EAGLES NEWS

After a long injury filled training camp the Eagles opened their preseason schedule tonight with a 27-25 loss to Tom Brady and the Patriots, after David Akers missed a 43 yd field goal with a minute to play .Admittedly it wasn't really his fault though, as the backup players blocking for him didn't do a very good job, and forced him to rush the kick. Of course the outcome doesn't really matter when it comes to the preseason, still for a preseason game it was pretty enertaining and there were several positives to take away from it. 2nd round pick Lesean "Shady" Mccoy was impressive with 10 carries for 55 yds and 2 catches for 12 yds. 1st round pick Jeremy Maclin looked primed to be an explosive weapon both in the return game and as a receiver. He had 2 catches for 44 yards, and returned 4 kicks for 100 yards and 2 punts for 21 yards. New starting fullback Leonard Weaver looks likes he'll be a keeper with 2 carries for 8 yards , 1 catch for 10 yards and some very good run blocking. Perhaps the most impressive offensive performer on the night was 4th string running back Eldra Buckley who had 6 catches for 56 yards and 8 rushes for 23 yards. In fact Buckley might even find himself a little higher on the depth chart after that performance, as 3rd string running back Lorenzo Booker did little that was impressive aside from one 25 yard reception. Ultimately the offense appears to be loaded with weapons, and that's without even having a healthy Brian Westbrook, who should be ready for the regular season if nothing else. The only real question for the Eagles offense on the night was the offensive line, but that's no surprise considering, starters Todd Heremans, Stacy Andrews, and Shawn Andrews all sat out with injuries. The only real concern with the line is that Shawn Andrews may not be ready to begin the season, but with Jon Runyan now apparently on the mend and available as a free agent the Eagles could always sign him back if need be. Ultimately, the line was fine run blocking, they just struggled a bit in pass protection, but Stacy and Heremans usually excel in that area so that shouldn't be a problem for long. Okay as for the defense there's not much to talk about. Trent Cole sat out with an injury so they couldn't really get pressure on Brady at all, but Cole is another guy who will be back before the season starts so there's nothing to worry about. Backup Jason Babin was pretty impressive with 3 tackles and a sack, Sheldon Brown had an acrobatic interception early in the game, and rookie CB Victor "Macho" Harris had a tackle and a sack and looks he could be kind of a Brian Dawkins type player in the future. Okay now for the big news. The Eagles have decided to give Micheal Vick. recently cleared to join a team, a 2nd chance at an NFL career, signing him to a 1 year 1.6 million contract with an option for a 2nd year. Obviously the Eagles already have 3 good quarterbacks and they are still Donovan Mcnabb's team, so Vick isn't going to replace anybody. Instead he'll mostly lineup in Wildcat formations and run the ball on trick plays 4 or 5 times a game. He won't be able to do so until November as he isn't permitted to participate in any games until then. Ultimately he is just another weapon for an offense that was already loaded with them. I will say I am excited to see what he will be able do for us and I believe he has served his time and everyone deserves a second chance. I don't pretend to know or understand what happened with those dogs or how much Vick knew about it and I won't say what he did was right. I tend look at it as just another example of young man with a lot of money getting involved with the wrong kind of people who were really more interested in his money than in him and that much at least was not totally his fault. Also a lot of very respectful people, particularly Tony Dungy have said that Vick has cleaned up and is ready to start to over again so I hope for the Eagles' sake Dungy knows what he is talking about.