It feels like the Eagles are more concerned about next year’s roster than the immediate obstacle of needing to beat Atlanta in Georgia to keep their playoff hopes alive. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but why would you do a deal with TE Brent Celek for 7 years and $34 million ( $11 million guaranteed) when your team is essentially the poster child for “Wounded Knee” and you’re going into Atlanta (6-5) for yet another “must-win” game on the road? Don’t get me wrong, I love Brent Celek and the progress the 24-year-old, 6-4, 255 lb. youngster out of Cincinnati has shown since he was drafted in 2007. But the timing of his reward by the Front Office perplexes me. Exactly what have we and Brent accomplished this year, other than to prove that the Eagles could struggle to a 7-4 record on a relatively weak schedule so far? Why the reward now? Why not wait until at least we might get past an Atlanta Falcons team missing Matt Ryan and Michael Turner so that bragging rights in the NFC could be a lot more secure? Well, that’s the strange charisma of the Eagles. They do things that befuddle even the most astute students of the game.

Other transactions will soon be overlooked. For instance, CB Ramzee Robinson was released today after only 2 games on the roster. CB Geoffrey Pope was signed off the Bengals’ practice squad. WR Jordan Norwood was promoted to the 53-man roster from the Eagles’ practice squad. All of these lesser moves testify to the Eagles’ fear that their secondary is troubled by injury, their WR corps is diminished by the absence of DeSean Jackson (concussion), and that they doubt their own ability to rely upon their offense to make the necessary adjustments against the Falcons on Sunday.

Truthfully, I would have stood pat on all transactions until after the Atlanta game. The Eagles will be facing an ancient mariner, Chris Redman, who will be dinking and dunking them all day long until he’s flushed out of the pocket and disintegrated. Maybe that’s what the Eagles ought to be focusing on this week: defensive pressure on Redman, not NFL player contracts.

The Falcons have a good shot at making the playoffs in the NFC as a wild-card. Sure, they’ve got some issues and injuries on the offensive line and in the secondary. But the key to the Falcons is their ability to run the football on offense and to stop the run on defense. It is upon these key areas of concerns that the Eagles should be focusing this week, not upon their contractual investments for 2010. Is it possible that the Eagles are looking past their opponent on Sunday, and celebrating contractual transactions, just because they assume Chris Redman and the Falcons will be a pushover in Atlanta?

I’ve got major breaking news for Andy Reid and the Eagles: Atlanta is primed to upset you. Chris Redman is a cagy veteran QB who has withstood the utmost in misfortune and injury, but he’s still standing. He will check down and throw it away before he even comes close to getting sacked or throwing an ugly INT. Nothing will be given to the Philadelphia defense by Redman. Everything will have to be earned by the Eagles if they intend to win this game.

Maybe I’m overreacting, maybe this game will be a sure thing for the Eagles…Maybe McNabb lights it up with Jason Avant and Jeremy Maclin and Reggie Brown filling in for the absent DeSean Jackson….but something tells me the home-coming of Michael Vick and the professionalism of Chris Redman are going to collide, causing an asteroid-crash of motivation in favor of Atlanta in front of their home crowd. Nothing’s easy in the NFL, and I fear the Eagles are about to discover just how difficult playing a must-win game in Atlanta can be….

If the Eagles look past Atlanta in this one, they will be sadly disappointed. It is highly contingent upon Andy Reid and staff to completely discount all transactional developments this week and to focus their players upon going all-out against the Falcons on every play as if their individual 2010 contracts depended upon it.