To Eagles Fan Around the Country:

I started this group because for the TRUE eagles fans.  I'm a 3rd generation eagles fan.  My grandfather was a birds fan, my father was a birds fan, and my brother and i are birds fans.  I remember the days at the VET with the 700 level and being one of the worst teams in the league.  The definition of a true fan is a fan who can remember the bad times in a good way.  Personally i can not stand the new stadium, its true pretty for this city.  Philly is a blue collar city, this isn't san fran or even houston.  If i had my way i would have torn up the concrete in the vet and made it a grass stadium.  They city i think purposely seperated the fans because they knew that the 700 level was rowdy because we were all united.  Plus it was alot easier and cheaper getting tickets for the vet. The most my family paid was 45  a ticket now unless you have a fast finger you can't get a ticket under 130.  But whatever this group isnt about remembering the good ole days, well maybe sometimes, its about talking about our current group of rejects who we call team.

This year to me is the put up or shut up year for this Eagles Era.  If you look at the schedule its not even close to as difficult as last year.   The eagles have the team to win it all but will it happen?  Donovan McNabb has to come back to full speed.  He better not rush because we don't need a culpepper.  I know the media has been saying that he is recovering at a fast pace, but until he is on the field getting hit by guys who don't give a s$%t if he gets hurt or not then we just don't know.  Donovan has to step up and be a leader.  I know most people say that look at what hes done and look at his numbers.  I reply to those by saying watch the damn games, Don't read me stats and then glorify the man.  He never gets in peoples faces, like how could he have not ripped off pinkston or lj smiths head those guys always alligator arm passes and never had him up their ****.  Garcia showed us what we wanted mcnabb to be. 

I think donovan is the most gifted qb in the game but i think he lacks the confidence or maybe its perseverance.  Anyone who has a brain knows the reason Reid wanted this guy was because he had all the same tools as steve young.  Personally joe montana may have been the best leader, marino the best passer, but young was the most complete quarterback ever. A guy who could run, throw short, take hits, and throw deep is the most coveted type of qb in the game.  The truth is that Reid and this city puts too much on him.  There is not a QB in the league who throws as much as mcnabb.  And his ratio for tds to int is impeccable.  The thing is that is he really cut out for the west coast offense.  I think his arm is too strong and he puts to much on a ball that should be thrown litely.  Take notice that when garcia stepped in the recievers all started catching the ball.  The worst thing that happened to him was TO not because of the bs he put him through but because this guy was what the eagles needed.  TO was a leader!  I know everyone in the area makes him to be the antichrist but if it was not for him the superbowl would not have been even close.  The eagles of 2004 should have went 15-1 because for the fans who don't remember, the starters sat the majority of the last three games.  TO is to blame though because he signed that crappy contract lurie gave him so he should have been a man and said i screwed up and thats it.  I guess that idiot agent of his did not tell him that if he retired with the birds he would have had constant revenue for the rest of his life because the fans would have adored him.

 Now on to this season.   Can anyone tell me why haven't the eagles considered to make jevon kearse switch to Strong side linebacker.  For those of you who don't know kearse was a linebacker in college it was fisher who made him an end.  Imagine this upfront you have bunkley, patterson, howard, and scott.  In the linebackers you have gocong, spikes and kearse with trotter and gaither rotating.  The in the back field have james, dawk, brown, and sheppard.  Now heres the logic behind this configuration.  Bunkley timed at an end speed level at the combine and he has the size that has not been utilized in the league since before the jevon kearse ends took over.  Remember reggie white was 6-5 330 and clyde simmons was like 6-7 350, bunkley is 6-3 and 310.  Patterson was ok last year but i think he got worn down because darwin walker was not contributing as much.  Howard is a beast people fail to realize this guy was doubled and even tripled last year because he was the main threat on the line.  Thus why cole looked so good.  Scott is the big tackle we have been looking for and he is from the bears d so he is legit.  Linebacker is the big topic this year, i think spikes gives this squad the credibility it needed.  I think if he plays the middle i think he will be one of the best mikes in the league because he is the rare talent linebacker who can do it all.  This guy was sent out of buffalo not because of the injury but because he had a big cap number and i think the owner of the bills is trying to pull some crap like in the movie major league.  Make the team so bad that none of the fans show up and they can move.  lets be honest spikes for darwin walker, are you kidding spikes has been dominant his whole career and walker has been corey simons shadow his whole career.  Kearse has the speed and agility to be a good linebacker and he would be 100x better then dhani jones.  If gocong can make the transition he would make a very fierce front seven because he has the build of jevon kearse.  Don't forget you still got trotter, gaither, mccoy and bradley to rotate in.  Now in the secondary Will james would be a good cover corner if he plays the way he did in new york.  He also has the bobby taylor size that neither lito or sheldon have.  Dawk is and will be to the day he retires the leader of the D.  He has lost a step but a step for him is a glitch for everyone else.  He plays his heart out every play and he does his job very well.  Lito is one of the best corners in the league but the thing is about him that if you get past him thats it. On to the Strong safety, personally i think sheldon browns hit on reggie bush showed that this guy can level anyone and he can cover pretty damn good. plus mikell can still come in on nickel and rotate.  I used to play football so this is just my opinion of what i think the defense should look like.

On Offense its pretty much a closed case.  Mcnabb at the helm. Westbrook at the rb.  Parry at Full. Brown at the 1.  Curtis at the 2. Baskett at the 3.  And bloom and lewis splitting time.  Bloom could be a better slot receiver then lewis because maybe he won't drop as many passes. LJ back at TE.  Now the line is where i would get creative.  Justice, Gilles, Jackson, Andrews, and runyan.  Thats a big bunch of guys i think tra should be cut because of cap space or maybe traded.  I think his play has been down hill for the past few years, he had a decent year last year but he has fresh legs or better yet a fresh back behind him in winston justice.  Remember in 2006 justice was ranked the number 2 tackle and that was sandwiched between ferguson and mcneill and those guys if i remember did pretty well.  Remember you still got herremans and nick cole for back ups.  The eagles line coach, castillo, i think is one of the best at devloping linemen.  The key to this offense is balance.  West is not the fragile guy the philly media cries about plus hunt and buck are behind him. there needs to be a 50 50 play. I think the reason the defense looked so bad last season was because the offense would score to quickly and they would be constantly back out on the field.  The two saints games is proof of this.  Payton let reid score quickly while his running back tore up our defense.  It sounds ridiculous but i think that is what happened.  Plus the eagles have i think the biggest line to run behind so there should be no reason not to.

Sounds ridiculous but the area in most need of improvement is the special teams. you can not be constantly giving teams the ball in the area of the 35 or forty.  Dirk johnson is terrible and the eagles haven't been the same  on ST since ike reese left.

For the Rest of the Division

The Redskins i think are the biggest threat and thats not saying much.  Their offense is getting good and campbelll is progessing.  They have two good backs, two good receivers and a great tight end.  I just think they should have traded their pick to get maybe a guard or something in the second round to give campbell more protection but dan snyder is an idiot when it comes to GM.  He plays the game as if it was madden football.  Putting a crap load of over priced talent only wins you a super bowl in madden.  Their defense other then secondary is not scary.  The linebackers got older, the still don't have a line  and they got back fred smoot. WOW!  Being that they still have gibbs i think they got 8-8 or 9-7

The Giants are a joke this year. Reuben Droughns to replace tiki barber. uh huh! releasing pettitgout in favor of.... no one, great decision.  Manning is shell shocked, he has been hit more times in a season then peyton has in a career.  And they cut his best lineman and his goto guy retired.  I think plaxico burress is a joke because he it how tall and he still doesn't do anything.  Shockey has got all the respect in the world from.  I used to think he was a loud mouth punk until he got hit by dawk i think lost his helmet and did not give a F@#$.  If only LJ possesed that kind of mentality.  If he goes up on free agency soon then LURIE break out the check book.  On defense Strahan is not getting any younger and osi i think fed off the double teams strahan woould take.  Pierce is the only good lineback left and the secondary is pretty much the same as last year.
I say NY fans get ready for Darren Mcfadden and bill cowher  4-12 or 6-10.

Lastly Big D.  Well they are a wild card in my eyes, they could be complete crap or they could be good.  I don't trust wade phillips as the guy to replace parcells.  The thing is that i say if parcells lost his head down there with jones and owens then what is the not so winning phillips gonna do.  I personally think this is a filler year for them and its a make or break for romo.  Romo in all his limited wisdom thought that eh i might as well give them a whole year before signing a big deal.  I think thats going to bite him because i think defenses figured him out.  The seahawks thing happens but he lost to the lions and it was a meaningful game for them because if they won and the eagles lost to the falcons then dallas would have won the division and a home game.  If the lions figure you out then you got some problems. the Lions cannot even figure out how to draft.  The cowboys really did not do much to improve that defense either.  So now you have a parcells team without parcells.  I gurantee terry glenns worth decrease.  The offense with be run to jones pass to owens and if that fails pack it in.  Because owens would have never had so many balls thrown his way if he would have played under parcells in the jets or even the pats.  I think they go 7-9 +1 or -1

Onto the NFC being the weaker conference. I don't believe thats true i believe the competition is just closer in the nfc then in the AFC.  There is a wider gap between teams in the afc.  Like look at the afc south Indy, jacksonville, houston, and tennesee.  Are any of those teams near indy, no.  The west  and the north are the two close in competion in the AFC.  In the nfc all the division are pretty close

Here are my division winners
NFC EAST: Eagles

NFC NORTH: Chicago

NFC SOUTH: New Orleans

NFC WEST : San Fransico

Wild CARDS: Arizona and Carolina

Afc EAST : New England
AFC North: Baltimore

Afc South: Indy

AFC WEST : San Diego

Wild Cards: Jets and Titans

Before anyone crucify me on any of this.  I like a true iggles fan am writing this at 1 am while semi buzzed.  Don't take anything to literal!