5 Questions with the Eagles

Update by Brandon at 3:15PM: You can see my answers to Jason's questions here.

The Redskins play the Eagles this weekend, so you know what that means. Get ready to get blind drunk, accost the opposing team's fans and deprive them of property and physical security. Get ready to call your boss on Monday morning and explain that you can't come to work because you're in jail for taking a dump in the parking lot.

Huh? The game's at FedEx? No worries then. Bring your wine and cheese and your Clinton Portis jersey and you'll be all set.

The Eagles are coming to D.C. this weekend fresh off a huge Monday night win at the hands of the quasi-formidable Jeff Garcia. Here to tell us all about it is Jason from Bleeding Green Nation, our interviewee in this week's 5 Questions.

Here goes:

Curly R: This is the third time (and the second straight year) that Donovan McNabb has gone out for a significant portion of the season, the first time being in 2002. It seems like he's constantly been dealing with injuries throughout his career. He's great when healthy, but should the Eagles start looking for McNabb's replacement if he can't return next year?

BGN: First off, all signs point to him being fine next year. His injury wasn't even as serious as Carson Palmer's who came back very quickly and has looked fine. The timeline for McNabb now seems more likely to be something in the area of 5-6 months. That said, I don't think anyone would have a problem with them drafting a kid to groom. McNabb is still not even 30, so it's early to get the successor but there's no doubt that an insurance policy against these injuries that are getting more and more frequent would be more than welcome by Eagles fans.

There is a possiblity that the team sees AJ Feeley as that longer term insurance policy. I'm not sure that I do...

Curly R: Why are Philly fans so notoriously boorish and disorderly?

BGN: This is a question that there's 500 answers for and has been debated every which way... There's no one answer. It's a tough town with tough people that haven't been given a whole lot of championships.

Curly R: Do you ever miss Terrell Owens being a member of the Eagles?

BGN: No. Not even a little bit. Our recievers have had enough problems with drops, we don't need the league leader in that category here...

Curly R: What, if any, is the silver lining in this disappointing Eagles season?

BGN: Well, I suppose the ultimate silver lining is that they are actually the #6 seed in the playoffs as of right now. I would have never expected that after those bad losses and the McNabb injury that they'd be in full control of their playoff destiny. Clearly, that's thanks to the mediocrity(or crappiness) of the NFC this year... but it's still a nice thing to have a good shot at the playoffs even with all that's happened.

Otherwise, the silver lining has been watching the progression of some of the guys on the team. Reggie Brown looks like the first good WR Reid has ever drafted, Stallworth has been every bit the deep threat and playmaker we needed, Brian Westbrook has raised his game to another level and now looks like the feature back that everyone said he was too small to be, Lito Sheppard has come back from an injury last year to have what looks like another pro bowl caliber season.

Curly R: The Eagles have four games left, three of them against beatable opponents in Washington, NY Giants and Atlanta. Do you think Jeff Garcia can lead the team to a wild card spot?

BGN: Sure I do. The main reason being that the NFC flat out sucks. The Eagles now hold a tiebreaker and a favorable division/conference record over most of the teams in the playoff hunt. Plus, these teams have been so woefully inconsistent that it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Eagles in the postseason. I also wouldn't be shocked to see the Eagles lose out. In the NFC it almost seems to be "who wants to blow it the most?"

I'm actually not worried at all about Garcia, who has turned in 2 professional and solid performances as a starter. Last week against a very good Carolina defense, I'd even venture to say Garcia was good! In the end, I believe the defense will be the reason this team makes the playoffs or not. Garcia is not a guy who makes alot of mistakes and has shown he can manage a game well enough to win. The defense, however, has shown it can give up 200+ yards on the ground and get dominated. If the defense can play more like they did against Carolina, Garcia can use the formidable weapons the Eagles have on offense to score enough points to win games.

CURLY R BONUS QUESTION: Has Donovan McNabb's presence in the ads made you more or less likely to consume Campbell's Chunky Soup?

BGN: Funny enough... I think it has. The Campbell's Chunky gumbo is awesome. I also drink Vitamin water, another McNabb endoresment. Although I drank that before they signed him on. However, I do not believe I'll be wearing anything from the "Super 5" clothing line...

******

Vitamin Water is good stuff, and ditto on the soup. Thanks, Jason for participating in the two-part series this year...we'll see you again next year for more questions!