The Eagles bring back Jeff Garcia

When A.J. Feeley, who had been rumored to sign with the Eagles once Donovan McNabb got injured, signed with the Carolina Panthers, the Birds were forced to look elsewhere for a fill-in quarterback for the next few weeks. They didn't have to look far for a familiar face: Jeff Garcia is coming back to Philadelphia.

The Eagles have signed Jeff Garcia to a one-year deal. Don't expect Garcia to be the savior for the Eagles like he was two years ago, instead he is mostly being brought in as insurance should Kevin Kolb be terrible or should McNabb be out for more than just a few weeks. In fact, Garcia may only be in town for a week or two and he may never take a single snap in his second stint with the Eagles. In other words, don't count on Garcia-mania to come back in 2009.

The Eagles will need to cut someone from their roster to make room for Garcia and there is no word yet on who that would be. The team could cut a receiever, like Reggie Brown, or they could get rid of newly signed DT Antonio Dixon.

With McNabb, Kolb, Michael Vick and now Garcia, the Eagles quarterback position gets even more intriguing. Garcia has made it clear he thinks he should still be a starter in the NFL, so it will be interesting to see how he fits in with the team for the next few weeks. Will he be happy backing up Kevin Kolb or will he cause a stir? It should be interesting to say the least.

Report: McNabb won't play in Week Two

When Donovan McNabb laid in the endzone on his back yesterday, every Eagles fan feared the worst. That's because we've seen it all before with McNabb, from the seemingly harmless injury to the devastating knockout blow, and nearly all of them keep him out of action. McNabb had remarkable health last season so, really, it was only a matter of time before he got injured again. Luckily, the injured ribs he sustained on Sunday won't likely keep him out for long.

According to multiple sources, including the always trustworthy Jay Glazer, McNabb will miss next week, but after that he could play in Week 3 or wait until after the Week 4 bye to really heal up. Playing without McNabb for just 1 or 2 games is certainly not the end of the world for the Birds and certainly is better news than many originally feared.

Of course, replacing McNabb this season is tricky. Michael Vick won't be able to return from his suspension until Week 3, so he isn't an option next week. That leaves Kevin Kolb the only choice to start seeing as how he is the only quarterback on the roster. With the Eagles playing the Saints in Week 2, Kolb wouldn't have to face a difficult defense, but he will have the tough task of trying to score enough points to keep up with the high-powered Saints offense. It's fair to say Kolb is going to have to play better than he did in the garbage time minutes he played against the Panthers.

With McNabb out for a week or two, the Eagles find themselves with only one quarterback on the roster. Rumors have already begun circulating that the Eagles will be signing A.J. Feeley to come in and be the backup for a few weeks. If he's willing to come back to the Birds for just a short amount of time, that's a signing that makes a ton of sense.

While it could have been worse, the Eagles without Donovan McNabb are just a shell of themselves on offense. There is a huge dropoff from McNabb to Kevin Kolb, so the Eagles face a tall task next weekend against the Saints. It will be up to the defense to try to create havoc and disrupt Drew Brees enough to keep the team in the game. Unfortunately, Brees is no Jake "Mr. Turnover" Delhomme and that will make it that much more difficult. Hurry back, McNabb, this team can't do much without you.

Eagles claim DT Dixon, waive Feeley

After the Eagles released their 53 man roster yesterday, it became apparent that it was a work in progress. The Birds chose to keep only two tight ends and three defensive tackles while they had extra receivers and quarterbacks stashed away. It didn't last for long, as the Eagles made their first moves today to clean up the roster a bit, claiming defensive tackle Antonio Dixon, who was recently cut by the Redskins, and releasing A.J. Feeley.

Dixon is a bit of a curious pickup for the Eagles, considering he was an undrafted rookie free agent out of Miami. The Eagles must have had Dixon on their radar since he will be replacing Dan Klecko, a competent DT, who was released yesterday. Dixon had three total tackles in his preseason action with the Redskins. I guess we just give the Eagles the benefit of the doubt on this one and assume this kid has some potential. Of course, the Eagles may just have brought Dixon in for a few days before releasing him again and activating Michael Vick from the exempt list.

To make room for Dixon on the roster, the Eagles waived 4th QB A.J Feeley. The Eagles probably made attempts to trade Feeley but found no takers so they were forced to just let him go. Feeley is a competent third quarterback but was expendable with the addition of Michael Vick. I wouldn't expect Feeley, who is now a free agent, to be without a team for long. He could get snatched up right away or after a quarterback or two goes down with an injury early in the season. The Patriots seem to be the likely destination since they don't have a real backup for Tom Brady and they were attempting to trade for Feeley just a few days ago.

This is just the first of a few moves I expect the Eagles to make before the season starts next Sunday. They still are missing another tight end and have a logjam at wideout, so something should happen on that front. Stay tuned.

Report: Michael Vick to play Week 1

Michael Vick may be playing a regular season game with the Eagles sooner than we thought.

News came out today that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will make a ruling on when Michael Vick can return to the field by Saturday, a move that will help the Eagles as they make their final roster cuts. Vick has been told that he will be able to return no later than Week 6, although word has spread that he will be able to suit up much sooner than that.

According to NFL Fanhouse, there is a good chance that Vick will play in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers. Fanhouse has apparently been told by two sources close to the situation that they expect Goodell to reinstate Vick right away. It makes sense, given the precedent set by the Plaxico Burress situation. Goodell has already stated that Plaxico will not be suspended by the league once he gets out of jail in two years, so why should Vick have to pay further for his crime?

Vick's likely return will mean that A.J. Feeley's days in Philly are numbered. Andy Reid has said that he will hold on to Feeley until Vick is ready to come back, so look for Feeley to be dealt in the coming days. As for Vick, the news that he will be able to play right away isn't all that surprising. You had to figure that the Eagles knew that Goodell was going to lift the ban early so that's why they took the chance on Vick.

Hopefully the Eagles are working on exactly how Vick is going to be worked into this offense because it looks like we are going to see the Wildcat right away this season. As if there wasn't already enough excitement building for Week 1, this news puts it over the top.

Updated: Vick to play with starters on Thursday

Update: Andy Reid has announced that Donovan McNabb will play the first 3 quarters at quarterback and Kevin Kolb will play in the 4th quarter. Michael Vick will play, and it will be with the starters. Reid did not say if it would be at quarterback or in a Wildcat formation with McNabb on the field. Perhaps the Eagles are going to experiment a bit? A.J. Feeley is still the odd man out and won't likely play.

Previously:
It looks like Michael Vick is finally going to take the field for the Eagles! Vick hasn't yet been cleared to play regular season games but he is allowed to play in the final two preseason games for the Birds. Andy Reid is expected to announce today that Vick will play quarterback in the 4th quarter for the Eagles in their preseason game against the Jaguars on Thursday.

Vick's quarter of work certainly will be the most watched 4th quarter in preseason history as everyone wants to see how he does. Don't expect any trickery or Wildcat offensive looks; the Eagles aren't going to give away how they plan to use Vick in a meaningless preseason game. What you should expect is Vick to stay behind center and work on his quarterback fundamentals which will need to get much better if he is going to be the backup to Donovan McNabb.

With McNabb likely to play the entire first half and Vick to play the 4th quarter, it will be interesting to see who the Eagles use at quarterback in the 3rd quarter. There are indications that Kevin Kolb will be playing on Thursday so that could leave A.J. Feeley without any playing time. Of course, Feeley has already gotten the bulk of the work this preseason so the Eagles really don't need to see much more from him. Then again, the Birds will likely try to trade Feeley so they should showcase him for the rest of the teams.

The Michael Vick era is ready to begin on the field. While what we see from Vick on Thursday won't be his true role on the team, it will still be interesting to see if he can cut it as a backup quarterback. It's time to start finding out if he is worth all the fuss.

Colts work over injury-depleted Eagles

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

It's a good thing there is still nearly a month until the regular season starts because the Eagles don't look like they are anywhere close to being ready. The short-handed Eagles, who played without 12 players, got trounced by the Colts in every facet of the game, losing 23-15. While a lot of this poor play can be attributed to all of the missing players (Kevin Kolb, Brian Westbrook, Jason Peters, Shawn Andrews, Stacy Andrews, Todd Herremans, Trent Cole, Bryan Smith, Darren Howard, Omar Gaither, Sheldon Brown and Michael Vick all didn't play), Eagles fans still hoped to see a lot more effort and a much more competitive game than they saw. Here are my positives and negatives from the Eagles second preseason game.

Positives:
-The DeSean Jackson 39 yard touchdown. Donovan McNabb and DeSean Jackson looked to be in midseason form as they connected for a beautiful touchdown that was easily the highlight of the game.

-Jason Babin. Once again, Babin was one of the better defensive linemen out there. With all the injuries along the line, Babin got a chance to start and he made the most of it, sacking Peyton Manning and forcing a fumble in the first quarter. Babin was around the quarterback the entire first half, proving that he deserves a spot on the final roster. Sorry, Bryan Smith, I think you just got bumped.

-A.J. Feeley. For a guy who is likely to get cut, he sure is making a case to be added on by another team. Despite facing constant pressure and getting knocked around in the pocket, Feeley hung tough and made some good throws. I know he made a bad decision at the end of the first half, but completing 16 of 20 passes is no easy task.

-Eldra Buckley. Buckley played much less tonight, but it was actually a good thing. Buckley, who got time with the second unit while Lorenzo Booker was demoted to the third team, held his own against better competition, averaging 5 yards a carry and proving he has good hands out of the backfield with four catches. Yeah, I know he fumbled, but it seems like a given at this point that Buckley makes the team while Booker gets cut.

-Sav Rocca. His first punt was a beauty that pinned the Colts inside the 5 yardline. I've had my doubts about the guy, but he has his moments.

-Adam DiMichele. If that was his one chance with the Eagles, he made the most of it. He made some nice throws and moved the ball well, too bad he's cut the moment Kevin Kolb comes back.

Negatives:
-Leonard Weaver. For the short amount of time he was out there, he played great. Unfortunately, Weaver is the latest Eagle to fall victim to the injury bug. He sprained his knee, probably while he was trying to block a lineman who got through the porous offensive line. If Weaver is out for any amount of time, Kyle Eckel is your starting fullback. Needless to say, that's a big drop-off.

-The Colts first team offense shredded the Eagles first team defense. Luckily, the Eagles have two pretty good excuses as to why the Colts were able to move the ball at will against them. First, it's the Colts, they have one of the best offenses in the league. Second, the Eagles first team defense was missing so many players that it was far from their best unit. The Eagles still should have been able to put up a better fight than that, but it shows that, defensively, they still aren't where they need to be yet. Not even close.

-The Eagles first team offense. They started extremely slow, with a 3 and out on the first possession and a fumble in the second possession. Things started to come together on the third possession when McNabb connected with Jackson on that 39 yard strike. McNabb put up surprisingly solid numbers, completing 5 of 7 passes for 77 yards, and he should be commended for staying upright behind the makeshift offensive line. Overall, though, things seemed pretty disjointed with the offense, and it all starts with the play of....

-The offensive line. Playing with only one starter, the "first team" offensive line was atrocious. King Dunlap, who was the starting left tackle, predictably got burned by Dwight Freeney early and often. About the only positive thing from this group is the fact that McNabb didn't get injured playing behind these guys. It's easy to simply blame this on injuries, but at what point is that actual starting offensive line going to play together? The season is coming soon, it's hard to have any faith in these guys.

-Discipline. Just like last week, the Eagles had way too many penalties, this time committing 12 for 87 yards. It could be a product of guys who have never played together or it could be the coaching, but Andy Reid has got to get this situation under control.

-Jeremy Maclin. As a receiver, he's fine. As a punt returner, not so much. His second fumble in two games might be a sign that he shouldn't be returning punts in the NFL.

Thoughts on the Eagles first preseason game

(AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Overshadowed by the Michael Vick signing, the Eagles actually played a game on Thursday night! Even though it's only preseason, it's hard not to get excited when you see the Eagles take the field at Lincoln Financial. While the Birds comeback bid fell short against the Patriots, losing 27-25, there was some good that came out of the game. Here are some of the positives and negatives from the Eagles first preseason game.

Positives:
-McNabb and the first team offense. While the first team offense looked sloppy on their first two drives, they began to kick it into gear on the third. Mixing in several shotgun formations, Donovan McNabb, who finished 11 of 18 on the night, led the Eagles down the field with precision, completing passes to three different receivers and letting LeSean McCoy eat up yards on the ground. While the drive ultimately ended in a failure in the red zone with a sack and a field goal, there were some promising signs, especially from...

-LeSean McCoy. The rookie looked really good, eating up yardage on nearly every carry. He finished with 55 yards on 10 carries, a solid 5.5 yards per carry, plus he caught two passes out of the backfield. I have never felt more confident about the Eagles running game when/if Brian Westbrook gets hurt.

-Sheldon Brown. He made a nice play early in the game and later had a pick that pissed Tom Brady off. Sheldon has solidified his starting spot for sure.

-A.J. Feeley. He might be playing for his NFL career now that the Eagles have Vick. Feeley got the bulk of the playing time at QB and had a good showing, leading two touchdown drives and completing 18 of 24 passes for 211 yards. Unless Kevin Kolb is hurt more than has been led on, however, this is likely the end of Feeley's time in Philly.

-Jason Babin. He's on the roster bubble, so picking up the only Eagles sack of the day is a big positive for him.

-Eldra Buckley. Lorenzo Booker better watch his back, Buckley is coming for him. While not particularly great on the ground (23 yards and a TD on 8 carries), Buckley had quite a showing in the passing game, catching 6 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. With Booker basically doing nothing, Buckley has a great shot at earning the 3rd string running back spot.

Negatives:
-Discipline. The Eagles were penalized 8 times for 98 yards, which is unacceptable. From the beginning of the game, the team seemed out of sorts and sloppy. Perhaps they were shocked by the Michael Vick signing?

-Jeremy Maclin. He fumbled his first touch as an Eagle on a punt return. Not a great way to start your career and not a way to endear yourselves to fans and coaches who aren't happy you held out. He later made 2 catches and had a much better punt return, but that wasn't a good first impression.

-The first team defense. After looking solid on the first drive, the first team defense got picked apart by Tom Brady on the second drive. Brady threw a bomb right to Randy Moss that Asante Samuel interfered with, which put the Patriots deep in the Eagles territory. From there, Brady dinked and dunked short passes to lead the Patriots to a touchdown. They redeemed themselves later when Brown picked off Brady, but they could have done better to put more pressure on the Patriots QB. Brady had a good game overall, completing 10 of 15 for 100 yards and 2 TDs. The second and third units fared much better, limiting the Pats to only a pair of field goals in the second half.

-Jason Peters. The big offseason pickup let the Patriots defensive line get by him for two sacks. I know he's surrounded by second team linemen that he's never played with, but he's gotta do better than that.

-Special teams. This supposedly improved unit gave up a punt return touchdown and had several penalties. Every year we hear that the special teams is going to be the amongst the best in the league and every year they disappoint. Let's hope the Eagles get these kinks worked out.