What they're saying about the Eagles

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all the MTC readers out there.

Here's the weekly roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles:

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

Some coaches just always seem to have their team peaking in the season's second half, and Andy Reid can put his November and December work up against anyone in the NFL this side of San Diego's Norv Turner. Given the step back the Giants have taken in the past two weeks, the NFC East is now Philadelphia's to win. But facing three out of their next four on the road means the Eagles will have to earn it. Even if Philly can split the next four -- at Bears, home against the Texans, at Dallas and at the Giants -- it'll be in great shape to close out Reid's sixth division title in a 10-season span.

SI.com's Peter King thinks Vick will be back with the Eagles next season:

Vick's a free-agent at the end of the season, but I expect the Eagles to either franchise-tag him or sign him to a club-friendly multi-year contract, with his motivation being he needs money to pay off some long-standing debts stemming from his dog-fighting conviction. But for him to get any real money -- money the market would pay a top quarterback -- he has to stay healthy. Which he's been able to do for 16 games just once in his career. And forgetting the contract ramifications for a second, but Philadelphia might be making a magical run. The only way they can go on a great run is with Vick staying upright. So they'd better start designing plays to keep him close to home.

King has the Eagles third in his power rankings.

ESPN.com has the Eagles sixth in its power rankings:

Michael Vick was impressive overcoming adversity Sunday on what wasn't his best night.

Adam Caplan of FoxSports.com has the Eagles sixth also:

Philadelphia was able to win a game last week where it didn't get a super-human effort from veteran QB Michael Vick. It was important for the Eagles to get major contributions from players from both sides of the ball. And they'll face a team this week in Chicago that should provide a decent challenge, but the Eagles are 4-1 on the road.

ESPN's Adam Schefter writes about where Kevin Kolb will be playing next season:

Kolb would be a great starting quarterback in Miami, Carolina, Minnesota, Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle -- in a lot of places. Problem is, the Eagles wouldn't trade him for anything less than a blockbuster deal. Nobody was willing to part with what it would have taken to get him last offseason and my hunch is no one will pull the trigger this offseason. My belief is Kolb will return to Philadelphia next season, along with Michael Vick, and teams probably will have to find quarterback help elsewhere.

Pro Football Talk has the Eagles sixth in its power rankings:

If Philly's receivers could catch, the Eagles would have beaten the Giants by 30.

Matt Bowen of the National Football Post has the Eagles fourth:

Watch out for Vick and the Eagles—because they look like the best team in the NFC.

Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post writes about Vick's contract status:

The Eagles have been as proactive as any team in extending core players prior to their leverage point of free agency. Vick and Segal do feel loyalty to Andy Reid and the Eagles for their interest at a time when most teams stayed far away. However, Segal and Vick are looking to hit their second home run contract of his career (following the massive deal from the Falcons in 2005) and it has been well documented that Vick has some major debts to pay off.

CBSSports.com has the Eagles fourth:

The improvement of the offensive line has been a major difference for this team the past month. They need to be better this week at Chicago.

Football Outsiders has the Eagles first.

Football Outsiders ranked Vick's performance 16th among quarterbacks last week:

Vick's day is bumped up from replacement level because of the Giants' pass defense; although the Giants certainly benefited from that egregrious Jason Avant end zone drop, they were able to keep Vick to a long play of 35 yards, forced him to fumble twice, and limited him to three successful scrambles on ten plays. Because of the opponent adjustments, this game actually rates out as better than the Lions game in Week 2; I'm inclined to agree that it was the better performance.

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