It's time for that dreaded first trimester report card on the Flock of Eagles, who are 3-1 including a Bye week and headed out to Oakland this coming Sunday to take on the struggling Raiders. Personally, I always hated report cards as a kid and I still despise "report-card" articles on NFL teams. The reason I never trusted report cards is they can only give you a distorted vision...

It was one of those days when just about everything went the way an Eagles fan would want it to go.... Well, almost everything.... First, allow me to congratulate our loyal Eagles Eye correspondent, "Eagle Nut", who suggested in our previous game-plan discussion that McNabb should "stretch out the field" early with a deep pattern to DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin (starting in place...

If you were wondering just what to expect in Sunday's matchup between the 2-1 Philadelphia Eagles and the 0-4 Tampa Bay Bucs, the main question has been answered: Donovan McNabb announced today he will be the starting QB for the Eagles, after a 4-week layoff for a rib-injury suffered at the hands of the Carolina Panthers in Game 1. Perhaps equally important, the Bucs announced...

Tampa Bay hates to use the "R" word (rebuilding), so the question is: Are new GM Mark Dominik and new head coach Raheem Morris dragging the Bucs' franchise into the future or into the ground? After succesive winning seasons in 2007 and 2008, but not having won a playoff game since 2002, the Glazer family (owners of the Bucs) wanted a new direction. They went young with their new...

Imagine: one day you're the starting middle-linebacker for a team that's in the Super Bowl. You've never been known for a guy that's good at coverage on opposing receivers crossing the middle on slants or in the flats. You're the guy who's known for crashing the line of scrimmage and crushing the power-run game of your opponent. You're the guy about whom...

It's "Bye Week" in Philadelphia, and I've got nothing much to tell you about the Eagles' current saga except the team has just released QB Jeff Garcia, who was brought in as an insurance policy in case Kevin Kolb was either hurt or self-destructed in Donovan McNabb's absence. The Eagles also signed out of retirement Jeremiah Trotter, the 260-lb. 4-time All...

I thought it would play out to be a closer contest, with the Eagles depleted by a host of injuries and the memory of a bad outing against the Saints, and the Kansas City Chiefs coming off a near-victory over Oakland last week. But Philadelphia made it look easy, taking charge of the game early and pasting the Chiefs, 34-14, on a day that was remarkable not just for the way Eagle...

This weekend there are four NFC East teams each playing an opponent that's 0-2. Historically in the NFL, over 50 percent of all 0-2 teams end up winning their third game. That's the "trap"...and the Eagles (1-1) are advised to come after the Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) as if they were going up against Bart Starr and the 1960 Packers. Translation: both teams really need this game in...

I think the "wildcat" option offense is a joke. Sure, the Miami Dolphins used it to break out of a two-year 1-21 slump in 2008. They couldn't run conventionally. They couldn't get their best two offensive assets, RB's Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, on the field at the same time. They couldn't get their receivers open, and even if they could, Chad Pennington...

If you think the Chiefs are the same team that went 2-14 last season, you are sadly underestimating the Kansas City brigade that comes into Philadelphia this weekend looking to tear apart the fragile nest of the Eagles. The Chiefs have a new G.M., new head coach, new defensive coordinator, new quarterback and an entirely different defensive scheme. First-year general manager...

If this were a back-to-the-future script, and you had told me substitute QB Kevin Kolb had thrown for almost 400 yards and 2 TD's against the Saints, I would have assumed the Eagles had won the game. Well, Kolb did complete 31 passes for 391 yards and 2 TD's... and also 3 INT's, the last of which was a 97-yarder returned by Darren Sharper for a TD on the last play of the game. Yes...

I expect a quiet and touching moment of tribute to the late Jim Johnson (former defensive coordinator of the Eagles and assistant coach for several other NFL teams in his career) at some point in the pregame ceremonies at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. After that, all hell's busting loose at the Linc in the combined furies of raving fans, jangling nerves, players'...

It's kind of nice to know that sportsmanship still exists in the NFL and pro sports in general. This pre-game report comes right out of the New Orleans Times-Picayune as written by Brian Allee-Walsh. New Orleans Saints' star quarterback Drew Brees and running back Pierre Thomas both said they totally empathize with what Eagles QB#1 Donovan McNabb is going through with the broken...

Roster changes are happening so fast and furious with the Eagles right now it is becoming a daily task just to keep up----and yet, we must not forget to pay heed to the New Orleans Saints, who will be marching in this Sunday to the Eagles' home opener at the Linc to potentially rain on our collective parade. First, the Eagle changes: 2-time All Pro Right tackle Shawn Andrews is...

As the New York Jets showed a revived offensive spirit and a new trash-talking swagger under new head coach Rex Ryan, the Eagles seemed to be riding the rails in the opposite direction as their 2nd and 3rd team hopefuls lost badly to the Jets, 38-27, last night at the Meadowlands. At least we now know Mike Vick will not be eligible to play until Week 3 against Kansas City at the...

Man, I've got to tell you, I am sick of national media folk stirring it up on the Eagles, implying that Donovan McNabb is not down with the signing of Mike Vick as a backup QB....or whatever role Vick is expected to play once Roger Goodell gives him the clearance to assume a spot on an NFL roster. The latest culprit is "Monty" of Sporting News Radio, aka Tim Montemayor...

Saturday night's preseason game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Carolina Panthers down in old Charlotte gave me a chance to get a good look at the team that will be the first real test of the "new, improved Philadlephia Eagles" of 2009. The Panthers enter this season with confidence after finishing 12-4 and winning the NFC South in 2008. After earning a playoff bye, however...

It was strangely quiet on the protest front as Mike Vick received a genuinely warm welcome from the fans at the Linc last night in Philadelphia when he re-entered the NFL on precisely the Eagles' second offensive play of the game. Head coach Andy Reid got Vick in early and often, using Vick for seven snaps in all, with Vick getting 6 touches, and actually completing 4 passes from...

It's official, head coach Andy Reid has confirmed on his WIP Radio show that Michael Vick will play at some point during the first 3 quarters in the Eagles' exhibition against Jacksonville on Thursday night in Philadelphia. You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind's blowing, and I will tell you there's going to be as much clash among animal-rights protesters and security...

They say the first cut is the deepest, but in the NFL the initial trimming of the roster, which for the Eagles will happen after this coming Thurday night's game against Jacksonville, is not necessarily the unkindest cut of all, because it allows time for some of the fallen to hook up with another team. Later this week the Eagles' roster will be trimmed from 80 to 75. After...

You know, the thing I hate most about the NFL is how teams, especially the Eagles, hold and hide their cards in exhibition games while pretending, "oh yes, we really want to win these preseason games, we're not out there to just go through the motions and audition wanna-be's..." That is a total crock. Even when we try to be fair as fans, and judge only the first...

ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcast provided a nice opportunity to scout two of the Eagles' toughest rivals in the NFC, including the team they will open up the regular season against on September 13.  It's also a nice opportunity to talk about Eagles football for a change without dwelling on the circus and controversy surrounding you-know-who... Although the final score was...