch a screen pass, make a few guys miss, and work his way down the field. The man truly has the best field vision of any running back in the NFL right now and week in and week out he proves just how detrimental his presence is to a defense.

Don't Make McNabb Another Casualty

I don't watch any other sport besides football so I'm not going to even try and delve deep into the topics of other Phiadelphia sports. But to me there seems to be a lot of irony regarding the recent talk about former Flyer Eric Lindros deciding to retire. I can't tell you one thing about Lindros besides the fact that he was beloved in Philadelphia for his talent and then eventually left on bad terms.

The same goes for Allen Iverson, honored as a god at one point in his career but after years of ending seasons without a Championship, among others issues, he was run out of town.

We can't let that happen again.

No matter what you want to say about Donovan McNabb and what he hasn't' done for this team, bring home the Lombardi Trophy, he has done more than any other Quarterback has done for this franchise in recent history. For history's sake you have to honor Norm Van Brocklin leading the Eagles to a win over the Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship game, but when talking about modern Philadelphia Eagles football, no one can hold a candle to what McNabb has done.

Go ahead say it, he's choked in 3 NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl, though I don't think that you can just go ahead and blame one player for those defeats, it makes things a lot easier and people tend to do it anyway. So sure, just use that as an excuse, Donovan McNabb lost us the Super Bowl, as well as the '01, '02, and '03 NFC Championship games. But guess what? We wouldn't have gotten there without him.

Second best to McNabb in terms on winning games and leading successful seasons for this franchise was Ron Jaworksi, and he is still far behind what Donovan has done. Not to overlook Randall Cunningham in any sense, he provided an excitement and fun aspect to the game, but he never put up the winning seasons that truly satisfied the city so can't really be included in this assessment.

So no matter what you want to say about Donovan, blame him for all of the reasons we haven't won a Super Bowl, we wouldn't have even had a chance without him. You take the 1999 draft, McNabb was the best Quarterback to come out by far, so the correct decision was made in selecting him, unless you would really prefer to have Daunte Culpepper or Tim Couch right now.

Suck it up Eagles fans, right now we don't have Peyton Manning or Tom Brady on this roster, but we have the best that we could have in McNabb. Calling for Kevin Kolb to be handed the job is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Nothing makes me more frustrated then when fans, constantly, think the QB sitting on the bench is so much better than the one on the field.

When McNabb was playing through his sports hernia in 2005, everyone wanted to bench him and put their hero of the moment, Mike McMahon in. Mike McMahon...how stupid do you feel now after you saw the disaster that caused? Once McNabb was forced to end the season early because he tore his groin, everyone got their wish of Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer...good selection guys, they went on to lost 5 of our final 7 games with your boy, Mike McMahon at the helm.

So here we go again, you see the young QB sitting fresh on the bench and you have some crazy idea that he's the new Troy Aikman. I don't think so. Am I discrediting all that Kolb has to offer? No, he will probably be our quarterback one day, one day far in the future. But why in the world would you bench McNabb so you can hand the reigns to Kolb who is going to have 8 games of growing pains.

No matter what your argument is for Kolb, a not 100% McNabb, still returning for injury, is drastically better.

Kevin Kolb has done absolutely nothing to prove that he's anywhere near capable of starting. The same people that sit in front of their couches or yell Kolb's name at Eagles games, I bet can't tell me a single thing about the guy. You just see a young QB, who has never screwed up in front of you before (or done anything right either), and you think he's going to be your savior. It doesn't work like that.

Look back at 4th and 26, the 15 second scramble, the pickle juice game, 2004 NFC Championship game, none of those memories would be possible without McNabb. Stop crying and put some support behind the guy that has made all of the success we've had since 2000 possible. Do not run another player out of town just because they aren't serving you well right now, respect what McNabb has done, realize he has the capabilities to do much more, and don't make the same mistakes you've made with every talented athlete that came into Philadelphia and hero and was thrown out a bum.

Hanging In The Balance

The man that we have invested so much money and time into as the starting Quarterback of this team, now is in the most unsecured position throughout his entire career. Over and over again for years the questions of Donovan McNabb's capabilities and criticisms about his play have surrounded this franchise, but never has it gotten as serious at it is now.

For so long I've always said, the only person with a guaranteed position on this team is Donovan McNabb. That was a combination of the talent that he had along with the business side of things, the money, confidence, and time that had been invested into him ever since he was drafted in 1999.

When yells were made for Koy Detmer to replace McNabb, Jeff Garcia, A.J. Feeley, on and on, I always denounced the claims that he would be benched. It never made any sense because McNabb has always been much more talented than the man that have been listed behind him on the depth chart. But now things are starting to look a lot less secure and that primarily is because of youth.

Now tied into the debate on whether to keep McNabb starting or not is the fact that he is an aged veteran. A 30 year old Quarterback is at his peak, the prime of his career and it is often the time when that QB drives their team to a championship. But this 30 year old QB we have could quite possibly have the body of an older veteran.

The injuries have been endless over the years, the broken ankle, the sports hernia, the torn ACL, all dotted with other varying ailments year in and year out. When there was any chance that he could stay on the field and play through the pain, McNabb always has, but too often the injuries have been serious enough that he had had to undergo season ending surgery.

This time around we aren't discussing a new injury that has come along, we are talking strictly about McNabb and his abilities. Along with the analysis of his play is the constant chatter about the fact that he is rebounding from a very serious ACL injury, that has to be accounted for.

As of right now Andy Reid is sticking with McNabb, the fact that he did not guarantee that the position is his for the remainder of the season though does speak volumes because for years Reid has been Donovan's constant supporter. He always made sure there was no doubt that the job was his, the team was his, and the future was in McNabb's hands. Things are different though and a lot hangs in the balance.

From a personal perspective I'm not ready to give up on Donovan. I know I'm going to fall victim to what so many General Manager's often to, just hanging on a little too long to the veteran that had the potential or the player that you already invested so much in and don't want to give up on. Right now, as dumb as it may be, I want to give Donovan every chance left to prove that he can make it through what has to be the biggest challenge of his career.

I can't move on just yet, we're only at the mid-season mark, I'm sure I'm naive, and hanging onto something that's no longer there. But I need at least a few more games because I denounce the guy that has been the face of this team for the past 9 years.

How Has This Happened?

I was optimistic, hopeful that we would witness magic happen on Sunday night, but it all pretty much blew up in our faces. Whatever could go wrong did, losing on a national stage with Terrell Owens working his way all over the field, not my idea of a good time.

Now there are even more questions about where we go from here. A big consensus has given up on the year, I'm not going to lie, I labeled the Dallas match-up a must win, and we ended up losing.

But the thing is that I don't have the mental capacity to sit here and just cash it all in, the season is only mid way through and I would go crazy if I started looking to next year. We all know anything can happen, reference last year for a perfect example, but the odds are that we aren't going to make the play offs.

Even larger than that though is what the team is going to do to finish out the year. Donovan McNabb's role has often been questioned on this team, well now the criticism is at an all time high and there are serious calls for Kevin Kolb to get the start.

For me, that is the hardest thing of all, I can't imagine this team without McNabb at the helm and to think that his time in Philadelphia actually has the potential to be over without a championship ring? It's something I can't even fathom.

I'm always optimistic with what I think the team can do but along with that I still have a complete sense of what is actually possible. I have always truly believed that no matter what circumstances arose through each season, eventually we would get to the point where Donovan would lead this team to a Super Bowl victory.

Now I'm hanging on by a thread, I can't lose all hope because I feel like what a waste a 9 years. If this season ends without even a play off appearance, there's no way that McNabb will stay around. But right now it's way too early and way too hard for me to call for McNabb to be benched, I can't do it.

Winning at this point is what we need to at least maintain our dignity as a franchise. Every player on this team, employee of this organization should be no less than humiliated at the position we are in right now. I can't even express how frustrated and disheartened I am with the point we are at, I don't even want to think about finishing out this season with a losing record.

With the way things are going there has been nothing to prove that we will get things turned around, we can't post back to back victories, no one is playing as a cohesive unit, play-calling is all screwed up, error after error has led us to being 3-5, dead last in our division. It really blows my mind to see where we are at, never in a million years would I have predicted that things would go this badly. It's terrible.

The only thing that we can do now is just win. In the NFL winning is obviously always going to determine the future of a franchise, "you play to win the game", but it's much more serious now.

Awaiting The Headlines

Awaking to the Inquirer bolstering celebratory headlines on Monday morning is one of the best parts of winning on a Sunday. Right now the optimism is riding high because hope is all that we have. Hope that the season can be saved with a win tonight, in front of a national audience, and best of all...against the Dallas Cowboys.

Of course in perspective just being victorious tonight isn't going to do anything, we'll even our record out to be .500, but besides that we'll still be last in the divison. The thing is though that to work our way up, we have to start somewhere and starting next week is going to be too late.

Donovan McNabb declared at the beginning of the season, "The time is now", the time for this franchise to finally buckle down and finish out a season with a Super Bowl win. So far, we haven't seen any sign of that happening but all is not lost. Logisitically for things to start heading in the right direction a turn around needs to happen immediateily.

Not only would it be devastating to the season to drop to 3-5, but that would make us 0-3 in the division, well out of range to ever climb to the top of the NFC East or acquire a wild-card spot in the playoffs. Beating the Dallas Cowboys tonight would of course not be the "be all end all", we still have to face them again along with the Giants, Redskins, Patriots, among others.

But right now the mentality is, and has to be, that this is it. These players are taught to take things one game at a time and so right now, that game begins at Lincoln Financial Field tonight against the Dallas Cowboys. If we come out defeated, an entirely new realm will surface that will move the Eagles on to next year, possibly sans Donovan McNabb, and the speculation will be out of control.

I can't handle that.

Winning tonight will not only mathematically keep us as a competitior in the divison, but it will greatly improve the spirit of this team and give everyone something to believe in again. The players know that they are talented enough to win tonight, they just need to be able to prove it to everyone else and if that happens, the emotion could carry this team through the Redskins, to the Dolphins, and on to the New England Patriots.

But it's one game at a time, no looking ahead, so lets just hope that what beings at 8:15 tonight is going to be able to be celebrated tomorrow morning, because we are ready.

Getting Dawk Back

After two straight days of practicing with the team Brian Dawkins seems to be right on track for a return to the field Sunday Night.

The heart beat of this team could not return at a more crucial time, with so much on the line the intensity is going to be there regardless, but to have Dawk suited up will definitely help that side of things.

For the past 5 weeks we've seen Dawk pacing the sidelines, playing coach just as much as cheerleader. There is no denying that he still finds a way to stay involved with the team, becoming a very valuable resource on game day, suited up or not. Whether Dawk has been standing on the sidelines screaming at the crowd, trying to get them pumped up, or walking over to talk to Matt McCoy after he committed a moronic Personal Foul, you have felt his presence.

But as much as we appreciate what he can bring to the locker room and sideline, having him back on the playing field would be a great addition. Thankfully, despite our offensive woes, our defense has done a really nice job so far and often playing through varying injuries and line up changes. Now knowing that our defense can allow the 6th fewest points in the league without Dawkins, having him back can only make things better.

Hopefully there are no hiccups along the way that prevent Dawk's return but as for now things are looking good and according to Terrell Owens, he hopes Dawk is back because he wants to face us at full strength. So lets give him what he wants.