Donovan McNabb: 'My Knee Is Fine'

Prior to this week, most Eagles fans didn't expect to see Donovan McNabb take the field for at least another few weeks. We hoped he'd be ready to get into the action during training camp come August. I don't think anyone expected Donovan to participate in four straight days of mini camp activities this week. McNabb, in a press conference held today at the NovaCare complex in South Philadelphia, said that he isn't rushing back.

McNabb has talked with guys who have gone through similar injuries and gone through similar rehabs. From the Eagles website:

McNabb said that he wanted to return to the field prior to the start of training
camp for a number of reasons - to see how the leg would respond and to work on
chemistry and timing with his receivers. He felt that this was "the time to push
it" in terms of his rehab. After the four days of workouts, McNabb said that he
is "past the point" of knowing the knee is healed. He said that he did enough to
gain the trust and confidence in his knee that if he had to run to buy some
additional time he would feel comfortable doing so. Reid was pleased that McNabb
did not favor the leg in any of the workouts.

Donovan points out repeatedly that he's trying "to be smart with the whole deal." Andy Reid said that if Donovan McNabb doesn't experience any setbacks, he should be ready to start the 2007 season as the Eagles quarterback. Reid also noted that in order for McNabb to take the opening snap against the Packers at Lambeau on September 9th, number five will have to see some game action in the pre-season.

The next steps for Donovan and the receivers is the annual workouts in Donovan's home turf in Arizona. Things are looking good for the Birds leader, let's hope things continue in a positive direction.

The Philadelphia Eagles website has a video of the full question and answer session with Donovan McNabb that was held today.

My quest for Eagles tix

Single Game Tickets Sold Out In Minutes

Single-game tickets to Eagles home games sold out Thursday morning. On sale at 10 a.m. via internet and telephone, tickets were snapped up by fans as fast as they were made available.
"This sale is overwhelming," said Leo Carlin, who has seen close to five decades of football in Philadelphia as he enters his 48th season as director of client ticket relations with the Eagles. "Twenty years ago, it was not unusual that tickets could be purchased the day of the game. Now, the demand for tickets surges each year and the tickets go even faster than the year before. It is a powerful display of fan passion." *

What a terrible system used to sell these tickets. I understand that there is a limited amount, but why even use the web site? Ten Million people all at work jam up their server, and nobody gets tickets from there. Why not just scrap the phone/online sales, and sell the tickets at Ticketmaster outlets? This way it is actually first come first serve, instead of this phone nonsense. I used a combination of phone/online to get my Eagles tickets, and it was a very frustrating ordeal.

With some friends help, I called multiple numbers, and one line got through at 9:57. They were hung up on, because it was not 10:00 yet. What a bunch of jerks. Couldn't they just hang on the line for 3 minutes? A minute later, I was able to fill in the form for Ticketmaster online. Two tickets, any price, anywhere for the Giants game December 9th. It told me there was an eight minute wait, and then up popped this on my screen.

This was at 10:02! HOW COULD THEY SELL OUT ALL THE TICKETS IN TWO MINUTES!!!

I wanted to break my monitor at this point. After some deep breathing I calmed down, and realized that it is just scam. The same thing happens every year. I try to get tickets, I get left on hold trying to call Ticketmaster, and I end up having to pay 200 a seat through stub hub.

I was still on the line however, and I refused to give up. When the clock read 10:20 I had almost lost all hope of getting Eagles tickets. In the words of Charlie Manuel I was very flustrated to say the least.

Then finally I heard a human voice on the other end of the phone. She went on to give me more disappointment. "Eagles tickets are sold out" the woman said. Failure again I thought. Until I asked her to please check again, and to my surprise it worked! She had two single tickets, but they were not be together. At this point I did not care, I just wanted to be at a game. Get me inside the stadium, and I will be happy.

So it was not all bad, because I did manage to actually get two single seats in separate sections to the Seahawks game. I guess me, and my friend will be standing for the game. That's ok with me, because the seats are lousy anyways. Victory!

2007 Season Preview

It's a slow time, so I thought I would post this video. Very well made I think. It might not be up very long because of the new youtube copyright policy.

Eagles fans This is our year!

Draft Review: QB Kevin Kolb

I hated this pick when I saw it during the draft. I was hoping for the razor back corner back Chris Houston, and instead the Eagles took the quarterback from Houston. I was shocked just like McNabb was, and everybody else was. That shock then turned into an anger, because I felt the Eagles had blown it. Not only did they give up Anthony Spencer to the Dallas Cowboys, but they drafted a player who wont help them win a Superbowl this year.

The hatred grew inside of me, to the point that I was ready to start an anti-Kevin Kolb campaign. I think the main reason for that was that I did not want to believe that the end of McNabb as an Eagle could be near. After watching McNabb develop over his career, going deep into the playoffs four of those years, and seeing what a great QB he has become, it is hard to imagine the Eagles without him. Even though Jeff Garcia did well last year, I really just felt like five would be back next year. I think all Eagles fans, including his critics will miss Donovan McNabb when he is no longer here.

My first reactions to the pick, were very harsh, and after having a few months to think about things, those feelings changed. I feel that the Eagles decision was due to the fact that McNabb is 30 years coming off a torn ACL injury, and he has been injured three of the last five seasons. That would make a QB prospect pretty important priority in the draft, and I understand now why they took Kevin Kolb.

I am not sold on Kolb's abilities though. He ran a shotgun style offense at Houston, and many plays were gimmicky. That offense is very different from the west coast offense Big Red has implemented here. I also think the competition level he faced is very weak, and the NFL is a huge step up from that. I do like Kolb's size, and watching film, he seems to be very accurate on short routes.

There are many questions that I have of Kevin Kolb, and I am hoping that the Eagles front office picked the right guy. Other QBs that were available at that spot, were John Beck, Drew Stanton, and Trent Edwards. I would hate for one of them to turn out to be great, and the Eagles dropped the ball on one of them. We will find out soon enough.

The best thing about picking the QB is with Donovan McNabb still around as of now, Kolb has plenty of time to develop behind him. The coaches can mold him into the QB they envision for their offense, and he will likely have at least a few years, before he is asked to be the man.

McNabb Practices

All Signs Positive In McNabb's Return To Practice

By JOHN CLAYTON

Donovan McNabb returned to the practice field at the NovaCare Complex on Monday, marking the first time the quarterback has participated in practice since tearing his right ACL against the Tennessee Titans on November 19 last season.

McNabb's participation in Organized Team Activities was limited, as the Eagles coaches took precautions to protect the franchise quarterback.

"He looked great," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said of McNabb immediately after practice. "You couldn't tell that he was gone. He's made differently I think."

After warming up and running through a few offensive plays during individual drills, McNabb participated in 11-on-11 drills against a defensive scout team. McNabb took just three snaps - two of which were running plays. McNabb's one pass was approximately a 45-yard bomb which was completed to wide receiver Reggie Brown. The pass was partially underthrown, but it still possessed of the trademark tight spiral and high arc of a McNabb deep ball.

After that series, McNabb took part in 7-on-7 drills working exclusively on pass plays. He took six snaps and completed three passes - two check downs to running back Brian Westbrook and a 15-yard strike over the middle to tight end Lee Vickers. Two of his three incompletions were drops in tight coverage by fullback Thomas Tapeh and wide receiver Kevin Curtis, respectively.

McNabb didn't appear at any point to favor his right leg or show any semblance of discomfort. At 12:03 PM, just over an hour after he had stepped onto the field, McNabb was given a pat on the shoulder-pads by head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder, who then ushered the quarterback off the practice field, thus ending McNabb's first day back.

When asked if there was any specific plan for how much work McNabb would receive over the rest of the OTA, which wraps up Thursday, Mornhinweg said McNabb and the coaching staff would "take it day-by-day."*

Great news! Love to hear that McNabb is doing well. For being labeled as "injury prone", McNabb sure does seem to recover well from being hurt.

TE Celek Hurt

Eagles Celek leaves practice
John Nalbone, of the Trenton Times, reports Philadelphia Eagles TE Brent Celek (undisclosed) left practice early Thursday, June 7, because of an undisclosed reason.

Eagles K. Hunt signed
Les Bowen, of the Philadelphia Daily News, reports the Philadelphia Eagles have signed undrafted free-agent TE Kyle Hunt (Southeast Missouri State). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Eagles P. Patterson released
Les Bowen, of the Philadelphia Daily News, reports the Philadelphia Eagles have released QB Perry Patterson. *

Just add Celek to the list of injured tight ends. They are very thing there now. I never even heard of Kyle Hunt, but I guess they need some bodies at this point. The fact that they signed a tight end, also means that Celek's injury could be serious. We'll find out soon enough. Perry Patterson sure lasted long didn't he?

Eagles Continuing Two Gap Technique

Written by Garry Cobb

I'm convinced now that Jim Johnson is a brilliant blitzer but on basic run defense he's below average. After talking to Eagles new defensive tackle Ian Scott, I learned that the Birds are foolishly continuing to play a two gap technique at times against the run.

The two-gap technique is utilized by bigger D-lines like the Patriots and the Cowboys. If a smaller defensive line like the Eagles gets caught sitting at the line of scrimmage and playing two-gap techniques, they will get worn down and lose their effectiveness like their defense did a year ago.

Ian said there was one major difference between what he was asked to do for the Bears and what he'll be asked to do for the Eagles. Scott said, Chicago played a one gap system all the time and asked their DT's to simply get off on the ball, attack, disrupt and get penetration into the backfield. He said the Birds ask for the same most of the time, but some of the time they want them to play a two-gap technique.

Let me break this down for you. On a one-gap technique, each player is asked to control a single gap along the line of scrimmage. A gap is the area in between offensive blockers on the line of scrimmage. Defensive linemen are asked to get off on the ball and get penetration upfield. They don't have to worry about anything other than controlling their particular gap. This technique is ideal for smaller defensive lines which have more speed and quickness than they have size. The Eagles qualify as one of these types of lines.

In a two-gap technique defense, you ask your defensive linemen to control the gaps on each side of their blocker. The defender has to be able to control the blocker then come off to either side of him. This takes a tremendoujs amount of size and strength. You're asking a defensive linemen to take on a 330 pound blocker, then control the opponent and be able to toss him either way before coming off and making a play on the ball.

Notice that Scott said the Bears smallish and speedy defensive line is never asked to play two-gap technique. Remember the Indy game, when the Eagles were asked to play two gap against the Colts. It was embarrassing.

The Bears had a much better run defense and never play two gap techniques. Don't think the Eagles should copy what the Bears are doing.*

I remember when G brought this issue up last year, and I think he has a valid point. These guys are too small to be 2 gappers. Let them do what they do best, rush upfield, be disruptive. Pete Jenkins is a very good defensive line coach, but I do not think he is a good fit for the Eagles defense.

McNabb on WIP

Donovan McNabb was on the morning show on Monday. If you have not heard it yet, here it is [Donovan McNabb on 610 WIP]

He shows a lot of class as usual, and addresses a lot of key issues. McNabb touched on his health, his relationship with the fans, being booed at the draft, his reaction to the Kolb pick, his leadership abilities, the teams wide receivers, Terrible Owens, and even the final minutes of the Superbowl.

I know I'm a few days late with this, but I thought it was important to have available for everybody. If anybody needs a sleep aid, here is the [Andy Reid interview] later in the show.

Bethel Johnson Cut

Eagles B. Johnson cut
Adam Schefter, of the NFL Network, reports Philadelphia Eagles WR Bethel Johnson has been released from the team after failing his physical.*

Well as speculated before, the stress fracture was a bad break for Bethel. You can't earn a roster spot when injured. The news that Jeremy Bloom has looked great, also hurt his case. I'm willing to bet he will get picked up by somebody after some injuries before the season starts.

Eagles sign QB

Former Syracuse QB Patterson signs with Eagles

PHILADELPHIA - Quarterback Perry Patterson, a three-year starter at Syracuse, signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday.

Patterson threw for 1,865 yards and 12 touchdowns last season at Syracuse, Donovan McNabb's alma mater.

McNabb isn't participating in the team's final minicamp , officially called organized team activities , because he's still recovering from surgery for a torn knee ligament. The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback could be ready for the start of training camp.

"He's getting closer. He's just trying to be smart with it and keep the swelling out of there, which he's done a great job with," coach Andy Reid said. "And, he's working like crazy. We're just taking little steps with it and being as cautious as we can and have him still be productive in his return."

Patterson, 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds, gives the Eagles five quarterbacks on the roster, joining A.J. Feeley, Kelly Holcomb and rookie Kevin Kolb.