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.

And now for the main event...

By Tim McManus

I wonder, now that the Eagle green mist is beginning to lift, what life will be like when the Phillies fully regain the spotlight.

The Eagles run and ultimate fall in the postseason -- and the fans' hard line stance of win or go away -- disproved those who thought Philadelphians would morph into a kinder, gentler fan base now that the championship clock has been reset to zero.

The standards are still there, along with the you've-cut-me-deeply-and-I-will-get-my-revenge reaction when the standards aren't met.

But that was with the Eagles...the bridesmaid dress-wearing, time's yours spewing Eagles. Do the same harsh rules apply to the World Champs?

Only thorn-less roses have been thrown at their feet during the post-championship tour, a symbolic bronzing of a team that will only grow in legend over time. When this team dismantles and all are retired from the sport, every member will be canonized.

What of the present playing days though? What happens when the victory lap ends and 2008 stops feeling like the present? Will there be a one-year love affair? Will it last up until their first absence from the postseason, or will it subside as soon as they drop a series to the Mets?

For many, this is a great mystery, for much of the population has never experienced a post-championship season. It is tough to decipher whether a loss will sting less because there is a trophy to buffer it, or more because we'll be chasing euphoria even harder now that we know what it feels like.

It's confusing: Can we put our heart into booing Shane Victorino when he strikes out with the grand slam image rattling around? Can we come down on Cole Hamels for anything anymore? Where does the automatic applause for last season end?

For the team, the owners, and baseball flag wavers, perhaps, the important thing is not the answers to these questions, but that the questions are being asked.

Whether this is the start of a full-out love affair or a complicated love-hate relationship, it is most certainly the start of something grand in scale. Something energy-infusing; a major spike in the history chart.

The red mist is settling back in. Better run out and get an umbrella.

From the press box

By Tim McManus

Sights and sounds from the Eagles-Browns game...

Mini-Reid goes green

Howard Eskin's transformation into an Eagles company man is complete. His blind support for Andy Reid and the team is well known, but Howard "being on the Eagles payroll" is no longer just a disparaging remark.

Welcomed by a mixture of laughs and grumbles from the press corps, Eskin strolled into the Reid postgame press conference last night dressed from head to toe in official rain-proof Eagles apparel. Coat, pants, the whole bit.

He even sat away from the rest of the reporters, side-by-side with members of the PR staff.

Way back machine

After every play, a voice comes over the PA system in the press box to detail the last sequence. Ex: McNabb passes to Avant for a gain of 7. Rogers with the tackle.

About midway through the game, our guy said: No. 36 Wilbert Montgomery carries for a gain of 3...(Pause)...Check that, Brian Westbr...

Quote of note

Jon Runyan, on another Eagle dropping the ball before crossing the goal line:

"That kind of stuff will take care of itself. Can't harp on it. Just got to get it into the end zone."

On the way out

No scene quite like the aftermath of Monday Night football in Philadelphia, especially when the city is wrapped in an orange haze brought on by a balmy December night.

As the last RVs pulled out of the lots, horns blazing and random body parts hanging out the window, an eerie scene was left in their wake.

The barren lot was soon filled with a mass of seagulls fit for an Alfred Hitchcock film, pulling at the leftover trash and scaring off any remaining stragglers.

City cleaning crews are truly under appreciated.

End of an era is near

By Tim McManus

The evidence is beginning to mount.

Piece by piece the picture is filling in, and now that it is starting to come into focus, reveals that the 2009 Eagles will look radically different barring a miracle stretch run.

Another piece fell into place today. When soon-to-be free agent Tra Thomas was asked by Jody Mac and Harry Mayes if he had hopes of returning to the Eagles next season, he said there have been no talks. He went on to say that there could be "drastic changes" if the season ends in disappointment.

Drastic changes might just equal youth movement.

Consider: Not only is Thomas a free agent, but so are fellow lynchpins Jon Runyan and Brian Dawkins. It is possible, if not likely, that all three may be purged.

Couple that with the fact that Donovan McNabb wants to sit down with the Eagles brass, as he revealed on Thanksgiving, to discuss his future at the end of the season. How is he going to feel if his starting tackles aren't coming back?

Will his opinion even matter, considering he will cost next-to-nothing against the cap if exiled?

While fans clamored for immediate upgrades, management continued to trade out of the first round and stockpile picks. Could it be for an offensive rebuilding project?

Smart money says yes.

A loss to the Giants Sunday, and that picture may become clearer still.

Wins only go so far

By Tim McManus

There is a lesson in this; future bosses, take heed.

Amazing the violent descent, how the coach who specialized in entrancing the media was left suddenly powerless and vulnerable to incoming arrows.

Not long ago, anyone bold enough to question or take an antagonistic tone would be swiped away like a gnat. Now, a hand can't be raised in defense without a series of body blows hammering the unguarded areas.

Andy Reid is done here. It no longer matters how the team performs or what Jeffrey Lurie thinks. Best coach in Eagles history? Worst play-caller of the modern era? No matter...these are now debates over a departed man.

It should not be like this.

The E-A-G-L-E-S chants shouldn't have gone extinct this close to the Golden Age of Eagle football. The outrage should not be this prevalent. The hot water shouldn't scald.

Being upset over poor play/poor leadership/poor decision-making is one thing; in fact, in Philly, it's the one thing you can count on.

But being filled with this much detest for a team -- and more specifically, a coach -- who won as much as this one has is remarkable. It speaks volumes about this fan base.

This franchise is far from distinguished. While celebrating the Miracle at the Meadowlands, we were reminded that the storied play in 1978 propelled the Birds to their first winning record since 1966. And many periods in this team's history are just as ugly. There are no Super Bowls to speak of. Dallas or Oakland or San Fran this is not. The fall to the Detroit's of the NFL universe is shorter, in fact, than the rise to the Pittsburgh's for Philadelphia.

And if we're honest with ourselves, we admit we'd rather endure a solid decade of familiar futility than rise to the top again with Reid at the helm.

It is not about the pursuit of a championship. You can say it is, even believe it is, but it's not. Rather, it's more about a common pursuit in Philadelphia.

Even in the best days of the Reid administration the fans felt like they were stuck behind soundproof glass, unable to fully share in what was going on. Questions were never dignified with a response...outcries were quickly muted. The Eagles established a hierarchy; the people became the peasants.

A snap of the fingers, and the media and its followers assumed the position. The cache of success was piled too high to justify a revolt.

Things have since changed. Chinks have been found in the wall. The sense of order and command is melting off the bone. The people now have justification to overthrow the regime.

It is over. Even if it drags on for seasons to come, it is over.