The Ideal Eagles

Imagine the Eagles the way they should have been assembled



John Lennon's famous song "Imagine" spoke of a world without greed, war, or the yoke of religion.

Many of us have imagined what it would be like if the Eagles had hired Jeff Fisher or Jon Gruden instead of Rich Kotite, drafted Warren Sapp instead of Mamula, and if McNabb had an offense built around his strengths.

We can argue until we're blue in our face what this team would be like if certain conditions were satisfied, but the bottom line is we don't know. It's like the age-old argument as to who would win between the San Diego Chargers of the AFL and George Halas' great Chicago Bears-it's all theoretical. But, that's part of the fun about sports-imagining and debating.

I'm certain of one thing. Had the Eagles drafted Warren Sapp instead of Mamula and had he been on the Andy Reid-coached teams of the early 2000's they would've won at least two Super Bowls.

It's clear that the whole operation needs to be overhauled. Jim Johnson's defensive scheme is yesterday's flavor. The Eagles' opponents in the NFC East are making mince meat out of them and they can no longer stop the other teams in the red zone. Sure, they gave up chunks of yards on the ground during their other runs to the Super Bowl, but there were players with heart, whom offenses feared, that could stop them within the 20's.

That's no longer the case. Their under-sized defensive line is a joke. The linebackers look pedestrian at best and make a play once or twice a game. Lito Sheppard thinks he's Deoin Sanders and contributes to the defense about as much as a drug junkie contributes to society. Brian Dawkins, I hate to say it has to hang 'em up.

So, where do they go from here? The only way to go is to get a coach like Bill Cowher in here who adheres to a 3-4 philosophy. And, enough with drafting 290 lb. defensive tackles. They just can't cut it in the rough NFC East. I said it then and will say it now this team needed a force like Haloti Ngata in the 2006 draft. But, that would never fly with the Eagles' braintrust. A championship defense like New England's is built around an anchor like a Vince Wilfork or Sam Adams (2000 Ravens) and bigger ends that can rush the passer and stop the run.

The linebackers need to be more physical. Gocong is ok, but seriously have you heard Stewart Bradley's name called much this year?

And, we've seen how poor this offense is in contrast to teams that have a true tight end and fullback that can set up blocks for his comrades.

The wide receivers believe it or not aren't so much of a problem. Not many of us could have predicted that heading into the year. But, that's the organization's job to detect these faults before they come to a head!

My hope for the Eagles is they somehow lure Jimmy Johnson out of the Fox Studio and bring him in as the president of football operations. Then, they can lure Bill Cowher from North Carolina and hand him the reigns.

What would that portend for Kevin Kolb? It's hard to tell, but this team needs to be blown up. And, they need to build the defense around big, physical defenders that put the fear of God into opposing offenses.

I've spoken to a few people who are respected in the media and the verdict on Kolb ranges from tons of potential to "anybody's guess." I'm inclined to go with "anybody's guess." But, that's what the new regime can assess next year. Let Kolb take over the team and if he can get it done then go with him, if not then they'll stink and be in a position to draft a franchise QB.

It's better that this team start the process sooner than later. We all saw how long it's taken the Sixers to rebuild and so far they're not off to great of a start.