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Apparently a lot of people are asking wide receiver Jeremy Maclin if he'll join Donovan McNabb to work out in Arizona before training camp.

But the Eagles' first-round pick said he needs to talk to McNabb first.

"I haven't figured that out yet," Maclin said in response to a reader's question on ESPN.com. "Everyone's been asking me that. I've got to speak with Donovan."

As Les Bowen and Jeff McLane pointed out on their respective blogs, McNabb is back in Philly for next week's OTAs, so Maclin will have his chance to talk to Donovan soon enough.

Earlier this offseason, fifth-round pick Cornelius Ingram said he planned on joining McNabb in Arizona.

***

Meanwhile, Bowen wrote in yesterday's Daily News about former slam dunk champ Byron Parker, who's in camp with the Eagles. Below is the YouTube video of his dunks while at Tulane. Fast forward to the 0:56 mark.

Brian Westbrook was recently ranked the league's top dual-threat running back by the National Football Post. (AP)

It's May, and that means new lists and rankings emerge on a daily basis as we kill time before training camp.

Matt Bowen of the National Football Post sparked a lively debate here earlier this week about whether Donovan McNabb is a franchise quarterback.

Bowen is back, this time ranking the top dual-threat running backs in the league.

Coming in at No. 1 is Brian Westbrook.

Writes Bowen:

Westbrook’s numbers were down last season because of injuries (he had 90 receptions in’07), but he still is considered the toughest match-up for defenses in the NFL. He can align in the slot and at the “X” position on the backside of formations. Five receiving TDs is a big number for a running back.

Statistically, Westbrook had his poorest season as a receiver since 2003, catching 54 balls for 402 yards and five touchdowns. His 7.4 yards per reception average was the worst of his career.

Westbrook ranked fourth among RBs in receptions and seventh in receiving yards.

In terms of rushing, he averaged 4.0 yards per carry, which ties the worst average of his career.

But those are all numbers.

Westbrook is still a playmaker, and he showed as much with the 71-yard TD reception in the wild-card win over the Vikings. How much will a real fullback and a revamped offensive line help his effectiveness? That's what we'll have to wait to find out.

Meanwhile, John Mullin of SI.com ranks the league's top backfields, and puts the Eagles at No. 5:

Who: QB Donovan McNabb; RB Brian Westbrook

Add/subtract: LT Jason Peters is a franchise addition in front of McNabb and Westbrook, and Stacy Andrews is another starter-grade OL addition. Drafting Jeremy Maclin in the first round this season and DeSean Jackson in the second last year does nothing but make McNabb and Westbrook more dangerous.

Questionable: The heavy load on Westbrook has worn him down and McNabb is high mileage at 32.

The Thought: With the draft of Pitt RB LeSean McCoy in Round 2, McNabb and Westbrook now may feel like they're in Kiddieland.

The backfields ranked ahead of the Eagles (from the top) are the Chargers, Giants, Cowboys and Patriots.

More later so check back.

How long will it take the Eagles' offensive line to come together in 2009? (AP)

Clark Judge of CBSSports.com recently named 10 players who will be the biggest difference-makers in 2009.

One Eagle made the list, and the name might surprise you.

New left tackle Jason Peters.

The Birds acquired Peters from the Bills, and Judge believes he'll have more of an impact this season than draft picks Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy:

He's a more significant pick-up than Jeremy Maclin, Stacy Andrews or LaSean McCoy. The reason: He protects Donovan McNabb's back, and the Eagles go only as far as McNabb takes them. A year ago, tackle Tra Thomas wore out as the season wore on, with Thomas overpowered by bull rushers. Still, the Eagles hung around through the NFC championship game and might have made it to Super Bowl XLIII if their defense didn't melt down. Now, they have two new tackles, a new running back and a big-time playmaker as their latest wide receiver, but I still think Peters is the key addition. Coach Andy Reid believes you build championships from the inside out, and it's hard to disagree. A year ago, he had aging tackles who had little left by season's end. Now, he has one of the best in the business at left tackle, especially now that Peters is happy with his new contract. Look for the Eagles' rushing and passing attacks to benefit, which translate to Eagles in the playoffs again.

One of the interesting story lines during training camp and early in the season will be how quickly the offensive line comes together. With the new talent and Juan Castillo, I have little doubt that the line will be one of the Birds' strengths. We'll just have to see how long it takes for everyone to get on the same page given the turnover.

FoxSports.com's Peter Schrager calls the Peters addition the Eagles' buzz-worthy move, but he says the addition of Stacy Andrews was a good under-the-radar move:

There's no doubting the impact Jason Peters should have in Philadelphia. Replacing the departed Tra Thomas, some even view Peters as an upgrade at the position. But let's not sleep on the rather quiet and rather significant signing of Stacy Andrews, Philly offensive guard Shawn Andrews' older brother. The elder Andrews blew out his ACL in the second to last game of the 2008 season, but is reportedly ahead of schedule in his rehab work back. There was great fear in Philly heading into the offseason about the team's offensive line. They were getting old. They were banged up. A few months later, the Philly offensive line looks even better than it did in '08.

Meanwhile, as Eagletarian pointed out yesterday, Jon Runyan thinks, if given the opportunity, he could win a starting job with the Birds.

"No matter what they did in free agency or moving guys around, [players] are going to get the opportunity to compete for the starting job," he told SI.com. "I know me, and I will win that competition."

Can Eagles receiver Jason Avant (81) make the leap to the next level in 2009? (AP / File photo)

Eagles receiver Jason Avant was a blog favorite of MTC during the 2008 season.

We loved his toughness. His hands. His knack for finding the first-down marker on third downs.

Avant was a reliable target and a pleasant surprise.

But is he ready to make the leap to the next level?

NFL.com's Pat Kirwan sure thinks so. He includes Avant on a list of wide receivers who will step up and make 60-80 catches in 2009.

Here's the write-up:

Unless you talk with an Eagles coach or Donovan McNabb, you might not realize how much this franchise likes Avant. One Eagles executive called him the best slot receiver in the NFL. With all of the attention focused on DeSean Jackson and rookie Jeremy Maclin, Avant should have a very productive year. He has improved his receptions totals in each of his three NFL seasons, from 7 to 23 to 32 last year.

I'd be stunned if Avant jumped to the 60-80 catch range, and that's not a knock on him. I just don't think he'll be given the opportunities, considering that Jeremy Maclin is now in the mix and the offense will spread the ball around.

I'm also not knocking Kirwan. I like the guts. His list would be no fun if it included Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson.

Avant had 32 catches for 377 yards and two touchdowns last season, which was his third in the NFL. DeSean Jackson was the team's leading receiver and the only player to notch 60-plus catches.

In 2007, the Eagles had three players (Brian Westbrook, Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown) with 60-plus catches.

What are your expectations for Avant? Is Kirwan's projection realistic?

If he repeats last year's performance, not only in terms of statistics, but in terms of reliability and success on third down, that will be just fine with me.

If someone's already linked to this, I apologize, but I just saw it today for the first time.

ESPN.com has released its offseason power rankings, and the Eagles come in at No. 4.

Writes blogger Matt Mosley:

With the additions of Jeremy Maclin, Jason Peters and LeSean McCoy, this should be one of the top offenses.

The three teams listed above the Eagles are the Steelers (1), the Patriots (2) and the Giants (3).

The Cowboys come in at No. 13. And the Redskins rank 19th.

The rankings are put together by ESPN.com's panel of 12 reporters. The lowest vote for the Eagles was No. 8, and the highest vote was No. 2.

As Eagletarian pointed out, NFL.com's Pat Kirwan recently ranked the Eagles third.

Click here for our earlier post on Donovan McNabb and whether or not he's a franchise QB.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we referenced a National Football Post article, in which Matt Bowen compiled a list of current franchise quarterbacks.

The list did not include Donovan McNabb. He was grouped with five other QBs considered to be "on the fence."

In our previous post, we included a poll asking you, the MTC readership, whether McNabb is indeed a franchise quarterback, and the feedback was overwhelming.

As of this writing, 2,537 of you had chimed in (along with 162 comments), and the majority (85.5 %) believe that McNabb is a franchise quarterback.

So now when the national media slams Eagles fans for not appreciating McNabb, you can point to our poll in addition to the one the Eagles' Web site had up awhile back, in which fans voted him the best QB in franchise history.

Meanwhile, a link I never got to last week.

ESPN.com's Sal Paolantonio writes about the Eagles having cap space and counts the ways they could have spent their money this offseason. Among his recommendations are reworking McNabb's deal and adding a veteran running back.

Looking back, Paolantonio writes that the team easily could have matched the Broncos' offer for Brian Dawkins. And he also makes the case that they could have gone hard after Anquan Boldin and/or Tony Gonzalez.

Looking ahead, you'd have to think they're going to do something about reworking McNabb's deal. In this blogger's opinion, that's going to happen before the start of the '09 season.

As far as needing a veteran running back, I don't see a guy out there who excites me. Edgerrin James? No thanks. I'll take my chances with Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy.

There were no tears shed in Philly back in March when the Eagles dealt wide receiver Greg Lewis and a seventh-round pick to the Patriots for a fifth-rounder.

But is G-Lew primed for a big season in New England with Tom Brady?

Sports Illustrated's Peter King sure thinks so. In fact, he said in his Monday Morning Quarterback column that he's expecting 50 catches for Lewis:

The last time Brady had his hands on this team for a full season, the Patriots set an NFL record, scoring 36.8 points a game, two points a game more than any other team in history. They've had to replace 82 wide-receiver catches from that team, with Jabar Gaffney and Donte' Stallworth out, so Greg Lewis and the ancient Joey Galloway are in. I see Lewis, a reliable darter, catching 50 balls.

G-Lew catching 50 balls would qualify as shocking news around these parts.

His best season came in 2005 when Lewis had 48 catches for 561 yards. G-Lew had just 32 receptions in 2007 and 2008 combined.

I don't want to discount the impact Brady and Bill Belichick can have on a guy, but if Lewis has 50 catches this season, I will sport a Patriots cut-off hoodie and make it my photo in the upper right-hand corner of MTC.

***

I know this is an NFL blog, but I have to share some thoughts from my trip to Yankee Stadium to see the Phils on Saturday.

There's no question the stadium is nice. The scoreboard. The sight-lines. The concessions. Top-notch.

But here's my problem.

Part of the allure of seeing a Yankees game is the tradition. And they cram it down your throats at the new stadium, which is fine. But then during the game, they employ the gimmicks we see at other ballparks around the country -- the Flex Cam, the Noise-Meter, blaring YMCA in between innings. There was even a "Gotta go to Mo's" jingle in the ninth inning when the Yanks were in the middle of mounting their comeback.

I'm old school when it comes to baseball. I've been to the old Yankee Stadium, Fenway and Wrigley, and the best part was walking in and imagining a similar scene playing out 50 years earlier. It's Yankee Stadium. There's no need for all the gimmicks, people.

And a few other things:

** To the Yankees fans chanting "Fooool" when Raul Ibanez came up to the plate, you should be very proud. It only took three or four innings to come up with that gem.

** Ten dollars for a Bud Light? At least it was a souvenir cup, I guess.

** As Phillies fans, it's hard for us to criticize that place for not holding lazy fly balls in the park, but a broken-bat homer? Really?

OK, I think that's all my complaining for the day.

***

And lastly, thanks to all the country's veterans. During our Eagles chats, we've had service men join in from Iraq, and it's been one of the coolest parts of this job to hear from you.

Any time we write about Donovan McNabb here at MTC, it usually results in the comments section being flooded with insults, name-calling and personal attacks.

But we're going ahead with this post anyway.

Matt Bowen of the National Football Post writes about a topic that Eagles fans have argued about in this city for years: Is McNabb a franchise quarterback?

Here is Bowen's definition of the term:

In my definition, a franchise quarterback can walk into any huddle in the NFL, pick up a football and have immediate success. By saying that, these guys aren’t defined by the system they play in because you don’t have to build a system around them to make them effective. They do it because they can make any throw, run any offense and succeed with any coach and with any type of offensive personnel around them.

Bowen lists five guys he considers franchise quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer and Philip Rivers.

So where does McNabb rank? In the next group of guys "on the fence" behind Ben Roethlisberger. Here's Bowen's justification:

McNabb is great because he plays in the west coast system in Philly. However, I don’t see him having the success — or the ability to make all the throws — in another offensive system. His accuracy is always a concern, and I question if he could thrive in a vertical attack.

Other guys in the 'On the Fence' group: Kurt Warner, Tony Romo, Eli Manning, Matt Hasselbeck and Jay Cutler.

I would argue that McNabb belongs among the franchise quarterbacks. Before I get to the reasoning, let's take a look at the other guys on Bowen's list.

There's no question that Tom Brady and P. Manning belong in a class of their own. Any team in the league would swap QBs with the Patriots or Colts and immediately improve. That's just a fact.

I'm a big Brees guy, and he certainly has an edge over McNabb when it comes to accuracy. But Brees also throws a lot more interceptions. He and McNabb belong in the same category.

I don't think Palmer has a place among the upper tier at this point in his career. He played in four games last season and threw 20 interceptions the year before. While Bowen excludes winning from his criteria, it's tough to ignore the fact that Palmer has never won a playoff game. Maybe the 2005-06 version of Palmer would be up there, but not the 2009 version.

There are a lot of things to like about Rivers. He takes care of the football. He makes plays without a great receiver (although he has good weapons at RB and TE). And he had a monster 2008 season. But if you put him on the Eagles right now, would you confidently say they'd have a better chance to win in 2009 than they do now? I'm not so sure. And that's what Bowen's definition of a franchise quarterback would indicate.

As for his evaluation of McNabb, I think we can all agree that he'll never be among the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. Bowen argues that McNabb might struggle in a vertical attack, which I disagree with. The Eagles ask McNabb to make plays down the field every week. He completed 52 passes of 20 yards or more last season. That was the third-best mark in the league. McNabb has success stretching the field, when he has the weapons. It's the short slants and screens that give him problems.

The first part of Bowen's definition says the QB should be able to walk into any NFL huddle and have immediate success. I think you could say that about McNabb, which is why the rumors of him playing elsewhere seem to emerge every offseason. If the Birds decided to cut ties with him, several other teams would be interested.

So, based on Bowen's definition listed above, what do you think? Is McNabb a franchise quarterback?

Poll: Is McNabb a franchise QB? (2699 votes)

Today we continue our series of Q&As with reporters who covered the Eagles' draft picks in college.

Next up is Oregon offensive lineman Fenuki Tupou, who the Birds picked up with one of their fifth-round picks.

Rich Hofmann of the Daily News wrote about Tupuo in a column today.

We caught up with John Hunt, who covers Oregon for The Oregonian.

Q: What were Tupou's strengths at Oregon?

A: He was an excellent pass blocker, thanks to his immense size, good footwork and long arms, although he is probably more suited to right tackle in the NFL. He physically wore down and intimidated some opponents.

Q: What might he need to work on at the next level?

A: Tupou took a few plays off - the same could have been said for Haloti Ngata when he was at Oregon, too. As we all know, that doesn't cut it in the NFL, and Tupou will have to be more consistent. He also needs to be a tougher run blocker and keep working on his agility.

Q: Can you offer some details on the incident that landed Tupou a one-game suspension in 2008?

A: He said he accepted a free lunch and $100 from a sports agent, who vehemently denied Tupou's account. According to Tupou, the agent slipped him five $20 bills and he tried several times to return the money.

Editor's Note: Hofmann wrote extensively about this topic in the column.

Q: What was Tupou's personality like? Did he have a good relationship with teammates, coaches and the media?

A: Fenuki was very quiet and respectful - a bit of a gentle giant. Never a go-to quote, he was always pleasant to talk with from a media perspective. He was fairly popular on the team, mostly with hanging with his Polynesian friends.

Q: What was Tupou's standout moment at Oregon?

He had highlight-reel blocks against Washington State last season and Michigan a year earlier, but his best work came in El Paso when he totally shut down South Florida's heralded defensive end George Selvie in the 2007 Sun Bowl.

Below are highlights from Tupuo's career at Oregon.