email this
print thisSAVE AND SHARE
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
3 Questions for Camp
Here are three questions that need answers as the Eagles begin preparing for the Sept. 7 season opener against the St. Louis Rams at Lincoln Financial Field.
Is three a crowd?
On paper, Asante Samuel, Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown look like one of the best cornerback trios in the NFL. It remains to be seen, however, if it can work and how it will work.All we know is that Samuel, who signed a six-year, $57.14 million free-agent deal, is the starting left cornerback. We don't know whether Sheppard or Brown will be the starter at right cornerback, but that answer should come when the team puts on the pads and starts hitting for the first time Saturday.
Whoever isn't starting at right cornerback likely won't be all that thrilled with the situation, but Brown said he thinks the combination can work for a season.
Can Brian Dawkins rebound?
The Eagles feel as though their starting free safety already has the resumé to get him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but it's unknown whether he can bounce back from the least productive season of his career.Dawkins, after intense off-season training that included working last week with McNabb in Arizona, insists that his 12th NFL season will be a good one. If it means anything, Dawkins had three straight outstanding seasons from 2004 to 2006 after missing a career-high nine games with a severe foot injury in 2003.
Are the wide receivers good enough?
The annual cry for the Eagles to upgrade at wide receiver didn't go entirely unanswered because the team drafted DeSean Jackson. Still, Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown remain the top two receivers.Curtis, in his first season with the Eagles, caught 77 passes for 1,110 yards and six touchdowns, a good year by any standard. Brown, on the other hand, caught 61 passes for 780 yards and four touchdowns, which wasn't the breakout season he was hoping for.
Neither Brown nor Curtis went to Arizona to work with McNabb last week. McNabb, on his yardbarker.com blog, said he was joined by tight end L.J. Smith, receivers Jason Avant and Hank Baskett, and running back Lorenzo Booker.
A new football season begins today, and the Eagles' goal, like every other NFL team, is for it to end successfully on the first Sunday in February with a game at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium. Westbrook thinks it's a realistic goal. We begin to find out now.
-Bob Brookover
