Strange Days Part 2: Eagles

The Eagles never cease to intrigue. So many question marks going into the season -- the effects on the defense of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's death, Brian Dawkins taking his leadership to Denver, the season-ending injury to Stewart Bradley; the injuries to the rebuilt offensive line; the health of Brian Westbrook; the sudden, controversial addition of Michael Vick; the eternal analysis of Donovan McNabb's health/leadership qualities/state of mind -- led many local observers to believe that a slow start was in the offing. Some locals felt a subpar season was likely, even while many national observers were saying the Birds would be strong contenders for the NFC's Super Bowl berth.

Does the 38-10 rout of the host Carolina Panthers to start the year answer those questions? Not really. The defense played well except for the opening drive of the game -- the Panthers took more than half of the first quarter to march down and score a touchdown. It should be noted that a dumb facemask grab by the Eagles' Juqua Parker kept the drive going, and it nearly stalled a few times as Carolina used two timeouts and (on first-and-goal from the one) took two false-start penalties.

After that, the Carolina offense completely collapsed. Jake Delhomme lost a fumble that was recovered for an Eagles touchdown, giving the Birds a 10-7 lead. The Eagles' DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards to make it 17-7, and the Panthers just melted down from there. Delhomme was intercepted four times before mercifully being benched, and the Eagles had a total of 7 turnovers. So it's hard to tell how much of this was due to good defense and how much was lousy offense. Game two will provide a better indicator as the New Orleans Saints will bring a much better quarterback (Drew Brees) and a more powerful offense to the Linc for the Eagles' home opener.

The Saints' defense isn't quite as daunting, so we'll also see what happens to the Eagles' offense. This week they only generated 267 net yards, and 185 of that, surprisingly, was on the ground. Westbrook averaged 4.9 yards per carry. The offensive line, missing two starters, held up well enough. Donovan McNabb had only 79 yards passing halfway through the 3rd quarter, when he scrambled 3 yards for the final TD of the game and suffered a fractured rib on a late hit in the end zone. Kevin Kolb -- the only other quarterback on the roster with Vick suspended for the first two games -- did little of note.

It's not known if McNabb will play this weekend but it seems improbable. Kolb, touted as the QB of the future since he was drafted, now has two challengers. Vick can't play until the third game, but the Eagles have brought back Jeff Garcia, of all people. Thus, a little more intrigue. The McNabb camp (particularly his mother Wilma) was rather miffed by the love affair between Garcia and the city in 2006. McNabb was hurt and done for the year. Garcia rallied the team to a surprise NFC East title and a playoff win. How will things turn out this time?

Before ending this, let's give a proper goodbye to A.J. Feeley, who was cut prior to the season because of the Vick addition. Rather than rejoin the Eagles, Feeley has apparently decided to sign with Carolina. Here's A.J. with his girlfriend, pro soccer player Heather Mitts: