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Pat Kirwin's Take:

These aren't last year's Eagles         Click here to find out more!

Pat Kirwan        By Pat Kirwan
NFL.com Senior Analyst

(July 28, 2006) -- What a great start to my summer camp tour with a stop at Lehigh University and a visit with the Philadelphia Eagles.

I got a chance to sit down with president Joe Banner, head coach Andy Reid, GM Tom Heckert, QB Donovan McNabb, S Brian Dawkins, CB Lito Sheppard and DT Mike Patterson. Between drills and practices I also spoke with most of the coaches and a lot of other players. After talking with so many members of the organization, I recommend you re-adjust your thinking about the 2006 Philadelphia Eagles.

Andy Reid plans to go with the same systems that got the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX.    
Andy Reid plans to go with the same systems that got the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX.      
Contrary to popular opinion, the team has not fallen apart with the departure of No. 81. In fact, it is safe to say that the 2006 Eagles have moved on. A year ago to the day you could cut the tension with a knife at practice. Now Reid's biggest challenge may be to throttle back the players' enthusiasm so they don't leave their best efforts on the practice field.

If you get most of your preseason information from publications written months ago, you may have been led down the wrong trail. Ask a casual football fan what the Eagles are going to do this year and most often you will hear "last in the NFC East." From Banner, Reid and right on down to the security guard at the locker room door, these Eagles enjoy the label that puts this team under the radar screen in the NFL.

On the other hand, McNabb told me as long as they don't finish where everyone thinks they are headed, he doesn't mind the things people are saying right now. As the All-Pro quarterback said to me after the morning practice, "We know what we have to do and everyone is focused and ready to go." The old McNabb was leading his team all day long with a combination of up-tempo plays, a bit of fooling around to lighten the workload in the 92-degree heat, and a lending hand to the young receivers during the drills.

Of course there are issues that have to be solved this summer, just like there is with any team, and the Philadelphia hierarchy is going about its business. First-round draft pick Brodrick Bunkley isn't in camp yet, although he could be at any minute. There's no real concern about that, considering the team reported to camp a week earlier than most teams because it plays in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6. What Bunkley has missed specifically is the 30-or-so zone-blitz calls that defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has already installed. And, of course, the opportunity to take his one-on-one pass rushes against Shawn Andrews, who looks like an emerging All-Pro guard at practice. Bunkley is going to be a very good player and he will provide the Eagles with an excellent four-man rotation at the defensive tackle spot, but he still has a lot to learn.

The Eagles have to figure out who their wide receivers will be before the summer is over, and after a few practices, here's my take on the situation. Reggie Brown deserves the hype he's been getting as an emerging star. After watching him run precision routes and catch balls with ease, I would say he's headed for a 75-reception, 1,000-yard season. As Reid said about Brown, "He's smooth, runs the short crossing routes we like to feature, and he handles himself like a real pro." Sheppard seconds that evaluation, and Dawkins added that his precision route running makes him difficult to cover off his breaks. The other starting receiver is a bigger question. Right now I would say Jabar Gaffney has a slight advantage in the race, but it could go all the way down to undrafted rookie Hank Baskett, who has really jumped out to a fast start in camp.

Philly intends to run the ball more than the 28 percent of the time the team ran it last year. Only one team in the NFL ran the ball more than they threw it last year -- the Chicago Bears -- and all the Eagles really have to do to get back into NFL balance is move the run ratio up to 35 percent of the plays. To accomplish that increase of seven percent they need to run the ball just five more times a game. The question is, who gets those extra carries? Reid could decide to give them all to Brian Westbrook as he starts to evolve into another Tiki Barber, or he could give them to Ryan Moats, who really impressed the team's brass late in the season last year. Their true big back, Correll Buckhalter, didn't practice in the afternoon and his medical history suggests to some outsiders that the Eagles may go looking for a big back in a trade later on this summer. After talking with Heckert, I got the feeling the team will go with what they have, but he didn't rule out investigating all possible scenarios.

After getting drafted in 2003, Jamaal Jackson saw his first live game action last season.    
After getting drafted in 2003, Jamaal Jackson saw his first live game action last season.      
There is a heck of a battle brewing at the center position with Hank Fraley and Jamaal Jackson. Fraley ran with the second team all day as he nurses a shoulder injury, and Jackson was impressive in the one-on-one drills. He can really sink his weight against the big nose-tackle types and he is athletic enough to get out on linebackers with ease. With Jackson in the lineup, the Eagles offensive line is massive. By September, opponents could be looking at Tra Thomas (6-foot-7, 350 pounds), Andrews (6-4, 340), Jackson (6-4, 330), Max Jean-Gilles (6-4, 355) and Jon Runyan (6-7, 325).

On defense, it seemed to take the Eagles four years to rebuild the unit. Last year, the once-proud defense gave up 155 points in the six division games (25.8 points per game), and what was even more alarming was during the 16-game schedule it gave up 232 first-half points. I put those numbers to Dawkins and he felt it was a combination of injuries, a lot of young players on the field, mental errors and a breakdown in red-zone defense.

The young players, led by second-year tackle Patterson, all benefited from the playing time they got. The defensive line will be a solid two-deep across the board, and the addition of Shawn Barber and rookie Chris Gocong to the linebacker group gives the defensive staff plenty of flexibility to run its complicated scheme. There will be less mental errors and more pressure in 2006.

As Dawkins said, "We have learned from last year and we have too much pride in our defense to play the way we did last year." Notice he never mentioned the struggling offense with McNabb hurt and T.O. causing major distractions. The defense is going to take care of its own business.

Finally, a few quick observations about this team. If McNabb were to get injured for a few weeks, Jeff Garcia makes the backup QB situation better than it has been in a long time. There's a young undrafted offensive tackle by the name of Pat McCoy from West Texas State who is starting to raise some eyebrows. Winston Justice will be ready to play if Thomas struggles physically. Defensive end Jerome McDougle is finally healthy and he will make an impact on the season. And when the Eagles defense gets its opponents into pass situations, keep an eye on DE Darren Howard, who will move inside to tackle and become a very effective inside rusher.

Will the Eagles win the division and go deep in the playoffs? They will be in one heck of a battle with the much-improved NFC East, and anyone counting this group out needs to go watch them practice. As McNabb said, "If it means I have to run more for us to move the chains, then that's what I'll do."

[Munson]

Not a lot of people can make Runyan look skinny....but the rest of our offensive line does it somehow.

Now Herremans will most likely start at LG, not Jean-Gilles, but I think he's also bigger then Runyan. Our line averages like 335 pounds.

I really hope the line of the future is Herremans-Jean-Gilles-Jackson-Andrews-Justice, not Justice-Herremans-Jackson-Jean-Gilles-Andrews....I think Andrews will dominate at guard for his career...at tackle he might just be above-average.

[Seabiscuit36]

Why wouldnt you have Justice who is a natural at the blindside be LT and Herremans at RT?  Herremans is a work in progress which makes me not feel so peachy about that transition from Tackle to Guard.  The big boy has a shot with him playing Guard for the past 2 or 3 seasons

[ice grillin you]

wip training camp update reported that killa cole de-cleated runyan twice today

killa givin cranial lumps

killa future nfl sack leader

killa my hero

[phattymatty]

holy shtein i didn't realize that the hall of fame game was aug. 6. 

9 days.  i just got an enormous boner.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

enormous

It's all relative, I'm sure.

[Father Demon]

When posting really long articles with lots and lots of words, can you please be so kind to bold the important or interesting parts?  My eyes don't like lots of letters.

Please, do it for the children.  Not the ones that were drowned in the bathtub, but for the ones that can still read.

Thankskbye.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Injury Update:

# Tight end L.J. Smith has a shoulder sprain. He'll be out for "a couple days," Reid said.

# Offensive tackle William Thomas has spasms in his lower back.

# Defensive tackle Darwin Walker has a quad contusion. He missed time with it last season and Reid said they'll be cautious.

# Receiver Jason Avant, who had off-season knee surgery, is doing better and is day-to-day.

# Receiver Jeremy Bloom is also doing better with his strained hamstring.

# Receiver Derrick Fenner also has a hamstring stain.

# Safety Quntin Mikell has an orbital fracture, which is in the nose/eye area. "It might sound worse than it is," Reid said.

# Running back Ryan Moats remains day-to-day with his knee sprain.

[Diomedes]

# Safety Quntin Mikell has an orbital fracture, which is in the nose/eye area. "It might sound worse than it is," Reid said.

Sounds like LJ broke his face the other day.  Ha!

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

"Reno is just such a good football player. Reno is a guy that you can trust."
-- John Harbaugh

He's making this team.  Yay.

[Don Ho]

"Reno is just such a good football player. Reno is a guy that you can trust."
-- John Harbaugh

He's making this team.  Yay.

Cool, now I don't have to change my text.  Well unless Timmy makes the team

[Munson]

Why wouldnt you have Justice who is a natural at the blindside be LT and Herremans at RT?  Herremans is a work in progress which makes me not feel so peachy about that transition from Tackle to Guard.  The big boy has a shot with him playing Guard for the past 2 or 3 seasons

Because Herremans spent time at LT last season, and Justice I believe was a RT in college....might be wrong about that though.

[rjs246]

Hey numbnuts, Justice WAS a RT in college... for a lefthanded QB. He's a blind-side tackle and has a lot more natural talent than Herremans. Seabiscuit it right.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Well, Seabiscuit is right about every part except Herremans being the best fit for the RT spot for the future.
(That would obviously be Scott Young.)

But that is incredibly accurate, line of the future based on what I've seen and heard from camp:

LT Justice
LG Herremans
C Jackson
RG Jean-Gilles
RT Andrews

Clarke isn't going to go down without a fight, but he's more likely to be the "6th man".

[Diomedes]

Why is Andrews constantly projected as moving to T?  'Cause he's expenive, high draft pick?  I guess I'm football stupid, but he doesn't look or play like T material, imho.