Cutler appears to be headed to NFC East

The Washington Examiner quotes an NFL source who said a deal between the Redskins and Broncos for Jay Cutler is "going down as we speak."

Cutler called "a little bitch"

One man who would not recommend the Eagles swap McNabb for Jay Cutler...

Don't write bad things about the Eagles on Facebook

Especially if you work for the team, it cost this man his job.

Here's a spot he did for Fox in Philadelphia.

Are we witness to a rebuild?

By Tim McManus

The news has been fast and furious, and your head is probably spinning much like mine is (how could it not after being blindsided by the Dawkins news, right?).

But let's take a step back and evaluate what's going on around us.

We headed into free agency under the impression that at least one of the tackles and certainly Brian Dawkins would be retained; that Donovan McNabb had a good shot at getting an extension; and that, aided by McNabb's strong stance, the Eagles would finally cave and bring in some playmakers.

Headlines read: Expect Thomas/Dawkins to be signed soon, and Eagles front-runners for Boldin.

To this point, everything that we've been told is dead wrong.

Jon Runyan is as good as gone, and according to Derrick Gunn's report, Tra Thomas might soon be a Jaguar. Buckhalter gone. The big one - Brian Dawkins gone. T.J. Houshmandzadeh is heading West. Anquan Boldin remains in Arizona. McNabb and the Eagles appear to be as far as ever from seeing eye to eye, and according to Michael Smith, No. 5 may be ready to pull the trigger on a trade demand.

Nearly every piece to the puzzle so far fits in the category of rebuild mode, no?

Younger along the offensive line. Younger in the secondary. Disposal of the man representative of the old guard in B-Dawk.

It's been at a frenetic pace since the clock struck midnight on free-agent Friday. Slow it down, and all this activity looks a lot like a youth movement.

Free agency is coming, what will the Eagles do?

With free agency on the horizon, Les Bowen gives some scenarios on who the Eagles might sign, and who they're looking to keep.

Ray Parillo also chipped in with some possible free agents that the Eagles might look to sign.

ESPN blogger James Walker gives some possible destinations for T.J. Houshmanzadeh and explains why the Birds may or not get him.

Other news....

Christopher Murray has more on the "meeting" between McNabb and the front office.

PREACH JOHN, PREACH!

The professor John Clayton talked about how he thought Anquan Boldin was going to be traded this offseason. Potential suitor? "The Eagles...for maybe a 1st and a 3rd."

John obviously reads the Dime. Tell your friends, they probably should too.

Load up the weapons

By Eric Feather

This off-season will determine the fate of this Eagles franchise for the next two to three years. It is no secret that this team lacks the star quality on offense to be a strong Super Bowl contender with their current philosophy; if Joe Banner and Andy Reid don’t snap out of their delusional, stubborn state then disappointment will be waiting once again in January 2010. This is what they must do to avoid the pain that plagues this franchise and its fans.

Objective # 1: Ocho Cinco

Now I understand that when you hear Chad Johnson the nightmare of Terrell Owens creeps into your mind. But, remember that the Eagles aren’t afraid to bring in a big ego guy—keep in mind they were tantalizingly close to signing Randy Moss last year who doesn’t have exactly have a squeaky clean record. Bringing in Johnson, who has publicly stated he would love to play with McNabb, would be a Brady-Moss scenario. Johnson would be a revived player whose talents would flourish under a new team just like Moss. A first rounder for a guy who has legally changed his name to the incorrect Spanish term for 85 is a small price to pay. Chad, Desean, Curtis = DANGEROUS!

Objective # 2: Derrick Ward

Anyone who is having their Madden fantasy dreams of signing Brandon Jacobs or trading for LT needs to put it to rest—it isn’t happening. Derrick Ward proved to be a great complimentary back to Jacobs this year, and he is a tough in-between the tackles runner who can pick up that one yard that led to so many Eagles losses over the past few years (ever think you’d pine for Dorsey Levens after he left?). Ward will only make Westbrook more of a threat because he’d give #36 more flexibility to rove outside or motion to the slot while Ward would still pose a legitimate threat in the backfield. It’s a win-win.

Objective # 3: Address the O-Line

Runyan or Thomas? One of them is most likely to go. If the Carolina Panthers do not franchise tag Jordan Gross, expect the birds to go after him full throttle and I think they should. One of Andy’s only strengths when it comes to personnel is evaluating talent on the offensive line. If Gross gets franchised, then OT Jason Smith from Baylor should be on the radar. This kid is 6’5, 300 pounds, and will hopefully not pull a Winston Justice (you’ve had your mulligan Andy). The return of Shawn Andrews and emergence of Nick Cole will greatly improve the line in ’09.

Objective #4: Tight End

LJ Smith is GONE, thank God! He’s been an underachiever since his first game in the league and it’s time to give up on this guy. Brent Celek proved that he could be the red-zone catching tight end that McNabb needs. However, his blocking is suspect. It is hard to argue with Mattare on this one; Jim Kleinsasser is the ideal candidate. He can be used in and out of the backfield for both pass and run blocking. He’s not flashy but he’s been productive and reliable throughout his career.

These are the moves that will get this offense over their NFC Championship woes in 2009!

One Last Run....

By Matt Mattare

If the Birds are going to take this roster and gear up for one last run before age and impatience leads to blowing it up and starting over, it's time to go full-throttle this off-season.

TARGET #1: ANQUAN BOLDIN

He's not happy. The Cardinals won't give him up for a King's ransom--doesn't matter. The Birds can package picks (1st, 3rd, and 5th) and Lito together. If they want the McNabb-Reid tandem to be effective they NEED a stud like Boldin to make it go. He's a better alternative than TJ Houshmanzadeh (who I'm not convinced would be the stud Donovan needs) and would make the slew of marginal receivers that litter the roster better (by keeping them off the field). Tell me that McNabb wouldn't improve with Boldin, Curtis, and Desean to throw to?

TARGET #2: RASHAD JENNINGS

Jennings is a big, bruising running back out from Liberty. He's EXACTLY what the Eagles need to complement the increasingly fragile Brian Westbrook. Two years from now he could be replacing #36. This sleeper is going to shoot up draft boards in the next couple months, just watch...Snatch him in round two and don't look back.

TARGET #3: JIM KLEINSASSER

Signing Kleinsasser would kill two birds with one stone. He can replace LJ Smith in two tight end sets (sliding Celek into the starting spot) and provide a legitimate fullback which anyone with a set of eyes and a brain can see.

TARGET #4: RE-SIGN THE O-LINE

They're aging and won't be worth long-term contracts, but unless they want to shell out more big bucks for Jordan Gross it'd be the best way to maintain stability. I'm all for shelling out some big bucks for young studs that could be useful for years, but first of all I realize the front office has its limits and second of all people are going to be severely overpaying for Gross because he's good and young...he's definitely not worthy of the MONSTER contract he's going to get.

That's the offensive side of the ball. Feather, Tim, Chuck, anybody--SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!

32-25: A Microcosm of Another Frustrating Season

By Eric Feather

Sunday’s NFC Championship game loss had all the components from this emotional rollercoaster season. The Eagles looked like the team who got blown out in Baltimore after being almost run out of the building in the first half, 24-6. Lets not kid ourselves—not many of us believed this team could come back and win just like we didn’t think they could make the playoffs. However, Donovan McNabb and the defense were heroic in the third quarter just as they had been in most of the past six games. After a juggling catch by Desean Jackson to grab the lead it seemed as if this team was truly destined to reach the Super Bowl. Instead, the defense couldn’t get off the field in the fourth quarter and Donovan was not able to drive for a game-tying touchdown.

You have to keep things in perspective though: it is amazing that this team got this far and being one of the final four remaining teams is a huge improvement from the last three years. However, the reality is that this is just another huge disappointment in the Reid-McNabb era. There are hard questions that must be asked this off-season including whether Reid and McNabb can ever get this team over the hump in a big game.

One man’s opinion: McNabb is the man for the job and while Reid doesn’t deserve to be fired I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually see a Tony Dungy-Jon Gruden situation play out. Dungy had good teams in Tampa Bay, but couldn’t win the big games. Gruden came in with that team and won a championship. It’s just a thought, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the Eagles organization headed down that path.

950 ESPN's Mikey Miss on ESPN this morning!

He was on to discuss the excitement that's enveloping the city during the Eagles run and defended the fans' treatment of Donovan McNabb. When ESPN analyst Smarty Jones--I mean Dana Jacobson (pictured on the left)--said that the unfair treatment of McNabb started during the draft-day booing in 1998, Mike pulled out a sugar cube and fed it to her.

Jason Whitlock is a big Donovan fan

Jason Whitlock said some pretty interesting things in his column on FoxSports.com. Some of them will blow your mind, some might make you think he's never seen an Eagles game or talked to an Eagles fan before (read No. 9).

Here it is.

LLLLLET'S GET READY TO RAMBLE!

By Matt Mattare

Too much has gone on over the past few weeks to choose a single thing to write about, so let’s touch’em all from the Birds to Happy Valley to Sir Charles to Pat the Bat.

I don’t think you can call him the MVP (because that distinction belongs to the offensive line), but Brodrick Bunkley had himself a ballgame and showed up in two of the games defining moments. His penetration on both failed Giants fourth downs blew up New York’s offensive line and any hope of a first down. Has he lived up to the hype of being a first round draft pick? I’d say on the whole no and I think he’s probably too inconsistent to suddenly blossom—but times like this show you what he could be capable of.

The people that say Joe Paterno should retire are just wrong. That being said, the people that say he shouldn’t retire because he’s still got it (pointing to a few BCS games in the last four years) are delusional. At this juncture JoePa is simply a figure-head while Tom Bradley and Galen Hall run the real show, but Penn State owes Joe Paterno everything. He put their football team on the map, he’s raised and given back millions of dollars to the University, and he’s poured his entire life into his time in Happy Valley—PSU owes it him to let him retire on his own terms. Why? Because his presence obviously isn’t hurting the team (now you can point to the BCS appearances). He still fires people up at pep rallies, goes out for a few big recruiting visits, and deflects a lot of attention from the “real” coaches while essentially overseeing the operation as Head Coach Emeritus. If things weren’t going well then I think it’d be a different story and it’d be selfish for Joe to continue to coach at the expense of the school he loves—that just isn’t the case right now.

Fearless prediction #1: Steelers over the Ravens in a tight one…the difference will be Joe Flacco remembering he’s a rookie. While we’re mentioning his name, announcers need to just stop with the stupid nicknames for rookie QB’s. Matty Ice? Joe Cool? We get it, they’re mature and composed rookies and we know they’ve started enough games that they can’t really be considered rookies anymore. I’ll give a pass on Matt Ryan because that’s actually his nickname…but Joe Cool was Joe Montana’s nickname. Anyone who thinks Mr. Flacco deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the original Joe Cool probably thinks the WNBA should expand to 32 teams.

That whole thing where McNabb went and picked up the phone on the Giants sideline was just lame. I didn’t think he was a punk for doing it and I’m all about funny things even if they draw a flag…I just thought it was stupid. Leave it to Donovan to give the media some sort of negative fodder to discuss about him after one of the biggest wins of his career. The epitaph of his Philly career will probably read something like “a great player who did everything in his power to make sure he was underappreciated.”

I don’t think Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds will ever have a notable NBA career. I just don’t think he’s got the chops…but on the college level he’s one of the most dangerous people in the game. He’s a microwave guy who is totally willing to take over a game, something that is relatively rare today. Against Seton Hall he threw up 40pts and iced the St. Joe’s game for Nova last month. Villanova isn’t a great team but come tournament time they’re a really dangerous team who could make a Sweet 16-Elite 8 run on Reynolds’s shoulders (just like last year).

Brian Dawkins has to be inching up the list of most beloved sports figures in Philadelphia history. Has there ever been a player in this town who has worn his emotions on his sleeve and—without fail—shown up giving every ounce of himself for every game of his career? He might be slipping a little bit and losing a step, but the guy deserves a tip of the cap from even the most critical Birds fan.

Fearless prediction #2: Birds will win an ugly game in Arizona…this will lead to two of the most obnoxious fan bases in all of professional sports invading Tampa Bay. Over/Under on brawls started after “Pittsburgh’s going to the Super Bowl” is responded with an E-A-G-L-E-S chant: 23.5. Get two holding cells ready.

I think Charles Barkley is one of the funniest individuals in sports and a lot of times I love hearing his opinions. But what I’ve learned is the more you open your mouth the more likely you are to sound like an idiot. His initial condemnation of Auburn for not legitimately considering Turner Gill for head football coach because of his race may have had some merit, but as he explained himself more and more he lost more and more credibility. I think the race card is played FAAAAAR too much in sports today. Of course racism is still present, but I’d say 90% of the people in power these days just don’t care about the color of a person’s skin—they care about performance. Example: Michael Wilbon’s insinuation that Notre Dame was racist for firing Tyrone Willingham was indescribably ignorant. There are exceptions to the rule though and I think that most of them are found in the Bible Belt. I agree 100% with Barkley that Auburn never would’ve hired Gill because he was black, but to say that he MUST have been the guy they hired is simply ignorant. There are a few coaches that would have been very viable candidates on par with Gill…it’s just that none of them were chosen. Charles I know it’s hard/borderline impossible, but state your point and then get out of your own way.

Pat Burrell’s off-season was one of the most bizarre things I ever witnessed. Like him or not he was a huge part of the Phillies organization over the past decade and the Phillies made it painfully obvious that they had no desire whatsoever to even extend a contract offer. According to Burrell’s agent the Phils barely even talked with him…and the thing is fans were totally ok with moving on to Raul Ibanez and somewhat miffed when he signed with Tampa. The whole thing is just weird. And for the record, Ibanez will not be as productive as Burrell on the whole, but his valleys won’t be as brutal as the slumps Burrell was capable of.

Don’t think it’s possible that the Eagles can pull it off because it’d just be too good to be true? Well consider what’s happened over the past five years: the Red Sox have won two World Series, Phil Mickelson won three majors, Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl, Kansas basketball won a national championship, Tiger Woods won a US Open with a broken leg, Notre Dame football went 3-9, Roy Williams actually won a big game in the Final Four and won a national championship, Tom Coughlin out-coached Bill Belichick won a Super Bowl, the Tampa Bay Rays won the pennant, and the Phillies ended a 100 season championship drought in Philadelphia. Tell me the sports world hasn’t been turned a little upside down right now…

Fearless Prediction #3: The Sixers will not make a run like their fellow Philly teams have in the past few months…I literally have no fear in saying this. Bet the house on it.

I just read that Jim Harbaugh interviewed with the Jets. I watched him coach at Stanford—he will never be a successful NFL coach. Stick to college Jim. Throwing hissy fits on the sidelines may be excused as passion in Pao Alto, but that kind of volatility won’t win the respect you need in the big leagues.

Fearless Big Five Prediction: Temple will be the best team in Philly within three years…Fran Dunphy is a great coach and if he sticks around—which I think he will—then Jay Wright’s Wildcats will have some serious competition for the Big Five title.

Has there ever been a more insignificant player that garnered so much attention than Pacman Jones? He’s a decent cornerback and an above average punt returner…if he didn’t nickname himself Pacman he’d be in a cell next to Rae Carruth right now.

From the papers

Here's some Eagles' news to get you to Sunday.

If Donovan McNabb answered questions like this during his time in Philly, I'm sure people wouldn't accuse him of always making excuses, John Smallwood writes in his column.

The Eagles don't consider themselves last year's Giants, which is good because they would rather be this year's Eagles.

Antonio Pierce doesn't think the Birds are last year's Giants either, according to the Eagletarian.

Bob Ford writes in his column that the Eagles will need to try and establish the run game.

Post Game Thoughts: Redskins 10, Eagles 3

Prehaps everyone was too quick to pronounce the Eagles as the Super Bowl favorites. Donovan McNabb looked sharp against the Browns and Cardinals, and everyone said he's back. Well fast forward to Washington, a team that has a defense that is comprised of more than just 11 guys with a pluse, and you get three points.

Here's what the writers had to say.

Sam Donnellon of the Daily News says Donovan McNabb could use a hand.

Ashley Fox talks about DeSean Jackson's case of the drops.

Rich Hofman wonders in his blog why the Birds threw 16 passes.

Bob Ford says a coach's job was saved -- Jim Zorn's.

Phil Sheridan said Andy Reid came up small in a big game.

Bob Brookover of the Inquirer says the Eagles came up inches short.

Brookover also gave his notes from the game.

Ray Parrillo of the Inquirer says Dawkins and the defense are feeling the frustration.

The Daily News' "Eagletarian Blog" talked about some clips from the postgame press conference.

The "Eagletarian Blog" also gave out their report card from the game.

Sheil Kapadia of Philly.com gives his 10 observations about the game.

The Associated Press says the Cowboys are facing a do-or-die final game.

Geoff Mosher says the Birds playoff chances dwindle in the loss.

Larry O'Rourke of the Morning Call wrote about Jim Zorn saying he had no doubts when the final play was reviewed.

Paul Domowitch writes about the Eagles' troubles on third down.

Jason Reid of the Washington Post gave the Redskins' side of the story.

Old Andy Reid Press Conference

Andy seems to give good answers here, I don't know why everyone rips on his pressers.

Eagles in the News

Deborah Hirsh of the Courier Post writes about the Eagles giving back to a young fan.

Ray Parrillo of the Inquirer writes about the offense spreading the ball around.

Geoff Mosher talks about the Eagles' in the Pro Bowl.

Les Bowen says McNabb is likely to return as a starter next year.

Pal Sokoloski of the Times Leader says the Birds are feeling good about their playoff chances.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times says the homefield advantage hasn't been there for the Redskins as they get ready to play Eagles.

A wire report from the SunSentinel.com says the tie against the Bengals takes out any confusing tie breaker scenarios.

Tom Pedulla of USA Today says the Eagles have responded after McNabb's benching.

David Weinberg of the Atlantic City Press says McNabb's been a different player since the benching.

The Press of Atlantic City says the Redskins game is the biggest of the season.

Jeff Young of LancasterOnline.com says Dawkins is ramping up for a playoff push in the autumn of his career.

Steve Patton of the Reading Eagle says the Eagles aren't guaranteed a spot even if they win out.

Here's an updated version of Patton's Bird's Eye View.

Mark Eckel of the Trenton Times says if the Birds' win out, they'll be setting history.

A LehighValleyLive.com poster says Dawkins will be a hall of famer when he's done.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post says with McNabb off the bench, the Eagles are off the mat.

Dawgs by Nature, a Browns Blog, breaks down what the Eagles did to stop Cleveland.

Phil Sheridan discusses Andy Reid and Mo Cheeks.

Some Morning Reading

Inquirer columnist Phil Sheridan reminisces about Pat Burrell.

Keith Law, of Scouts Inc. on ESPN.com, isn't impressed with the Phillies' new addition, Raul Ibanez.

Bob Brookover of the Inquirer said the Eagles' offense receives a boost when he takes off with the ball.

Ashley Fox said the Birds' are gaining some late-season confidence.

In The News

What if the Eagles run the table and make the playoffs this year? That's the question Rich Hofman asks.

The Inquirer's Ray Parrillo wrote this story on David Akers.

Sam Carchidi said the Flyers turnaround started with a team meeting.

Ed Moran of the Daily News reports on Matt Carle's injury.

Where from here?

By Matt Mattare

So the Eagles have once again resurrected a season from the brink of extinction, this time going into the Meadowlands and dominating what many believe is the best team in football. As I listen to Mac and Mayes and the callers on 950ESPN I sense there is a bit of confusion as to whether people are happy about this victory. Many fans call for change and another late season push that comes up this short might be enough to keep the current regime intact for another year. Does this victory mean the Reid-McNabb era has pulled yet another Lazarus after rock bottom in Baltimore? Should Eagles fans be what Bill Simmons calls “fan-tanking” (hoping the team loses for the good of the franchise) for the remainder of the season? I don’t believe that is the case.

Like I outlined earlier in the year, this isn’t a team that needs to necessarily be totally scrapped—as we’ve witnessed over the past two weeks they are quite capable of not only beating but thoroughly dominating some of the best teams in the league. Andy Reid’s performances over the past few weeks also may have won him a stay of execution, but changes need to be made. Obviously he has (miraculously) tweaked his philosophy a bit and has committed more to running the ball. Philadelphia had 41 rushing attempts yesterday, more than the Cincinnati and Baltimore games COMBINED. Whether or not he sticks with it remains to be seen, but the mere fact that he adjusted at all is something that should give Birds fans hope. After all, if Tom Coughlin can adjust his philosophy and win a Super Bowl Andy Reid can too…right?

I think this is still a very dangerous team that is capable of being the best team in the league on any given day. Will that be enough to get them in the playoffs? Maybe if they would have won that game in Cincinnati, but too many things need to break Philly’s way at this point. Those that want Andy Reid gone should start the fan-tanking but everyone else should still be pulling for the improbable run to the playoffs. If I’m an Eagles fan personally I’m hoping that McNabb lights the world on fire down the stretch—boost that trade value before his time in Philly is up.

After seeing the adjustments and reflecting a bit my stance of canning Big Red has wavered—I don’t think it’d necessarily be a bad move to keep him. However my position on Donovan remains the same and if he plays better and better down the stretch it will only help in the reshaping of this team. After watching the Cincy-Baltimore stretch did anyone think they could fetch more than a fourth rounder for him? Now suddenly he’s back into 1st-2nd round territory. Once McNabb has been traded to Minnesota (this has to happen), the Andy Reid era will hinge 100% on how well and how quickly he is able to develop Kevin Kolb. If THAT is the discussion in July then we’ll know the Birds are at least headed in the right direction.

The morning after

Don't try to rub the blur out of your eye, you are reading it correctly -- the Eagles ran the ball 40-plus times, for the second straight week. Just how amazing is that for Big Red? 950 ESPN's Brian Seltzer breaks it down.

Sal Pal caught up with No. 5 afterwards.

If you didn't bail on this team and wear your fandom on your sleeve (or your face) here's your chance to win a hundred bucks.