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Gonzo: Wanted: Eaglets ready to fly now

George Carlin had his famous bit about seven dirty words you can never say on TV. Down at the NovaCare Complex, the list is shorter. There's only one ineffable word - on television or otherwise - as far as the Eagles are concerned.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman doesn't think the Eagles are rebuilding. (Michael S. Wirtz / Staff Photographer)
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman doesn't think the Eagles are rebuilding. (Michael S. Wirtz / Staff Photographer)Read more

George Carlin had his famous bit about seven dirty words you can never say on TV. Down at the NovaCare Complex, the list is shorter. There's only one ineffable word - on television or otherwise - as far as the Eagles are concerned.

Want to watch the Birds' front office waltz around an issue with the same skill as Erin Andrews on Dancing With the Stars? Mention rebuilding. Then sit back and enjoy the show (but don't forget to vote for the winner via text: A. Joe Banner; B. Andy Reid; C. Howie Roseman).

Despite the fact that the Birds stockpiled 10 picks before the beginning of last night's NFL fraft - they had 11, but traded a fifth-rounder for Detroit Lions linebacker/castoff Ernie Sims - the team has insisted that it's not rebuilding. Or reloading. Or restocking. Or any of the other synonyms with a "re" prefix that would otherwise indicate a new era of Eagles football is about to begin.

"We're trying to win, we're always trying to win," Roseman, the general manager, said a few weeks ago when asked whether this was a rebuilding year for the Birds. "We're excited about some of the players on our team, and we're excited about the quality in this draft."

The question had the right beat, and Roseman danced to it. He's going to fit right in. Bet he got a nice job-well-done card from Banner and the brass after that one.

Roseman had better hope the Birds are right about the quality and depth of this draft - by the way, did you stay up to watch the entire first round or did you fall asleep? - because two things are true about the Eagles:

(1) Some of their best players and the core of this team are either young (like DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, and Shady McCoy) or unproven (as is the case with new starting quarterback Kevin Kolb, who has put in a lot of time hunting wild hogs with giant knives but not as much when it comes to leading an NFL team during the regular season or playoffs).

(2) They have holes at several spots: cornerback, defensive and offensive line, linebacker, and safety.

No matter how much the Eagles hate to admit it, when you have a team that relies on young players and also has several areas that need to be immediately addressed - not to mention that it just traded the guy who served as the signal-caller and face of the franchise for the last 11 years - that's pretty much the definition of rebuilding. The only thing missing down at the NovaCare Complex right now is a team of construction workers wearing hardhats with the Eagles logo on them.

Rebuilding isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it doesn't mean Roseman was lying when he said the team was trying to win, either. Nor does it mean it will be impossible for the Birds to win this year. It just means this particular draft is one of the most important in recent memory for an organization that's never won a Super Bowl and is going on 50 years without a championship of any real worth.

What happened Thursday night - and what will happen Friday and Saturday evening - isn't just about the future for the Eagles. People far smarter than I am (I know, it's not that hard) generally tell you it takes five years to grade a draft class, and maybe it does. But if the Birds have to wait that long to find out how they did at Radio City Music Hall this weekend, that probably won't work out so well for them. If the Eagles want to do what Roseman said and win now, if they want to avoid being crushed with questions about their plan and their process and moving on from the first 11 years under the Reid regime, they must select players who can get on the field this season.

For the Birds to continue business as usual - making the playoffs and lots of money while they're at it - they need this draft class to do what Jackson, Maclin, McCoy, and select others have done and contribute from the moment they're fitted for their midnight green uniforms. If the Eagles grab a bunch of long-term projects or misfire altogether (for no reason whatsoever, I'm suddenly wondering how the People's Champ, Freddie Mitchell, is doing), winning in 2010 suddenly becomes more taxing than the Eagles or the fans would like.

Not surprisingly, and not that long go, Roseman preemptively disagreed with all that. He told The Inquirer that the Birds were just fine and that there's nothing to see down at the NovaCare, and we should all just move along, thank you.

"We probably feel a little less bare," Roseman explained, "than maybe the outside perception is."

Said the man who helped accumulate all those draft picks.