My new column for SB Nation Philly is up. I wrote about Andy Reid and free agents. In recent years he’s really become a guy that players want to play for. It gives me great pleasure to see just the opposite going on with the Skins and Mike Shanahan. I’ve said he’s overrated for years and been in all kinds of arguments. The guy did win 2 Super Bowls, but had John friggin’ Elway, one of the 10 greatest QBs in the history of the NFL. Without Elway, Shanny has one playoff win. One. Ouch.

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The Eagles lost out on Plaxico, who they did want. It will be interesting to see if they go after another veteran receiver. The absence of Maclin and DeSean isn’t good. I do think DeSean will report soon. Not sure what’s up with Mac. Doesn’t sound good based on Andy’s comments from Saturday, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

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The Eagles did sign OG Evan Mathis. He’s got 22 career starts in his time with Carolina, Miami, and Cincy. He’s the kind of OG that Howard Mudd wants. Mathis goes 6’5, 302. I liked him coming out of college. So did the Eagles. They brought him to the NovaCare Complex for a pre-draft visit. I had him rated as a 3rd round prospect. Not a great athlete, but smart, tough, and aggressive. Good pass and run blocker. Overachiever type.

Mathis has NFL experience at LG and RG. Some wonder if he’s here to fill in for Danny Watkins. Could be. Not sure if anything else is happening. We haven’t heard a good update on Winston Justice’s knee. King Dunlap is the starting RT, but hasn’t exactly shined from what we hear. Backup RT Fenuki Tupou is really struggling. Could be some shifting going on at some point. Still early so we’ve gotta let these guys play a bit.

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Good article on the Eagles and the signing of Nnamdi Asomugha.

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More on Cullen Jenkins. Some wondered why deal Bunkley and go with Jenkins. Bunk might fit the new scheme. He’s still young and could have a bright future. This stat is a good explanation. Jenkins had 7 sacks last year. Bunk has 6 in his career. I’ll be the first to tell you that Bunk doesn’t get to rush the passer very much, but that’s part of the point. Can you re-train him and get him to do that well? Huge question. With Jenkins, he’s already good at it.

Getting pressure up the middle is critical these days. You never see Drew Brees get sacked. The ball is out before DEs have a chance to get there. Pressure up the middle is a whole other story. And this isn’t 260-pound Darren Howard doing it. This is a 300-pound DT. Draw plays aren’t going to be as effective with him in there. I haven’t had a chance yet to study him thoroughly, but I know Jenkins is a good pass rusher. We needed help in that area. Good signing.

Someone made a great point in regard to the deal. We traded Bunk for a 2012 5th round pick. The Skins dealt Big Al for a 2013 5th round pick. Because of the year difference, we got better value for Bunk than they did for a guy with dominant potential. Appreciate how good the Eagles front office is from time to time.

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No word on anything at LB. Barrett Ruud and Stephen Tulloch are off the market. Both guys had to settle for 1-year deals. That tells you there isn’t as much of a market for MLBs as you would think. I’m not a big fan of Kirk Morrison’s. I’d rather go with Nick Barnett or possibly Lofa Tatupu. He’s likely going to be cut today. His knees aren’t great and he’s reportedly slowed down, but he could be a good short term answer to give Casey Matthews a year to develop. Casey is the long term answer at MLB. We’re not committing to another guy for a long deal. Castillo wants Matthews to be his guy. As for anything at WLB…no idea what might happen.

I think one of the keys for us at MLB, if we go for a vet, is finding someone who is a solid pass defender. We play with the lead a lot. Teams want to throw on us. The outside lanes will be taken away by Nnamdi, DRC, and/or Asante. That means more throws over the middle. We don’t need a huge run stuffer. We need someone who can play the passing lanes, as well as being a solid run defender. Tatupu is very instinctive and a gifted cover LB, when 100%. I don’t know what kind of shape his knees/legs are in now.

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A few people asked about Cap casualties on the roster. No one is getting cut purely for cost. If the guys can still play well, they’ll keep jobs. Juqua Parker will or won’t be an Eagle because of how he plays, not his salary. If he can be a good backup LDE, it would be dumb to cut him to save money. We know the value of pass rushers. I don’t think we have any “fat cats” on the roster right now. The guys earning big bucks are still important players.

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Someone asked about the addition of big corners and how that helps the Red Zone defense. Big time. Asante liked to play off in the RZ. You can’t do that. You can’t bait QBs when you’re at the 5-yard line. You’ve got to press and stick right on the receiver. DRC and Nnamdi will be a major improvement for us in the RZ. They can be physical with receivers. They also jump well and can’t be thrown over (unless going against Plaxico types).