Countdown to Training Camp

The rookies report in 5 days, and the vets show up in a week.

And The Snark is going for the first time this year!  Looks like me and Chef Spouse will journey up to PA on Thursday, August 5 to attend camp on Friday, August 6, hopefully with Life-long Eagles Fan Mom and You-Two-Calm-Down-or-I'm-Turning-Off-the-TV Dad in tow. 

The advice hasn't been very forthcoming, though. My uncle advised us to get there early, make a day of it, and possibly hit the Martin Guitar museum during what he reports to be a long lunch break, and a former high school classmate gave me a restaurant recommendation that of course I can't find now.  And that's it.  C'mon y'all - this is my FIRST training camp & I want it to be awesome!  Help a sista out here!  I promise to write a great blog post after!

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In Which the Eagles Get No Repect

Bleeding Green Nation has some bad news for us:  the national media is definitely NOT on the Eagles Roster Shakeup Bandwagon. 

My natural Eagles pessimism is taking over. I think it's entirely possible that we'll stink this year. 5-11 isn't beyond the pale. But the question is: are we in it to win NOW or for the long haul?

I hope Big Red knows what he's doing.

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Prayer to the Football Gods

Oh man, Bleeding Green Nation, y'all nailed it!

Eagles

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Mission: Training Camp

OK, fellow Eagles fans, you may or may not remember, but my New Year's resolution this year is to attend Eagles training camp.

And the dates for training camp have been announced:

The rookies report Monday, July 26.
The vets report Thursday, July 29.
The Eagles break camp on Wednesday, August 18.

They're at Lehigh as usual, and fortunately, Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom and You-Two-Calm-Down-or-I'm-Turning-Off-the-TV Dad live driving distance from Lehigh.

What do I need to know to have an AMAZING training camp experience?

(And no,  I did not post about the draft. Know why?  I know jack shit about the college game, so I don't have anything to say that wouldn't be regurgitating what someone else said.  And you can do your own damn Google search for that.)

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2010 Schedule Released

Sorry this is a little late, but I was out last night.  Here's what we've got for 2010:

Sept. 12 v. Packers - 4 pm (not starting with the Packers again!  Anyone remember this?)
Sept. 19 @ Lions - 1 pm
Sept. 26 @ Jaguars - 4 pm
Oct. 3 v. Redskins - 4 pm - The Return of Big 5
Oct. 10 @ 49ers - 8 pm
Oct. 17 v. Falcons - 1 pm
Oct. 24 @Titans - 1 pm
BYE
Nov. 7 v. Colts - 1 pm
Nov. 15 @ Redskins - 8 pm (MNF, y'all!  I'll be there, come hell or high ticket prices!)
Nov. 21 v. Giants - 8 pm
Nov. 28 @ Bears - 1 pm (Thanksgiving in Chicago AGAIN?)
Dec. 2 v. Texans - 8 pm (Thursday night games, how you torture me)
Dec. 12 @ Cowboys - 8 pm
Dec. 19 @ Giants - 8 pm
Dec. 26 v. Vikings - 1 pm
Jan.. 2 v. Cowboys - 1 pm


Of course, everything after Thanksgiving is subject to the whims of the NFL, but right now, we have 1 MNF appearance and 6 prime time games.  Someone's expecting good things from the Eagles this year...

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Free Agency Advice - How'd I Do?

Not that anyone in any position of power was listening, but about two months ago, I posted my thoughts about who the Eagles should keep and let go during free agency. So how did it go?

I still can't get over my shock at the fact that we traded our franchise QB, the winningest QB we've EVER had in Philly, to a division rival. Speaking of, you've seen this piece from The Onion, right? Yes, it's a joke newspaper, but you have to wonder how much of this McNabb is thinking but not saying because he always acts with class.

Anyway, moving on....

QB: We did keep Kevin Kolb, who's now the starter (God help him, after only two previous NFL starts and maybe 1-2 full games worth of playing time otherwise), and we still have Mike Vick, who I expected to be long gone by now. Speaking as a marketing professional, I understand that pricing strategies are never easy. But I have a little tip: if NO ONE is biting, you're price is too high. Food for thought, Front Office.

RB: It's sad, but I was right about Westy - we had to let him go, and he's pretty much done, as evidenced by the fact that he's still on the market. Big Red was making some noise about bringing him back as a coach. I think that would be a great move. Anyone listening? Leonard Weaver has a nice new deal. McCoy's going to be the #1. And we kept Eldra Buckley, too, and picked up Mike Bell from the Saints.

Oline: The Big Kid's gone. Such wasted potential. Stacy's still around - at least for the moment - and it's looking like Nick Cole will be the center until Jamal Jackson heals up. Jason Peters is still around, as is Max Jean-Gilles. We need some serious help here in the draft, or we're going to need a new QB by the bye week, because we'll be O-U-T OUT.

WR: Avant got a new deal, which he totally deserved. I'll be interested to see how 4 and Dime works out. We still have Reggie Brown, but Kevin Curtis is done. Injuries bite again. Hank Baskett, Mr. Fade Route, is back from Indy. Welcome home, Hank!

TE: WE dumped Alex Smith and kept Ingram and Rucker. Not what I would have chosen.

Dline: Darren Howard's gone, which we needed to do, as is Jason Babin.

LB: Omar Gaither, Chris Gocong, and Akeem Jordan are all back. Trot, Will Witherspoon and Tracy White are all gone. I would've kept Tracy White if it were up to me. We need some serious draft help here. Edited to add - wrong about Gocong there - he's not back. Sorry about that Eagles fans.

DBacks: Speaking of needing help - oy. Sheldon left - no shocker there - and we let Sean Jones go, picked up Marlin Jackson, also from the Colts, and hung onto Ellis Hobbs. News? None of these people are the answer. In case you forgot the question, it's: Who's going to succeed Brian Dawkins? Keeping my fingers crossed for the draft....Edited to add: of course, Marlin Jackson is a safety. But I'm far from convinced he's the heir apparent to Dawk. Should've been more clear about that.

ST: Oh my God, it looks like we're hanging onto Sav Rocca. Shit. On the up side, he finally seems to be holding properly for Akers. I am trying REALLY hard to look on the bright side here, people.

On to the draft, where we have enough picks to pretty much replace the entire team.

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Still in Shock

With Sheldon gone to the Browns, DMac with the Redskins, Dawk with the Broncos, and Westy gone (but at the moment not to another team, although it wouldn't surprise me if the Redskins came calling any minute), we're officially the rebuilding team in the NFC East. Really officially - we had the youngest roster in the NFL LAST year. Add in dumping 3 vets and 11 draft picks, and we're babies. Can you say "5-11"? I think you can.

A few observations on the shocking trade (hey, if even Clinton Portis used the word "shock" about 10 times in a 30 second interview, I'm allowed to still be shocked):

I was right that the Eagles wouldn't trade McNabb to any team they might face in the playoffs.

Given the Redskins record in the Snyder era with trading away draft picks for fading stars, I think we can all see where this is going. Sure, Big Red is saying all the right things about taking Donovan's feelings into consideration in selecting where to trade, but you don't trade your 10+ year starting franchise QB within the division unless you know something about his playing status that you're not sharing.

Frankly, if the Skins don't fix their O-line ASAP, McNabb won't even make it past their first matchup with the Cowboys. As my friend Eric observed below, they'll be shipping him back to Philly in pieces for his retirement ceremony.

I know the Eagles Front Office doesn't stand on sentiment - hell, they won't even stand NEAR it for a few seconds just in case it's catching - but this is a tough, tough thing to do to a player who, despite taking near constant pounding from the not-always-terribly-well-informed Philly sports media and even worse from ignorant fans for the past 11 years has remained the consummate team player, always grateful to the fans (even when he had to dig REALLY deep to find something nice to say), always supportive of his coaching staff and teammates (even when you know he wanted to say, "When I put the ball on your numbers, CATCH IT! And by the way, why did you call 3 pass plays in a row when we were at 2nd and a short 1?"), and always, always a class act.

McNabb has the most regular-season wins of any QB in franchise history.
He has the most post-season wins of any QB in franchise history.
He has the most passing yards of any QB in franchise history.
He has the most completions of any QB in franchise history.
He has the most TDs of any QB in franchise history.
He has the lowest INT percentage of any QB in franchise history.

And all that while throwing (mostly) to the likes of Na Brown (remember him?), James Thrash, Todd Pinkston, and Freddie Mitchell. Oy.

Unless Kevin Kolb turns out to be the next Peyton Manning/Tom Brady, he has a very tough act to follow in a town that, to paraphrase The Onion from a few years ago, gives QBs 3 weeks to deliver a Lombardi Trophy - in September. Good luck, KK - you'll need it.

Sadly, I believe this move to the Redskins means that McNabb will never get his Super Bowl ring, unless a miracle happens this year or he gets traded to a much *better* team next year. But I still think we'll see him in a Hall of Fame golden jacket some day.

Thanks DMac - this fan, at least, will miss seeing you in midnight green more than she can say.

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