This article is an interesting read.  We obviously all thought of the wildcat formation when we first heard of the Vick signing, but we also wonder about what other role he could serve on the team.  We even hoped that Vick could play a little TE after the injuries the Eagles have suffered.  Here are some other ways the Eagles could use Vick:

Maybe a few snaps at RB or in the slot.

Surprisingly, I don’t ever recall Vick taking the snap as a placement holder for field goals.  Add fake field goals into the list of possible ways to use Michael Vick.  If teams see Vick coming out for a field goal, they’ll have to burn a timeout to adjust their package as well.

Look for more two-point conversions with Michael Vick.  With Michael Vick, I’m sure you convert the majority, if not 90%, of your two-point attempts.  Just two yards, are you kidding me?  Do you know how much speed we have at QB, RB, and WR now?

Expect Vick to have an 8- to 10-play package.  Every hour defense coordinators have to prepare for Vick, an hour less that they get to prepare for DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brian Westrbook, LeSean McCoy, Kevin Curtis, Donovan McNabb.  You get the picture.

OUTCOME: EAGLES LOSE 27-25 AFTER AKERS MISSES GAME-WINNING FG FROM 43 YARDS.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: ELDRA BUCKLEY
8 CARRIES, 23 YARDS, 1 TD; 6 RECEPTIONS, 56 YARDS, 1 TD

GAME NOTES:

– Jeremy Maclin must have had some jitters early on.  He fumbled his first punt return, which the Eagles recovered, but he shined later in the game.  He had a couple nice catches and great returns later in the game.

– DeSean had a tremendous game.  He made a great play on an end-around, as well as some very nice catches.  LeSean McCoy was also outstanding.  If Westbrook was out for the whole season, I would not be worried a single bit with McCoy taking every snap for the Eagles this season.  With DeSean, McCoy, Maclin, and now Vick, the Eagles could have the fastest offense in the history of ever.

– Lorenzo Booker made a nice 30+ yard grab right by the sidelines from Feeley.  He displayed his nice set of hands and showed why he deserves to beat out Buckley for that RB spot.  Buckley one-upped him just a few plays later with a nice 6-yard TD run.  I still like Buckley over Booker.  He can block and he runs the ball hard.  Buckley also had a nice 4th down reception form the 3 the next drive for a TD.  I like this guy!

– WR Brandon Gibson, the Eagles 6th-round draft pick, received many praises.  He caught everything that came his way and laid a sick block to help Eldra Buckley gain some extra yards on a reception.  The Eagles have a lot of wide receivers.  This guy is worthy of making the team, but how many WR’s can the Eagles keep? DeSean, Maclin, Curtis, Avant, and Baskett should be locks.  Do the Eagles take a 6th WR and keep Gibson.  Is Reggie Brown the odd man out?  This should be interesting.

– Joe Mays played well.  I would give his performance a B.  He’s definitely no Stewart Bradley.  That’s a huge loss, but if all 11 players on defense play well together, they should be able to overcome that loss.  He has the skills.  With more time with the 1st team, he can step up into that role.

– Brent Celek left the game with a sprained shoulder.  Let’s hope it’s not serious.  The last thing we need is another injury.

– Jason Peters didn’t look to good in his first preseason game.  He’s missed a lot of time this preseason, so let’s hope he just has to get his timing down.

– Macho Harris looked good and was great at getting pressure on the QB. I love the Macho Man.

I couldn’t believe the news when I first heard it.  The Eagles have officially signed Michael Vick to a two-year deal.  Most people are disgusted by the move.  I am not.  It’s just business.  I’m not going to say the front office sunk to a new low.  They want to win.  The man did his time, has been remorseful, and as a forgiving person, I’ll give him a second chance.  When I heard about the signing, all I could think of is the wildcat formation.  Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson in the backfield.  Are you serious? The options for their offense is limitless.

This is the fastest offense in the history of ever. . .

DEASEAN JACKSON, JEREMY MACLIN, LESEAN MCCOY, BRIAN WESTRBOOK, KEVIN CURTIS, AND MICHAEL VICK.

SIX… 6 WEAPONS… IS THAT ENOUGH “WEAPONS” FOR MCNABB?  I GUESS WE NEVER HAVE TO HEAR THAT SORRY EXCUSE FROM MCNABB THIS YEAR.

..and that’s without even getting to their all-star Offensive Line (on paper and injury free).  Let’s just hope that they all get healthy in a hurry and can gel quickly.

It’s official, Steward Bradley officially has a torn ACL and will be out for the season.  What a loss that is to a defense that has already lost you know who.  I’m confident Joe Mays or Omar Gaither will step up, but Bradley was due for a Pro-Bowl season this year.

In a Jeremy Maclin update, he is still unsigned, but the Broncos have inked their 1st-round draft pick, Robert Ayers.  Ayers was selected 18th, just a pick ahead of Maclin, so the Maclin deal should be coming soon.

It’s the end of July and almost August and that means the Eagles start training camp.  Rookies and selected vets reported Sunday, the rest of the team reports tomorrow, contact starts on Friday.

The big story is the absence of Jeremy Maclin.  It may be a while until we see him in camp as 27 other first-rounders have not yet signed deals with their teams.  The uncapped 2010 season has agents overeager and this could end up in a messy situation for most teams.

CB/S Macho Harris and TE Cornelius Ingram are looking solid and have been getting rave reviews.  Jack Ikegwuono was also impressive.  It looks like the Eagles have drafted very well in the secondary in the last two years with Macho Harris, Jack Ikegwuono, and Quintin Demps.

Westbrook’s knee looks like it is recovery well.  Westbrook was seen sprinting, looked good in lateral drills, and was working out without a brace.

I’ve been busy over the last few days moving, so I haven’t been able to get into much Day 2 draft coverage, but I just wanted to post up some quick thoughts on it.

Another great day for the Eagles.  As I was awaiting NFL Draft updates on the NFL Channel on Sirius Sattelite Radio, I was getting rather upset when the Eagles kept trading down in round 3 and then eventually out of it.  I wanted them to grab their TE, but they kept passing.  Jared Cook was the best available TE and the Eagles passed on him to trade their pick to the Giants.  The Titans ended up taking Cook a few picks later.  I wasn’t worried since I thought the Eagles were really going after Chase Coffman. The Eagles then traded out of the third round when Coffman was available, so it didn’t look like the Eagles wanted him.  Coffman then went to the Bengals. I wasn’t going to be upset as long as the Birds landed Cook, Coffman, or Ingram and we landed Ingram in round 5.  When the Eagles kept trading down, I started getting an inkling that the Eagles wanted Cornelius Ingram, but there’s no way I thought he would fall to the Eagles by the time they were on the clock again.  Look at this guy, what a beast!  It looks like the knee injury kept enough teams away from him.  I expected Ingram to go in the 2nd round.  It’s a miracle he was taken by the Eagles in the 5th round.  I don’t know how they pulled that off after getting Maclin, McCoy, and Hobbs.  Great job by the Birds with their draft maneuvers that will add 2010 3rd-round pick and 5th-round pick.

What were the Pats thinking getting rid of Ellis Hobbs for a mere two 5th-round picks?  I don’t think this move has much to do with the Sheldon situation either.  Sheldon will report to camp, he will not make much of a fuss about his contract, and he’ll play.  I agree with Andy — you can never have enough good CBs in this league.

For all the fools who still don’t like the Maclin pick, I don’t know what their logic is: saying he’s nothing but another DeSean Jackson, still obsessing about trading the 21st pick pick for Anquan instead, who knows.  I like Maclin in the Eagles lineup even better than Boldin.  He’s faster and I think he’s a better fit for this offense.  Take it from this guy.  Our receivers have a ridiculous amount of speed.  Plus, if the Eagles hadn’t traded up to 19.  Guess who would have gotten him at 20?  No, not the Lions, but the Giants, who worked out a trade with the Lions contingent on Maclin being available at 20.  The Giants even rated Maclin above Crabtree as the best WR in the draft.  In fact, 18 teams had Maclin as the highest rated receiver (yes, even over Crabtree).  This guy is going to be amazing.  I’m extremely excited about what this offense will be capable of with him in the lineup.

Oh, and if you missed Donovan’s McNabb blog, you can read that here.  Looks like the “I have to wait to see what the Eagles do before I consider re-signing” won’t be an issue anymore after this offseason’s moves. Here is what McNabb had to say:

You’ll notice that I am ready to move forward. I’m the first to admit that you must learn from your failures, I also believe that you cannot change the past. It’s time to focus on the future.

As with every minicamp since I’ve been in the league, I’m excited about meeting my new teammates, getting to know them and working together on the field. We now have a lot of new, young skill position players and it will be exciting and interesting to see how they become acclimated to what we do here. If they can come in here and take their game to the next level, they will be productive pros and we can achieve great successes together. I want to welcome the new rookies and am excited to get to work with them.

I haven’t taken the time yet to welcome some of the veteran free agents to the team. I’m looking forward to working with a new set of bookends on the o-line. Stacey Andrews and Jason Peters are young, athletic and physical. They will help in both the passing and running game. The same can be said for fullback Leonard Weaver. As for the additions on defense – Ellis Hobbs, Rashad Baker, and Sean Jones – I can’t wait to see how Jim Johnson uses all the talent he has at his disposal.

I want to congratulate all the newcomers and let them know that I am excited to be working with them and taking the first step towards moving forward and getting something accomplished.

I love the way the first day of the draft went. I was very surprised. I wanted Knowshon Moreno. I was pissed when he went to the Broncos. In my opinion, the Broncos should have focused on their defense, which was ranked in about the bottom 4 last year. No worries though, the Eagles got a true game-changer in Jeremy Maclin. He should have been a top 15 pick, so I’ll gladly take him at 19. Can you imagine the Redskins, Cowboys, and Giants trying to defend a 3 WR set of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Kevin Curtis?  If McNabb can’t find one of those guys open with THIS line, he has serious problems.  I don’t want to hear another complaint out of #5’s mouth.  It’s time to get it done McNabb.

Some people were upset with the Eagles pick in Maclin. Yeah, most of us wanted Moreno; he was gone, too bad, what the hell are you gonna do? Maclin will be a stud in this league! He is just like DeSean Jackson but bigger and more physical. He puts the Eagles receiving corp over the top.

To make things even better, we get a RB in round 2 and it’s none other than LeSean McCoy: a guy who easily could have been a late first, early second-round pick. I’ve graded Knowshon Moreno an A prospect and LeSean McCoy a B+ prospect, but there’s not much difference between the two. We have a RB that is elusive, quick, can make things happen with the screen play, and fits in perfectly with the Eagles system. Everyone was so obsessed with a RB in this year’s draft, it seems like we all forgot that we still have Brian Westbrook. Yes, Westbrook is coming off a knee injury and is 30-years-old, but he is still the #1 guy and I expect him to rebound this season to his 2007 form. We didn’t need a starting runningback, we just needed a #2 RB on our depth chart.  Anyone who is comparing LeSean McCoy to Ryan Moats is crazy.  McCoy will be much better than Moats.

Our defense has 10 starters returning, the 11th guy need not be named.  There’s no need to worry about going offense/offense with the first two picks.  The defense has plenty of bodies.

No more knocking the front office. They are not cheap and they know what the hell they’re doing. Trading down in the last two years has paid dividends and I am relentlessly optimistic about the 2009 season. McNabb must be thrilled with Stacy Andrews, Jason Peters, Leonard Weaver, Jeremy Maclin, and LeSean McCoy. Yes, I’m still pissed about them letting Brian Dawkins go, but it’s Dawkins who decided to leave for greener pastures. This team is ready for a Super Bowl.  Let’s make it happen!

NFC East Roundup: No first day picks for the Cowboys.  Ha!  The Redskins got a gift with Brian Orakpo falling to them. The Giants had a pretty good draft too: WR Hakeem Nicks, LB Clint Sintim, and OT William Beatty on day one.

Knowshon Moreno gets taken early. No big deal. We take the 2nd best WR in the draft, Jeremy Maclin, a few spots after he was expected to go. No big deal. There are plenty of RBs left and aren’t the stars perfectly aligned when LeSean McCoy falls to the Eagles in round 2. I am loving this year’s draft by the Eagles.

So all we need is a TE in round 3 and we’re ready to make that Super Bowl run next season, right? Jared Cook, Shawn Nelson, Cornelius Ingraham, and Chase Coffman are all still available. Jared Cook should be gone soon, but Chase Coffman is the Eagles guy in round 3. Why can’t they draft in round 3 on day 1 like they used to?  We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to see who else the Eagles pick up.

May we see more highlights like these from LeSean McCoy in Midnight Green:

Knowshon Moreno went much higher than anticipated. He went #12 to the Broncos. Eagles had to come up with Plan B. They obviously wanted to boost the offense. They’re not sold on Beanie Wells (thank goodness), it was too early to take Donald Brown or LeSean McCoy, so why not add another playmaker to the receiving corp?

Brandon Pettigrew was on the board, but I’m not sold on him as the Eagles pick: he’s more of a premier blocker than a premier receiver and the Eagles like their TEs to be receivers and I still think the Eagles want Jared Cook or Chase Coffman in round 2. The Eagles traded up from 21 to 19 to take Maclin, so they must have been sold on him. I don’t know what the Eagles had to throw in: maybe a 5th or 6th rounder? We have four 5th rounders, so they might as well spend them.

I expected Maclin to be taken between 10 and 15. I rated him much higher than Darrius Heyward-Bey, who the Raiders foolishly drafted at 7, so I love the pick. Why the hell wouldn’t the Raiders trade down? That’s why they are a terrible organization. Plus, Maclin in the return game is a huge boost to our special teams. Maclin returning kickoffs, DeSean returning punts, and Quintin Demps as our alternate, that’s tremendous!

RB Plans: Wells is still on the board, so that’s another RB that should go soon, and luckily gone before the Eagles are tempted to take him. I don’t see Donald Brown falling that far — he’ll go by mid-2nd round at the latest. LeSean McCoy is an option for the Eagles in round 2. I wouldn’t be upset with Andre Brown in round 2 (I love his upside). I don’t want Shonn Greene. I’ll gladly take Mike Goodson in round 3 and if he’s gone, I wouldn’t be upset with Javon Ringer either. We have options. RB is deep.

Let’s take a look at what we’re getting with Maclin. DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, and Jeremy Maclin in 3 WR sets — they may be a bit undersized, but that’s a ridiculous amount of speed — I like it:

I just wanted to post up a mock draft to see how close I can come to calling this thing:

1.) Lions – Matthew Stafford
2.) Rams – Jason Smith
3.) Chiefs – Aaron Curry
4.) Seattle Seahawks – Mark Sanchez
5.) Cleveland Browns – Brian Orakpo
6.) Cincinnati Bengals – Andre Smith
7.) Oakland Raiders – Michael Crabtree
8.) Jacksonville Jaguars – Eugene Monroe
9.) Green Bay Packers – B.J. Raji
10.) San Fransisco 49ers – Tyson Jackson
11.) Buffalo Bills – Aaron Maybin
12.) Denver Broncos – Brian Cushing
13.) Washington Redskins – Michael Oher
14.) New Orleans Saints – Beanie Wells
15.) Houston Texans – Malcolm Jenkins
16.) San Diego Chargers – Rey Maualuga
17.) New York Jets – Jeremy Maclin
18.) Denver Broncos – Robert Ayers
19.) Tampa Bay Bucs – Josh Freeman
20.) Detroit Lions – William Beatty
21.) Philadelphia Eagles – Knowshon Moreno
22.) Minnesota Vikings – Eben Britton
23.) New England Patriots – Everette Brown
24.) Atlanta Falcons – Vontae Davis
25.) Miami Dolphins – Percy Harvin
26.) Baltimore Ravens – Darius Butler
27.) Indianapolis Colts – Darrius Heyward-Bey
28.) Buffalo Bills – Brandon Pettrigrew
29.) New York Giants – Hakeem Nicks
30.) Tennessee Titans – Peria Jerry
31.) Arizona Cardinals – Donald Brown
32.) Pittsburgh Steelers – Alex Mack