MY ANNUAL PREVIEW OF THE EAGLES SEASON...

September 2006

Ahhh, sweet September.

It’s the month relative normalcy returns to the shore. Vacationing crowds thin down, children thankfully having returned to their studies. Some, myself included, might argue sunny September the most glorious month of the year, as summer never really officially ends until sometime after the 20th of the month.

For sports fans though, the month can mean one thing, and one thing only: football.

Or, more specifically, the return of the National Football League, since collegiate pigskin is pretty much a nonentity in the City of Brotherly Love. This being the first year of the post T.O. era Philadelphia Eagles, there are any number of questions, concerns, doubts, and outright mysteries surrounding the team.

It’s a classic good news/bad news situation.

Let’s be optimistic and address the former first.

Repeat after me, panicked, bandwagon-jumping-off Eagles fans (you know who you are): they are not going to finish last in the NFC East. In fact, with the recent preseason injury to Redskins star back Clinton Portis, they may even, to the astonishment of virtually everyone, win their division. You scowl and ask, how so?

Riddle me this: what is the most significant position on any football team?

That is not a rhetorical query. The answer, of course, is quarterback. And despite his mechanical flaws and sometimes-inscrutable judgment, there is still no better signal caller in the division - in fact no better leader - than the man wearing #5 in Kelly Green.

Eli Manning? Did you see his putrid performance at home in last year’s playoff against Carolina? It’s just the sort of humbling loss that can permanently taint a young QB’s psyche, especially with the knives-out New York media always ready to pounce. Drew Bledsoe? Won’t he benefit enormously from the addition of the spectacular, demanding Owens?

The answer is no, and yes.

The immobile, aging Bledsoe and #81 will undoubtedly produce fireworks in Dallas, but like everywhere else he has played, we expect the end result will be acrimony and bitterness. (At the time of this column, Owens’ two-week training camp absence/hamstring injury was major news around the league. Trust me, there will be more.)

Mark Brunell? We loved the guy in Jacksonville, and still think he’s a gutsy, smart player. But his arm is pretty much shot, and his formerly dangerous scrambling ability is virtually a thing of the past. Despite additional receiving threats Antawn Randal-Ed and Brandon Lloyd being added to already dangerous offensive mix of Santana Moss, Chris Cooley and Portis, the ‘Skins system still revolves around Brunell.

That will spell trouble even for the brilliant D.C. brain trust of Joe Gibbs and newly-hired Assistant Head Coach for Offense, Al Saunders, the man most responsible for Dick Vermeil’s Kansas City Chief scoring juggernaut of the last half-decade.

Moving back to the Eagles, I’ll concede that the rest of their offense provides much pause for concern. Reggie Brown will someday be an All Pro level wideout, of that I’m firmly convinced. But expecting him to become the team’s number one receiver in only his second year is an onerous burden. Especially considering that he will be facing opponents best cornerbacks, and many double- teams, due to the absence of Owens and indeterminate status of fragile Todd Pinkston.

Brian Westbrook, perhaps the league’s finest multi-talented running back, is another worry, seeing limited preseason action, due to his lengthy recovery from a frightening Lisfranc foot injury. With him healthy, they are a threat to win any game that is close in the fourth quarter. Without him, they lack the firepower to be much better than .500.

We do like the quiet addition of tight end Matt Schoebel, a much better blocker than incumbent L.J. Smith. This could also enable Smith, a Rutgers grad, to have a true breakout season. That’s only provided he can learn to curb his annoying tendency towards leaving the ball on the turf, often at the most inopportune moments. Our real confidence about this season is largely due to the players on the other side of the ball. Jim Johnson’s defensive squad looks sharp, youthful and deeper, particularly along the front line, than it’s been in quite some time.

Much of this is due to the play of end Darren Howard. Paired with the phenomenally athletic Jevon Kearse, he will provide a solid presence to match the freakish former Titan.

The return of speedy, underrated Shaun Barber, after a couple of seasons in Kansas City, means both more impact velocity and depth at the linebacking positions. In the middle, young bucks Trent Cole and Mike Patterson, both off emergent 2005 campaigns, only figure to improve with the addition of number one draftee, tackle Brodrick Bunkley. Throw training camp standout Juqua Thomas into that mix and things look even brighter for a unit that only provided a paltry twenty nine sacks last season.

And if the snakebit, but gifted Jerome McDougal can return from his latest mishap - a broken rib - to play anywhere near what was expected of the former first round pick, this unit, with vets Darwin Walker and Sam Rayburn, could be a monster in the making.

The ultimate success of the squad will largely be determined by the recovery of yet another fallen Eagle, former All Pro corner Lito Sheppard. With him healthy, the team possesses one of the league’s premier, intimidating secondaries. If Sheppard is able to cover any teams top receiver man to man, headhunting safeties Michael Lewis and the incomparable Brian Dawkins will run free and create havoc.

On the other side, Shelton Brown has developed into a solid starting corner. Although he lacks Sheppard’s game-breaking skills, he is both a fine cover guy and a superior open-field tackler.

Nickel back Rod Hood, good enough to start for most NFL franchises, provides extraordinary depth. And in a division full of teams who want to throw first and ask questions later that is an enormous luxury. Now, being a man of my word, let’s deal with the not-so-positive news.

Start with this: everyone else in the NFC East got significantly better this offseason with the Redskins going on a virtual free agent buying spree. The Giants formerly porous pass defense will be greatly bolstered by the addition of cornerback Sam Madison and safety R.W. McQuarters.

Then there’s that ticklish Dallas situation. In a way, it’s every Eagles fans fondest dream and worst nightmare. The single most reviled player in the recent history of Philly sport - and that is indeed, saying a mouthful - now playing for the most hated rival imaginable.

We expect a typical year from Owens. That is to say: 1500 receiving yards, a dozen or so touchdowns, all but certain Pro Bowl status. But we are also just as sure that his act is already wearing thin on coach Bill Parcells, who looks like his head just might implode at the mere mention of the mercurial wideout. And it’s still only the preseason.

From an Eagles fan perspective, this will be like watching a NASCAR race, and wishing most fervently for a fiery crash and burn.

Either way, here’s how we see things shaking out in the NFC East.