As the Phillies limp home, just the facts here.

There are 30 teams in the major leagues. On those 30 teams, there are 43 players who have played in at least 150 games so far this season. The typical team has one, maybe two. The Phillies have six: Ryan Howard (155), Pedro Feliz (153), Jayson Werth (153), Chase Utley (152), Jimmy Rollins (151) and Shane Victorino (150).

Now, look at it since the All-Star break. Fifteen players in the whole entire major leagues have played at least 68 games since the break. Five of them -- one-third -- come from a single team, the Phillies: Rollins, Howard, Werth, Feliz and Utley.

They look tired. They are tired. They need to get this thing settled quickly. They need the time, physically and also mentally.

Just the facts.

Cunningham

In January of 2003, the Eagles and Falcons played a playoff game. It was Donovan McNabb vs. Michael Vick. It really doesn't seem like that long ago.

In September of 1986, Eagles coach Buddy Ryan installed Randall Cunningham as his third-down specialist. It was an abomination in many ways -- not the least of which was the 104 sacks the team allowed that season, more than 70 by Cunningham himself, who only played about a third of the time. But the Ryan theory was that he had this great, raw, physical talent who a) wasn't ready to start in the NFL but who b) needed some incentive to keep his head in the playbook every week while learning as a backup. He came up with this scheme, literally a shotgun marriage between a player and a sport. And Cunningham ran around and made a hash of it all, but also was prepared to start the next season. The season after that, they were in the playoffs, and the Fog Bowl, and all the rest. And, no, it really doesn't seem like that long ago.

Anyway, Cunningham is coming back this weekend to be honored by the franchise and Vick is coming back to the NFL after 2 seasons of incarceration and McNabb might or might not be coming back from a broken rib (probably not). Back in 2003, I called up Randall and reminisced a little and talked about how it was his experience that helped to birth McNabb and Vick and the rest of the big, mobile quarterbacks who followed.

For whatever it's worth, here's the column. It talks about a lot of the same things we are talking about today:

It is McNabb vs. Vick, Vick vs. McNabb, all the talk, all the time, all the way until Saturday night and probably beyond. And on the telephone, the guy who birthed both of them - the player who opened all of our eyes to all of the breathtaking possibilities that Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick now offer as routine - said he understands the fixation.

"You have to realize that they just bring so much excitement to the game," Randall Cunningham was saying. "I mean, I love watching those guys play. Everybody does. They are what the NFL is turning to now. They're excitement.

"Dan Marino isn't in the league anymore. There's no John Elway, no Jim Kelly, no Troy Aikman, no Steve Young. They're the next wave of quarterbacks. It's a league looking for guys who can stand out and give excitement - and these are the guys who the NFL has turned to.

"That's what they bring: excitement. It's not stats, either. It's winning. It's excitement."

His home now is Las Vegas, but Cunningham seemed happy to be hearing from somebody in Philadelphia, especially this week. Because however you want to chart this thing, there is no escaping the fact that McNabb and Vick are Cunningham's direct descendants.

In 1985, Randall arrived in Philadelphia with Jeri curls on his head and jets in his shoes, and the NFL has never been the same. And if Cunningham was a much rougher product than either McNabb or Vick - more of a pure runner, less accomplished as a passer (especially early in his career), much less polished overall - the reality is that when people saw him play, he owned their eyes forever.

More than once, McNabb has paid tribute to the example Cunningham set. Vick has been quoted as saying that Cunningham and Young were his two football idols growing up. They are where they are, in part, because Cunningham was there first.

And now he watches them from afar, just like the rest of us, with his mouth open.

"Of the two of them, Donovan reminds me more of me," said Cunningham, who retired last summer at 39. "But that's later in my career; it changed over the course of my career. Early on, I was more like Vick. I didn't throw it as much, I just had a lot of fun. I look at Vick and I can just see the fun he's having. Yes, he's serious, but he's having fun. That's what really reminds me of me.

"But if you look around the league, the guy who really reminds me of me is Aaron Brooks (of the New Orleans Saints). He's tall, lanky. I see him and it's scary how much he looks like me. I put all three of them together - Brooks, Vick and Donovan. They're the future."

Vick, McNabb and Cunningham all shared the ability to salvage a dead play with their legs - to breathe life into something that had no business living, to steal the breath of the paying customers at the same time. But there were differences, too - some more subtle than others.

Vick and McNabb seem to be better students of the science of pocket passing and have had better coaching as young NFL players than Cunningham did. So there's that. There's also their style of running. Cunningham was this great, elegant, long-strider. Vick is quicksilver, a whippet, just so fast. McNabb is more of a runaway truck, a really imposing figure after about the second stride.

"Vick? He's shorter than me, so he looks faster - I'm kidding," Cunningham said. "Without a doubt, Vick is faster than I was. He'd easily beat me by a step, it isn't close. He's definitely faster. I was about the same as Donovan.

"When I ran, I jumped, I leaped. Vick doesn't seem to do nearly as much of that. I was a high jumper in high school, so I did that kind of thing. And I didn't care, I didn't try to protect my body. These guys are smarter than I was.

"When you look at the three of us," he said, "I was a gazelle. Donovan is a
cheetah. And Vick, that dude, he's a panther, man."

Cunningham says he likes the Eagles on Saturday against the Falcons because that's what his heart and his loyalties tell him. Other than that, he really wasn't doing much predicting. And when it came to trying to draw the lines into the future - to wonder who might end up having the better career, McNabb or Vick - Cunningham really wasn't into guessing.

"This league is built on what-have-you-done-for-me-lately," he said. "I mean, I stunk when I first started. I stunk for the first couple of years. Then I was good, then I got hurt. Then I was good again, then I got hurt again. Then I was better, then I got benched, then. . .

"Things happen. Careers in the NFL are up and down. The ones who are consistent have the best careers. But the thing about Donovan and Vick is, people are going to expect a lot."

Vick is faster than McNabb. McNabb is savvier than Vick. Vick is healthier
than McNabb. McNabb plays on a more complete team than Vick.

Vick. McNabb.

McNabb. Vick.

They never will be on the field at the same time Saturday night but, still, they will never be out of anyone's sight. And somewhere in Las Vegas, Randall Cunningham will be watching.

"I don't know how to say it," he said. "I'm not their father; I don't feel that way. But I guess I'm part of their development. I guess I helped allow them to be in a position where they could make it."

Join Rich Hofmann for a live Eagles chat Monday at 1:30.

The conclusion might be this after Saints 48, Eagles 22 at Lincoln Financial Field:

That the future offers some promise.

That the problem is the present.

Because on the day of Kevin Kolb's first start as the Eagles' quarterback, he did things that no one predicted. I thought he would be functional, which made the one of the town's optimists. I did not imagine that he would throw for nearly 391 yards and two touchdowns and look very much like a guy who has the skills upon which a successful pro career can be built. (I did, though, imagine he might throw three interceptions, one of which was returned 97 yards for a touchdown by the Saints' Darren Sharper. That play, with 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter, colors things unfortunately. The last pick came on the game's final, dying play.)

But also, on the same day, special teams were a penalty-filled disaster and the defense, frankly, got shredded by Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Forty-eight points is the most ever allowed by an Andy Reid team at home. It did not matter how good or not good Kolb was -- and he was decent, not great. A week after suffocating the Carolina Panthers, the defense was neutered by the Saints. The Eagles dared not blitz Brees nearly as much as they blitzed Jake Delhomme & Co. the previous week, and it cost them. Brees had enough time and he used it well. The whole thing raises the same questions that have existed with this defense for years. Specifically, can they get enough pressure without blitzing?

As it turns out, you look at the two games so far and add them together and come to the conclusion that we still don't know anything about this Eagles team.

And then, at the end, ominous news: Brian Westbrook left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. No word yet on its severity. He hasn't appeared to have much burst in the first two games, and now this.

The present. That is the issue.

The question to DeSean Jackson on Wednesday afternoon was simple enough: compare the balls thrown by Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb. The answer was as you might expect.

"It's a little different," Jackson said. "Donovan has a lot of velocity on his football. Kolb throws a great ball, too, but sometimes it's just a little bit easier. Wide receivers, we can't get caught up in that. We just have to go out there and catch the football."

Jackson, the NFC's special teams player of the week after his 85-yard punt return touchdown on Sunday at Carolina, was asked to do the compare and contrast thing a number of times between McNabb and Kolb, and he did his best to avoid the questions. McNabb is unlikely to play Sunday because of a broken rib, although the Eagles have not ruled him out. In his absence, Kolb will get his first start as a pro.

McNabb has a super-strong arm -- to the point where receivers over the years have sometimes struggled with the velocity of some of his throws. Kolb's arm is not as strong but is viewed by most people as strong enough. You would think there would be some adjustment for the receivers, but Jackson really didn't want to go there. He just wanted to do platitudes, and to talk about the win last week.

"The biggest thing was, we were able to go into somebody else's home field and play together as a team," he said. "Anytime it happens like that, it's a tremendous thing to have. We just have to come home in front of our crowd, with the fans going crazy, and it should be fun. It's something we're looking for."

Regardless of the quarterback?

"As a receiver, as an offense, we can't sit there and get caught up with that," Jackson said. "At the end of the day, we still have a job to do, and that's to go out there and put points up on the board, score, and just play together as an offense. It shouldn't change anything we do."

The melancholy tone of the posts on Shawn Andrews' Twitter account has been building for days, even since he was unable to practice with a back injury. It has built, sadly, to this day -- the day when Andrews was placed on injured reserve by the Eagles, ending his season and maybe his career with the team.

Yet, in a series of posts Tuesday afternoon, Andrews continued to display great respect and affection for Eagles coach Andy Reid.

Three posts:

I know u dont twit, but I wanna that the Andy Reid for trusting in me, and assisting me w/ my debacles along the way.

It's funny how u never know who may help you along he way... Dang near looked @ him sorta like a father I never had.. Will never forget you

BIG RED.. I love you man

Andrews has always been such an open book with people, and this is no different. He hasn't done any media interviews yet, but he Twitters incessantly about all kinds of things, about where he eats dinner and going to the movies and whatnot. But the posts since he reinjured his back have had this really sad portent to them for days now.

Here are some of the entries since last week. You will remember that it was on Thursday that Andrews suddenly stopped practicing after returning to the field:

FRIDAY

I have 4 pretty darn good tickets for the game Sunday... FOR FREE....

Well this frustrating day is coming to a close all that note "yawl" have a blessed night. If u believe throw up a prayer for ya boy..

SATURDAY

Morning Twitter.. Heading in early tryna get this body right... Have a blessed day all

SUNDAY

Well thanks.. I'm good either way it turns, but tis disheartening.

I  won't.. You are very right.... What I wouldn't give to play w/ my bro. So close but yet so far...

Just laying low.. Tryna get this body right...

Its tough for ya boy right now.....

MONDAY

Hate friggin MRI machines... Sorta like being buried alive.. Sheesh

It is said that pain is weakness leaving the body, but what is it called if the pain doesn't leave???? Sheesh

Well time to get my sanford and Shawn on, I mean Sanford & Son.. G'nite yawl be blessed. If u pray! Pray for ya boy I will do the same. ;)

TUESDAY:

Morning yawl.. Carpe Diem.. Max out your day be blessed

I guess it's not. They will get over it, but I am the one who has the lifetime of pain, but this is the life I chose

Doing evrything I can to get back healthy

I will.. I am working, and praying, and working, and praying. Lord willing this is not the end..

Yeah man thanks. Some people will never understand.. I hope the negative people never go through what I am...

Man, I am blessed. I wont complain. I'm sorta in my feelings right now cause me & bro. talked up playing together for YEARS...

Thanks man. I am catching sooooo much flak, but hey GOD has my back (literally).. I can't even bend over to play w/ my son right

Yo bro.I wanna say thanks. This is not easy man.. When I can't interact w/ my son like I normally do, and people question me

People can't be that pissed because my back is messed up right now. I'm the one in pain.. Momma said there'd be days like this

I am going thru it right now, but GOD didnt bring me this far to leave me.

There is more, but you get the point.

The detractors are everywhere, and you wouldn't be human if you didn't wonder. But it is a back injury and they are notorious. There is really very little to do, after you have read those words, but feel the sadness for a football career in peril and a football player in pain.

Nothing is certain when it comes to ballplayers and bad backs. Nothing is certain, either, with a football franchise that throws emotional haymakers on the hour, it seems. But you really have to wonder if this is it for Shawn Andrews.

The news that the Eagles have placed Andrews on injured reserve, ending his season, in order to make room on the roster for newly-arrived quarterback Jeff Garcia is nothing short of stunning. This is a team that is carrying seven wide receivers for some unknown reason, yet it gives up on Andrews for the 2009 season. It is just breathtaking.

When you think about the career Andrews should have had, you cannot help but shake your head at the misfortune, at the depression, at the back injury, at the rest of it. It is all tied together, this uniquely free-spirited player and this uniquely awful set of mishaps. But it leaves us here today, wondering.

Are the Eagles done with him? Has there been some new medical revelation? Has the fine play of Winston Justice in the first game of the season accelerated a move that was probably coming anyway? And what of the future?

No one knows. At the same time, none of us would be surprised, not now, if we never see Shawn Andrews in an Eagles jersey again. Football is the cruelest game that way. You have two choices in the NFL: get up or get out of the way, lest the whole gargantuan train run you over. Everybody who plays in the NFL learns very quickly that nobody stops the train -- and certainly not somebody with a bad back.

Again, his downfall has been stunning. And with the Eagles, in this season of tumult, we can only wonder what the news might be tomorrow.

If you can be euphoric while holding your breath, that is what the Eagles are here in Charlotte. They arrived for the 2009 season as if shot out of a cannon, and then they were forced to endure the sight of their quarterback, Donovan McNabb, being knocked out of the game with a broken rib. His status for next week is uncertain.

The final score -- Eagles 38, Panthers 10 -- told a lot of the story, the story of a carnivorous defense that forced seven turnovers overall (five interceptions and two fumble recoveries). In his first game calling the plays, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott dialed up an impressive array of blitzes and coverages that totally flummoxed the eminently-flumoxable Jake Delhomme. The heat on Delhomme and his successors, Josh McCown and later Matt Moore, was constant.

Meanwhile, on offense, right tackle Winston Justice more than passed his first test at right tackle, and the line as a whole -- which we fretted about all summer because of injuries and lack of practice time together -- did a great job. It looked as if they had been playing together forever.

But then came the McNabb injury, with 6:59 left in the third quarter. He bulled his way into the endzone backward for a touchdown, got hit late in the end zone after he had fallen, and then writhed around on the turf in agony. We do not know when the injury occurred -- on the initial hit when he was upright, or later. All we know is that he walked off of the field, went inside for evaluation, came back out to sit on the bench and then went inside again. He looked terribly uncomfortable when he returned, as if it hurt to breathe, but we do not know anything yet about the severity of the injury or the prospects for next week and beyond. All we know for sure is that it's broken, and that Kevin Kolb finished up the game.

This team should be on an incredible high right now, but it cannot be, not until we find out more about the quarterback.

Now that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that Michael Vick will become a real, live member of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 of the regular season, the next question rises quickly:

What about AJ Feeley?

You can argue this a hundred different ways -- OK, maybe three different ways -- but it seems to me that this should be the progression: trade Feeley now, not Kevin Kolb, and then either trade Vick at the end of the season or make him your starter in 2010.

Exactly what the Eagles think of Kolb -- really, really think in their hearts -- remains a mystery. The acquisition of Vick does not necessarily mean they don't like him. The Eagles are value players, and Andy Reid loves the gadgetry, and Reid and Lurie and Joe Banner are all on this redemption kick, and it all adds up like this: they got Vick for nothing, he has the potential to be a special weapon, he gives them a feeling that they are doing some social good, and they can turn around after the season and trade him for a pretty good asset if they can get his feet back under him first. In all, that's the way I have seen this from the beginning.

In the meantime, then, you are left with the question: trade Feeley or trade Kolb -- which they not can do and go thin at QB for two weeks, until Vick is activated. I would trade Feeley because there probably is more of a market for Feeley right now. Anybody trading for a quarterback in the first week of September is looking for a veteran, known quantity. That isn't Kolb, it's Feeley. That doesn't mean Kolb can't play. It just means that the only really valid opinion right now in the whole NFL belongs to the Eagles' coaching staff. There isn't any way for anybody else to know about Kolb, either way.

So that should be the progression: trade Feeley, do the Vick thing this year, and then either flip him for a package of draft choices or make him the 2010 starter.  If your intent is to maximize the value of this crazy summer, that's what you do.