"Like Riding A Bike

With Day 2 of training camp in the books, there's no big story. So, here are some smaller nuggets of bliss for everyone to wrap their minds around. These pearls are brought to you by Donovan McNabb, an Jim Johnson.

Playoffs: Donovan is confident that he, and the Eagles will return to form of yester year, and make the playoffs! He's quoted as saying it's, "Like riding a bike." I find solace in Donovan's confidence. He's the face of the Ealges, and he takes the brunt of Philadelphia's criticism. This is what a quarterback is supposed to do. I don't think that it's lip service either. McNabb believes in himself, and his teammates. That's 10 points for our fearless leader. I'm not trying to get ahead of anything though. There is a long road ahead of the Eagles in order to make the playoffs, but on paper we certainly have the potential.

D-Mac on: Donovan gives his take on a number of topics. Most of the answers sounded similar to me, but what do I know. The one that really stood out in my mind though was on whether Westbrook will hold out or not. Donovan is confident that he'll (Westbrook) will report on time. I'm not so sure about that one. Another season under his belt isn't going to make his case any stronger. The real issue is his age. Hopefully they can resolve this quickly. Everyone agrees that he is crucial to running a successful offense.

A Lot of Nickel: What do you do when you have 3 starting cornerbacks (2 of 3 are all-pro)? You play a whole lot of nickel defense. Jim Johnson thinks that you will see some variation of the nickel package between 50-60% of the time this season. I'm excited to see what our defense does this year.

Injuries: A couple of guys on the PUP list, but not really a big deal. Trevor Laws and Bryan Smith are on their, but they are expected to be ready to go in the coming weeks. Jake Ikegwuonu will spend his rookie year on the PUP list rehabbing his knee.

So far, so good.
Anyone got some dirt to discuss?

"AZ Workouts," is this a blog or an informercial?

While browsing "The Yard" this morning I see that Donovan has a new post up at Channel 5. So naturally I go to check it out. The opening paragraph is about who has joined him and Brian Dawkins in Arizona to workout leading up to training camp. So I am hoping to get some insight on how everyone out there is doing, but the post takes a turn and goes informercial on me.

Donovan proceeds to give a little background on Brett Fischer, Owner and Proprietor of Fischer Sports. Fischer is also the creator of the Ab Dolly, one of those as seen on TV pieces of exercise equipment. The post gave me that feeling that I was watching a comercial to join a health club. I think that it was a misleading. It's his blog, and his perogative to write about what he wants to write about. I hope that he got some sort of compensation for this though.

In a related tanget, I am pleased that L.J, Baskett, Avant, and Booker are working out with McNabb. Booker will certainly benefit from the extra time spent working out with Donovan. I am hoping that L.J will stay healthy this year and return to form of previous years. He is such a great asset to McNabb in the red zone. I think that every receiver should work out with the Quarterback in the offseason. There is a great deal of truth to, "practice makes perfect." Here are some guys that should have been attached to McNabb's hip this offseason: Reggie Brown, Ryan Moats, DeSean Jackson, Kevin Kurtis.

Who would benefit the most from spending the offseason working out with #5?

News, News, and more News

T-Minus two weeks until Lehigh. Ever football fan that I know is foaming at the mouth waiting for pre-season to start. I'm going to cover a some Eagles stuff, and some other stuff too. So let's get er' done.

A Channel 5 Exclusive: DMac posted to his blog this week that he while at home in Arizona he has been keeping up with the local Philadelphia sports scene. Donovan covered the signing of Elton Brand to the Sixers, the Phillies being in first place, Vai Sikahema, and the "War at the shore," and the Philadelphia Soul are headed to Arena Bowl XXII and it's impact on Philly sports. I like the idea of McNabb taking a moment to shoot the breeze about what's going on in Philly sports. It's nice to think that he is apart of this town, and is engaged with it's sports. That can't be said for all athletes. I want this to be the real McNabb, and not some PR tactic.

He and Brian Dawkins have been working out in Arizona too. He continued on to say that more guys will be out next week (no one in specific). I am certain that this year Weapon-X will return to his true form, and be a threat to the opposition. It was speculated that his sub-standard performance last year was attributed to the decline in his pres-season conditioning, but that was last year, and this is this year. Donovan's shoulder is, "Fine." I am not sure if that should be taken literally or figuratively. A part of me says that he's saying that his shoulder is a concern, and he's just to attempting circumvent all the negative publicity he would take for being injured. Another part of thinks that he is good to go, and will be firing bombs all over the field. I am standing by him either way. It must be incredibly hard to being constantly scrutinized for everything, and for all the flack that he takes Donovan has done a hell of job dealing with.

Rookie Watch: Trevor Laws and DeSean Jackson still have not signed with the team. Will they be in LeHigh on time? I hope so. We are in dire need of a kick returner, and I that would imagine is going to Jackson primary role this coming season. Trevor Laws will add depth and talent to the defensive tackle position, but we are solid there with Patterson and Bunkley. Both these guys need head over to the Nova Car complex, and seal their deals. The sooner they do the sooner they get paid, and the sooner the fans can take solace. Two weeks boys, stop screwing around, and sign some deals!

Matt Jones can say goodbye to Jacksonville. So word on the street is that after getting busted for cocaine posession Jaguars WR Matt Jones won't be making the team this year. I remember them talking about this kid at the NFL combine. He's 6'5" and ran a sub 4.5 40 time, and showed the athleticism to make the transistion from quarteback to wide reciever. I thought that he was going to be a great receiver, but I was wrong. What a waste of talent. Why were you chopping coke up in your car anyways? Maybe Jerry Jones will sign him once the Jaguars, and the NFL are done with him?

Brett Favre? I am of the opinion that Brett Farve should never be anything but a Greenbay Packer. We will just exclude that little stint in Atlanta. I believe that the guy can still play, and that he shouldn't be relegated to 2nd string either. Aaron Rodgers deserves a shot at leading the Packers too. The Packers picked up two undrafted free agent quarterbacks after this years draft. This has disaster written all over it for the Greenbay Packers. If Favre is allowed to return the fans are going to calling for him to reclaim the starting job from Rodgers. Rodgers has to feel like that odd man out in all of this. He's got pressure coming from everywhere. I think that if Favre returns to the Packers Rodgers will be getting the hell out of dodge (Greenbay) ASAP.

WKRP: In Cincinnati with an all points bulletin. Be on the look out for yet another troubled Bungle. Former Cincinnati LB Odell Thurman is wanted on assault charges. The former Georgia standout allegedly punched a man over a line dispute at a Waterpark. The guy must have cheated Thurman in Front Seats, Back Seats. Fellow fistacuffer and former teammate Chris Henry has had all charges dropped in his case for assaulting a University of Cincinnati student. His suspension is currently being reviewed by the NFL. I would be suprised if he sees the grid iron this season.

This concludes our broadcast,

Stay classy! Planet Earth.