OFFENSE      Position         Player

                       WR              Kevin Curtis, Jeremy Maclin

                        WR             DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant

                        LT               Jason Peters, King Dunlap

                        LG              Todd Herremans, Max Jean-Gilles

                          C              Jamaal Jackson, Nick Cole

                         RG             Stacy Andrews, Nick Cole

                         RT              Shawn Andrews, Stacy Andrews

                         TE              Brent Celek, Cornelius Ingram

                         QB             Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb

                         FB              Leonard Weaver, Kyle Eckel

                         RB              Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy

DEFENSE    Position           Player

                         DE             Juqua Parker, Victor Abiamiri

                         DT              Mike Patterson, Trevor Laws

                         DT              Brodrick Bunkley, Dan Klecko

                         DE              Trent Cole, Darren Howard

                        SLB             Chris Gocong, Tank Daniels

                        MLB             Stewart Bradley, Joe Mays

                        WLB            Akeem Jordan, Omar Gaither

                          CB             Asante Samuel, Joselio Hanson

                          CB             Sheldon Brown, Ellis Hobbs

                          FS              Quintin Demps, Rashad Baker

                          SS              Quintin Mikell, Sean Jones

SPECIALISTS    Position        Player

                           K               David Akers

                           P               Sal Rocca

                         KR               Ellis Hobbs

                         PR               Jeremy Maclin

                         LS*              Jon Dorenbos

*LS=Long Snap Center

There you have it....any changes to this roster, such as a free agent or a low-draft-pick rookie moving up to replace any position on the above-listed depth chart, would be monumental...but it has happened in the past, so stay tuned.... But this depth chart is the essence of the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles you will be following from September through January in the months to come.  Are you ready for some football? These are the guys who will bear the brunt of your hopes and dreams for 2009. I hope they're enough of a winning combination to get us to the playoffs and beyond....

It's not a bad thing to be getting raves from FoxSports.com or ESPN or ProFootball Weekly on the Eagles' offseason acquisitions and overall progress in improving the team. But it scares me a little when guys like Matt Mosley, the award-winning writer for the Dallas Morning News and feature-writer for ESPN.com, flat-out predicts the Eagles will win the NFC East in 2009.

I'm one of those fans who prefers his team to fly under the radar and surprise folks along the way, and frankly the pressure of being picked as a "favorite" usualy does not bode well for the Philadelphia psyche. You probably can think of at least ten Philadelphia teams in the combined histories of the Eagles, Phillies, and 76ers which were "favored" to win it all and blew it magnificently.

Sure, the Eagles of 2009 have been brilliantly restocked at key positions by the front office working in tandem with Coach Andy Reid and de facto on-field advisor Donovan McNabb. The big trade for Buffalo's LT Jason Peters to replace the departed Tra Thomas jump-started the offseason, and most critics say Peters will turn into one of the best in the league. Other important free-agent and draft signings have made the picture brighter, too, such as RB LeSean McCoy and WR Jeremy Maclin coming to the rescue of an offense that has relied too much on the battered but brilliant Brian Westbrook (who's still recovering from two offseason surgeries). And losing FS Brian Dawkins will, in the opinion of many, lead to a faster, younger secondary coverage with his replacements Quintin Demps and Quintin Mikell combining to produce a solid platoon beyond the "box"...

But to expect the Eagles to come out hitting on all cylinders and jelling like a veteran winner immediately from Game 1 is, I think, somewhat presumptious and almost unrealistic thinking on the part of the "experts"...

The fact is, all the other teams in the NFC East have improved, too, and even if they haven't, it takes time in the NFL for new teammates and rookies to get in synch with the mind-rattling pressure of real-game competition. Don't be surprised or saddened if the Eagles come out of the gate a bit sluggishly on offense, as it may take several outings before McNabb and Co. realize full control over their brand new engine.

The saving grace of "parity" in the NFL is that the Eagles' rivals will have the same adjustment challenges as they deal with their own changes.

In Dallas, Roy Williams is now the "go-to guy" on offense as Terrell Owens was released and signed with Buffalo. Williams will face enormous pressure to replace T.O., and Dallas has to address the possibility that it may take Roy a few games to adjust to the beat-downs that are coming his way. The Cowboys desperately need Miles Austin to continue to develop as their potential No.2 receiver to take the heat off Williams. Austin's speed could open things up for Williams to work the middle of the field. The Cowboys know they're not going anywhere in 2009 unless their receivers get it going and help them make a playoff game.

And as good as the Giants are in overall talent and winning experience, they face a tremendous challenge this season in living NFL life in a "Plaxico-free" zone. Plaxico Burress has been an Eagle-killer his entire NFL career at wide receiver. Now released as a free agent awaiting trial for a gun charge, Plaxico must be replaced by a trio of WR's in Gotham: Hakeem Nicks, Domenik Hixon, and Steve Smith. It's true that QB Eli Manning is relieved to not have the Plax drama hanging over his head this season, just as he was relieved to see Shockey move on to another soap opera in New Orleans. But the question remains as to who will fill the voids left by Plaxico and Shockey on offense. It may take the Giants a few games to answer that question with winning combinations.

Even the Redskins, who really suffered no major losses in the offseason, still have to find a team leader and spiritual presence in their locker room now that Shawn Springs has had to step down. Springs was very talented, but he couldn't stay on the field because of injuries. RT Jon Jansen gave the Redskins a decade of excellent service on the OL, but he was released and signed with the Lions. The 'Skins will try to fill the void with Stephon Heyer at RT, but it's not likely Heyer is the long-term answer.  So Washington may have to wait a few games, too, before the pieces fall in proper order on offense.

And so it is with Eagles. Great additions, new talents, but if it doesn't come together right away and the Eagles are not 6-0 coming out of the season-opening gate, don't panic....the last time the Eagles went 6-0 to start a season, they promptly lost 7 games in a row...

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 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 two-word answer that all the X's and O's in the world will never produce a winner without a complete investment by the coaching staff of a team into making their players constantly improving as NFL works-in-progress....

This is why Kerry Collins runs the Titans' offense today, and not Vince Young...because Young, for whatever reasons, psychological or otherwise, stopped developing as a player. Fisher pulled no punches on the point, but he did manage to say he was still squarely in the camp of Young's potential development, and that the two get along well (despite Vince Young's recent public tantrums that he needs to know he'll be getting more playing time).

Fisher was so impressively upbeat in his interview that I actually started believing him----player development is "job one" for any NFL head coach.

Let's face it, the coaches don't perform the playbook, the players do...If you don't see your main job as developing the talent you draft into its fullest potential, then you will soon see yourself on the NFL unemployment line.

Fisher made this point clear. And by deferring to Andy Reid as an esteemed colleague, I believe it's safe to assume Andy Reid smells the same coffee, too.

Reid has been often criticized for brain-freezing in the big (I mean BIG) games or perhaps screwing up some clock-management. But one thing he is absolutely great at is player development.

I can give you chapter-and-verse on the players he has stuck with and goaded to their ultimate professional achievement. Donovan McNabb is the obvious poster-child. So is David Akers, Reid's athletic kicker who has had more resurrections than Jim Morrison's ghost.

There are dozens of other player-development examples. But the unifying theme is always, "Coach Reid saw something in me and he brought it out to its fullest..."

Let's hope this player-development charisma continues to flourish with names like McCoy and Maclin and Peters and Andrews and several other key acquisitions made by the Eagles this offseason.... Because if it does, the Eagles are going somewhere this year, brother, and it's about time Andy Reid got his due as one of the top 2-or-3 player-development coaches in the league.

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 Eagles' defensive secondary strategy---and more importantly, the impending demise of Jim Johnson as the Eagles' defensive coordinator.

Mike Florio, the attorney who doubles as a sports commentator, was outspoken in his daily column on ProFootballTalk.com.  Florio flat-out speculated that Otis Smith was gone because Jim Johnson will not be back from cancer therapy to run the Eagles defense in 2009, and that maybe the reason Smith was fired was because he criticized the Eagles on his Facebook site for giving up on Johnson so quickly.  The Eagles PR staff declined to elaborate on the situation in response to my phone call to the team office.

As we reported here in an earlier Eagles Eye column, former Cowboys' defensive coordinator Brian Stewart was recently hired to assist with the team's defensive backs, given that last season's Eagles DB coach Sean McDermott has replaced defensive coordinator Jim Johnson on a supposed "interim" basis.

What the sudden release of Otis Smith means to me is that Jim Johnson will not be back in 2009, and the Eagles top brass knows it. With Brian Dawkins gone and off to Denver, there is no longer a need for Otis Smith's expertise in devising gap-sharing and moveable-zone coverages to make up for the decreasing foot-speed of the once-rapid Dawkins, who clearly lost one-and-a-half steps in his coverage ability over the past two seasons. Furthermore, Sean McDermott is obviously not buying into the passion of Jim Johnson for secondary blitz packages.

What I see as the resultant omen of Otis Smith's release is two-fold: Jim Johnson is not coming back except as a ceremonial symbol of hope and determination who will occasionally be featured in the Eagles' scouting booth by TV cameras as the noble wounded veteran, while Sean McDermott is actually calling the shots.

I hope I'm wrong about all of this. But face it, Jim Johnson's days as defensive guru for the Eagles, a team that has several times in his career led the league in fewest points allowed, are over. And the Eagles, with the promotion of McDermott and the hiring of Brian Stewart, are clearly going in a new direction of Eagles secondary defensive scheme philosophy that has less to do with Johnson's madcap blitzing and more to do with man-to-man coverage.

If I'm proven wrong I'll be the first to admit it. But watch closely...in 2009, the Eagles' new defensive philosophy will be to stop the run at all costs, and DARE the opposition to throw into a secondary coverage that more and more will be man-to-man.

See, the Eagles think they have upgraded their secondary so much in the offseason that they feel comfortable in changing their Johnsonian defensive philosophy.  Less blitz, less overlapping zones, more man-to-man...Obviously the goal is to force more turnovers in the passing game of the opponent. And trust me, I can hear the nay-sayers out there already complaining about how many potential interceptions Asante Samuel "dropped" last season...

Otis Smith's philosophy was just the opposite. Otis was trained in "containing" the passing game of the opponent, and preventing big gains, not so much about forcing turnovers and begging for one-on-one coverages to create match-ups that could lead to interception opportunities.

Maybe that's the real reason he was let go, not his alleged Facebook comments about the team's giving up too early on Jim Johnson's comeback

We'll know the truth soon enough, but maybe not until the first exhibition game of the pre-season when the new defensive philosophy of the Eagles' secondary is revealed under actual game conditions. Frankly, the change in strategic direction does not bother me as a fan. What bothers me is that Jim Johnson is apparently gone, and we will never again see the mad genius of his blitz packages, or the contribution of Otis Smith as his assistant in devising the multiple zone coverages that made the blitzes possible.

I guess the Eagles are turning a page. I just wish they could do it with a little more respect for Otis Smith and his defensive contributions. Okay, I get it, Smith got a nice paycheck for his efforts. But in a perfect world, Smith would be the remaining light of Jim Johnson's overall defensive philosophy, and he would not have been replaced by a former Cowboy coach.

The omen is there: Jim Johnson may be gone. And Otis Smith was sent packing with him. Not a tragedy, especially if the McDermott-Stewart collaboration results in a dynamic new take on Eagles secondary defense with a man-to-man coverage emphasis. But certainly an omen: change is upon us. And you know how much we Eagles fans mistrust change.  

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 with an online betting service, to represent the intuitions and deductive powers of our readers here at Eagles Eye.

David reports that competition for the gaming dollar has never been fiercer, resulting in companies quickly evolving to become full-service, customer-oriented businesses that have made their reputation on integrity and reliability. Security is a big deal: most online sportsbooks are licensed in the jurisdiction where they operate from and are held to strict guidelines and audited by local gaming commissions. Make your bet when you want, for how much you want, from the comforts of your own home. Access to 24-hour customer service is a given at most top books in the industry.

Instant deposits and immediate payouts are part of the overall picture. When you make your deposit into your online sportsbook betting account, you automatically set parameters on your own bankroll. You can plan ahead and stay within your means, without any external pressure to go deeper than you want. Just don't bet on credit, warns David, who says that's how many people get in over their head. You need to know your limit and play within it.

The best of the major online sportsbooks also offer sign-up bonuses, refer-a-friend bonuses, reload bonuses, and even frequent bettor rewards and loyalty programs that are similar to the "comp" programs you find in Vegas casinos. You can even find sportsbooks that offer cash-back "gambler's insurance" which works like a rebate on your losses.

As a reference site, Michael David's magazine (with 5 million readers) has selected BetUS.com as its top-ranked sportsbook in the world, mainly for its personalized service (each customer is assigned a Personal Account Manager) similar to that of a stock brokerage firm. Their current version 2.0 of their state-of-the-art website is cited as an extremely smooth wagering interface, with lots of bells and whistles you just have to see for yourself.

All well and good. But the sportsbook odds-setters are the professional experts who really study the NFL and get every edge of knowledge they can to set the odds just close enough to give the house a slight margin of probable success. Michael David's magazine (at $7.95 a copy) is one of the most popular guides designed to help the regular bettors ("fans-like-us") understand the performance trends of NFL teams and how the probability numbers add up so that we can make a more informed wager on our team.

I was curious to look at how the online world of sportsbetting viewed the Eagles last year, and how they see the Eagles doing this year. Michael David correctly predicted in the summer of 2007 that the Eagles would finish 9-7 in 2008 (well, 9-6-1 is close enough!). He correctly summised there are always two things that could derail the Eagles at any time from improving on last season: Donovan McNabb's health, and the fact that Philly plays in the best division in the league.

It's kind of nice to hear a national editor like David flat-out declaring the NFC East as "the best division in the league."  You and I have always known that to be true, especially in the past 25-or-so years, with the constant near-even battles with the Cowboys, Giants and Redskins, all of whom have at various times risen to the top of the NFL heap.

David's world of legal betting sees the Eagles in terms of historical trends: for example, Philly is 25 "wins" and 11 "losses" going Against the Spread when they have played their last 36 games against "Good Passing Teams."

Here's another interesting trend: the Philadelphia vs.Washington series is 11-20 on the Over-Under bet since 1993. I think this means the total score in any given game between the Eagles and the 'Skins is likely to be unpredictable, especially if you're betting the Eagles to score a lot of points... somebody tell me if I'm wrong.

Here's a trend which amazed me only because I didn't realize how intricate and analytical the details of sports handicapping can be: the Eagles are 25-8 winning Against the Spread when the Eagles are playing a game where they must avenge a previous loss to that same team. Can you imagine, someone actually has the job of keeping track of stats and trends like that?

Michael David has not yet released his 2009 predictions, but he has written about the Eagles in the recent past as a really great team to bet on Against the Spread when the Eagles are underdogs on the road...in gambling terms, "roadDOGS". To me that says the Eagles have a spirit and character that runs deep through the entire organization---as if to declare, "it doesn't bother us one bit to be the roadDOG---we have the talent to win anytime, anywhere..."  David has written good things about Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook, yet expresses constant concern for their health. His constant point to gamblers is: "If McNabb can stay off injured reserve, the Eagles should always have a shot at the playoffs." David also correctly predicted the rookie success of DeSean Jackson. He had us 22-1 shots to make the Super Bowl last season, and 8-1 odds to win the Conference. Based on the late-season winning trends of the recent editions of the Eagles, I'm guessing David will post the Eagles at 12-1 Super Bowl odds this year and possibly 6-1 to win the Conference.

David advises Eagle fans who are betting to follow his cardinal rule of success: When betting on the Eagles as favorite, you should bet early in the week, right when the line comes out. This is because the betting public will usually pound the favorite with "win" bets, forcing the odds to change against the favorite. The longer you wait, the higher the point total your team will need to cover your bet. Example: you bet the Monday line on the Eagles-at-Panthers opening game of the 2009 season, and you pick the Eagles to win by 6....but through the week the betting public goes more and more for the Eagles, forcing the oddsmakers to increase the winning spread to 8 points by gametime. Let's say the Eagles end up winning by 7...had you bet early in the week, your bet is a winner. Too late to place your bet that week, and you ended up with needing the Eagles to win by 8, because that's where the odds were when you made your bet on Friday or Saturday before the game.

Interestingly, the converse is true as well: if you're betting on the Eagles as an underdog to cover the spread, you should lay your bets as late as possible.

The line on the Eagles will also change as players are injured or suspended, as weather conditions change, or as special player matchups occur. Funny, but according to David, the biggest obstacle facing the Eagles this season will be their "early bye week." His reasoning: Football takes an amazing toll on its players, so having an extra week off is a major advantage for any NFL club. But, he says, that advantage shrinks when the Bye Week comes earlier in the season, as it does for the Eagles in Week 4. It also doesn't do much good for a team that is already healthy and performing well, either.

So overall the view from the professional online sportsbooks is fairly positive for the 2009 Eagles, with a few caveats thrown in. What I've personally learned is more math and science is required to survive and prosper in online gaming than probably what it now takes to be a successful NFL scout.  So many variables, so many trends, so little time.... 

                                                                  ---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 call certain standard plays. It's called a flop chart, and Dick Vermeil is widely credited with inventing it years ago.

Yet week after week in the NFL we see clock mismanagement by many teams. And we see play-calling that defies logic in the last minutes of nearly every tight NFL game. All coaches are masters of play scripts and scenarios which anticipate an opponent's every possible move. But, as Wickersham pointed out in a recent piece for ESPN, when it comes to one of the most direct factors in wins and losses---how and when the clock is stopped in crunch time---coaches are often clueless.

To be fair, it's a stressful time on the field in the last minutes of a tight game, and coaches often have only 5 seconds to react and make a decision. Even Super Bowl-winning coaches make bad clock mistakes. Wickersham describes Mike Tomlin of Pittsburgh as often "jumping the gun", such as calling a timeout before a winning field goal that leaves 15 seconds on the clock for his opponent's last-ditch chances. He's also tough on the Giants' Tom Coughlin for a tendency to "needlessly up the ante", when he could end a game by milking the clock and kicking a field goal at 0:01, and instead he goes for the TD and gets it but leaves 1:33 on the clock (see Giants at Bears, December 2, 2007).

Wickersham criticizes former Ravens coach Brian Billick and former Niners coach Mike Nolan for clock mistakes which burn precious seconds, such as the call coming in late or the special teams getting the sign too late to make their substitutions. And you think he left Andy Reid off the hook? Not a chance.

Wickersham is hard on Andy Reid. He states Reid sometimes "fails to think ahead". The case point given was that 10-3 loss to Washington when the Eagles offense ended up stranded at the 'Skins 1-yard-line as the clock struck 0:00, because Reid had left himself with only 1 TO in the final four minutes of the game. Yes, I guess that's failing to plan ahead.

There's also the times at the end of a first half when the Eagles are trying to score and he calls a final TO after allowing 20 or more seconds to evaporate while getting his team to the line and running the ball. Now there's only 9 seconds remaining. Maybe time for a desperation lob TD attempt into the end-zone, and if that doesn't work, then maybe enough time to kick a FG. (Caution: it takes 18 seconds just to set up for a FG...a lot can go wrong with a rushed FG attempt.)  But if he had saved the 20 seconds he lost before calling the TO, he'd have time enough now for 2 safe pass plays to go for the TD, and then 1 play for a FG as the clock expires. (This actually happened in the Cleveland game last December; although the Eagles won the game by 30-10, the game was still close at the end of the first half, and Reid backed himself into that 9-second hole at the Browns' 2-yard-line. What happened next was an illegal formation penalty, then a bizarre lob pass play-call that was intercepted and returned 98 yards by Cleveland.)

To be clear, I think Reid is a good NFL coach. He usually gets the Eagles to execute well on offense and he definitely gets the most out of his defense. Under Reid, players come through for him for the most part, and he seems to be able to get the Eagles to peak late in the season (not counting the losses in the Championship Games, or that winnable Super Bowl several years ago that the Birds somehow frittered away).

But if he could just improve his late-half and late-game management, and maybe start thinking two or three plays ahead in tight scoring situations, I think the Eagles' chances of winning will go up every time, because if you add up the seconds lost by not maximizing the clock, Reid and the Eagles would have at least 3 extra possessions each game.

Jeff Fisher of the Titans is considered one of the best late-game managers. Coincidentally, he hasn't been fired in 15 years.  Maybe not a coincidence... Bill Belichick of the Patriots is considered great at late-game managing and planning ahead. And Belichick lets only one voice through on his headset in a game's final minutes, and it's the voice of old friend and research analyst Ernie Adams, who relays to Belichick nothing but time management advice and technical minutiae.

The Eagles have actually purchased for their coaches a 280-page book called"Football Clock Management", written by John T. Reed, a Harvard MBA. The book is loaded with charts and graphs explaining how to handle time better. The premise of the book is: "Every second you leave on the clock unnecessarily may be the one your opponent uses to beat you."

Call me crazy, but I'd like to see them go beyond the book and turn it into a 3-day theme park of interactive video scenarios and electronic simulations of actual game events and time constraints. It could be fun, like the world's most sophisticated "Madden" experience, with cool technology and grades for the coaches and levels of improvement to shoot for. You could even throw in seminars on "When to challenge the call and when not to challenge", Two-Minute-Drill stuff like "Calling protection schemes by the offensive line before they're in their stance, saving three seconds...", "Quick counts and quick hand-backs to the officials to save time..."; and finally, "Time-Outs are Not Cell-Phone-Minutes, so don't burn through them..."

Reid is only 50 years old and I bet he's capable of learning new tricks and new skills. I'm sure he would laugh at my idea of a "Coaches' Sim City" mini-camp, but I know he's capable of winning at least one more game each season with better game-management performance. Because, let's face it, there are times when the head coach is your most important player in the game.

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 Eagles is preparing himself for a "make it or break it" year with the team he has personally branded for so long. It seems like Sir Donovan has created a dojo-like inner sanctum of positive thinking for 2009, where obviously there is only one last major obstacle to his credibility as a Hall-of-Fame field general and team leader. Without even having to say the words, it's apparent that McNabb feels this is the year.  As Elvis once sang, "It's now or never."

I feel that McNabb is truly breathing this urgency, having just witnessed a nice draft by the Eagles and a very impressive slew of free-agent signings, nearly all of which were ordered up by the Mac himself in a series of off-season discussions with his owner and head coach. If anything, I believe McNabb realizes this upcoming season will be his defining legacy with the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans. Failing an extreme championship result or at least a mighty run at the ultimate trophy, I think McNabb knows this is his once and future season with the Eagles. Failing to win big, perhaps in the biggest way possible, will mean the ultimate free agency of Donovan McNabb and his exile from the collective expectation of a million Eagles fans. It's somewhat like we went through with Randall Cunningham: oh, the talent and the leadership were excellent, and we were patient, but how long could we wait for the next level before Randall was finally lamented as a "can't win the big one" guy and discharged to play a supporting role for the Vikings and the Ravens?

Pathetic how we identify with the QB and make him the sole reason for defeat or the sole survivior responsible for victory... But that's the way it is in Philadelphia, and that's generally the way it is around the league.

But good for Donovan. He's circled the wagons. At least we know it's going to be about McNabb's leadership and focus on the field this year, and not on the press/media culture that likes to surround his magical mystery tour of confidence, affability and sound-bytes.

Meanwhile, a dark cloud brews over the hoped-for recovery of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson from his metastasized melanoma. I don't see it as a good sign that the Eagles have just hired former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart. Nothing personal against Stewart, but his hiring as essentially a back-up to interim cordinator Sean McDermott is a signal to me that Jim Johnson will not be expected to make it back to the sidelines or the pressbox this season.  I hope I'm wrong, but reading the tea-leaves of this recent hiring of Stewart, I've got to feel Jim Johnson is in a very serious situation which may not lend him the opportunity to come back in 2009. Again, I pray that I'm wrong. As much as McNabb has often been criticized in the past for calling attention to himself, Jim Johnson has always been the opposite--- not wanting the attention of anyone but his players and his family. I believe McNabb himself senses this tragic turn of perception, and will do all in his power to win one for Jim Johnson. I think this Johnsonian tragic veil upon the optimism of 2009 is the motivating factor in McNabb's refusal to clown for the press this off-season and to define without cross-examination his intention to win one for Jim.

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 late October and early November when the Eagles must face their hated division rivals in three consecutive games: the Redskins in a Monday Night contest, followed by the Giants and the Cowboys. This is the ultimate acid test. One critical injury, one stupid mistake in any of these crucial games and the season could be lost.

Some will argue with a degree of acceptance that the Eagles, if they are to claim championship status in 2009, must overcome the handicap of such a tough schedule. I traditionally reply the Eagles are used to tough schedules and often find a way to neutralize them. Still, you have to be realistic when assessing the fate of the Eagles and the ultimate winner of the NFC East. This is not going to be a cakewalk. Realistically, I see 12-4 by any of the NFC East teams as winning the division title, and 11-5 (or 10-5-1) as guaranteeing a wild-card spot in the playoffs.  Looking at this Eagles' 2009 schedule, and being as realistic as I can be for a homer beat writer, I'm seeing 10-6 as a great accomplishment, and 9-7 as a moral victory.

Okay, let me qualify my predictions lest you think I am a typical Birds' naysayer. I like Donovan McNabb a lot at QB, and I think Andy Reid has added some excellent new personnel to fill the holes left by aging veterans long since gone. My concern is the injury factor. What if McNabb plays lights out and the receivers and running backs come up big prior to the Bye---and the defense holds, and the Eagles come out of the Bye at 2-1 or 3-0?

Great. But then after the Bye week, let's say McNabb or a hot new rookie receiver gets banged up in Oakland or D.C. ?  Now what? There's no time to rest or heal because here comes the NFC East all in a row, like the Three Musketeers, each division rival looking to put away the Eagles and push them even deeper into the grave of despair that 2009 could become if health and injury become factors in a long season (which they usually do).

Pessimistic? No, I prefer the word "realistic"... It's foolhardy to think the Eagles will not sustain the destruction of athletic injury to key players over the course of such a demanding schedule. I can see every game going to the wire in this schedule, which means no time for resting regulars and giving back-up players garbage time to get their timing down. Which further means substitutes will be coming in cold and anxious when the time comes... This is as demanding a schedule as I've seen in the NFL in some time, especially with the the odd spacing of far-away road trips potentially breaking up any home-game momentum the team might build.

The die is cast. But all is not hopeless. In fact, I personally have high hopes for the Eagles' prospects in 2009.  The fact is, there is less room for error in Eagles' play and game-plan execution this season than in previous years. You could have a few off-games in a row last year and still make the playoffs. We saw that in 2008. Not this year, however. It will either be, come out of the gate strong, stay relatively healthy at key positions, and come into Dallas on January 3 with at least a 10-5 record, or goodnight Irene. Game over.

A big part of the joy of being an NFL fan is believing your team can overcome the odds of a tough schedule. The journey is the thing. Philly fans are used to the journey. And it will be so gratifying to see this 2009 edition of the Eagles figure its way through the maze and past the wreckage into the playoffs once again if it can withstand one of the toughest schedules in pro sports today.

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 trophy in 2009 (2010 calendar year)"... Okay, nice to hear a player "guaranteeing" a Super Bowl...worked out quite nicely for Joe Namath's career, didn't it?  But the fact is, regarding Asante Samuel's Twitter boast, it never really happened...Samuel claims someone out there in Twitter-land is impersonating him and Asante flatly denies making the guarantee. Okay, that's plausible. Fact is, there is zero security on Twitter identity authenticity right now, so I will side with Asante. I believe he's telling the truth.  Which makes "Twittergate" a non-issue in my mind...

Then there's Lito. Lito Sheppard is a New York Jet now. But he's acting like a spurned ex-lover, still taking shots at his former wife, the Eagles. Lito is spouting off to the New York press that "Andy Reid chose to play lesser-ability cornerbacks in my place just to teach me a lesson..." If you recall, Lito (a 2-time All-Pro cornerback) staged a renegotiation "strike" almost two years ago in Eagles training camp. He basically said to Eagles management: "If you're not going to renegotiate my contract to make it sweeter on the back end, then trade me, because I'm not going to put out like the All-Pro I am..." Which promptly landed him on the sidelines for the majority of his remaining Eagles contract.

What makes Lito's soap-opera allegations ridiculous is the notion that Andy Reid or any NFL coach would intentionally put a lesser player on the field in an NFL game just to intimidate a better player. It does not happen. Look, you may hate Pac Man Jones 'til the cows come home, but if he's on the active roster and ready to play, you put him in.

And there's the rub. Lito was never ready to play. He quit working out and he quit his conditioning the moment he staged his personal "strike".... Andy Reid and Jim Johnson knew Lito was unconditioned and out of shape. Sure, Lito's roster spot was protected by his contract.  The Eagles honored the contract. But Andy Reid chose not to play Lito the past season because Lito was not ready to play. If you think an NFL coach would deliberately play a lesser talent just to teach a "star" a lesson, then you are dialed into the wrong channel. NFL coaches play the guys that are most likely to help them win. Personality conflicts just don't matter on game day.

And the beat goes on. Andy Friedlander of the Phildelphia Daily News is desperate for an angle on the trouble-free Eagles too, so today he focused on the Eagles' new $60 million Left Tackle, Jason Peters, the stunning oversized 340-pound specimen who has wowed scouts and coaches with his athleticism for as long as he's been involved with sports. Turns out Peters, age 27, is quite the antique car collector, only with a twist---he buys 'em used and broken in the tiny town of Queen City, Texas where he lives and restores the old cars himself. Peters is an automotive fanatic, a  "chronic tinkerer", according to Friedlander, who has taken his pastime of restoring old cars beyond a hobby to "the border of obsession."

Obsession...it's a trait of Jason Peters which essentially got him into the NFL. Jason was so talented in high school and college he didn't really have to put out his max to be better than everyone else he faced. When Peters left the Arkansas Razorbacks after his junior year to seek his NFL fortune, he was certain he'd be drafted in the 1st or 2nd round, certainly after posting spectacular workouts at the NFL Combine, at one point running the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds at 310 pounds.

Instead, he waited "two agonizing days without hearing his name called," according to Friedlander. Apparently, scouts had been hobnobbing about Peters' work habits, in effect doubting his ability to rise above "lazy tendencies" and do the year-round work it takes to make it in the NFL.

That being realized, Peters put it on himself to start working hard when he didn't get drafted. "I just put it all on my shoulders and decided to get it done," recalls Peters. The easy-going country boy with a yen for fixing up old vehicles finally signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills.

Peters had dabbled at Tight End with Arkansas, but the Bills immediately made him a permanent OT, a move that made a prophet of his old high school assistant coach who once told Peters he would "make millions if he would just switch from tight end to tackle."

And yes, it's interesting to note some of the Philly fan reaction to the signing of Peters to Eagles green-silver-and white. "I see some Tackle-eligible plays in his future," quoted several fans to the e-comment section of the Daily News. Others simply asked Peters "to just run-block, pass-protect and keep Mac off his buttocks---and we'll all be happy." Other fans have been quite serious in their concerns about Jason's work ethic. "My only concern with Peters," said the Murrayman, a frequent commenter on the Eagles' website, "is that he underestimates the relatively brutal Eagles training camp...if he comes in relatively out-of-shape, he could end up like the Eagles' Chris Clemons last training camp, who was battered and dehydrated by the workouts in the heat and had to be taken to the hospital, looking smashed..."

I could not say it any better than Murrayman here: "He makes or breaks the O-line for the Eagles this season...hopefully the word reaches him---'Yo, get in shape now, man, get in shape.'"

But I like this guy who made himself an AFC All-Pro from a free agent. I think he's a perfect fit for the Eagles. He's a fighter who refused to be pigeon-holed as a mediocre talent. And with the contract any offensive lineman could want for the next five years, nothing (except injury) should possibly hinder him from dominating his position in the NFC.  

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 Sikahema.......Evan Cooper.......Greggg Garrity.......Rod Harris.......Billy Walik........Joe Lavender.......Will Wynn (best name ever for a pro football player!).......Greg Brown.......Clyde Simmons.......Reggie White (okay, that's a gimmee, you get that one for signing your name on the test!).......Al Nelson.......Seth Joyner.......Dennis Harrison.......Ken Clarke.......Garry Cobb.......William Fuller (the great project of 1994!).......Eric Allen (my favorite DB of all time!).......John Teltschik (if you get that one, you are a Ph.D. of Eagles history!).......

That's enough for a good test. Notice I did not throw in the great names from the '30's, '40's and early '50's.  These are all players from the late '50's through the '90's that in some magical way implanted themselves into the Eagles collective psyche. It's a fair test.  Remember (or forget) at your own risk. Repeat, this is a test of the national Eagles' emergency network....

Observing off-season activities of the Eagles and the NFL, like the draft and the mini-camps, and the "fan-appreciation" festivals popular with many NFL teams now, you at least have occasional glimpses of the pro football world you want back in your life. And if you're really a big fan, you actually miss the pads popping and the crash of helmets on pads.

I remember Ron Jaworski once said to the Evening Bulletin that every time he took a snap for the Eagles, he could hear the pads popping on the line unlike anything he had heard with the Rams. "Bang! Crash! Just beautiful," told the Bulletin. That was in the Eagles era just prior to their resurgence as a perennial playoff team in the late '70's and early '80's. You can give Dick Vermeil the credit for bringing the "bang" and the "crash" to Eagles football. It was a new way of using improved acceleration, speed and overall strength to create a powerful offensive line, with quickness and smash power that could literally move a defensive line backwards.

I also miss the pads a-popping. Not that I ever played the game at any kind of high level.For me, it started out with friends playing in the street with a "nerf" ball, an easy kind of touch football with the "one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi" delay rule in effect so that pass rushers had to give the QB at least 2 seconds to drop back in the pocket. Any real hitting or contact in these games was accidental or inconsequential.

Then as we kids got older we got into some "rough-touch" games on grass where even dads were allowed to play. There was no delay rule on the rushers in these games. Contact was made hard and often.

Then the youth leagues gave us a chance to wear real helmets and pads. Now we were loosely supervised into some rudimentary tackling and blocking drills, but nothing sunk in until our first of six real-season games. That's when we learned it is better to hit than be hit. Frankly, it felt like pure survival at times, especially the game I went in for a high tackle on a big fullback-type kid from my cornerback position and the kid just buried me. He lowered his pads and helmet right into my solar plexus. I immediatley lost all ability to breathe and dropped to the ground. I couldn't fathom the desperation in my lungs, and I figured this would be the end. Then, slowly I came back to the world of oxygen as the coaches attended to me and I could make out faintly the coach's words, "Nothing serious, just got the wind knocked out. He'll be okay..." 

This is at age 13, right, and I'm playing at 5-4 and 105 pounds. But I wanted to keep playing. I went to a high school in Berwyn that ran grades 9-12, and the following year I signed up for the high school tryouts.  By then I'm 5-6 and 120 soaking wet. But everything looked possible for making the team, or at least the J.V. team. Plus, this would be my first-ever official "training camp", complete with full-equipment workouts in the August heat and tons of drills and exercises, and a lot of push-ups and laps around the track. And hitting....lots of hitting.

I liked the hitting and even the getting-hit part was okay. The equipment was better and the pads were bigger. I hated the heat. To me football is a fall-winter sport. But they had regular water breaks. I figured I would make my smaller self stand out in the crowd if I declined my water breaks. (This was a time not-so-long-ago before mandatory watering and hydration of players in high-school and college.) It was working---some of the assistant coaches noticed me and I could overhear them saying,"Tough kid, doesn't want water..."

But my plan backfired as I became sick that evening from dehydration and it took weeks to fully recover.I even dragged my stupid ass and my equipment back to practice for two more days before I finally collapsed in bed at home and said to myself, that's it, I'm done, I'm sticking with baseball...

Finally got most of my adult growth (6-2, 190) and strength installed by my freshman year of college at a little university called "The Mount", not far outside Gettysburg. My school didn't even have a football team. But we had football "clubs"...rough-touch leagues with some padding allowed and lots of contact permitted. We played 10-game schedules complete with referees from the Student Union. It was hard-hitting and full-speed contact football played against a real clock. I realize now that club football was my enjoyable attempt to recreate the unrealized dream of playing high school football.

But I digress--- all this talk and thinking about "pads popping" leads me to the other subjects in my header. And "cake" for me is what you bake through "chemistry" ---separate ingredients combined under heat to create an entirely different compound. That's "chemistry"... and I'm getting tired of critics (who don't understand the word) complaining about the Eagles "having all the ingredients but lacking the chemistry", and this always seems to imply something missing in Andy Reid's approach to building a big winner.

I think the word "chemistry" should be banned from sports media, and replaced with the correct term: "synergy". Synergy is what you really want, a large group of individual ingredients with special flavors that combine together to create a winning result that's more than the sum of the parts---but the parts never lose their individual identities or characters.

That's what Andy Reid understands and why he low-keys it so much. He doesn't see himself as a master chef pounding a team down to a "baked cake" where everyone's the same piece of the same cake with the same ideas.  This would be called "chemistry"... Other coaches have tried that approach, some were moderately successful in college and the pro's, most were not. Frank Kush tried to do it with the Colts back in the '80's, and it backfired and buried him.

No, what Reid is really after is a "tossed Eagle salad" based upon the synergy of the incredible array of characters and talents on this team. Synergy allows interchange of ideas and implementation of new techniques by unique individuals. Chemistry does not. Synergy also enables Reid's coaching staff to interchange players at will, to bring in new players and let old players go, without any real loss in synergy or overall winning results..

T.O. was not let go by the Eagles because he brought "bad chemistry" to the locker room. Heck, Terrell was liked and loved by a lot of Eagles at the time.  T.O. failed the team because of bad "synergy"--- he stopped wanting to be a valuable part of a tossed salad, and in fact wanted to turn his entire supporting cast into a "cake" baked all by himself. 

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 man, who once played the role of the Eagles' personal John Wayne in the battles of the NFC East, is a gaunt shadow of his former physical self.  He is disturbingly thin, needs a scooter or a cane to get around, and is in obvious discomfort from the pain in his lower back where the damnable cancer had lodged.

Phil Sheridan, columnist with the Philadelphia Inquirer, summed it up best when he described it this way: "Think about it... Johnson has been there, from Hugh Douglas to Trent Cole, from Jeremiah Trotter to Stewart Bradley, from Troy Vincent to Asante Samuel. Johnson has adjusted and schemed and cajoled and, yes, hollered his way to universal respect as the architect of a decade's worth of first-rate defense."

My original plan was to call Mr. Johnson's press secretary with the Eagles to arrange an interview.  I wanted to ask him questions about the defense and the changes that may be made in light of Brian Dawkins' departure, and perhaps a different look from the pass-rushing perspective, as worded so well by our frequent commentator, the Eagle Nut. 

But I backed off. And here's why...Jim Johnson deserves all the privacy and peace of mind he can get right now. He doesn't need a hack beat-writer like myself trying to get his statements about change in defensive philosophy when this man is literally fighting his own mortality.

I got one other quote from Phil Sheridan, and this sounds like something you've heard so many times it seems trivial: " 'I'm taking it one day at a time', Johnson said, then he got up from his seat on the bench and got on his scooter and went to coach his guys through another practice."

You see, after so many decades of living and breathing football, Jim Johnson is indeed the epitome of the old saying: a man is what he does. What Jim Johnson does is coordinate the defense of the Philadelphia Eagles and bring about with his chessmaster-mind some of the most elaborate coverage, blitz, and stunt schemes in the NFL.

What happens when Jim Johnson stops? The good news for now is, Jim Johnson has no interest in finding out. And the Eagle family will follow him until Johnson is the one to say the job is finally done. 

Here's my overall assessment of the mood of the Eagles: the general vibes are very positive, with the soul of the team appearing relaxed and confident, and the guys with contract issues declaring their collective silence regarding money--- anything else that's about playing football they will gladly answer.

Maybe the most telling event of the mini-camp was that Sheldon Brown, the disgruntled CB who perhaps foolishly let his agent take his beef to the press, not only showed up on time, but had a strong showing throughout the entire weekend. That showed me something good about the veteran Brown, who I think, if he had it to do over, would have pursued his contract privately through his agent and his lawyer. Other guys on the team (like Nick Coles) who also have renegotiation desires seemed to have learned from the negative drama that surrounded Sheldon Brown's going public, and according to our insiders these guys all declared in camp that they will not allow contract issues to bother them. From the reformed attitude shown by Sheldon Brown to the general looseness and laughter observed among all the players, I think we can believe the players have new faith in the outcome of their contract proposals. I think Joe Banner, president of the team who handles a lot of these contract issues, also learned a valuable lesson during the recent Sheldon Brown drama. Observers noted Banner's demeanor has changed over the past week, to one of more openness and friendliness with the players, and less words said to the press.

Even Donovan McNabb wants a new contract, that's no secret. But the prevailing attitude at mini-camp seemed to be, let's have fun playing with all our new toys and weapons, and let the contract talks be another conversation to be held in private.

Clark Judge observed: "McNabb was loose. He was relaxed. And he was happy, bursting into laughter at one point after pulling a Brett Favre [imitation] and underhanding a short pass to one of his many new targets."

On one particular play late in practice Friday morning, Judge noted a symbolic moment which could signify the new firepower and dangerous weaponry of the post-draft Eagles. McNabb shot a 40-yard bomb down the left sidelines, and there was new WR Jeremy Maclin, covered step-for-step by new CB Ellis Hobbs (acquired from New England), until Maclin switched on the burner and got two steps separation from Hobbs. As the ball descended, said Judge, "Maclin extended his hands, cradled the ball which had been perfectly thrown, and did not lose stride as he ran away from his pursuer.. "  Judge sums up this moment as McNabb realizing he finally has options everywhere. "DeSean Jackson. Now Maclin. Brian Westbrook. LeSean McCoy. Kevin Curtis. Reggie Brown. A legitimate offensive fullback talent in Leonard Weaver. Jason Avant. Hank Baskett.  Brett Celeck. And a rebuilt offensive line that if it plays at its highest level will give the skill players the time to do their things."

The insiders say it was impossible not to notice the eye-popping workouts of Maclin and how they seemed to jazz up the entirely positive participation of all the veterans and rookies. I know, it's easy to get "spring-training fever" and overly optimistic about a mini-camp, especially since these things are fairly casual events, with a lot of meetings-and-greetings, playbook previews, and no physical hitting or pads allowed.

But both Clark Judge and Dave Spadaro say, "Get used to it, Philadelphia." Both believe Maclin is the real deal, and several NFC general managers have already said off the record that Jeremy Maclin will have the greatest impact of all the receivers taken in the draft. Another GM who asked not to be quoted said this: "The Eagles got themselves a star. He's a natural who can return punts and kicks, too. He can fly. It's like having a grenade waiting to be pulled on every possession."

The mood and the spirit was very, very good. Underlying the enthusiasm is the realization by many players that jobs and roles on this team are going to be very competitive. A lot of guys who had a lock on a starting position last year may find some real challenges from the 1st and 2nd-year guys.

Spadaro noted that safety Sean Jones had a very strong showing in mini-camp. He said Omar Gaither and Akeem Jordan looked better than ever, and anticipates they will be competing for that hybrid position on defense which can rush the passer, drop back into LB coverage, or just jam the line. He also said CB Courtney Robinson from U.Mass could be your longshot kid that comes out of nowhere to make the team. 

Best of all, everyone showed up---everyone except WR Kevin Curtis, who is still healing from offseason surgery and will be ready for the big camp in July.

Until then it's the ongoing conditioning programs, strength and nutrition regimens, and keeping the nose stuck in the playbook for at least an hour each day that will occupy the professional lives of the Eagles until mid-summer. That's when our real dream begins as fans, and when the mood in camp may be something of a more drastic nature. 

Based on PFW's elaborate analytical model, the winners in each conference in producing the most efficient and likely-to-pay-off drafts were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns.

As PFW's Nolan Nawrocki says, in a typical draft the goal is to come away with starters in the first 3 rounds. In a draft like 2009 which is considered a "weak draft" by many experts, the expectation for the 3rd round selectees is reduced to hoping to find a sub-package or niche role player who can contribute to the team in their rookie year.

Nawrocki points out "there is an art to knowing the value of talent, to moving up and down the board to secure targets and additional picks...The grades we give teams are based more on their ability to recognize value and manipulate the draft board to their favor.  The talent acquired, however, has not yet had a chance to prove its worth, so these grades given to teams still have to be proven out by what the players actually accomplish on the field."

That being said, and also considering the medical risks and character questions that have to be weighed, along with the ability to match talented players with coaching staffs and schemes, here is how Pro Football Weekly summed up the Eagles 2009 Draft:

Grade: Outstanding, #1 in the NFC: Andy Reid and GM Tom Heckert sacrificed the selection of OT Jeff Otah last year, trading the pick to Carolina for an additional first-rounder this year, which they were able to use, along with a 3rd-rounder, to acquire OLT Jason Peters from Buffalo. They also made a shrewd deal with the New England Patriots to acquire CB Ellis Hobbs for two 5th-round picks, thus coming away from this draft with two established veterans. Most impressive, however, was how they continued to work trades to upgrade the offense, adding a multipurpose playmaker and receiver in Jeremy Maclin, and a change-of-pace-back, LeSean McCoy, both of whom have starter potential. TE Cornelius Ingram could turn out to be a "steal" from the 5th round if and when he fully recovers from a torn ACL, and CB Victor "Macho" Harris should find a role in sub-packages. Overall, no team came away with as much proven talent as the Eagles did in this draft.

Nice.  Good to hear a national media outlet actually congratulating the Eagles for doing something right!  Of course, none of these plaudits and high grades means anything until the players are acclimated to their new system, absorbed in their new playbooks, and producing the new routines that define them as pro's.

Ultimately it comes down to W's and L's on the scoreboard, and how the players will stay healthy or not, and how they respond to the greater speed and pressure of the NFL arena.

"The best draft of 2009" according to Pro Football Weekly will soon be forgotten if the Eagles get off to a slow start in the regular season.  That's why I'm interested in the minicamps this year more than ever and why we should look into the prevailing attitudes of the entire roster, and start grading things like the will to win. That's where the really important grading begins.