Sorry to my fellow Birds fans....

Fitz is inked again with AZ.

In the NFC East, there are BIG WR's. The Eagles need depth at CB, but also a CB with some height AND return abilities. This Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie kid out of Tennessee State may be there in Round 2, and would be a smart pick for the Birds. NFL draftscout.com has him at #4 overall at CB. He can play safety too, which is always a good thing. Check him out.

This kid is explosive, and played on a winner. He's a projected 1-2 rounder, and at #19, the Birds could very well be looking at him, and hopefully they are.

This report states clearly that the Bengals are not shopping and will not shop Chad. Looks like the Birds will have to look elsewhere, if they were considering an attempt to go after him. OR maybe this is just to make teams up the offer for #85... time will tell...

This is the entire excerpt from the Rumor Mill at www.profootballtalk.com. This can't be good for any squad, I dont care how you finished the season.

"POSTED 10:31 a.m. EST, January 16, 2008

COWBOYS HEMORRHAGING ASSISTANTS by Michael David Smith

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips appears to have a long month ahead of him of reconstructing his coaching staff, as he's losing assistants left and right.

As everyone knows, offensive line coach Tony Sparano is leaving to become the head coach of the Dolphins, and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett appears to be leaving for either Baltimore or Atlanta.

But there's more. Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting that the Dolphins are focusing on two Cowboys assistants to add to their staff.

Cowboys secondary coach Todd Bowles is expected to leave to become the Dolphins' assistant head coach, and Cowboys linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni is expected to become the Dolphins' defensive coordinator. Both Bowles and Pasqualoni first joined the Cowboys staff in 2005, when Bill Parcells was head coach, and both of those moves could be announced soon, although the Dolphins technically can't hire either until their contracts expire next week.

And those might not be the last Dallas assistants to leave. It seems likely that tight ends coach John Garrett will follow his brother Jason to either Baltimore or Atlanta.

With an exodus of assistants, the situation in Dallas is somewhat similar to what happened in San Diego last year: The No. 1 seed loses its playoff opener, and then watches as other teams hire away its assistants. That situation ultimately ended with the Chargers firing head coach Marty Schottenheimer. Phillips must be hoping things don't turn out that way in Dallas."

ESPN did a piece today on the top ten individual seasons ever. There were only three defensive players on that list (one LB, CB, and DE). Reggie White's 1987 campaign, in which he recorded 21 sacks in the strike-shortened 12-game season is considered by many to be the true single-season sack total, because Strahan had his 22.5 in a 16 game season. This man wreaked havoc in the league that year...and many more after.

"POSTED 2:16 p.m. EST, January 11, 2008

COWBOYS IMPLOSION COMING?

There's a sense in some league circles that, regardless of how the 2007 season turns out for the Dallas Cowboys, a decline is on the way.

As one source said, Dallas is "going to be a disaster within two years."

The problem? Per the source, owner/G.M. Jerry Jones is "believing it's about him again, just like he did when Jimmy Johnson brought them to the top."

The source predicts that former head coach Bill Parcells and former V.P. of college and pro scouting Jeff Ireland are "going to pick them clean," and that Jones is going to let it (continue to) happen, because Jones thinks he doesn't need them.

The result? "They'll go back to drafting Quincy Carter, Ebenezer Ekuban, Solomon Page, Dwayne Goodrich, Tony Dixon, and Antonio Bryant," opined the source.

The other concern is the approach of coach Wade Phillips. As the source observed, the "coach-lets-us-act-like-men" approach quickly results in the inmates running the prison.

It's hard to disagree. After all, would quarterback Tony Romo have taken a bye-week trip to Cabo San Lucas if the Tuna were still the head coach? Maybe, but Romo would be walking a little funny this week, given that he'd have Parcells shoe lodged into his descending colon."

This is from the PFT Rumor Mill. It's a great page, awesome inside info. Check it out.

"The No. 1 seed in the NFC has gone to 11 of the last 17 Super Bowls, and that makes Dallas a heavy favorite at home. The NFC's No. 5 seed, which the Giants are, has never reached the Super Bowl and has only appeared in one conference championship game, so history says the Giants are done after this game.

I will go against all logic, even though the home teams on divisional playoff weekend are 14-6 in the last five years. New York has the pass rush, the running game and a hot quarterback who can turn the first two losses against Dallas into the experience needed to win a close game. Giants 24, Dallas 21. The deciding factor for me was Dallas' last home game against the Eagles that it lost, 10-6, against a Philadelphia defense built like New York's."

"We can hear the Cowboys fans out there saying, "But the Eagles won two playoffs games without Owens before getting to the Super Bowl." True, but the 'Boys will still be missing a very key element of their offense if Owens isn't there, and we're not sure that Romo is ready to get the job done without him.

The Cowboys are 0-2 in the games that Owens hasn't started since Romo took over for Drew Bledsoe. While Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was accustomed to winning games with crappy receivers, Romo's success has been fueled by the luxury of having one of the rare guys in the sport who constantly attract double coverage, opening up the field for the rest of the offense.

Without Owens, for example, tight end Jason Witten won't have his way with the heart of the field. And other receivers like Patrick Crayton and Terry Glenn won't be in constant single coverage. Also, there might be a safety cheating up to shut down the running game."

This is found at the link attached an eigth of the way down the page....

Brian Westbrook's career has been a battle against unfounded anonymity.

"On his own team he has often been overshadowed by the likes of Donovan McNabb and Brian Dawkins. Around the league he has been kept out of the spotlight by players like LaDanian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson.

Even after he put together an outstanding season in 2006, few people outside of Philadelphia mentioned him as one of the best running backs in the game.

After an authoritatively dominant 2007 season though, people are starting to realize what Westbrook's teammates, coaches, and fans have known for years - in the words of Andy Reid, there just aren't too many people doing it better than him.

According to some, no one is, and Wednesday, Westbrook was named to The Associated Press All-Pro team for the first time."

I approached with an open mind the idea that a college football national championship game could dwarf an NFL playoff game. I watched Monday night's Ohio State-LSU contest wanting nothing more than a good time. A great time. I had no rooting interest, although when I asked my son, aged 12, who he wanted at kickoff, he said "LSU," so I went with the Tigers.

I watched from home for the first quarter, at a local establishment for the final three quarters and am now seeing the last seconds drain away back in the mansion. Wifey is long asleep. Dog isn't barking. Kids are snoring. And I'm going to tell you, after this unscientific experiment, that the NFL rules.

Wide receiver Jamal Jones was one of three players the Eagles signed to a contract on Tuesday. Jones signed a three-year deal along with defensive end Xzavie Jackson who spent this past season on the Eagles practice squad. Defensive end A.J. Schable was signed to a two-year deal.

Tight end Brent Celek underwent successful surgery Tuesday morning to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. The procedure was performed by team physicians Dr. Peter DeLuca and Dr. Paul Marchetto at Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia.

The Eagles are not in the playoffs and it hurts. It hurts because 4 games were lost by 3 or 4 points and they finished 1 game out.

ANYWAY- I am going to play GM right now and tell you what I think they should do, specifically.

First, they need to sign Michael Turner of SD who is a UFA. We NEED a return man and depth at RB is always great. This guy is just explosive on returns though.

Next, they need to trade for Chad Johnson or TJ. Cincy is a mess, and there are credible rumors that one of them will be dealt. The Eagles need to offer a guy like Trent Cole, or Lito Sheppard, or a high draft pick. To compensate for that Pro-Bowl roster loss, there is a Jared Allen of KC or an Asante Samuel or even Marcus Trufant.

At that point, the offense would pretty much be set with WR and RB. They can draft some tackles high because Tra and Runyan are getting old, and Celek is a good TE, who will likely start next year. They will probably draft another TE in the 6th round anyway.

Defensively, if they add Allen or Samuel, they could also think about Terrell Suggs of Baltimore to help TKO teach this young LB corp. Plus, TKO is getting old, and that rotator cuff could be a lingering issue. Going after Lance Briggs and dealing one of the young LB's for a draft pick would be marvelous too.

Profootballtalk.com is the real deal with their news. For those with Fantasy finals this week like myself, make this link a must-look heading into the big weekend..