[Note by JasonB, 05/16/10 10:09 PM EDT ] Thwalls checks in with his firsthand report from the Men's Eagles Academy this weekend at the Novacare complex. Click here for more info on the event.

Edit: I added some of my photos to the bottom.

I had mentioned before that I was attending this on saturday, and if you happen to wander over to the Eagles website and look at the video of the day that they have, you'll see me acting like an idiot with my buddy Gerry (The actually interviewed us) - I informed them how I thought we were going to make the first cut.

The day started with drills at the Novacare complex, behind the building on their practice field which was ridiculously nice.  We had to field punts, do some running drills, kick field goals, learn to pass with accuracy (which I can't do because my hands are too small), and also run the gauntlet drill that they run at the combine where you run 50 yards catching passes from alternating sides.

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Hey everybody.  My wonderful wife got me a ticket for the Eagles Academy on on May 15th at the NovaCare Complex.  Is anybody else from BGN going?

Right now my buddy and I are going and I was wondering if anybody else is either going to this one or has been to one in the past.  Is it just a bunch of guys who look the "Cape Wearing Fan" from the movie Invincible?

Anyway, if anybody else is going let me know and maybe we can introduce ourselves.

This has nothing to do with the Eagles but since Rex grossman has been moved to the NFC east I had to re-post something that was from Kissing Suzy Kolber a long time back.  I'm going to warn you that it has some foul language and off color humor so if you're at work or there may be some kids around I strongly suggest that you read it later.

This is the fantastic inner monologue of Rex Grossman...

...lets listen in, shall we?

"Is that Berrian? I think he's triple-covered. You know what? Fuck it. I'm throwing it downfield.

Yeah, I see Jones open on the flank. But fuck that. Dumpoff passes are for faggots. I'm fucking Sexy Rexy Grossman. I can get that ball in there. And, even if I can't, I bet I'll be able to pull it off the next go round. I like throwing the ball long. It makes my dick hard.

What's that? I should throw a quick slant? Fuck that. That's gay. Button hook? Gay. Flare out? Gay. Screen pass? Kevin Spacey gay. This is fucking football. You can't just expect wins to come to you. You can't massage that shit. You gotta grab that game by the throat and rape the ever-loving shit out of it. You think a 5-yard out is gonna win you a game? You're a pussy. This ain't John Shoop running this offense. Sexy Rexy's got the arm. The dragon. You gotta unleash the dragon.

Okay, I'm throwing it. Nice. Look how far it went. I look good. I bet I made that Pats cheerleader wet her panties with that throw. She fucking wants me. I bet she likes it over a stair railing. I can hit that with 100% accuracy, my dear. Mmmmmm. I am delicious.

Oh shit. Looks like Samuel caught it. Again. Oh well. It still felt fucking great to throw that shit. Tell me that wasn't one of the prettiest passes you ever saw. You know what? Not only am I gonna throw it long the next time we hit the field. I'm gonna throw it even longer. Harder. You see that kid in wheelchair sitting in the end zone bleachers? I'm gonna nail him right between the fucking eyes with a Sexy Rexy fastball. Why? Because I can.

This is Rex Grossman we're talking about here. We're talking 210 lbs. of twisted steel and sex appeal. I'm not just a gunslinger. I'm a cumslinger. Throwing that ball long tells all the Rexettes that I am fucking out there. On the edge. Where I gotta be. The ladies love the danger. The unpredictability. Oh, maybe I'll tease them with a pretty touch pass every now and again. But then I'm gonna go right back to pumping that ball out for all it's worth. It tells them I throw like I fuck. That's how we do things in the sexy business.

Tell me you're not turned on right now. I am"

The original is from: http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com/2006/11/f-k-it-im-throwing-it-downfield.html

There are far too many Eagle fans saying one of the following things:

1. We NEED to catch the ball.

2. We need to tackle better.

3. We need to stop the run.

4. We need to...

Alright, we need to talk about something tangible, something that can actually be changed in a week.  We can't go back to training camp to work on catching drills, but what we can do is install a defense that would get the job done on saturday, and McDermott if you're listening I may have some tips that might help do just that.

Here's how I'd beat the Dallas Cowboys offense.

I had a long discussion at my wife on the way home from my in-laws last night and I laid the groundwork to screw with the Dallas cowboys massive O-Line, bring pressure, and not stop but disrupt the run.  

First off we can't match up in size with Cowboys in their O-Line, I know that this seems obvious but when you're sending 4 lineman straight up at the Cowboys O-Line constantly you're saying just that.  From the outset, I would play a 3-Deep shell most of the night to prevent the big play and then I would leave 6 men at the line on every down filling the A-Gaps.  I would motion people to line all night and then randomly drop those LBs in the A-gaps into coverage randomly, but I would make sure that they had to be accounted for on just about every snap.  

To prevent the double teams, on running downs I would line my DTs up 1 yard off the LOS.  Or alternate one of them to be off to force those fat O-Line man to tip their hands as to where the run is coming from on running downs. 

I would bring back the one defense JJ was running last year where he brought out a modified nickel using 3 safeties, 2 CBs and 2 LBs with Mikell in the box to line up with Witten.  

First and foremost I would Blitz, bring the overloads, bring the A-gap, feint the outside blitz by having the LBs taking 3 steps in then dropping back into coverage.  But most importantly, I would show blitz 75% of the time.  I would leave my DTs and my DEs wide, similar to how the Titans ran their Defensive Line when they still had Kearse.  This would force the O-Line to work against their strength and move to match the pressure, that's when you'd be able to bring the Delays in the windows on passing downs.

I think the offense will take care of itself, our WRs were beating their CBs most of the night but we had these long developing plays that we've been lucky enough to run most of the year against the mediocre defenses.  If you want negate pressure you do so by speeding up the delivery (especially if you don't feel like running).  The shallow crosses were there all night, I would take em all night.  Keep some of the screens in, but as soon as you see that CB line up deep on Maclin or D-Jax, I would audible to a smoke screen, especially when you have Avant set as the 3rd WR to that side to set up a block.  Where were the swing passes at?  Where were the short stick passes?  If we work the 5-7 yard game in the first half, the deep passes will be there to nail the coffin shut.  We have speed, we just need to use it.

So if I was the coordinator this week, that's how I'd beat the Cowboys.  It's too late in the season to work on fundamentals, catching, throwing, tackling, now is the time to work on the plan - not how we play.

I was trying to talk to my wife during the game about some facets of this Eagle bunch, since I was watching the game at home, and she didn't really care.  So since I have nobody at home who loves football as much as I love football, I'm going to bounce them off you.

1. Do you think that our spasmatic running game has more to do with Andy's love of  throwing the ball or the fact that Peters is back in the line up?  I thought that with him in there we really were able to handle that side of the defensive alignment.  Also, was it just me or did we just keep running it off tackle and off guard effectively because of him?  Also, loved his pick up of the corner blitz.

2.  The one thing I have to say about Maclin that puts him well above DJax is his ability to get position on a CB.  Is it really a surprise that the slants keep coming to Maclin since he is able to cut to the inside and outplay his man.  This is twice now that McNabb has thrown interceptions directly to defenders off of slant plays, and I'm more inclined to think that Don is "trusting" his receiver to make a play.  With Maclin, he gets in there and fights for the inside position, Jax just doesn't stick his nose in there.

3. The one thing over the past couple of weeks that I've noticed is that usually we've been giving up on the I-formation for most of the games we've played.  It always seemed like when we were going to run it was predictable, and mostly out of a single back set.  But when we passed, it was also predictable just in our alignment.  It was nice to see andy keep those backs in there running, and passing, out of a strong running alignment. 

4. We need to send a fruitbasket to Cutler.

5. I like how they talk about Avant as if he's in the same "new guy" group with Maclin and McCoy.  Avant has been "Mr. Clutch" for a long time now.  I need to buy an Avant jersey.

6. Somebody has to tell Asante that he's not allowed to jump routes unless he has safety help over the top at all times.  I know that he's gotten quite a few INTs that way, but he bites hard on those pump fakes.

7.  Who else likes how Mr. Jones likes to throw the body around like a FS from the "olden days" ?

8.  I would rather see them stay with weaver in the FB position and keep the two back sets in with Eldra Buckley taking a quarter of the snaps with Westbrook out.  Running from the single back set is fine, but if you go three wide and the opposing team is staying in their base defense, you're going to have to be crafty to get your running game going.  But if the eagles keep a FB in the back field with a blocking tight end, we can just man up our blocks and pound it...Just saying.  (I like how in pass protection, people always talk about how we have the biggest O-Line in the league, but when it comes to run blocking nobody says anything about their enormous girth.  Just saying.)

9.  Come 2011 this offense should be frightening.

Alright, I'm done.  Thanks for reading.

They have the pictures and video up from the first day of practice/mini-camp and a couple of things jumped out at me.  I just wanted to knock around this business with you fellas since there's really nothing else going on.

1.  The new CB Macho Harris being lined up at safety rather than in the CB position.  I like this idea since you can see from his tape that he is a ball hawk and is defnitely somebody we need to cover the deep middle.  Whether or not he is smart enough to play the position in Jim Johnson's offense is a completely different story.  But if you remember, last season we went to that wierd "nickel" package where an LB was taken out and replaced with another safety, usually Demps if I remember, to allow Dawkins to play the hybrid LB role.  I loved Dawkins, especially against the run, but we've needed a  SS FS that can cover the middle in the 4-3 for a while now.  (Think Game 2 against Dallas, that touchdown by TO where Dawkins got smoked.)

2.  I couldn't believe that Jim Johnson was on a rascal directing the defense.  If you haven't seen the pictures of him on that scooter you have to stop what you're doing and check them out.  That is what real strength looks like.  You're sick from cancer, but you still make it to the first day of practice, and even if you can't walk onto the field you're still making it work.  That guy is incredible. 

3.  Does it appear that McNabb has lost a ton of weight since last season?  It seems like he has really trimmed down from his usual oaf-like self.

4.  Caveat to 3.  Reid has not trimmed down in the offseason.

Any other thoughts/comments/concerns out there?

They say that a watched pot never boils, but time flies when you're having fun.  Well I've got a new one for you...

Reading sports blogs makes a week take longer. 

Yeah, I'm no poet and I can't think up something that rhymes or is witty but you get my meaning.  At this point I'm mostly lurking in the blogs with mostly nothing to say.  In fact, as an Eagles fan, there's really only so much that I can read that hasn't a) already been said, or b) is just conjecture on the upcoming event.  I just can't take it anymore, it's wednesday and this week is dragging on.

What's also interesting is that while "everyone" is saying that Eagles will win this game, if you do any digging at all you'll find that it's a pretty even split between reporters who say the Cardinals will win or that the Eagles will win.  I know that the Cards want to play this underdog card, but probably in the minds of the players it's not really there.  It's a media driven fabrication.  Even on ESPN you can find people that swing both ways...

Ha.

Anyway, onto my initial point.  At what time do you say to yourself, "I'm completely full of the spin and they hype and the story-lines and it's time to get up from the table completely."  At what time do you say that you can't eat another bite and just want to sit back and relax, and wait for the game which will inevitably be here...

...Heck, I've got dental work to get done on Monday and I can't wait for this week to finish...and I hate the dentist.

Hey fellas, the Eagles just signed WR Danny Amendola to the practice squad and I'm assuming he's gonna have a shot at the team come training camp.  I was wondering if there was any information that you guys knew about him since I didn't see him start this season with you and I didn't follow your camp. 

Is this guy any good or is he going to be just roster filler like Greg Lewis.

Thanks!

From an Eagle fan, I would love for you to keep Tony Romo, sure he has had some great performances against us including the whoopin' from the beginning of the season last year, but the Romo experiment I think should be abandoned.  I read some of your "post mortem" reports (excellent writing by the way) and there are some flaws with certain parts of your game including special teams and occasionally with your secondary, but I think that has more to do with injury over the course of the season then anything really endemic.  Romo is the problem.  He will always be the problem, and let me tell you breifly why that is.

WRs - It makes me want to vomit to admit it but you have one of the best receiving corps I have ever seen and the depth of it makes me queesy.

TE - Witten is really good.  I hate you.

RB - MBIII has had a few issues (probably injury related) but is a solid power running back.  Tashard Choice is a guy with a future and will be a winning component where ever he is on the field.

OLine - "Seems" to do a fine job providing time, and run blocking, but while it is big seems to have trouble defending DB blitzes and fast DE's coming off the edge.

Defense - has shown flashes of brilliance but the secondary needs to get buttoned up.  D Ware. Nuff said. 

So where do we lay blame on this team with exceptional potential.  The blame lies at the QB position.  The Sacks he takes and the fumbles are not indicative of a poor OLine but rather his inability to get the ball out on time and his "willy nilly" protection of the ball in mid-level passes.  He sometimes puts the ball up where the receiver should be and not always where the receiver is.  Bust on Mcnabb all you want about throwing bounce passes to receivers, but he rarely throws interceptions because of that propensity to try and protect the football...maybe not the receiver...but usually the football. 

You need a young QB from the draft who you can turn into Franchise QB.  Romo didn't get it done as a holder in '06, he didn't get it done against the Giants in '07, and you saw what happened last sunday. 

Change should come from the top of the roster and you definitely need a guy with icewater in his veins who can protect the football and get it out in 3 or 5 steps. You need an answer and Romo ain't it.

Go Eagles!

So I just saw on ESPN that they decided to post their top ten moments at texas stadium since it's closing it's doors this year.  There were the usual suspects that you would expect to see on that list including T.O. standing on the star when he was a 49er, a couple plays from Staubach and Smith, and of course our Romo-esque bobbling of a snap that cost us a game to the cowboys in 1997.  But right, smack in the center of the pack was the Bounty bowl, and their kicker trying to pick a fight with the Eagles bench.  I love it.  I love how even when ESPN tries to put a list together - that was voted on by fans -  that kisses the ass of the Cowboys, we can still drop a deuce right in the middle of it. 

Anyway, just thought I'd share. 

(They also had one or two games on their where they lost to the redskins, which I also found funny.)

So some of you know that I'm a diehard Eagles fan, and I'm not hear to bash on the Cowboys in any way, shape, or form, especially after last night!  But I have come here to say this.  Lets suppose that Atl or Tampa lose one more game, lets say that Atl does not win out and they dump a game to the vikings, which I think is likely since the Vikings are 5-1 at home.  Also, lets suppose that the Cowboys win next week and the Eagles win against Cleveland and Washington (which is highly likely given that the Browns and the Skins are looking like crap).  So given all of that....

...How amazing is that last game of the season going to be between the Cowboys and Eagles?!  I can already hear the hype for that game brewing.  The winner goes on and the loser goes home.  It's going to be incredible and even though we were all talking at the beginning of the season about meeting again in the NFC championship game, I think this is going to be even more awesome. 

It's going to be a cold wintery night in Philadelphia and I think for these two teams it's going to be a matchup for the ages, it's going to be one of those games that'll have it's own name and we'll be able to say, "yeah, I remember that game.  It was incredible."

Anyway, I know that you're still excited about your win last night, as you should be, I just wanted to throw that out there to see if you fellas thought that would be awesome as well.

Go Eagles!

I love the Eagles.  I love them.  On Sundays, I would love to be at every game, I would wait in line for hours if I had to, but I would definitely do that to be at every game in the Linc.

That being said...

I hate this.  I hate that before this game we've lost our other 3 games by a sum total of 14 points.  So the giants get to improve to 8-1 and we're 5-4 in the gutter with Dallas.  I hate that we have amazing players, we can nitpick as much as we want, but we have great receivers, a great quarterback, and an o-line that kept McNabb clean for most of the night.  So that being said, why is it that season after season we dump close games and can't seem to call the right plays TO GET OUR PLAYERS IN THE RIGHT SPOTS TO MAKE PLAYS...I hear ya Reid.

Show of hands, how many people saw those two running plays coming?  I was praying that he'd throw it, y'know why?  Because if he threw the ball and it was incomplete at LEAST you stop the clock, but no, you have a no-name fullback so you run it twice because you're afraid of a turnover.  You go conservative and once again you dump the game...I hate you Andy.  I hate your smirk that you have while we lose the game.  I hate that you make excuses for why we don't win.  But you know what I hate the most?  I hate that you get interesting at the beginning of the game, the wildcat was priceless, you take chances at the beginning of the game, you are aggressive at the beginning of the game but at 3rd and 2 you want to be conservative when that hasn't cut it at all.  We were getting those crossing routes open for most of the game, why don't you try that, or wait, why don't you go play action and throw for 3 yards?  But I digress...

I don't blame the defense for this, once again, this game has shown that when you can't sustain drives on the offense, you cannot rest the entire game on the defense.  I do admit that I would have liked to see fewer running yards, but our defense made the stops when it needed to and gave us the opportunity to win that game. 

WE could have won that game.  And that's the story of the last 3 or so year of the Eagles, especially last year and this year.  That's it.  That's the whole ball of wax, we are a team that could go 13-3 or 14-2 every season, but instead we don't take risks, we play conservative, we get hurt, and then we go 8-8, and thus far, 5-4. 

With the way this season is going, we will not make the Playoffs, and ya know why?  We are NOT a bad team.  Our players are potentially great, but as long as we cannot manage the game or play to our strengths which is the passing game, we are going to come up short and not win close games.  That's it, we can't win the squeekers and the Giants, the Redskins, the Titans, the Colts, the Patriots, and darnit even the Cards and Dolphins can.  Until we can win a close game we're nothing.

But I will say this, you're only as good as your record and the Giants are 8-1 and we're 5-4.  Our players, I believe, are great.  But as a team (including the coaching staff, minus Johnson) we suck...we have a winning record and we suck.

I love the Eagles and I always will, if I was a fairweather fan, or bandwagon jumper, or fickle, these losses wouldn't hurt half as much.  But they do.  I'll wear my colors tomorrow and hope that next sunday is better, and maybe one day, before I die, I'll see that Lombardi trophy being raised by silver and green hands. 

I've waited 26 years, I guess I can wait a little longer.

Go Eagles.

...about the defense. 

I will agree that they couldn't get the redskins 3 and out but they were strong for the first 2 quarters.  This game has to do with the fact that you can't strand your defense to constantly win the game for you.  They left the game in the hands of the defense with Pittsburgh, with the Bears, and now with the Redskins.  Unfortunately, if you can't get a first down to save your life then you can't score and obviously you're defense is going to get tired and that's exactly what happened.

What is going wrong?  What is the problem?

Last week, and the week before, we said that we were missing Westbrook and that was the reason for the slow offensive start but now we have all of our playmakers, excluding Curtis, and we still can't make anything happen.  So is it the coaching ineptitude or is something else at fault? 

Why for example was Jackson out for most of the second half and why were we continually performing "trick" or misdirection plays to Westbrook when we're supposed to be a team that strives for balance with all of the other playmakers?  This is rediculous, we deserved to lose this game because we can't score and it's as simple as that.  I thought that maybe we were just having a slow start but this sad.

Heck, we don't even have the ability to turn each drive into a field goal anymore like we did in 2007, nope, now we just give them better field position than we could with a punt.  I hate this, I hate not being able to catch a break or make a play because of: Bad playcalling, dropped passes, poor calls, etc. 

What are your thoughts?  At this rate, with this kind of poor offensive performance I see 8-8 with no playoffs...

...this sucks.

Go Eagles.

In unrelated news, you knew that this was going to happen...now listen as we slowly hear the wheels fall off of the car.

From Dallascowboys.com

"It's no secret, when I get the ball things move, we move," said Owens, who was held to just two catches for 17 yards in last Sunday night's victory over Green Bay. "If not, you see a stagnate in the offense."

Owens, who said last week that he didn't mind getting fewer touches when the team wins, was frustrated he didn't get enough opportunities to make plays.

"Most of the time, I was getting in my routes and coming out of them, the ball was already going in another direction," he said. "They were really congesting the middle, played a lot of bump and runs, safety over top."

From ESPN:

"Everybody recognized I wasn’t getting the ball in the first half," Owens said. "People in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it." 

"Was he good statistics-wise?" Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo asked after the game.   Considering how frequently the Cowboys went to Owens, they were hoping for more than good.  Owens finished with seven catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, and two carries for 11 yards.In the first half of Sunday’s game, however, it was obvious the Cowboys were going to try make Owens a major part of the offense.   They threw eight passes his way in the first half, one of which was negated by a Redskins penalty. He finished with two catches for 11 yards.

I was expecting this kind of non-sense from Mr. Owens a lot sooner but it just goes to show you how he is EXACTLY the same asshat that he was in Philly.  He never changed, his ego never shrank, and he still can't seem to hold onto the ball 50% of the time.  Of course, he blames it on the offensive play calling and the decision making of Tony Romo, but then again, out of 60 or so plays that they called over 20 of them went to Owens...1/3 of the offense was predicated on Owens getting the all, out of at least 6 offensive men on the field, they went to Owens 1/3 of the time...I don't understand his logic in thinking that they weren't giving him enough touches but I do think he should take a lesson in how to catch the ball from Austin and Witten. 

Furthermore, to the Redskin fans, I'll only say this once: Nice game on sunday and thanks for leaving the NFC East wide open. 

Who wants to place bets that if the Cowboys lose in the playoffs that they go 6-10 next year with Owens needing to be retired/benched/traded...damn that karma is coming around.

So we're gearing up for one of the two games that we wait all season long for.  The Cowboy's game at home and the one away.  I'm going to say it, I don't buy the Cowboy hype, not only because I'm an Eagles fan but also because I love to watch the game of football and hate hyped up teams i.e. Giants, Patriots, Chargers, and Indy.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate the players per se, well some I do, but for the most part I hate the way the media gloats over them. 

Now since we're in the NFC East we have to deal with the Giants and the Cowboys of course.  I'm not worried about the Giants, I applauded the Giants last year for winning the Super Bowl, I went on Bigblueview.com (run excellently by ETVal) and said that I was impressed.  Now it seems that the win has gone to their heads and they believe themselves to be a powerhouse...yeah...get over it. 

But what does concern me are the Cowboys since they are, and I absolutely believe this, the only real threat to us in the NFC.  Why in God's name would I say this?  Because we resemble another team that has won the super bowl time and time again, and that is the NE Patriots pre-randy moss, except with more firepower. 

Lets take a hard look at this game coming up on Monday night. 

In 2007, and we'll move into 2008, the Cowboys have maintained a very traditional pass-heavy offense (The rushing yards usually only mounting in the 3rd and 4th quater when defending a lead).  You see Romo with his favorite targets of Witten and Owens and occasionally crayton.  When they whipped us in our first meeting, you saw 10 receptions by owens bringing down the win,  when they lost to us they managed fewer then 5, I believe, being forced underneath to Witten do to the heavy pass rush.  Furthermore, we were able to keep them at 8% on 3rd down sacking Romo 4 times.  The point is, when you give him time he performs well, collapse the pocket a little and he folds.  Also remember that his front 5 were exactly the same in both games...so what changed in his horrendous 3 interception/2 fumble performance...pressure.

Initially last year you remember that people believed you could try to stop the Cowboys and the Patriots with deep blanket coverage and utilizing 4 men (usually) in the pass rush, and of course this didn't work until the Eagles showed the league how to attack the pass in the Patriots game and the Cowboys game later in the season.  We brought the house and the same line that allowed a 20/25 completion ratio for romo in the first meeting could barely continue a drive in the second.  This is almost exactly the same line we're going to face on monday, and the best part is that their RBs aren't half as good as Jones was at picking up the blitz. 

Furthermore, the defense they will be facing, and this game will be won and lost by the defenses - without question - will be greatly augmented.  The aging Kearse and spikes have been replaced and instead of Joselio hansen as the third corner, we'll have Asante Samuel rounding out an elite secondary where each are capable of being left on an island. 

 This fact alone means more time in the 4-3 and nickel packages.  For the front seven, the Eagles sought speed rather then shear size with Dallas the exact opposite with their front 5 in the O line being well over 300 lbs (the smallest is 310), this speed hurt them last year and it will absolutely hurt them again. 

The Cowboys say that we faced the rams who went 3-13 last season, and the game should be easy, and it was, but we put up over 500 offensive yards missing our first and second starting WR's.  They are sending an offense that, while looking excellent against a young, inexperienced Browns secondary, has faltered considerably at the end of last season when challenged.  

As I said, McNabb and the Eagles resemble the ol' patriots since with McNabb at the helm any WR, TE, RB, or FB becomes a weapon and possible big playmaker if the play is drawn up right.  The power in our offense versus the cowboys is that we have a lot of "good" guys, but no truly great guys (westbrook aside) for the defense to clue into, and that's what makes us dangerous. 

To finish with the rushing attack, in both games last season, we allowed fewer than 100 yds on the ground in each meeting with the cowboys.   I don't believe that their barber/felix tandem will be as potent as they believe it to be, and either way, with a bolstered secondary six and seven men in the box on every down can be a strong deterant. 

I don't buy the Cowboys' hype, and while I don't think this game will be a walk in the park next week I do think that if the Eagles play good football and avoid errors like the Cowboys showed against the browns (the false starts, etc) I think that we can win - and win big.  The defense will win this game for us, and just like before, once Johnson gets inside Romo's head - the game is over. 

Go Eagles.

My wife found this on youtube after seeing this pepsi commercial.  I think it's for a new type of Pepsi coming out for the start of the season.  I wasn't able to watch it with the sound on due to my being at work, but It is really f__king funny.  But then again, watching Romo's smile get turned upside down due to any approaching green jersey always makes me happy.  Check it out, it takes a minute or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z84QBn9BGro

Romo is may be seeing this very thing happen to him this year...

Giants put superbowl Hero Tyree on PUP list.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Wide receiver David Tyree was placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list by the New York Giants on Tuesday, meaning the player who made a game-saving catch in the Super Bowl won't be making any for at least the first six weeks of the season.

Tyree, whose spectacular one-handed catch against his helmet sparked the Giants' late game-winning drive against the previously unbeaten New England Patriots, has not practiced since training camp opened in July because he is rehabilitating a surgically repaired right knee. He had surgery in May.

The Giants can take Tyree off the PUP list any time from the first day after the sixth week of the season until the last day of the ninth week. Once he is taken off the list, he has 21 days to either be activated or he is finished for the season.

The move was expected.

Tyree had four catches for 35 yards and no touchdowns in 12 regular-season games last year. He added four catches for 47 yards and a TD (in the Super Bowl) during the postseason.

The one everyone remembers was in the fourth quarter of the title game.

Quarterback Eli Manning somehow escaped the clutches of would-be sackers and heaved a pass 32 yards downfield that Tyree snared, pinning it against his helmet while falling to the ground with safety Rodney Harrison draped all over him. NFL.com

Maybe this is like pouring salt in an open wound, but I do find this terribly funny and a bit sad.  I really feel for the guys over at the Miami dolphins blog since this season "could" be more trouble. 

Here is what they have at NFL.com:

Who should the Miami Dolphins start at QB?

Chad Pennington - 70%

Josh McCown - 9%

Chad Henne - 15%

John Beck - 5%

I know that the Jets had Pennington but how bad is it when your best option, as voted on by football fans, is the leavings from another mediocre team.

And we're here, it's a warm evening in Texas tonight with two teams that have no love for each other, but nevertheless, there is a certain...essence of respect for eachother especially with the Eagles performing so well in this city over the past seasons. 

That's true.  Especially with the 10-6 upset here at home last season after the crushing defeat they handed the Eagles at home in the Linc.  But it seems that the game is about to get underway.  Romo is there on the sidelines getting some last bits of advice from coach Phillips before the game begins and it's incredible that coach phillips can actually hold that icecream cone, while talking to his pro-bowl quarterback, and still manage not to let that wonderful red ballon slip out of his childlike grasp.  It's just incredible, a wonderful season they had last year that came to a grinding halt on the first game of the post season.  Call it unlucky, call it fate, call it mexico, but whatever you call it, it's a loss that this team will not soon forget.

TO is still getting warmed up on the sidelines as Romo, Crayton, and Barber have gone out for the coin toss.  I think he's...he's...yes I can see now, he's talking to himself and crying a little bit, not too much, but just enough so that the fans can see that he does indeed have a heart and that he does indeed love his quarterback.  But remember, dynamite a terrible explosive capable of removing a house from its foundation, has tears too...tears of nitroglycerine before it spontaneously detonates destroying all of those close to it....but I think he'll have a great year with Romo at the helm.

2nd Quarter: 8:26 Cowboys 6 - Eagles 3

"The defense on both sides is just dominating this game, Romo is under intense pressure and the edges of that offensive line just can't seem to hold under this pass rush. But they're still in the lead by a field goal and once again they have the ball."

"The ball's spotted at the Eagles 40 after a spectacular run by Barber up the middle for a 15 yard gain. and now Romo is calling the play at the line in an effort short circuit this defense, this set is looking promising.  Romo is back in gun, barber to his right, 4 receivers split wide with owens on the strong side.  The ball is snapped...he's looking...he's looking...he's firing deep to owens who's coming on a post route to the endzone, it looks like Tou...no SAMUEL's GOT THE BALL! A leaping interception by the star corner back in the endzone and he's still on his feet.  He's running with blockers in front , he's at the 40...30...20...10...TOUCHDOWN EAGLES! Oh my, and did you see that hit by Cole on Romo when Romo tried to push Samuel out of bounds? I think Cole may have put him out of the game...wait, we're getting word that the field may need to be cleaned while we go to commercial, Romo did in fact deficate on the field and he is being carried off by team mates...wait, no he's not being carried off, TO is berading him for throwing the ball too short and that the interception is his fault, at least that's what it looks like from up here."

Final: Eagles 24 - Cowboys 6

Ok, so it's not the Super bowl, and it's not the Stanley Cup, and it's certainly not World Series...but it is a championship nonetheless that has been brought to Philadelphia (that involves a Football) since 1960 (it's the first championship period since 1983, I know.) 

For the most part it was nice to see a football team of philadelphia, arena or otherwise, dominate the field and not simply eek out a victory.  True the San Jose Sabercats racked up a number of points in the last 11 seconds of the game but for the majority of all 4 quarters the Soul backed by Matt D'Orazio dominated the field.  We've got an amazing quarterback (who happened to be the backup), an outstanding wide receiver core, and the most dominant defensive line in the league.  It's nice to have a team in philadelphia dominate, rather than just squeek by.  We had a 13-3 season, and to top it off we have the Arena bowl trophy and by the way, it's our third playoff appearance in a 5 season history.  Nice.

Now lets see our Eagles take a lesson from the Soul and bring a 13-3 season and a ring to Philadelphia. 

Go Eagles.

I love this guy, and I love that we end up in the Worst category 3 times.  I thought that some of our matchups would be pretty good since the divisional rivalry after last seasons 10-6 win in dallas bruised a lot of egos.  But I guess they don't get as much interest as some others.  Either way I love what he said.

Week 4:

"Worst: Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears. Thankfully, a lot of the rumors about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb going to the Bears this season have died down. However, if McNabb plays as inconsistently in the first three weeks as he did much of last season, look for the rumors to rev up again going into this game. Not that the rumors make a whole lot of sense (McNabb is too talented to give up on right now), but this game could have a really stupid sideshow effect."

Understandable conclusion if you get caught up in the hype, but wait, I thought we were trading Donovan to Baltimore or was it Chicago?  Does the melodrama make it the worst game?

WEEK 11:

"Worst: Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals. Here's a hunch: The Bengals are going to be 3-6 or 2-7 heading into this game and Chad Johnson is going to be in full implosion mode. The Bengals open the season with six of their first nine games against Tennessee, the New York Giants, Cleveland, Dallas, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville. That's brutal. By the time they host Philly, Johnson will be hating everything about his team and here's a decent bet that he will turn on his teammates, such as quarterback Carson Palmer."

Show of hands, who thinks Ocho Cinco is going to implode this year, or rather, who thinks Ocho will act worse during the season than he does in the off season?

WEEK 13:

"Worst: Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have ended up in the worst game category three times, which really isn't attributable to them. They're a better team than that, but they do have some really ugly matchups and this is yet another one. Worse, this game is on Thanksgiving night, featured on the NFL Network. Why that is, I'm not sure. It's not like these teams are still division rivals. Anyway, it's going to be ugly. The Eagles defense is going to blitz the heck out of either Matt Leinart or Kurt Warner and neither will handle it well."

Damn I love that last sentence.  And what's more is the fact that it is true.  If the D-Line performs will this year and lives up to the hype, and the youthful linebacker core has the tenacity tempered with focus, I think we could crush any team with a moderate-to-weak O-Line.  I don't care how quick of a release the quarterback has.

Furthermore, I would have thought that at least one of the Dallas games would have made it on the list since it was one of the most observed rivalries in the NFL.  When Dallas plays the eagles on a sunday, everyone watches that game because its rough and it gets ugly.  Everybody likes to watch Witten get a tampon up his nose after taking a nasty hit.  And watching "America's Team" implode with Romo's current skank looking on, come on, it only makes for wholesome family fun.  But hey, what do I know.

Go Eagles.  

So they are starting to rank all the NFL teams in the offseason and where do the Eagles land?

From Yahoo Sports:

16. Philadelphia Eagles (8-8) - The Asante Samuel pickup was a splash, but it's going to take the development of the young guys in the front seven (Brodrick Bunkley, Chris Gocong, Omar Gaither, etc.) to move this franchise back into the NFC elite.

As I seem to recall, our defense last year didn't seem to be the problem, and the "young guys" in the front seven put on a big show.  I thought that the problem was our inability to score in the RZ that really killed us.  So how will bolstering our defense be our true key to success and dominance in the NFC?  

It's funny how they rank certain teams in the top ten that have been utterly raped in the offseason as their veteran/probowl/elite starters got better deals at other teams (ie. Patriots and Giants)

So apparently we've started beefing up our WR corps by signing Bam Childress, a practice squad wide receiver from the New England:

"PHILADELPHIA (AP)--The Philadelphia Eagles signed receiver Bam Childress to a two-year contract on Friday.

Childress spent all last season on New England's practice squad. Originally signed by New England as a rookie free agent in 2005, Childress caught five passes for 39 yards in three career games and appeared as a reserve cornerback, recording five tackles.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Childress played at Ohio State, catching 33 passes for 392 yards and returning nine kickoffs for 159 yards."

um...ok.

I've been waiting for someone to post this video on youtube and finally someone has the copy.    Thankfully I was at this game and got to watch Sav make a great tackle in the open field agains the Bills punt returner.  

It's also nice to see him finish strong since there has been some talk about whether or not he'll be coming back next year.  The Eagles postgame show after the Bills game on 94.1 ran down the list of players that they believe would be coming back next year and those who would not be so lucky.  Among the list of returners was Sav Rocca, Gasperson, and of course McNabb.  But around the water cooler some people have been saying that Rocca has the monster leg, on some days, but doesn't have the accuracy of Johnson.  Personally I've felt that any change is a good change since Johnson has never been that extraordinary when comparing him to the likes of punters like Feagles.  

But nevertheless, I wanted to post this video since Sav is a monster.  

Go Eagles.