Let’s remember one key thing in regard to the offseason. Free agency technically didn’t start until Friday at 6pm. Moves were set up in the days before that, but we are only a few days into the offseason. There are still a lot of players left on the open market. Many of them are really good players. This isn’t just throwaways, wannabes, and never-was types.

The Eagles can still do some shopping to fill holes and improve the team. I think one of the important things that’s happened is that the Eagles have been able to watch some of the young guys in action. Does Casey Matthews look like a guy who could start at MLB? Is he in over his head? On Monday they have mixed Jason Kelce and Julian Vandervelde in with the starters at times.

And this isn’t just about rookies. WR Riley Cooper is off to a good start. If he plays well enough, do you still pursue a veteran WR? What if Sinorice Moss continues to impress? It is easy to always want some guy off the street who you’ve seen play, but sometimes the best answers for your needs are the guys already on the roster.

The Eagles have had a few days of practice. They now know which areas they’re comfortable with and which ones they aren’t. We speculate. They know. We’ll find out where they are concerned by the moves they make or attempt to make in the next week or so. Let’s go ahead and speculate for now.

RB — The Eagles do need a veteran RB. They want a speedy back. The fastest guy left on the market that I know about is Jerious Norwood from Atlanta. He averages 5.3 ypc for his career and has made his share of big plays. Durability is his primary concern. Norwood only played in 2 games last year. There were rumors that the Carolina Panthers might have interest in Asante Samuel. If so, the Eagles could ask about RB Mike Goodson. He’s a speedster that played well as a rookie. Right now the Eagles aren’t getting mentioned with players. We know they’re looking, but just not at who.

LB — The Eagles had mild interest in Nick Barnett, but Buffalo made a commitment to him ($6M bonus). There isn’t one guy out there that is a great fit. The Eagles could talk to Kirk Morrison, but don’t know if they have any interest. As for OLB, there are still guys out there. I get lots of questions about Manny Lawson. He is best suited for playing up on the line of scrimmage. The Eagles LBs are going to be off the ball by a few yards. Lawson is a good player, but not a good fit. He’s gotten little attention so far. What about Ben Leber? He can play in just about any system, SAM or WLB. He’s getting no attention. The Eagles haven’t been linked with any OLBs so far. Maybe Juan Castillo really likes the guys we have.

OL — Monday brought some shakeups. Austin Howard was the starting RT. Apparently King Dunlap was struggling. Rookies are playing in the interior. We already know the team added LG Evan Mathis. Are there any more moves on the way? Hard to say. If the Eagles are seriously concerned about Winston Justice’s knee, then they could make an aggressive move. There aren’t great choices on the market. This could be a situation where the team waits to see if any young guys emerge on other teams, thus making a veteran expendable. I am curious to find out how Howard looked at RT. He showed serious potential last summer.

WR — The Eagles aren’t likely to look at just anyone. This is a spot where things could get interesting. With Plax gone and Braylon Edwards likely headed to the desert, could Randy Moss be a target? Reid looked at him a couple of years back, but nothing came of it. Moss would be a Red Zone threat. He also has the deep speed to play in our system. Is he too much of a diva/malcontent? Malcolm Floyd could be an interesting target. He’s almost 30, but worked his way from bottom of the roster to starter/key role player. Floyd is likely looking for a good payday. If he can’t get that, coming to Philly on a 1-year deal wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

We could see more and more guys signing 1-year deals. This was a very condensed offseason and that hurt a lot of players. They didn’t have time to shop around and create a market.

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Interesting practice note. The Eagles are going 1’s vs 1’s this year. In the past it was 1’s vs 2’s. I’m not sure if this is a permanent change due to the lack of two-a-days or if this is due to the lack of mini-camps leading up to Training Camp.

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What the heck is Danny Watkins thinking? He needs to tell his agent to let him sign the deal. Eric Metz will have clients next year and the year after. This is Watkins only career. Every day he misses affects his chance to start in 2011. I don’t get it. Players should control their agents, not the other way around.

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Some people have asked about the 3-CB set up. One scenario is to have Nnamdi Asomugha play a role similar to Charles Woodson in GB. I’m not such a big fan of this, for a couple of reasons. First, Nnamdi is a special cover corner. I’d rather have him outside shutting down a WR. Second, Woodson is a much more complete player. He is an outstanding hitter and tackler. Very good run defender. Excellent blitzer. Nnamdi isn’t special in any of those categories. Woodson had 9 FFs and 5.5 sacks in his time as a Raider. Nnamdi has 2 sacks and 2 FFs in his career. Similar size and great talent, but different players.

I prefer Nnamdi staying out wide, but I won’t blame the Eagles if they try him in the slot and have him do a variety of things. Maybe we’ll find out that Nnamdi is good at these things and just didn’t get the right chances. Brian Dawkins was a completely different player before and after the arrival of Jim Johnson.

None of the CBs is moving to Safety. The Eagles love Nate Allen and have high hopes for Jaiquawn Jarrett. And Kurt Coleman and Marlin Jackson aren’t out of the picture either.

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My PE.com column posted this morning. I wrote about the Eagles brilliance in the past week. They made great moves to make the team better right away, but have a slew of picks for the 2012 draft as well. This team is built for the present and the future. Dan Snyder must puke when he looks at our situation.