Post by EagleGene on Jul 17, 2006 15:55:36 GMT -5
Other View On The Eagles
July 17, 2006
This week, ESPN's John Clayton analyzes the Eagles on the cusp of training camp ...
"The Eagles are a playoff-caliber team in a division that has four playoff-caliber teams. I have to think that Donovan McNabb, who I still think is the best quarterback in the NFC, obviously gives hope, and now the question is whether the receivers can come through enough to at least get them past the Redskins, or get them past the Cowboys.
"I think the Giants are the team right now that probably has the toughest go at it because they have the toughest schedule in football. It's a division right now that's just insane with how good it is.
"There's no question people have forgotten about McNabb. Why that is, I have no idea. All I know is that when I last saw him last year playing with a sports hernia, he was putting up 300 yards a game and single-handedly carrying a team.
"I know that (Seattle's) Matt Hasselbeck has evolved into probably being the second-best quarterback in the NFC, but I still don't see him being better than McNabb. Clearly, everyone has forgotten about this guy. Why, I have no idea. The guy's been to four NFC Championship games, he's been in the offense now for eight years, he continues to get better and he is evolving better as a leader. He's carried this franchise and still continues to carry this franchise. "The three things I think the Eagles need from this training camp are as follows: First, try to make sure Reggie Brown can establish himself as a solid No. 1 receiver. I know Donovan will try to spread the ball around more, but he's got to have a go-to guy and in his second year it might be too much ask, but they got to ask Reggie Brown to try to do that.
"Secondly, they have to try to make sure their rotation on the defensive line, make sure it is coming out healthy and find a way to get Jerome McDougle on the ball and make sure Jevon Kearse and Darren Howard are OK and make sure that defensive line all gels because it's probably been the biggest position of transition the last two years.
"Thirdly, just make sure the whole defense fits well together, which I don't think will be a problem because any time you have a system with Jim Johnson, it's all going to work out very well. So those are the three things that must come together, but more so than anything else, the key is making sure the receivers step up to fill the void of T.O. "One thing is, the core group of this team has now been together long enough that it survived last year, and there's no psychological challenges I can see. The psychological challenges moved away when he moved down to Dallas. That was a psychological challenge.
"In many ways, this is a welcome thing because everybody is forgetting about the Eagles. Because of that, they can go in with a chip on their shoulders and try to rally as a team. I think there is more motivation right now and more incentive there because of the departure of T.O. that they can come together.
"Let's put it this way - they had two guys fighting for headlines, McNabb on one side and Owens on the other. Now, this is McNabb's team and it's pretty clear that it is his team and it's a matter of giving everyone the ball and I think he'll grow from the experience."
July 17, 2006
This week, ESPN's John Clayton analyzes the Eagles on the cusp of training camp ...
"The Eagles are a playoff-caliber team in a division that has four playoff-caliber teams. I have to think that Donovan McNabb, who I still think is the best quarterback in the NFC, obviously gives hope, and now the question is whether the receivers can come through enough to at least get them past the Redskins, or get them past the Cowboys.
"I think the Giants are the team right now that probably has the toughest go at it because they have the toughest schedule in football. It's a division right now that's just insane with how good it is.
"There's no question people have forgotten about McNabb. Why that is, I have no idea. All I know is that when I last saw him last year playing with a sports hernia, he was putting up 300 yards a game and single-handedly carrying a team.
"I know that (Seattle's) Matt Hasselbeck has evolved into probably being the second-best quarterback in the NFC, but I still don't see him being better than McNabb. Clearly, everyone has forgotten about this guy. Why, I have no idea. The guy's been to four NFC Championship games, he's been in the offense now for eight years, he continues to get better and he is evolving better as a leader. He's carried this franchise and still continues to carry this franchise. "The three things I think the Eagles need from this training camp are as follows: First, try to make sure Reggie Brown can establish himself as a solid No. 1 receiver. I know Donovan will try to spread the ball around more, but he's got to have a go-to guy and in his second year it might be too much ask, but they got to ask Reggie Brown to try to do that.
"Secondly, they have to try to make sure their rotation on the defensive line, make sure it is coming out healthy and find a way to get Jerome McDougle on the ball and make sure Jevon Kearse and Darren Howard are OK and make sure that defensive line all gels because it's probably been the biggest position of transition the last two years.
"Thirdly, just make sure the whole defense fits well together, which I don't think will be a problem because any time you have a system with Jim Johnson, it's all going to work out very well. So those are the three things that must come together, but more so than anything else, the key is making sure the receivers step up to fill the void of T.O. "One thing is, the core group of this team has now been together long enough that it survived last year, and there's no psychological challenges I can see. The psychological challenges moved away when he moved down to Dallas. That was a psychological challenge.
"In many ways, this is a welcome thing because everybody is forgetting about the Eagles. Because of that, they can go in with a chip on their shoulders and try to rally as a team. I think there is more motivation right now and more incentive there because of the departure of T.O. that they can come together.
"Let's put it this way - they had two guys fighting for headlines, McNabb on one side and Owens on the other. Now, this is McNabb's team and it's pretty clear that it is his team and it's a matter of giving everyone the ball and I think he'll grow from the experience."
