Let It Bleed: Eagles' cuts are brutal, survivors are blessed....

Breaking news....so many of the guys I learned to like are gone! I wish I had never known them now, as the pain is in the saying of goodbye....Sorry to sound like an "Air Supply" song, but man, these final cuts are hard to take if you actually get up close to these good people. Here are Andy Reid's final cuts: Gone are DT Willie Williams, LB Curtis Gatewood, CB Jack Ikegwonou, CB Trae Williams, LB Tank Daniels, DE Josh Gaines, DE Bryan Smith, G Paul Fanaika, C Dallas Reynolds, WR Danny Amendola, FB Marcus Mailei, TE Rob Myers, G Mike Gibson, LB Matt Wilhelm (shock!), DT Dan Klecko (even more shocking!), and OT Fenuki Tupou (injured reserve list).....and, oh yeah, TE Matt Schobel is gone, too, as well as TE Eugene Bright, which means the Eagles are carrying only two tight ends, Brent Celeck and Tony Curtis...(not a big surprise about the release of Eugene Bright, the converted DE who showed me very little as a TE in preseason, but maybe the thinking was he's a good blocker---but oh, those hands of stone!).... Also gone are S Rashard Langford, RB Lorenzo Booker, FB Kyle Eckel...and oh yes, Michael Vick, who is temporarily placed on the Exempt/Commisioner's Permission list , which means a quarterback is going to be released or traded when Vick becomes eligible in Week 3. Shocking to say the least...I am shocked that RB Eldra Buckley (good north-to-south runner, good special teams player, but also "hands-of-stone") made this team, and basically sent Lorenzo Booker into retirement...but we saw it coming. I am also amazed that Kyle Eckel is gone, leaving the Eagles with only one true fullback---Leonard Weaver. As I was criticized for predicting, the Eagles did keep 7 wide receivers, including the much-maligned Reggie Brown--- but I fully expect a trade to emerge at this position. Congrats to rookie Brandon Gibson for showing us so much talent he could not be denied at WR! And here's to the other rookies who made it: WR Jeremy Maclin (of course!), RB LeSean McCoy (of course!), S Victor ("Macho") Harris (was never a lock to make it), and LB Moises Fokou ( I swear, I thought he was headed for the Practice Squad!)... And forget Mike Vick....the REAL second-chance story of this preseason was DE Jason Babin, the tatted and ill-tempered free agent who was brought into camp at Lehigh to shake things up and wound up getting signed to a restructured contract as the Eagles' only legitimate speed-rusher on defense. At age 29, and "only" 6-3 and 260, this was Babin's last shot at making it in the NFL, and with 14 tackles and 3 sacks in the preseason games, make it he did! I tell you, despite his menacing look and his turbulent temper on the field, Jason is really a nice guy, and after bouncing around the last four years with Houston, Seattle and Kansas City, I am happy for his last chance to be with the Eagles. I hope it works out. The unresolved ending of this story is the Eagles now have 4 quarterbacks: McNabb, Kolb, Vick and A.J. Feeley. I expect Feeley to be dealt to the highest bidder once Vick is activated. And I regret the potential loss of Feeley...he really is that damn good. He could be starting for at least five NFL teams that I can think of right now. I'm glad the regular season is now here...but God, I hate the human wreckage of these cuts! Expect some more news about trades, pick-ups and practice squad offers very shortly.