The Hawaiian Christmas Eternal Thread went back to... Hawaii, of course, so this time you get an overseas fan stepping into the breach.

Ground rules, or should I say "air rules" because we're Birds fans? OK, let's say "flight plan".

OFFICIAL RULES

1. No pictures of Rosie O' Donnell, two-headed piglets, or any similar monstrosities. Nobody wants to have to clean their lunch off the computer screen. (or even feel like they're about to have to)

2. Nobody knows the real rules.

3. If you want to put a picture in here, especially if it involves an attractive female with part or most of her clothes off, put a title right above it so at least the fans who read BGN while they're officially doing something else (like attending class or working) know what to watch out for.

4. Li Peng is a pig.

5. Don't feed any trolls (you can figure out who they are on your own). Shun the trolls and feed some homeless animals instead.

6. Trash talk is fine, personal attacks aren't. Basically, don't be a douchenozzle. If you're not sure whether what you're about to post qualifies, either ask someone or stay on the safe side and don't post it.

7. I could say no politics, no religion, but really, talk about whatever you want as long as you keep the second sentence of rule # 6 in mind.

OK, go for it. And get this post 5+ recs or Andy Reid will hire Victor Abiamiri as strength and conditioning coach.

It's a new Mohrning, Weg up and Reid. I know, we expected the Young guns to start Cullen our opponents and make our season Asomugha (that's what Avant too), but so far we've been far from in-Vince-able with only one Vicktory and got knocked out Coleman. De Van is stuck in the Mudd.

OK, I think you figured what I'm trying to do here. Look, I'm just as much of a fan as everyone else on here and I hate being 1-3 like every single rant artist.But hell, I'm a writer and sometimes disaster inspires me. And laughter can be good medicine.

I thought about doing this in narrative form, saying how Sam Bradford was singing “Meet Me in St. Louis” and what we did was meat him and Ram our game down his throat, but after that we started Falcon up on a Giant scale (on a scale of 1 to 10, give us a 49 with a very wide 9) like we were on the wrong Page of a Kafka novel. We expected the Falcons to carry a Roddy, but I'm not Ryan, they Turner game around and left us Snelling bad. (Dunta think so?)

Enough of that. From here on I'll just list out short disjointed examples of what's wrong with this season. Man up (or woman up, Eaglesgrl5 and Philadehlia) and take your Pun-ishment.

Defending the Wrong Castillo (Not Keenan This Defense)

Casey isn't a chip off the old block (he's not getting off any blocks), can someone Tapp his potential or is he in the wrong Rolle?

DeSean, You Catching Balls or Jackson Off?

Brent, Celekt “Catch” not “Drop”

Avant the Immaclinate Reception, not the Immaclinate Deception (look those plays up if you don't understand)

The Ghost of Dawkins is Doggin' Us

Jarrad the Wrong Page in the Playbook

Avant Us Moving Our Chaneys, Not Theirs

Caught with our Dixon the air (or with Mudd on Our Vick instead of keeping him clean) – O. Schmitt!

Washburn and Lose Your Landri

The Old Guard Can't Help the Young Center

Avant Jamaalin' Them and Laying Down the Laws

Get Your Schmitt Together and Ronnie the Ball

Jarrett-y to play for real? Then start Cullen people out and saying “Fokou, We're Winning Anyway!”

Thôse Were the Days (Because what was really missing from BGN was a circumflex accent)

Bam, bam, bam, bam. It feels like someone's hammering nails crosswise into my skull. And where did that bathroom light switch go?

Where am I again? Oh, right, Brussels. Waffletown. They have these great waffles here, with anything you want on them, even ice cream, but I don't understand why people don't eat them for breakfast. Makes about as much sense as Andy Reid's playcalling on second down. And my stomach feels like Nick Cole jumped up and down on it.

I haven't felt this wasted since the time I played in the BGN Bowl last year. My flight was late and I just barely made my connection to come here, but my baggage didn't. So I had to hang around the airport waiting until there weren't any more buses or trains, which meant I ended up paying fifty euro to get driven by a guy who kept yelling into his cell phone in Turkish for the whole drive. At the end of that, I felt so tense that I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep without drinking some beer. Let me tell you, the beer is one of the absolute best things about being in Belgium, unless it's that cheap Jupiter stuff. So I just had one after another, until I ran out and still wasn't sleepy. After that, I watched every single Eagles highlight film I could think of, but only from winning games. I'm not that much of a glutton for punishment.

It was just by coincidence that I ended up playing in the BGN Bowl – I hadn't even touched a football for years, at least this kind of football. I was visiting my family in Jersey and things went downhill pretty fast. I couldn't tell what was bothering my parents more, the fact that my marriage with Mara melted down or that I had married her and moved to Italy in the first place. Or maybe that I preferred free-lance interpreting for the European Union to coming back to the US without any job prospects. When they want to criticize, families don't need logic to weigh them down. Anyway, I stormed out of there, rented car, bags and all, and drove for ten miles before I realized I had no idea where I was going. Then I remembered my cousin Paul in Philly – he must have guessed something like this would happen, because when I told him I'd be making this trip, he invited me to stay with him for a few days. A few phone calls and directions later and there I was on his doorstep.

"Here's the deal, Ray," he told me as I brought my stuff in, "no questions asked, no talk unless you want, and we take turns buying the food and beer." I could live with that. A few hours later I was checking my e-mail, my work schedule for when I headed back to Europe, and other Internet stuff, Being an Eagles fan is practically the only thing from the States that's stayed with me over the years, so I checked out Bleeding Green Nation as well, even though most of what I write on there is just jokes. It's my way of relaxing, or one of them. Not knowing anybody else in the Philly area, I was expecting to be bored, until I read an interesting piece of news. Now Paul is an absolute sports freak, so when I suggested going over to FDR Park to play football with some other Eagle fans, he actually jumped up and down and broke out a couple of jerseys for us. We ended up going as Maclin and Jackson, except it was Keith Jackson in my case – it fit my shape a bit better.

The game itself was the sort of thing I wish had happened fifteen or twenty years ago. All I had to do was show up in the right place and explain that I was GreenRay, and I belonged. We had a bunch of guys there who I could remember by screen name, even one whose name was "Kolb Owns Donovan's Ass", or "Koda" for short. The amazing part was that I managed not to make a complete embarrassment of myself, although I did raise a few eyebrows. When Frank M beat me for a touchdown, our team captain Delaware Dave stared at me, and I came out with "Why are you looking at me? I told you I was slow!" He decided I wasn't too useful in coverage and put me on the line. When I first lined up at an angle in a modified sprinter stance, Koda said "Ray, what the F do you call that?" and my answer of "staying low to the ground" didn't satisfy him. After I got a couple of sacks he didn't say anything more. On offense, sometimes I blocked and sometimes I was a receiver. Paul went crazy, running all over the place. In the end his team beat mine 10-8, but at least I had one catch for a touchdown. The video is still on BGN somewhere.

After the game, we went to a place close by for food and beer. High fives, banter, and war stories everywhere, not to mention meat and potatoes and cheese combined in fifty-seven different ways. Once we really got our beer drinking in gear, Paul took one look at me and said "I'm driving us back, Ray." My age and muscles gradually caught up with me, and once we were back at Paul's place, I didn't move for a couple of hours. He took a long hot shower and then spent the rest of the day and night at his girlfriend's place. Lucky bastard. I can't say I made any instant friends, but the next time I hit Philly I can look up a few guys to meet with.

Man, those were the days. I can't afford to take two hours to move, I have to be at work by then. I'd better have a shower and drink half a gallon of coffee to get going. And unless somebody steals my laptop, I'm logging into BGN again tonight.

This is a list, in my opinion, of some players that could play a key role on the Eagles team next year and aren't the usual names you would expect to see in the media.

1. Mike Bell, RB - As someone pointed out, on the New Orleans Saints he had more carries than either Pierre Thomas or Reggie Bush. Look for him to split carries with LeSean McCoy as we run the ball more.

2. Nick Cole, G / C - I wouldn't be surprised if Mike McGlynn gets the nod to start at center based on good chemistry with Kevin Kolb. This will make Big Nicky determined to win a starting spot, and he will do it by outplaying the rusty Stacy Andrews at right guard. People will stop thinking of him as a backup.

3. Brodrick Bunkley, DT - Trent Cole will be himself, and the combination of Daryl Tapp, Juqua Parker, and a rookie end will generate additional pressure. Which means that sometimes a guard will have to help block one of the ends, and Brodrick will break through to tackle opponents for a loss.

Also, I think there's a possibility that Dick Jauron switches Quintin Mikell from SS to FS and coaches a rookie SS into becoming a solid starter.

Once I saw the news of the McNabb trade today, I decided, considering all the anticipation we've gone through on this topic, to paraphrase Constantine Cavafy's poem "Waiting for the Barbarians." For those of you who aren't fans of modern Greek literature, Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis, or Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) was a Greek poet who lived all his life in Alexandria, Egypt. Many, but by no means all, of his poems, touch on historical moments.

WAITING FOR THE QUARTERBACK

"What are we waiting for, gathered here at Lehigh?"

Donovan McNabb is coming to practice today.

-Why is the coaching staff so inactive?

Why are the coaches standing there and not drawing up plays?

-Because Donovan McNabb is coming to practice today.

What plays are the coaches to draw up?

Donovan already knows the whole playbook.

-Why did our head coach wake up so early in the morning

and is standing at the center of the stadium

in a brand new coaching jacket and Eagles cap?

-Because Donovan McNabb is coming to practice today

and the head coach is waiting to receive

our team leader. He even prepared a new team strategy to give him.

That is supposed to take us to the Super Bowl.

-Why are our wideouts and tight ends out today

decked out in brand new midnight green jerseys,

why is the whole offensive line gathered,

instead of hitting the blocking dummies?

Why are the groundskeepers working extra hours

to provide the earthworms with better protection?

Because Donovan McNabb is coming to practice today

and everything has to be just right for his arrival.

-Why aren't our great running backs practicing like always

running their plays, shedding their tacklers, making some yardage?

Because Donovan McNabb is coming to practice today

and with him and Reid around, we don't run the ball much.

-And why is everyone worried all of a sudden and confused?

(How serious everyone's face has become).

Why are the stands and parking lots emptying quickly,

and why is everyone going back home full of thoughts?

Because night fell and McNabb didn't show up.

Some people arrived from the front office,

and told us that Donovan McNabb just got traded.

And now what will become of us without McNabb?

That quarterback was a kind of solution.

After reading the linked article on Sav Rocca's punting, i decided to take a look at his performance on my own, so I tracked all his punts to see what happened.

Note: I have marked as "FPI" (for Field Position Issues) any punt from the other team's side of the field, therefore, one where Rocca would not be aiming for maximum yardage. I've called any non-FPI punt of 35 yards or below a shank.

Week 1: 37 (FPI, landed inside 20), 37 (not FPI but close, from the Eagles 46), 49, 48 <-- you could call this a good game

Week 2: 34 (from the Eagles 9 - shank), 55, 49 (from Eagles 9), 61 (from Eagles 10), 26 (from Eagles 28 - shank) <-- clearly a bad game for him

Week 3: 53 (he got injured and Akers took over the punting)

Week 4: bye week

Week 5: 50, 56, 46, 45, 47 (a good game for him)

Week 6: 41, 49, 30 (FPI, inside 20), 35 (FPI - Touchback), 40 (FPI - landed inside the 20), 55, 45, 58 <-- another good game

Week 7: 30 (FPI), 27 (FPI), 38, 46, 23 (FPI - from the 41 to the 18. I would be tempted to call this one a shank as well), 25 (shank), 49, 36 (from Eagles 10) <-- another bad game,

Week 8: 57, 46, 39

Week 9: 41, 48, 44

Week 10: 30 (from Eagles 10 - shank), 40, 52, 38 <--- call this a bad game as well

Week 11: 45, 16 (no I did not make that up - shank, from Eagles 40 to Chicago 44), 38, 32 (shank - from Eagles 45 to Chicago 23), 38 <--- clearly a bad game

Week 12: 42, 36 (FPI), 52, 47, 40

Week 13: 42, 53, 40 (FPI - perfect, to the 1) <--- a good game

Week 14:  36, 51, 46, 34 (FPI)

Week 15: 44, 39, 45 (FPI - touchback), 33 (FPI)

Week 16: 40 (from Eagles 1 - not a shank but a disappointment because the 11 yard return and 5 yard penalty gave our opponents very good field position), 60, 49, 28 (shank), 40 (FPI - inside 20) <--- a bad game

Week 17: 51, 41, 47 (from Eagles 9), 61, 51, 53, 38 (FPI) <---  a good game

Wild Card game: 53, 50, 52, 41 (FPI - touchback), 39 (FPI) <--- another good game

His regular season average was 42.1, which put him towards the bottom but not quite there. He had 26 punts inside the 20, 10 inside the 10, and  3 touchbacks. NFC leader Andy Lee had 47.6, 30, 8, and 8 respectively. I think the FPI punts may have dragged down his average somewhat.

This might be irrelevant, but regarding his "strong leg" reputation, his longest punt was 61 yards - 17 punters had at least one longer than that.

Number of shanks: 7 or 8, depending on how you classify the 23-yard punt from the 41 to the 18 in week 7. His total number of punts: 77 (72 regular season, 5 in postseason). So that means that either 9.1% or 10.4% of his punts were shanks.

Number of punts 50 yards or longer: 20, 7 of which were in the last two Dallas games.(so 17 in the regular season) - which means 26% of his punts were 50 yards or longer.

His reputation for inconsistency seems to come from games like Week 2, where he had a 55 yarder and a 61-yarder (his season best), but also had two shanks, or Week 16, where he had a shank and a 60-yarder. As to his reputation for shanking from deep in Eagles territory, it is based on these punts:

the last one in Week 7 (36 yards from the Eagles 10) and the first one in week 16 (40 yards from the Eagles 1), plus two shanks from deep in Eagles territory, his first in Week 2 (34 yards from the 9) and his first in week 10 (30 yards from the 10).

Personally, I would rather have somebody that punts consistently between 40 and 45 yards, rather than somebody who is all over the place on punting yardage, even if the latter has a higher average. What do the rest of you think?

"Run the ball!"      "Deep, inaccurate bombs" versus "short, accurate strikes" or "live by the big play"? And what about those screen passes?

Comments have been made about the play calling on offense - are you satisfied with it, and what changes do you think need to be made to improve it? If you're not satisfied, who or what is at fault?

Just let me make one distinction: play calling and execution are not the same issue. The play called might be a good idea for that situation but the players on the field didn't make it work. Or the play was a stupid idea but the Eagles stepped up, DeSean made a wonderful catch and torched the corner, or something like that. Unless you think the play calling is wrong because the players you have aren't the right ones to make it work (the "West Coast Offense QB" argument).

Play OC (offensive coordinator, not obsessive-compulsive) for a few minutes and let everyone know what you would and wouldn't like to go into the huddle.

The text below is copied direct from www.philadelphiaeagles.com

Former Eagles great defensive back Tom Brookshier passed away on Friday night at the age of 78 and the organization sends out its condolences to Mr. Brookshier's family and friends.

A cornerback with the Eagles in 1953, Mr. Brookshier made an immediate impact with 8 interceptions that season -- a team record that he still holds with Bibbles Bawel (1952) -- beginning a career with the Eagles in which he went on to become one of the best players in franchise history. Mr. Brookshier played with the Eagles until 1961 and then suffered a compound fracture in his leg, ending his playing career. In all, Mr. Brookshier -- who left the team after his rookie season to join the Air Force -- played for the Eagles for seven seasons and recorded 20 interceptions and had 8 fumble recoveries. He was twice named to the league's All-Pro Team, including the 1960 season when the Eagles won the NFL Championship.

The Eagles retired his jersey number 40 -- one of only seven jersey numbers retired in Eagles history -- and Mr. Brookshier was inducted into the team's Honor Roll in 1989.

Mr. Brookshier, who resided in suburban Philadelphia for the remainder of his life, then went on to have a long career in the media. He began in radio with WCAU-AM in Philadelphia and then became the color analyst for CBS during the NFL's broadcast games. He also worked in Philadelphia helping to form a sports-radio niche in the market, establishing 610 WIP as the leader in the radio medium.

From watching some film of Super Bowl III I ended up realizing some ways in which the game as played then is very different from today. The following things stood out for me:

1) Less players pass-rushing and no "stacking the box" - sometimes one or two offensive linemen literally didn't have anyone to block. There was a much greater distance between the defensive line and the linebackers at the start of plays. Probably also meant sacks were harder to achieve.

2) A lot of broken tackles (maybe because the defensive players weren't as big as they are now?) - once a player got past the immediate area of the line of scrimmage, usually the first guy that tried to tackle him didn't get him.

3) Less attention paid to clock management.

4) Field goal kickers were a lot less accurate.

5) The idea that the screen pass or the tight end as a significant receiving target is a product of the '80's is a complete myth.

Any further thoughts, fellow fans?

I read that Jets greats Johnny Hector and Wesley Walker are currently working as mentors at Peter Sports Management, a company that aims to develop young athletes aiming for pro careers, through everything from conditioning coaching to representation as agents to mentoring. Sounds like a worthy way to spend their post-retirement time.

It might be a good interview subject for someone to talk to them about their work, how it goes, the players they've worked with, their thoughts on these kind of programs. (or is that the former journalist in me talking? I could give it a shot, at a distance of course, if you'd like me to try to contact them)

A lot of NFL players come from rather troubled backgrounds and have ended up with all kinds of serious off-the-field issues. Maybe if some young players had a Johnny Hector or a Wesley Walker to talk to, someone that can understand where they're coming from and also has firsthand knowledge of the stress and difficulties involved in playing pro ball, we would have less headlines about players' bad behavior off the field.

If Goodell wants to give the NFL a cleaner image, maybe he should try to encourage current and former players into work like this, and teams to make use of programs of this sort (whether it's done in-house, through a company, or informally).

Any thoughts from fellow fans?