I shot some questions over to Jason at Bleeding Green Nation. I knew little about the Eagles roster, so instead, asked him some bigger picture type questions. Hope you enjoy. Oh, and notice towards the end, he mentions that he dates a lady from the 'Burgh. If nothing else, let's give him props for that. Thanks for taking the time Jason!
1) What's new on the Andy Reid front? Are fans still confident in him as the right guy for the job? Has the dust settled from all the personal drama he was dealing with last year?
BGN: Nothing really new on the Reid front. The stuff with his kids seems to be all behind him and there hasn't really been any serious calls for his head or anything. He's actually going on his 10th season here and it's a very long time since the Eagles last went 2 straight years without the playoffs. So, I think for now no one is freaking out but if we were to miss the playoffs for the second straight year there may start to be rumblings from the fans that Andy has run his course.
That said, he certainly has the full backing of ownership. They cite the Bill Cowher era in Pittsburgh as evidence of the importance of stability.
2) Not that we're expecting to see much, if any, of Donovan McNabb on Friday night, but is he healthy heading into 2008? How much clamoring is there for the start of the Kevin Kolb era?
BGN: Actually it's been announced that McNabb should play about a quarter and a half, so that's a bit more than I expected to see from him. Normally he wouldn't play more than a couple series. I'm guessing Andy Reid really wants to get a look at everyone. As to his health, McNabb is as healthy as he has been in years. This is the first time since 2005 that he's entering a season where he hasn't spent the offseason rehabbing. When I went up to camp, I thought he looked great... but that's camp.
3) What are the fans expectations for the Eagles in 2008? Does the Giants miraculous run late last year give fanbases like the Eagles' (and Steelers for that matter) reason to hope that they too could get hot at the right time and make a playoff run?
BGN: Expectations tihs year? I think the Giants run showed a few things. Getting hot at the right time is important and if you can pressure the passer you can beat anyone on any given day. What made the Giants run even worse is that the mastermind of their defense was the Eagles LB coach the previous year and he basically used a clone of a Jim Johnsons' system. So we know the system works... we just needed the pass rushers to make it work. The Eagles went out this offseason and stocked up on pass rushers in free agency and the draft, so that's the plan for this year. Get to the QB or bust. I think if we can do that, we'll be in very good shape.
I happen to date a pittsburgh girl, so I've watched a lot of Steeler games with her family... So I feel pretty confident in saying that basically the same thing about the Steelers. If they can get after the QB better than they did last year, I think they'll really be a team to watch out for. Plus, I happen to think the AFC North isn't as good as advertised. I'm really not sure I buy Cleveland as a real contender and I think Pitt could end up steamrolling that division.