The first hurdles were cleared on Wednesday when not only did 2nd round pick and probable starting free safety Nate Allen take the field for his first NFL training camp, but veterans Asante Samuel and DeSean Jackson both showed up in Lehigh ending any speculation that there was trouble on the horizon after both players skipped the final OTA’s. Read the rest of this entry >>
The quote rang out from Lehigh yesterday afternoon loud and clear, “We’re not waiting on anyone; we’re moving forward as a defense,” Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. “If and when they report, they’ll have to get caught up.” Read the rest of this entry >>
Each year when my season tickets arrive, I am always very curious to see which players’ images will be on which ticket. In recent years it’s always been a given that guys like Brian Westbrook, Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins, etc. would make the cut. However, it’s very interesting to see which select few outside of the household names would receive the honor. Read the rest of this entry >>
In notorious ex-Eagle news, Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens are teammates again! Read the rest of this entry >>
In a curious move, the Eagles have invited Arizona Rattlers receiver Rod Windsor, who holds the Arena Football League season record for receptions with 174, for a workout yesterday, the Arizona Republic reported. Read the rest of this entry >>
As we are all aware by now, Michael Vick is back in the headlines and as usual it is not for anything football related. Read the rest of this entry >>
Tags: Michael Vick, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles announced today they claimed 23-year-old safety Brett Johnson off waivers from the Buffalo Bills. Read the rest of this entry >>
Tags: Brett Johnson, DeSean Jackson, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles
In a nationwide poll commissioned by Forbes, Eagles back up quarterback Michael Vick has been selected as the most disliked sports figure in the country for a second consecutive year. Read the rest of this entry >>
The Eagles announced they have signed defensive end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim to a four-year contract. Te’o-Nesheim was the team’s third-round draft choice, 86th overall from the University of Washington. Read the rest of this entry >>
Uncharacteristically lost amidst the magic of the Flyers improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final and the Phillies’ search to find their once (and hopefully future) feared bats is the fact that the Eagles just finished up their spring OTA’s.
All of which can be nothing but beneficial to newly anointed starting quarterback Kevin Kolb. The longer we can prolong the inevitable microscope that Kolb will eventually be placed under, the better.
Not that I think Kolb is looking to avoid the scrutiny, in fact, all indications thus far suggest the opposite. There will be nothing easy about replacing the face of the franchise for the last 10 years and Kolb knows it.
When you make a change as significant as this one you have to expect and accept the critiques that come with that decision, whether they be good or bad.
There are those of us who have already made up our minds that Kolb will be the next coming of Aaron Rodgers and be the savior of a team looking to earn it’s first championship in 50 years. Conversely, there are those among us who think he will fall flat on his face and the Eagles will rue the day that they sent #5 packing down I-95.
This is a plea to all Birds fans to keep an open mind at this early juncture of Kolb’s tenure. It is imperative for us as fans to stay tempered when it comes to the topic of our new field general.
Could Kolb lead the Birds all the way to Cowboys’ Stadium in February? Possibly.
Could he fall short of expectations and wind up with a losing record? Another possibility.
The point is we just don’t know enough about his abilities as an NFL starting quarterback to make any true determination yet.
Whatever your opinion may be, one thing needs to be made clear. This wasn’t a change made solely for change’s sake. Joe Banner was once quoted as saying, “…insanity is repeating the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.” This seemingly applied to all aspects of the Eagles on-field operations with the notable exception of the quarterback position.
I have said many times over the last decade that the Eagles could only go as far as Donovan McNabb could take them. I still believe that today. Problem is, he DID take them as far as he could and guess what? It wasn’t far enough. Ten years is an eternity in the sports world. With the influx of so much young talent on the offense over the last 2 years (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, Brent Celek, etc.), the time for a change was now.
For any shortcomings he may have, Andy Reid knows more about football than you or I and he saw something in Kolb that others did not. As a result, the Eagles wagon is now firmly hitched to the back of the kid from the University of Houston.
I, for one, can’t wait for July 29th and the start of training camp and I am hopeful that Kolb will eventually make people forget about McNabb and not remember Bobby Hoying.
-Contributed by Michael Bergen
The happenings of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mike Bergen is the Philadelphia Eagles correspondent for the FanBall Blog Network. He is a lifelong Philadelphia area resident and a die hard fan of the Eagles, Phillies and Flyers. He has previously written for a local sports web site, where his coverage was mainly centered around the Flyers and Eagles. Please feel free to leave any and all feedback. Mike can be reached via e-mail at mikebergen29@gmail.com.
