Eagles Chat: Ready for the Packers?

Hi folks. Welcome to Week 1. Sorry I'm a little late.

How much will Donovon scramble this year? We need first downs. I am not suggesting those forty-five yard runs he used to put up. Just enough scrambling to get "FIRST DOWNS."

Interesting question that really wasn't answered in the preseason. The Packers have a good rushing defense, so we'll probably find out Sunday if he can still get out of the pocket and take off. It's also interesting that two of McNabb's three rushing TDs last season came against the Pack.

When will Kolb get the call over McNabb?

DSink, if you're in a hurry to see that, you must not think the Eagles have much of a chance this season. If Kolb replaces McNabb at any point this season, it's probably going to spell disaster for the Eagles. McNabb will remain the QB as long as he's productive and the team is winning. If it goes terribly wrong, Kolb will get a chance.

How concerned are the Eagles and Akers about the snap/hold problems? I don't want to be on the wrong side of another Tony Romo debacle.

Hi Mike, good to have you back. I don't know how concerned the Eagles are about it, but it was definitely a problem in the preseason. I'd be more concerned with the snaps than the holds. Eagles fans were spoiled with the ultra-accurate Mike Bartrum for all those years. From what I've seen from Jon Dorenbos, he isn't in that same class of long snapper.

Should we be concerned about who is holding for David Akers? I consider him to be a real weapon but he relies a lot on the holder and we botched a few in preseason.

I obviously just answered that question, but I agree Tom that Akers is a real weapon. I actually think Sav will be fine as the holder. One of the things Dirk Johnson told me before he was cut was that the K ball that slipped out of Tony Romo's hands in Dallas' playoff game last year isn't nearly as slick this season.

Living in wisconsin puts this green bird in an interesting position. Over the past few years it seems like the eagles and packers have played at least once every year. The eagles have been dominate, from blow outs to 4th and 26. What will this year bring for the sprouting rivalry?

Sorry you have to live in Wisconsin, Kevin. Nice place to visit as long as it's not winter. Sunday's game is an interesting one because the Packers feel like they're improving team and the Eagles feel as though they are still a Super Bowl contender. A win by the Packers would go a long way toward validating their opinion. A loss by the Eagles would leave the team answering a lot of questions during a long week before playing Washington.

Do you think Andy Reid will take full advantage of Brian Westbrook, running him similarly to last year after Donovan went down, or will he be back in the 12-16 carries per game situation?

I think the bigger question with Westbrook is, how many touches does he get Sunday? I think to use him right, he needs to get about 20 touches per game and, to me, it should be about 15 carries and five receptions. But the game also dictates those kinds of things. The Eagles need their defense to play well, so the Eagles can establish a running game.

Is Jim Johnson giving the bleakest view possible by saying the "D is a work in progress"? Couldn't Trotter have helped to better define this work? At LEAST through his leadership? I worry that the D will be as porous as last year and wear our secondary down early. Thoughts?

Matt, I actually think he's giving a realistic view. To say anything else would be a lie. This defense has an entirely new linebacking corps, a new starting defensive tackle and a veteran at defensive end coming off major knee surgery. That, in itself, makes it questionable and a work in progress. I don't know if Trotter could have helped as a leader if he wasn't playing a lot. I remember Hugh Douglas when he returned, he helped keep guys loose, but he wasn't really a leader. Trotter wasn't that kind of personality.

The NFC is wide open judging by the poor performance of N.O. last night at Indy. Is the AFC really that good, or was/is N.O. overrated?

The shocking thing to me about the Saints-Colts game was that New Orleans didn't score an offensive touchdown. I still think the Saints will have a good season, but unlike a lot of people I don't see them as being a Super Bowl team. The AFC, with New England, San Diego and the Colts, is definitely the superior conference.

Comment on the Freak, and his health and impact this season.

Based on the preseason, I'm not sure what to expect from Kearse. He was off to the best start of his Eagles career last season, but I think it's probably expecting too much for him to come back at that same level. The one thing I do think is that the Eagles have good depth at defensive end. I'm not sure that Juqua Thomas isn't at least as good if not better than Kearse right now and I was impressed by Victor Abiamiri in the preseason.

Have the Eagles ever looked good in preseason? The running game has never really clicked, yet they've always had individual performers who could make something out of nothing. The exception is the Defense. When the "D" was good, it was noticeably good all the time. This is what has me concerned about this Eagles team. There is nothing noticeably good about it. Hopefully, we'll get enough great individual performances to make up for be a mediocre team.

I was talking to Marty Mornhinweg about this yesterday. You can't tell anything about the offense or defense from the preseason, especially the way the Eagles do things. Brian Westbrook averaged 2.2 yards per carry in the preseason. That's not him. McNabb threw 20 passes. He might throw 20 in the first half Sunday. Andrews and L.J. Smith never played. The defense looked bad at times against Pittsburgh, but also forced two turnovers. I guess what I'm trying to say is start paying attention now because this is when we get the answers we've been looking for.

What kind of year do you see for Reggie Brown? Is it time for him to break out?

Cool screen name. I think Reggie and Kevin Curtis are going to be a fine receiving combination. I wouldn't be shocked if Brown had 1,000 receiving yards and double-digit TDs.

Fire Andy Reid -- Bring back Buddy Ryan.

Ksmags, you must still be hung over from celebrating all those Buddy Ryan playoff victories with the Eagles.

I heard some idiot ESPN radio personality predict the Cowboys would go undefeated this year. What's your thoughts on that?

I didn't hear that, Tom, but if true I think the ESPN guy was probably hanging out with Ksmags.

Will this be the year the Eagles actually commit to the run when McNabb is behind center? You would think with a bum knee Reid would want to take some of the pressure away from #5.

Jay, the Eagles are still going to pass more than they run because that's the nature of their offense. The key is to be able to run when they have a lead late in games, which they haven't always been able to do in the past. I think, with Tony Hunt and three healthy backs, they are better equipped to do that now than they have been since 2002 when they were a very good running team. By the way, Marty Mornhinweg is still calling the plays, so it's up to him.

After the "tear-jerking" comment a few weeks ago what is your opinion of Andrews health? DO you think it was just a joke? Should we expect to see him performing at 100% this sunday?

Sarah, I watched Andrews practice yesterday and he looked all right to me. I don't know what the tear-jerking thing was all about. He might have been media jerking. All I know is he's playing Sunday.

Do you think that Considine and Gocong will be on a short leash, or if they play bad, will we have to wait half of the season for them to be replaced like Simoneau in the super bowl year?

I don't know if they'll be on a short leash, but they'll have to produce. Jim Johnson has shown his willingness to make changes in the past, but it usually happens after about seven or eight games. (See Michael Lewis last year, Nate Wayne in 2004).

Should the Eagles have gone out and gotten a veteran SAM linebacker as as Gocong's back-up just in case he struggles?

The Eagles are really young at the linebacker position, but I know Johnson has a lot of confidence in Gocong. I like the kid's quickness and I actually think he's going to make some big plays for them.

Will Andy run the ball this year or go back to being a passaholic?

I repeat, Marty Mornhinweg is calling the plays. As I said before, the Eagles are still going to pass more than they run, but not as much as two years ago when it was about 65-35. I think it'll be about 60-40 or 55-45, depending on the circumstances of the game.

With the Eagles "D" having the question marks that it does, do Andy & Marty run the ball more than usual to keep the "D" off the field, or stick to their normal plan of attack, depriving the young guys of valuable in game experience?

So much angst about the running game. I don't think the Eagles ever game-plan on offense or defense thinking about their own offense or defense. They game-plan by looking at the best way to attack the opposing defense. If that means run, they'll run. If that means pass, they'll pass.

I think I'm all caught up. Any more questions? All right then, have a great week everybody and enjoy Sunday's game. We'll talk about the results next week.