Eagles Draft Recap

Not only did the Eagles make a first round pick for the first time in three years, according to all sources, and my opinion, made the steal of the draft, getting a top 10 talent, Jeremy Maclin.  Not only was Maclin a top 10 talent, he was the number one rated WR on over half of the NFL teams draft boards.  Getting him at 19 was the steal of the draft weekend.  Now we are always leery of first round WR choices, but Maclin’s run after catch ability should fit perfectly into the Eagles west coast offense immediately.  If Maclin develops into what he is projected, the Eagles could potentially have the best, WR duo paired together for the next ten years.

In the second round, the Eagles pounced on former Pitt standout RB, LeSean McCoy.  Again, hats off the Eagles for another solid selection. McCoy has been compared to Brian Westbrook, will be great compliment to BWest.  McCoy was regarded as the best pass catching RB in the draft. So he should step in instantly as well, granted that he works on his glaring weakness, pass blocking.

After the Eagles traded out of the 3rd round, the 5th they made even more noise, with a few more solid solid moves.  They drafted Cornelius Ingram, a solid TE out of University of Florida who was out all of ’08 with an ACL injury.  Granted the knee is healthy, this is ANOTHER steal in the 5th round.   The Eagles then drafted Va. Tech DB, Victor “Macho” Harris, who will come right out of Beamer Ball at Virginia Tech and should have an immediate impact on the Eagles special teams unit.

THEN, to cap it off, the Eagles traded a pair of 5th round picks, for a solid starting Defensive Back, Ellis Hobbs.  Hobbs has started all 16 games the past two seasons and is re-united with former Super Bowl starting duo Asante Samuels, and just adds even stronger depth, and potentially opening the door for Sheldon Brown’s move to either safety OR to another team.

Counting the acquisition of Jason Peters, for their other first round pick, the Eagles had an amazing week.  And thankfully I am going to have amazing football betting opportunities this season. It’s amazing too me, how much they’ve rebuilt the offense this off-season. Not just adding bodies, but adding former Pro Bowlers (Peters, Weaver) and highly rated rookies (Macklin, McCoy, Ingram) to go with young and should-be-improved talent (Jackson and Celek).  Not to mention should-be-healthy veterans (McNabb, Curtis and Westbrook). If everything goes according to plan, and the team stays healthy, 2009 should be a very, very good year.

Did You Know…

That the Philadelphia Eagles have been eliminated from the postseason seven times during coach Andy Reid’s 10 seasons, and all seven games have been played in different stadiums.

The list:

• Giants Stadium in 2001
• Edward Jones Dome in 2002
• Veterans Stadium in 2003
• Lincoln Financial Field in 2004
• Alltel Stadium in 2005
• Louisiana Superdome in 2007
• University of Phoenix Stadium in 2009

McNabb’s Arizona Home Vandalized

A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed a report on Yahoo yesterday that “Go Cards” and similar messages were burned into the front lawn of Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb’s home in Chandler, Ariz., at some point last week.

The report said that McNabb’s wife, Roxie, and his three children were staying at the house, but the source said it was not clear if they were at the home at the time of the incident.

The website’s report said that McNabb took a photo of the damaged lawn and used it as a motivating factor for the NFC title game against the Cardinals.

According to the report, one of the culprits was identified after leaving a box at the scene with his mailing label attached.

Westbrook Sore but will Start

Brian Westbrook sat out Wednesday’s practice, but he’ll certainly play against the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.  Expect him to take the rest of the week off from actual practice and focus more on getting his aching muscles and sore knees ready for gametime come Sunday.   According to #36 himself:

I will start.

Bring on the Cardinals!

Donovan Ordering His Ring

“Yes, this is Donovan, my ring size is #5”

B West Resting up for G-Men

Birds running back Brian Westbrook did not practice Wednesday and might be limited for the rest of the week.  Westbrook is nursing a badly sprained right ankle and swollen left knee, said Wednesday that he probably won’t practice much this week.  Instead he will prepare for the Eagles’ divisional-round playoff game against NFC East rival, the New York Giants with an intensive regimen of weightlifting, stretching and running in a pool.

Westbrook said he will start against the Giants on Sunday, but only after taking a round of anti-inflammatory medication on Saturday night and Sunday morning to get the pain and swelling to a tolerable level.  Look for B West to torch the G-Men as he usually does.
GO BIRDS!

Tavaris Jackson Got … JACKED UP!

Chris Clemons (literally) paving the way for Asante Samuel on the INT return off an errant Tavaris Jackson throw.

Westbrook Secures Wild Card Win

After a long, tight, and tough game to watch from an fan’s standpoint Brian Westbrook finally broke one.

B West caught a screen pass out of the backfield and bursted through the Minny D for a devastating 71-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, securing the Eagles victory in the Metrodome Sunday night.  

Philadelphia will play next Sunday in the Meadowlands against NFC East rival and defending champion New York Giants, where they won 20-14 on Dec. 7.  With the win, Arizona will now face Carolina in the other NFC semifinal Saturday.

Dawkins to the Rescue