Mike Bartrum reflected on his past while planning his future in 2000, when he chose the Eagles in free agency over the New York Jets. The tight end/long snapper played six seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, and New England Patriots before coming to Philadelphia.

"Coach (Andy) Reid was my tight ends coach in Green Bay in '95," Bartrum says. "And then I signed with New England. We played Philly in '99 and I'd seen Coach Reid. He said, 'Hey, if anything ever happens, let me know.' Well, Coach (Bill) Belichick came to New England in 2000 and cut me.

"Coach (Bill) Parcells, who I played for in New England, was now with the Jets, so I talked to him. But I just felt very comfortable with Coach Reid. He treated me like a son. There was a lot of mutual respect there. I felt like number one, he held me accountable even though I had that respect for him. He was always such a great mentor for me."

During Bartrum's first five seasons in Philadelphia, the Eagles played in four consecutive NFC Championship Games, and capped the 2004 campaign by advancing to Super Bowl XXXIX.

"The whole seven years I was there, it was about family. Once you build that bond with each other, you trust each other and you know that you've got each other's back," Bartrum says. "(Reid) brought in some guys from T.O. (Terrell Owens) to Jevon Kearse. Donovan (McNabb) was already there. I was very minuscule in that part, but those guys, the high-profile guys, were really, really good football players.

"I wish we could have made it to the Super Bowl those other years, but it's all God's time and I feel that he put us there for a reason. It was really, really cool that we were all able to stay together that long and be able to try to make a good run. I feel it was a blessing every day that I was fortunate enough to be on those teams."

Bartrum, long considered as one of the best long snappers in the league, was acknowledged in 2005 by being chosen to play in the Pro Bowl.

"Dave Akers was fortunate enough to make the Pro Bowl a couple years, and he was nice enough to fly my wife and me over to the Pro Bowl, saying thank you for snapping for him," Bartrum says. "I never went to meetings or anything like that, but I was like, 'Man, that would be so cool.'