5/11/2009 08:47:00 AM

(0) Comments

Is It September Yet?

Alex


As I've gotten older and my family has grown, the time I have for sports in general has decreased dramatically. All that's left now, for the most part, is the Eagles. And let me be clear--no matter how old I get, this will never change. My interest could ebb and flow if the team goes into the crapper, but in general, I plan to bleed green for the rest of my life. Nevertheless, the Eagles offseason has been interesting, and I'm excited for the 2009 season.

Philly's famous boo birds are unhappy (aren't they always?) that the team didn't trade for a Pro Bowl WR, but anyone with half a brain should be able to look at the Eagles offseason thus far and see how amazing it's been.

Where to start? Trading for Pro Bowl LT Jason Peters, and then signing him to a long-term extension, is a good place. We know Peters has the talent to dominate, and if he can consistently show the work ethic required, he will be protecting the blind side of Eagles QBs for a long time to come. Shawn Andrews, who missed the entire 2008 campaign, has been moved to RT to replace the injured free-agent John Runyan (who still may end up an Eagle if he's well enough to play). Replacing Shawn and RG is his brother Stacey, who the team signed from Cincinnati. The Birds also signed Seattle FB Leonard Weaver, who is a true FB who can block, run and catch passes out of the backfield.

In other pre-draft moves, Brian Dawkins, Sean Consodine, Tra Thomas, Correll Buckhalter and LJ Smith all signed with new teams, and the team picked up Safety's Sean Jones and Rashad Baker.

Where things got interesting was on draft day. The Eagles came away with one of the top WRs in the draft (Jeremy Maclin), a potential franchise-type back in LeSean McCoy, an athletic pass catching TE in Cornelius Ingram, starting CB Ellis Hobbs via a trade with the Patriots, among other miscellaneous parts.

Put all this together, and I think (along with every expert I've read) that the Eagles had a stupendous offseason. If everyone is and stays healthy, they should be the favorites to win the NFC. Doesn't mean they will, but they should definitely be in the hunt.

And that brings me to my opening question. Is it September yet?