Darft Day Is Here

FINALLY! After an offseason of speculation, the best day of the football offseason is here. The NFL Draft. As of right now the Eagles have 11 picks in seven rounds. Numerous questions need to be asked:

1) Will we trade Lito Sheppard? And if we do, who will it be to and for what?

2) Will we make a play for a BIG WR like Chad Johnson, Anquan Boldin or Roy Williams?

3) Who will the Eagles select with their first pick? An OL or a CB? Maybe a WR?

4) Will the Eagles move up in the first to get a player they covet?

5) How will different trades affect what the Eagles do?

6) Will losing a couple minutes this year hinder the draft process? Instead of looking for the best offer will teams just take a chance on certain players or trades?

7) Will the Eagles draft a Special Teams Returner?

8) Will any other players other than Lito get traded? The past couple years we traded 1-2 role players to move up.

All this will be answered in a few short hours. Draft begins at 3:00. Three hours later than usual. Both ESPN and NFL Network will have coverage.

Eagles Schedule

Six nationally-televised games, including a Thanksgiving night showdown against the Arizona Cardinals, are on the 2008 slate. And how about this for the end of the season - three of the final four games are against the NFC East. The season finale? A showdown with the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles will be a team to watch in 2008.

Sept 7 - Eagles vs Rams (Home)
Sept 15 - Eagles vs Cowboys (Away)
Sept 21 - Eagles vs Steelers (Home)
Sept 28 - Eagles vs Bears (Away)
Oct 5 - Eagles vs Redskins (Home)
Oct 12 - Eagles vs 49ers (Away)
Oct 19 - BYE
Oct 26 - Eagles vs Falcons (Home)
Nov 2 - Eagles vs Seahawks (Away)
Nov 9 - Eagles vs Giants (Home)
Nov 16 - Eagles vs Bengals (Away)
Nov 23 - Eagles vs Ravens (Away)
Nov 27 - Eagles vs Cardinals (Home) Thanksgiving Day
Dec 7 - Eagles vs Giants (Away)
Dec 15 - Eagles vs Browns (Home)
Dec 21 - Eagles vs Redskins (Away)
Dec 28 - Eagles vs Cowboys (Home)

Eagles and FA

This morning at 12:01 am Fre Agency began. It is a time for teams to sign other players to strengthen their team. The Eagles haven't done much in Free Agency the past few years. In 2004 they signed DE Javon Kearse and WR Terrell Owens. 2005 brought in DE Darrin Howard. Nothing major in 2006. 2007 saw WR Kevin Curtis. What will 2008 bring?

CB Assante Samuel is the most coveted player in FA. A great corner in both man and zone coverage. He will be asking for some big money. The Eagles have it to spend after releasing Kearse. It saves them $6 million or so. Adding Samuel would signal that the Front Office has heard the pleas of the fans and players about adding playmakers. Samuel is rumored to be visiting Philly this morning. PLEASE DON'T LET HIM LEAVE WITHOUT A CONTRACT!

WR Donte Stallworth played here in 2006. He bolted for New England. Will he come back to Philly? I don't know. I don;t know what happened behind closed doors last year when the Eagles offered him a contract. Maybe he has a change of heart and signs here again.

DE Paul Spicer is a veteran. He's a very solid DE with Jacksonville. Adding him would provide solid depth with Kearse being gone. A nice one or two year deal.

OG Alan Faneca is ne of the top 3 OG's in the league. He may be 31, but OL tend to play longer than most position players. We really don't need him, but if you can add a top OL to an already solid OL, it's a good thing. Once again money will be the sticking point. If the price is right, get him. Imagine Runyan, Faneca, Jackson, Andrews and Thomas with Herremans, Jean-Gilles, Justice and Young as backups. That is a solid OL with experienced backups.

There are other possibilities out there. The top three are the ones I hope we do get. Do I want Faneca? YES. Do we need Faneca? No. So if he would go to another team, which is very likely, it won't break my heart.

Here's to hoping the Eagles Front Office goes out aggressively and gets the playmakers we all want to see. Super Bowl is the goal. Like a friend says "1 winner, 31 losers". I'm tired of being one of the 31!