MVN: Most Valuable Network

(Writer's Note: I've been "away"...no, not that kind of "away", but my email service crashed and burned and I've been fighting my piece-of-junk computer all week trying to find the answer. Turns out it was my lousy provider Excite.com who somehow blew up their new email app last week and still haven't fixed it. How is this company still in business, and how stupid am I to still be with them? Anyway, I'll keep this column light and short today to see if it can be published from my new email links...thanks for your patience---T.J.)

Cruising the fan polls of the assorted city-states that populate the NFC East, I was curious to learn how fans in New York City, Dallas and Washington were reacting to the curious predictions of so many "experts" and pundits in the national media who have been predicting the "domination of the NFC East" by the new, improved 2009 version of the Philadelphia Eagles.

My Dallas fan-of-the-moment has to be "cmonromo" of Austin, Texas, who wrote on Matt Mosley's blog (myESPNgo.com) the following analysis, which is pretty objective, all things considered:

"Wanna split hairs? If Tony Romo shows up vs. the Rams, Dallas would be in last year, and the final reg season game where Philly beat us 44-6 wouldn't have mattered...No broken pinkie on Romo's hand, no Eagle playoff berth...The biggest improvement for the Eagles this season appears to be on their O-Line, and let's face it, the Eagles could've won the division easily last year if not for a few games lost on short yardage...the addition of Weaver at fullback will improve the short-distance game. I think the Eagles will miss Buckhalter at RB unless someone else besides Westbrook steps up to average 7 yards-per-touch...Eagles lose Dawkins at safety but they improve on coverage defense overall with younger, faster guys...Problem, bro', is the more Eagles fans think they will win the NFC East, they will never win a Super Bowl with McNabb at QB..."

Then there's "jimmyc345" from New York City, who writes: "Philly will disappoint its fans in 2009 precisely because they are favored to win...McNabb always makes crucial mistakes at critical times, and his players always drop the ball when it counts the most...Remember in the Super Bowl in 2007-08, if Asante made that pick then Eli don't have a ring? Well, Asante is with the Eagles now. That sums it up..." 

Finally, "str8balla050" from D.C. states that the Redskins will neutralize any gains made by the Eagles in the 2009 offseason because of an improved defense in Washington, and that once again "Philly will choke away at least one game to the Redskins...and do you think the Eagles running game will work against our 8-man Box? The Eagles have been favored before and they have lost...Plus, the Eagles' schedule is a li'l crazy in 2009 with a bunch of Away games back-to-back. The Eagles' offense is still too weak and their QB can't escape the rush or run the ball like he used to. Sooner or later, he will throw the ball to the other team."

And so, the battle of the NFC East is ON, brothers and sisters. Wouldn't it be hysterical if all four division rivals finished with identical 8-8 records? Based on the opinions expressed above, that kind of finish would be plausible.

What a pleasure it was to listen to Jeff Fisher, head coach of the Tennessee Titans, on the Monty Show on Sporting News Radio last night, after Monty likened Fisher's success with the Titans to the overall winning record of Reid.  Fisher was so gracious in his acceptance of the comparison, and said he "was humbled" by the comparison. What a class act... Jeff Fisher is the epitome of class and professionalism, and it's no wonder he has the longest tenure coaching one team (15 years) as compared to Andy Reid's 11th year coming up with the Eagles. One of the most striking comments made by Fisher was his answer to Monty's question: "What is the most important role of a head coach in the NFL?" Fisher barely blinked an eye in his answer: "Player development..." I totally get what Fisher was saying. Basically, he flat out admitted in that... Read more

This one was supposed to go under the radar. All the good news about Donovan McNabb restructuring his contract for the next two years (at $12 million guaranteed for each of the next two seasons) was supposed to have buried the news of the demise of Otis Smith into the back pages. More good news was that WR Kevin Curtis feels fine after his sports hernia surgery in April. Still, we were not supposed to care that much about the dismissal of a fine assistant secondary coach who also spent 4 years of his 13-year playing career with the Eagles and was mainly responsible for the innovations of the gap-coverage schemes and the blitz-back-up strategies that enabled aging and slowing Brian Dawkins to put up one more great season in 2008. Maybe I'm making too much of this. But I fear the dismissal of coach Otis Smith (a Jim Johnson alumnus) portends a major change in... Read more

It wasn't so long ago, as Michael David (Editor, Insiders Betting Digest magazine) points out, if you wanted to bet on sports, you had only two unappealing options: find your local bookie(illegal), or hop on a plane to Vegas. Both options were loaded with possible pitfalls. Today, however, you can place a bet safely and securely while sitting in your Philadelphia Eagles pajamas and watching the games unfold on your TV in your "Eagles Nest" basement, simply by logging on to the Internet and making a few mouse-clicks at your favorite online sportsbook. The rise in popularity of online gaming has meant a similar escalation in quality, security and availability of reputable online sportsbooks, according to David. I personally have never bet online, but this season I'm going to add a sportsbook odds and betting line report as a footnote to each Eagles game preview, and I will throw in an occasional real-time bet... Read more

"Quick: your team's down five, ball in the red zone, 3rd and 10, 28 seconds left, no timeouts...What do you do? If you don't have a clue, don't feel bad. Neither do many NFL head coaches."                                                                   ---Seth Wickersham, ESPN The Magazine I had this crazy idea the other day, wondering why coaches in the NFL don't have their own two-or-three-day mini-camps, devoted solely to improving their game management skills, and testing their abilities to know the right call to make in crunch time. Imagine each team like the Eagles running a 3-day virtual-reality test for their head coach and coordinators, with a variety of electronic simulations and illustrated seminars, basically creating a "Sim City" training camp for coaches only! I know coaches have their meetings and certainly talk about improving their clock management and their situational decision-making. In fact, every NFL team has a chart which explains when to do certain things or... Read more

 Donovan McNabb flew into Philadelphia late last week to work with some of the rookies who are struggling to learn the Eagles' playbook. Now with the Eagles set to open a full-squad mini-camp at the NovaCare Complex this week, McNabb is happily posting on his yardbarker.com website that things in general are going great for the McNabb family in Arizona, and that he personally is enjoying his workouts in preparation for the 2009 season. McNabb also says in between the lines that the only questions he will be fielding about the 2009 season prior to September will be the ones he asks himself. This is a total departure from the McNabb policy of the past to "meet and greet" the press during off-season and training camp. Maybe this "no talk" policy is an omen of good fortune for the Eagles in 2009. It appears that the charismatic leader of the... Read more

Okay, here it is; I've already previewed the schedule in a previous post, and both Eagle Nut and I agree: this is one tough schedule.... Sunday 9/13...@ Panthers Sunday 9/20... SAINTS Sunday 9/27...  CHIEFS October 4........Bye Sunday 10/11...BUCCANEERS Sunday 10/18...@ Raiders Monday 10/26...@Redskins Sunday 11/1... GIANTS Sunday 11/8...COWBOYS Sunday 11/15...@Chargers Sunday 11/22...@ Bears Sunday 11/29...REDSKINS Sunday 12/6...@ Falcons Sunday 12/13...@ Giants Sunday 12/20...49'ERS Sunday 12/27...BRONCOS Sunday 1/3...@ Cowboys Whew! This is NOT a favorable schedule. This schedule gives no breathing time or room for a slow start.  Every team on this schedule (with the possible exception of the Kansas City Chiefs) is a potential playoff team. No cupcakes on this menu....Also, notice how the "Bye" comes early...in effect making the second "half" of the Eagles' season a 13-straight-game test of fortitude and injury-recovery. I don't like it.   Especially troubling is the Bermuda Triangle in the schedule---that 3-week period in... Read more

As beloved defensive coordinator Jim Johnson took a medical leave for more cancer treatments, Eagles rookie camp opened today and runs tomorrrow at the NovaCare Complex. The entire team will meet at the training complex from June 2 to June 5, and then again from June 8 to June 11. Mandatory attendance at training camp begins July 26, when rookies and selected veterans report to Lehigh University facilities. Full squad workouts start July 29. Camp does not close until August 12. Suddenly, fellow Eagle fans across the nation, the season's start does not seem so far away. That's good news for football lovers. Better news for Philly fans is the fact that any negativity surrounding the team at this point is coming from the outside, not inside the brigade. Take "Twittergate", for example. Allegedly Asante Samuel twittered his fan base with the statement that the Eagles "will win the Super Bowl... Read more

Okay, if you can actually remember 70 per cent of these guys, you are a true Eagles fan...(yes, this is the kind of column you get when absolutely nothing is happening on the field or in the front office)... Charlie Garner.......Heath Sherman.......Herschel Walker.......Randall Cunningham.......Anthony Toney.......Keith Byars.......Earnest Jackson.......Wilbert Montgomery.......Leroy Harris.......Mike Hogan.......Bubby Brister.......Jim McMahon....... Scott Tinsley (say wha'? threw for 338 yards against Dallas in 1987).......Joe Pisarcik.......Roman Gabriel.......Pete Liske.......King Hill.......Tom Sullivan....... Norm Bulaich.......Cyril Pinder.......Tom Woodeshick.......Timmy Brown.......Clarence Peaks.......Izzy Lang....... Earl Gros.......Ollie Matson.......Bill Barnes.......Fred Barnett.......Calvin Williams....... Cris Carter.......Mike Quick.......Harold Jackson (this guy made 7 receptions for 194 yards in one game against the Giants in 1970).......Ben Hawkins (the fastest wideout I've ever seen, and that means faster than the Colts' great WR Roger Carr).......Pete Retzlaff.......Tommy McDonald.......Jerry Williams.......Roger Ruzak......Paul McFadden.......Tony Franklin (the barefooted one).......Horst Muhlmann.......Tom Dempsey.......Mark Moseley.......Sam Baker.......Mike Boryla........Norm Snead......James Joseph.......Keith Byars.......Hubie Oliver......."Po" James (double points for this one!).......Harold Carmichael.......Wally Henry.......John Sciarra.......Bill Bradley.......Larry Marshall.......Evan Cooper.......Vai... Read more

We're still in the throes of perhaps the longest off-season in pro sports. I'm getting jumpy just thinking about September. The NFL gives you a good 8 months from your team's last game until the first pre-season game, and almost 9 months until the first regular-season game (of course, that's if your team did not make the playoffs.)  Man, that's a long off-season. The only thing I think the NFL could do to stretch out the regular season would be to add 2 or 3 more "bye" weeks for each team. That would at least reduce the long off-season to a slightly more tolerable 6 or 7 months. But I guess the main argument against stretching out the regular season is that it would fundamentally change the nature and challenge of the game, with more time for injuries to heal ultimately affecting the outcome of many games. Observing off-season activities of the... Read more

In my recent report on the Eagles mini-camp, I neglected to mention: there he was, Jim Johnson, fighting cancer, yet still on the job, calling out corrections to his Eagle defenders after every play. The only thing you'd notice different from the last ten years was Johnson was sitting upon a geriatric motor scooter. Okay, I said it --- the "c" word (cancer) and the "g" word (geriatric). You have to remember, I'm referring to one of the best assistant coaches in NFL history, who has also had a 10-year run with the Eagles as a highly-respected and innovative defensive coordinator. But Johnson is 68 and fighting cancer, with ongoing chemotherapy treatments, which I can say from personal experience can truly be described as "hell on wheels". I hate to say it, but, observing footage of Johnson in recent video and photo shoots, it's obvious the man is in terrible duress. This... Read more