Eagles take care of business, get important win.

Going into today, the Eagles were 3-6 in season openers under the Andy Reid era. After today, they looked like a confident football team that absolutely dominated a team that they were supposed to beat.

On Offense, Donovan McNabb surpassed Neal O'Donnell as for the least interceptions per pass attempt in NFL History. The big story was the young receiving corps, led by DeSean Jackson who played morel like a 3rd year vet, taking 6 receptions for 106 yards and averaging 12.0 yards per punt return. This was the first time since 1960 that the Eagles had 3 receivers go over 100 yards in the same game.

Quintin Demps was the standout on special teams, throwing a punt out of the endzone for Akeem Jordan to catch at the 1 1/2 yard line and later downing a punt at the 2. DeSean Jackson was oh so close to breaking it on punt returns, twice.

Defensively, it was much better than Eagles fans expected and it's hard to imagine that heading into next week, the Eagles don't have the no. 1 defense, holding the Rams to 86 net yards of offense. It was a day where new starting Strong Safety Quintin Mikell had a sack and a forced fumble.

The secondary was purely amazing, Asante Samuel dropped 2 INTs he should have caught, and defensed a total of 7 passes. The Linebacker corps spearheaded by first year starter Stewart Bradley, couldn't have played better, holding Steven Jackson to 40 yards rushing on 14 attempts... an average of just under 2.9 yards per carry.

Plays you didn't want to miss:
1st Quarter:

• DeSean Jackson's first NFL reception goes for 47 yards. (Torry Holt tacks on a 15 yard penalty for running into an official while on the sidelines)
• Jason Avant picks up a 31 yard gain on a 3rd and 8.
• Brian Westbrook barrels over O.J. Atogwe en route to an 18 yard run which puts the Eagles in position for a 5 yard L.J. Smith TD catch.

2nd Quarter:

• Donovan McNabb and Hank Baskett connect on a 90 yard TD, putting the Eagles up 21-0 with less than 2:00 to go in the first half.

3rd Quarter:

• Sheldon Brown puts perhaps the biggest hit I've ever seen a Cornerback get, on Steven Jackson, knocking him 180 degrees around in mid-air and knocking his helmet off.
• DeSean Jackson almost brings one to the house, returning a punt 60 yards.

4th Quarter:

• The big question a small faction of Eagles fans had was answered, yes, Kevin Kolb did replace Donovan McNabb in a game... after he went 21/33 for 361 yards and 3 Touchdowns in 51 minutes of regulation. Kolb went 5/6 for 53 yards and ran out the last 9 minutes of clock.

Aside from plays and stats, what this all came down to was the Eagles executing and blowing out a team that they were supposed to, the first real test is next week @ Dallas, where they are 7-2 in the Andy Reid era. Oh, what the critics will say when Dallas falls... it's only 8 days away.

-J.

Eagles' WR Drafting Woes About to change.

Under the Andy Reid era, the Eagles have been one of the best teams at drafting players. Donovan McNabb, Lito Sheppard, Brian Westbrook, Shawn Andrews and Trent Cole are just a few of the big names, only one of which (being Trent Cole) has not been a First Team All-Pro.

Nevertheless, if you look at how they've drafted Wide Receivers over the years, it's been pretty bad. In 2000, when they selected Todd Pinkston out of Southern Miss with the 36th selection, fans immediately hyped him up. All the while, the Eagles passed on Laveranues Coles, Jerry Porter and Dante Hall to name a few names. None of them have been consistent No. 1 Wide Receivers but Jerry Porter is the only non-pro bowler.

In 2001, They landed Freddie "Fred Ex" Mitchell who vowed to lead the Eagles into the promised land by making game winning catches and being a number one option for number five. Mitchell never panned out and in the process the Eagles passed on:

* Reggie Wayne, Chad Ocho Cinco, Chris Chambers, Steve Smith and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, all of whom are Elite Receivers and have been to Pro-Bowls.

In 2003, they traded back in the 3rd round and just missed their target of Kevin Curtis and had to settle for Billy McMullen. Four Years Later, Curtis showed Eagles fans exactly what he can do with starting time, going for 77 catches, 1100+ yards and 8 Touchdowns.

In the 2005 draft, they sent off backup QB A.J. Feeley for the 35th selection overall when they picked Georgia Bulldog, Reggie Brown. The jury is still out on him, but down the road he still has the potential and work ethic to be a much better receiver.

This past year, three years since Andy Reid drafted a receiver, it's beginning to look like he has finally got it right this time. Cal Bear, DeSean Jackson played through the preseason doing everything that was asked of him, never once have we seen "MeSean" that was present in Cal. He plays every play as if he's having to prove his worth, know why? Thirty-two teams passed on him at least once and half of them passed on him twice and took other receivers over him. Being picked 49th overall, he described his relief when he was picked by the Eagles.