THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES...

BIRDS!!!!! happy football season everyone! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: bout time...

here are my concerns/outlook for the season (i apologize for the long windiness, but i don't post as often anymore so i wanted to give you guys as much knowledge as possible here...and i full expect nobody to read this whole thing ):

juan castillo is still our defensive coordinator. this is the number 1 cause for concern to me. tough to judge off of preseason but the defense didn't look much improved over last year. i think todd bowles is a good defensive mind...but you may have too many chefs in the kitchen now. the bottom line is this guy should not be a d coordinator on a team with super bowl aspirations and i can foresee some of his mistakes costing us a game or 2.

the line is still going to get after the quarterback. we all know that. the saftey's are still a cause for concern (with allen healthy, gotta hope he plays like a 2nd round pick. coleman is just a guy). i aways thought josellio hansen was solid as the nickle. boykins has a ton of potential, especially in the return game, but it's going to be interesting trusting a rookie in that spot. i like the starting corners. be nice if the d reversed a trend that has been around for the past 7 or 8 years or so of soft play. there are many benefits to a speedy defense but one big downside is you get a reputation as a soft team who doesn't tackle well. this is one of my biggest gripes with where andy reid has taken this team over the last decade. we epitomized that last year. not certain it will change this year...though i like the moves they've made through draft and acquiring ryans.

kendricks looks like he will be a beast. i loved that pick in april. kinda think the weak side suits him better but this guy will be a play maker. i'm not an ahkeem jordan fan. not sure how he always ends up starting for us. d ryans--only slightly concerned that he didn't really do anything in preseason/camp. a lot of vets put it on cruise control until september. but no matter what, it has to be an improvement over clay mathews' sister starting there last year.

gotta be concerned with vick only taking 12 snaps in the preseason...however starting against the peewee browns is the absolute best way ease into things (i think the birds crush them by 3 tds tomorrow). my main reason for believing in vick has been because of andy reid's ability to get the most out of his quarterbacks. i give reid guff for a lot of things but this is the one thing he excels at. still, the fact that the eagles have not forced this guy to slide and avoid taking unnecessary hits, while at the same time throwing the ball at the same, alarming, pace as a drunken college kid playing madden, may ultimately ruin this season, and get him fired, finally....and this nick foles fascination everyone has is funny. i think the kid has a shot to be a decent player. who didn't like what he showed in august? but it was august. all you have to do is scroll way back or go to the previous thread to see what people were saying about kevin kolb when he was here. the backup qb is always the most popular player on the team. still, he gives us some hope in case this year turns disastrous like last year.

...the running game. we talk about it every year and this year is no different. reid has talked about using mccoy less to prolong his career. might be a smart thing but only if he utilizes the other guys instead of passing when he's not using mccoy. brown and polk were 2 solid picks. throw them in with lewis and the eagles have a chance to have a 3 or 4 headed monster/balanced attack, similiar to what they had back in 2003 (before andy reid decided wide receivers were important). let mccoy carry 18-20 or so times per game and intersperse the other guys 6-7 times to keep everyone fresh and keep defenses guessing. like i mentioned before, doing this will also keep your quarterback healthy. eagles blew so many 4th quarter leads last year not only because of the defense, but because they stopped running the ball. i'd like to see them utilize all these ground weapons and punish teams into submission when they have a lead. i hate when andy reid gets all cutesy and wildcaty on us. a little smash mouth has never hurt anyone. of course, can we expect reid to change after a decade and a half? i am not sure...but i would love to see it.

receiving corps is talented, like last year. celek and vick really developed a good bond towards the end of last season. maclin is 100% healthy and on a contract year, i expect big things. d jack should bounce back too.

king dunlap as our starting left tackles scares the bejesus out of me and it should scare you, too. birds had so much success running mccoy wide left last year. rest of line looks okay...but i am concerned at the lack of depth.

the first 8 games are going to be rough. i see them going 4-4 in that stretch (losses coming to ravens, steelers, saints and either lions or falcons). steelers might have a down year, but reid always finds ways to lose against halfway decent to good afc teams, especially on the road. 2nd half looks a little easier, so i'm saying they win 5 or 6 down the stretch. 9-7 or 10-6 and they make the playoffs as a wildcard.

with that said, this team is once again one of the favorites to get to the super bowl. despite their flaws, there is an abundance of talent here. i think it is ultimately up to reid, in his 14th year, to finally learn from his mistakes if this team is going to get to the promised land.

given reid's contract status, the departure of banner, and the fact that he is now the only constant in 14 years of no championships, with no playoff wins since his last contract extension, i think anything less than an nfc championship game appearance will be considered a failure and should lead to a regime change in the off season.

GO BIRDS!!