Join me for a live chat during Sunday's Eagles-Raiders game. We'll have updates and instant commentary on the action.

To quote the great George Costanza after he ate the mango, "I'm back, baby!"

Some of you have e-mailed or commented, asking why MTC was missing from the Eagles page on the new philly.com/sports redesign. No MTC promo, coupled with the fact that I wrote less this week than usual, led a couple of you to ask if the blog was done.

The answer is no. We will be around from now until eternity. The truth is that we didn't know how to properly feature three blogs on the Eagles page, since we only have two on most of the other sections. So we launched the new site with just Eagletarian and Birds' Eye View there.

But now we're back on the Eagles page right next to them.

I apologize for not writing as much this week. My day job is to manage the sports content on philly.com so I was swamped getting the new site ready (plus that whole NLCS thing). We're excited about our new look and have some big things planned.

I'm anxious to hear what you think. What do you like? What don't you like? And so on.

But anyway, it's time for our weekly look at who's picking the Eagles against the Raiders (hint: everybody). We'll also sprinkle in some other links. My picks will come Sunday morning. And we'll live chat the Raiders game Sunday at 4.

All eight espn.com experts like the Birds.

Accuscore, one of our new features, predicts a 26.7 to 12.5 Eagles win.

The Daily News' Les Bowen goes with the Eagles, 30-9.

SI.com's Peter King has the Birds in a 35-10 win:

A buddy of mine Tweeted this week and asked if there was any hope for his Raiders. Told him I'd get back to him. Still haven't. I don't know what to say. What's the stage beyond pathetic? The body language of JaMarcus Russell last week at Giants Stadium said to me, I wish I was anywhere but here.

SI.com's Don Banks has the Eagles seventh in his power rankings:

With their next two games at Oakland and at Washington, look for the Eagles to keep right on rolling and maybe do their part to get the Raiders' Tom Cable and the Redskins' Jim Zorn canned by midseason. Other than in the second half of a home loss to the Saints in Week 2, no one has remotely stopped Philadelphia's offense yet.

ESPN.com also has the Eagles seventh in its power rankings.

ESPN.com's Bill Simmons has the Eagles covering the 14.5-point spread:

A textbook "They Can't Make This Line High Enough" game. I wouldn't have blinked at 24. By the way, the Michael Vick cameos have been even more awkward than when they tried to work Shannen Doherty and Tori Spelling into the "90210" remake. Hold on, we promised them they could have three scenes. It's so hard to get back into game shape after being in the joint. It just is. Remember how bad the food and sleeping conditions were in college? Quintuple it. And add a hard bed and showering with other dudes. Yeah.

All six FoxSports.com experts have the Eagles winning.

FoxSports.com has the Eagles fourth in its power rankings.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com goes with the Birds, 38-14:

How low can the Raiders go? Just watch. They can't score on anybody and they can't stop anybody. Now they get an Eagles offense that is getting into a groove. JaMarcus Russell's head will be spinning trying to figure out all those Eagles blitzes. This one will hurt Raiders fans worse than getting pushed out of chair by Tom Cable.

Prisco has the Eagles seventh in his power rankings:

They will score a lot, so the key for them will be that defense. It seems to be getting better, but some of the offenses they've played are dreadful.

Pro Football Talk has the Eagles in a 41-10 win:

The Eagles have been firing on all cylinders, and the Raiders are like a yard-sale lawnmower with a loose spark plug. This one will be ugly on the field, and the stuff coming from the stands at the Black Hole could be even uglier.

Matt Bowen of the National Football Post goes with the Eagles in a 34-9 win:

Donovan McNabb has enough playmakers on offense to have his choice of options every time he drops back to pass, and I don’t expect that to change out in Oakland. The defensive line for the Raiders was keeping them in games, but after last week in New York, they present just another issue for a team that can’t put together a complete game. JaMarcus Russell will be pressured early and McNabb could see some rest in the second half. I am taking Philly to roll.

Unlike previous weeks, it was the defense that hurt the Eagles in terms of penatlies against the Bucs.

The 'D' had been charged with just three penalties for 26 yards in the first three games. But Sunday against the Bucs, they had six penalties for 76 yards.

Overall the Birds had 10 for 111, two on offense and two on special teams.

Here's the breakdown on the season:

Number of penalties

DeSean Jackson - 3
Stacy Andrews - 3
Jason Peters - 2
Nick Cole - 2
Sean Jones - 2
Juqua Parker - 1
Quintin Demps - 1
Chris Clemons - 1
Joselio Hanson - 1
Leonard Weaver – 1
Jason Avant – 1
Tracy White – 1
Macho Harris – 1
Trent Cole - 1
Darren Howard - 1
Moise Fokou - 1
Eldra Buckley – 1
Dimitri Patterson - 1
Asante Samuel – 1
Chris Gocong – 1
Victor Abiamiri - 1

Note: The Eagles' defense was called for an offsides in Week 1 (officially 6 yards), but it was not attributed to any one player. Also, penalties that were declined were not included in the breakdown.

Penalty yards

D. Jackson – 30
Gocong - 24
Parker - 15
Demps – 15
Avant - 15
Harris – 15
Andrews – 15
Samuel - 15
Jones - 15
Abiamiri -12
Clemons - 11
Peters - 10
Fokou - 10
Cole - 10
White - 6
Hanson - 5
Howard – 5
D. Patterson - 5
Buckley – 5
T. Cole - 5
Weaver - 3

By unit

Offense – 10 for 65
Defense – 9 for 102
Special teams – 10 for 85

View gallery

We did the offense earlier this week, and now the defense. A player-by-player look at how Sean McDermott's unit performed against the Bucs.

Of note -- by my count, Moises Fokou was the only active defensive player to not see the field during the first half.

Victor Abiamiri – He was called for a 15-yard penalty for a blow to the head on Josh Johnson in the third quarter. Overall, a quiet game from Abiamiri. He picked up a sack in the fourth quarter and could have been credited with half a sack on the next play. 

Juqua Parker- He did a great job disrupting a Bucs option attempt on third down during their first drive. Parker missed a tackle on a 28-yard Derrick Ward run at the end of the second quarter.

Mike Patterson – He got good pressure on the first play of the game to force Johnson to move out of the pocket. Patterson also stuffed Cadillac Williams for a short gain in third quarter.

Broderick Bunkley – Great first half for Bunkley. He was all over the place, stuffing Williams for a loss in the first quarter and dropping him for a 2-yard loss in the second. Bunkley tackled Ward for a loss on 2nd-and-1 in the second quarter.

Antonio Dixon – The coaching staff chose to make him active over Trevor Laws and Dixon was on the field quite a bit. Primarily used as a run-stuffer, he replaced Bunkley in the first quarter and replaced Patterson later in the game.

Trent Cole – His eight tackles led the Eagles as Cole continues to show week after week that he is a well-rounded defensive end. He got good pressure on Johnson during a third-down play in the first quarter and slammed Johnson for a loss on an option play in the second. He picked up a sack t the end of the second quarter and could have had another that was negated by a penalty. On the downside, he was offsides on a 3rd-and-5 in the second quarter to give the Bucs a first down.

Darren Howard – He got good pressure on Johnson to force an incompletion in the third quarter. Despite being one of the Eagles' most effective pass rushers, Howard came untouched in the third quarter to pressure Johnson and force an incompletion. Credit McDermott on that one.

Jeremiah Trotter – The Axe Man returned to the field and was in at middle linebacker on the first play of the game, and had to drop back into coverage. Trotter replaced Omar Gaither at various times on first down and in short yardage. Trotter came on a blitz on the Bucs' third drive, but couldn't get any pressure on Johnson. He took a stiff arm from Cadillac Williams and was unable to make the tackle on a play later in the game. Three tackles overall.

Omar Gaither – He came in on the game’s second play and did a nice job stopping Williams on a 2-yard run. Gaither stuffed Williams for a 3-yard loss later in the quarter and stopped Ward on a third down. In coverage, he deflected a pass and almost came up with a pick in the third.

Chris Gocong – He came untouched on a blitz off the right end to tally his first sack of the season in the first quarter. Gocong was called for pass interference trying to keep up with Kellen Winslow in the third. He missed a tackle after getting beat by Winslow in the fourth.

Akeem Jordan - Another solid outing from Jordan. One of the Eagles' most consistent defensive players through the first four games. He brought good pressure as a blitzer off the edge in the first quarter, forcing a Johnson incompletion. Jordan did a good job blowing up a blocker and dropping Ward for a loss. He twice deflected Johnson passes as a blitzer.

Tracy White – For the second game in a row, he saw action in the nickel package. White came up the middle on blitzes on a pair of plays in the second quarter, getting good pressure on Johnson.

Sheldon Brown – He got beat deep by Michael Clayton on the game’s first play, but Johnson couldn't connect.  Brown contributed to a Clayton drop with a big hit on a third down in the first quarter. It looked like Antonio Bryant might have been his responsibility on 31-yard reception in the second quarter, but it's tough to tell from TV. It also could have been misread by Macho Harris. Came up with his third interception of the season.

Asante Samuel - He broke up a pass intended for Bryant in the second quarter. Samuel was called for 15-yard face mask trying to bring down Ward on a big gain in the second. Two interceptions give him three on the season.

Ellis Hobbs – He replaced Brown during a drive in the second quarter and nailed tight end Jerramy Stevens to force an incompletion. However, Hobbs injured himself in the process.

Joselio Hanson – He was matched up with Winslow in the fourth quarter and got beat inside on a 14-yard gain.

Dimitri Patterson – I was surprised to see him in the game, but Patterson came in twice as a blitzer in the first half. The first time, he was flagged for being offsides. A little anxious, perhaps?

Macho Harris - Not a good day for Macho. A 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty in the second quarter negated a Cole sack and kept the defense on the field. It looked like he played a role on a 31-yard pass to Bryant in the second quarter. And Harris was beat by Winslow for a 24-yard gain over the middle in the second quarter and again on the 9-yard touchdown in second.

Sean Jones -  He came in as a blitzer on at least three occasions. Jones actually got good pressure up the middle on Johnson to help cause the second Samuel interception.

Quintin Mikell - Pretty quiet day for Mikell. He made a good tackle on Winslow to stop him short of a first down in the third quarter and force a Bucs punt. He was beat inside by Winslow on the 9-yard touchdown in fourth quarter.

The Eagles made have made Kevin Curtis available for trade, according to one report. (File photo)

Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post wrote Monday that Kevin Curtis would be "available for trade" this week.

But Lombardi said he doubted anyone would make an offer.

Curtis has missed the Eagles' last two games with a knee injury, and after Jeremy Maclin's performance against the Bucs, it's reasonable to wonder if he has a role with the Birds going forward.

He had two catches for 26 yards in Week 1 against the Panthers and three for 44 yards against the Saints.

The NFL's trade deadline is Oct. 20.

Curtis had 77 catches for 1,110 yards and six touchdowns in his first year here in 2007. However, last year he appeared in just nine games, finishing with 33 catches for 390 yards. Curtis turned 31 in July.

Meanwhile, commissioner Roger Goodell commented today on the possibility of Rush Limbaugh buying the Rams, specifically referencing Limbaugh's comments about Donovan McNabb.

"The views of a lot of people, most importantly our players, and I've talked to players so I understand the issue of the players and the comments that Rush made specifically about Donovan, I disagree with very strongly," he said on NFL Network. "And it's polarizing comments that we don't think reflect accurately on the NFL or our players. And I obviously do not believe that those comments are positive and they're divisive, and that's a negative thing for us. But I disagree with those comments very strongly, and I've told the players that."

Much more coming Wednesday, including Man Up on the defense and our penalty tracker.

Our weekly player-by-player breakdown of the Eagles' offense:

Donovan McNabb – He showed no signs of still being affected by the rib injury. McNabb's 51-yard touchdown to Jeremy Maclin in the first quarter was a beauty. Overall the numbers were great: 16-for-21 for 264 yards and there touchdowns. He showed good touch, hitting Brent Celek in stride for a 38-yard gain in the second quarter. McNabb also scrambled a couple times for 30 yards. To nitpick, he missed badly on an attempt to Jason Avant in the first quarter.

Michael Vick – He attempted three passes in garbage time and none of the plays were impressive. Vick did not look comfortable on the option toss to LeSean McCoy on 3rd-and-3 in the fourth quarter. The play drew groans from the crowd. Overall he had four carries for 10 yards.

Brian Westbrook – I know everyone's quick to say he's done, but Westbrook only had six carries. Too small a sample size for me to judge how much quickness he has lost. As a receiver, he made a nice adjustment on a 20-yard catch in the third quarter. Good play design as he was matched up down the sideline with a Bucs linebacker. Westbrook also had his first rushing touchdown of the season.

LeSean McCoy - He made a really nice play in the third quarter, making a catch 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage, before making a defender miss and picking up 10 yards. McCoy also had a nice 9-yard run out of the Wildcat in the third quarter. Overall, six carries for 14 yards and two catches for 15.

Leonard Weaver – He scored his first touchdown as an Eagles with a 20-yard TD catch in the second quarter. A well-designed play that had Tampa defenders looking completely confused off play-action. Perhaps more importantly, long-term, Weaver picked up a short-yardage first down on 2nd-and-1 in the third quarter.

Winston Justice – He had a rougher time than in previous weeks. Defensive lineman Jimmy Wilkerson knocked Justice over in the third quarter and batted down a McNabb pass on third down. Later in the quarter, Wilkerson beat him for a sack. McNabb held on to the ball for awhile on the play, but Justice still got beat.

Max Jean-Gilles – He did an outstanding job clearing out Bucs defensive tackle Roy Miller on Westbrook’s third-quarter TD run. Jean-Gilles also did an exceptional job on Weaver's 3-yard run on 2nd-and-1 in the third quarter.

Stacy Andrews – He rotated in at right guard, although it was still mostly Jean-Gilles. Andrews did a nice job in pass protection on Celek’s 38-yard catch. He also looked good on McCoy’s 2-yard Wildcat run in third quarter. It will be interesting to see how the coaches rotate him in going forward.

Jamaal Jackson – He actually stood out in pass protection. The Eagles have had a soft schedule so far, but the interior of their line has been very good in protection. Jackson also did a nice job on a 5-yard Westbrook run in the first quarter. He doesn’t seem to do well on plays that require more athleticism -- screens, etc.

Nick Cole – He did a nice job on Westbrook's 5-yard run in the first quarter. He got beat on a Westbrook run in the third quarter that went for just a yard. Overall Cole has done a good job, but it's not unusual to see a lapse here and there from week to week.

Jason Peters – He's at the point where the opposing defensive end isn't getting anywhere close to McNabb. I'm excited to see how Peters fares against some of the more upper echelon DEs later in the season. He did a nice job on Westbrook's 5-yard run in the first quarter. As the schedule gets tougher, I fully expect the offense to utilize his athleticism on run plays, whether they're out of the Wildcat or not. He lined up at right tackle on a Wildcat run to McCoy in the fourth quarter. Justice lined up next to him on the inside.

Brent Celek – Was he playing tight end or right tackle? He was lined up with DEs several time throughoutht the day on blocking assignments. Celek did a nice job on Wilkerson (one-on-one) during McNabb’s 51-yard TD pass to Maclin in first quarter. Later he was tossed aside by DE Tim Crowder during a Westbrook run that went for no gain. On the receiving end, he had the 38-yard catch and four receptions for 58 yards overall. The hurdle looks cool, but I could do without it. I feel like you leave yourself vulnerable that way.

Alex Smith – Was in the game when the Eagles went to two tight ends. He threw a block to make sure McNabb could get out of bounds on his 13-yard scramble to start the game.

Jeremy Maclin – A breakout game with six catches for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Maclin made a nice 17-yard leaping grab on a bullet from McNabb in the second quarter. He did a good job shifting from receiver to blocker on a 17-yard McNabb run at the end of the second. And Maclin made a great adjustment on the second touchdown catch.

DeSean Jackson – McNabb said yesterday that the Bucs were rolling coverage to Jackson's side and trying to take him away, which they did. He had just one catch for 1 yard and was called for offensive pass interference.

Jason Avant – It was a quiet day for him also. Just one catch for 12 yards. Avant had his usual third-down conversion, picking up 12 on a 3rd-and-7 in the first quarter.

Jeremy Maclin, left, catches a 51-yard touchdown pass in the 1st quarter as the Eagles play Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. ( David Maialetti / Staff Photographer )

More images

The theme of the Eagles' victory over the Chiefs two weeks ago was A glimpse into the future.

LeSean McCoy filled in for an injured Brian Westbrook. And Kevin Kolb took over for a sidelined Donovan McNabb.

Both No. 5 and No. 36 returned to the lineup today against Tampa, but that same theme continued with rookie Jeremy Maclin front and center.

With Kevin Curtis inactive, Maclin got a chance to start for the second time this season, and he made the most of the opportunity, catching six balls for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

He put the Eagles on the scoreboard in the first quarter, catching a 51-yard bomb from McNabb on the team’s second offensive play.

Maclin followed that up with a 40-yard touchdown catch in the second, adjusting to the football beautifully and beating the Tampa cornerback in the end zone. Maclin became the first rookie receiver in Eagles history to score two touchdowns of 40 yards or more in the same game.

After he held out during training camp and had just six catches through the first three weeks, we wondered what kind of impact Maclin would have as a rookie. Today, he showed flashes of what the Birds were expecting when they traded up to draft him in the first round.

While a season comparable to Jackson’s 2008 campaign doesn’t seem likely, Maclin showed today that he is capable contributing right away.

Which leads to the obvious question: Did he take Curtis' job away for good?

Time for our weekly look at who's picking the Eagles, along with some other links sprinkled in.

And a reminder that I'll be chatting live from the Linc today at 1 during the game.

SI.com's Peter King has the Eagles covering the 15-point spread with a 30-10 win:

I only know one thing about this game, other than the outcome: Michael Vick is going to get a lot more action than 11 insignificant plays.

All of ESPN's experts pick the Eagles.

FoxSports.com's Jason Whitlock criticizes Michael Vick for starring in his own reality show:

NFL quarterback is a full-time job, a full-time responsibility. Vick doesn't have a legitimate, mature interest in football. The NFL is a simply a tool for money and fame. Vick desires celebrity, a job with no real responsibility.

WhatIfSports.com has the Birds, 25-12.

FoxSports.com's Alex Marvez gives Eagles fans credit for not booing Vick:

In another market, Vick's NFL return would have been met with heavy protests. But the City of Brotherly Love has embraced Vick since his August signing. Of course, the main reason is a selfish one — the belief that Vick could be the missing piece to help Philadelphia finally win a Super Bowl.

CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco goes with the Eagles, 31-13:

Donovan McNabb returns as a starter for the first time since breaking a rib in the opener. He faces a Tampa Bay team playing a second consecutive road game. This one will be a lot tougher than last week against the Redskins. McNabb doesn't show any rust. This will be a blowout.

All three Yahoo experts and 97 percent of Yahoo users pick the Birds.

Pro Football Talk has the Eagles big, 48-10:

The Eagles don’t lose games like this at home. Typically, games like this end up with very ugly outcomes. Then again, ugly is in the eye of the entity on which the ugliness is visited. For Eagles fans, it’ll be a thing of beauty.

Join me live from the Linc during Sunday's Eagles-Bucs game at 1 p.m.