Eagles President Joe Banner virtually guaranteed that the Eagles will draft a running back this year when he explained why the team had no interest in Derrick Ward or other tailbacks on the free agent market.

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There aren't many teams in the NFL playing better than the Eagles right now. In consecutive weeks, they demolished the NFC West-champion Cards by 28 points and battered the consensus NFL's best team in their own stadium.

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The Eagles gave up an NFL-record-tying 12 sacks in their first loss to the Giants last year, then three more in the rematch at the Linc. In both games, Donovan McNabb ran for his life, didn't complete a pass over 20 yards, and didn't throw for 180 yards.

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Quintin Mikell was home by the time it ended Wednesday night, and as happy as he was for the Phillies, he couldn't help thinking that one day those cheers and that celebration and that parade will be for the Eagles.

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The season turned in San Francisco and it turned in Glendale, Ariz., and Landover, Md., and then in Cleveland.

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The Eagles promised us all summer that Lorenzo Booker would have a huge impact on the team this fall. Turns out they were right.

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Westbrook, who broke two ribs during the first quarter of the Eagles' loss to the Redskins on Sunday, said last night he's in a lot of pain, didn't sleep at all Sunday night and hopes to play against the 49ers this Sunday but doesn't expect to be 100 percent even if he does get o …

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They keep talking like they're just a good team mired in a little slump. They keep acting like an elite team hitting a brief bump in the road. We're the Eagles, we almost beat the Cowboys. We're the Eagles, we should have beaten the Bears.

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Brian Dawkins won't get the age questions. For at least a week. Dawkins, who had a sack, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 10 tackles in the Eagles' 15-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, will be named NFC Defensive Player of the Week today.

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The first time the Eagles and Cowboys met at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys built a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter before winning 20-7. That was Nov. 14, 1971, Roger Staubach's third year.

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Forbes Magazine used a complex research method to determine what many already knew. Eagles fans are the most devoted of any fan base in the NFL.

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He's not embroiled in any controversies. He's not battling any injuries. He didn't just say something crazy on ESPN. Really, there's no reason to talk about Donovan McNabb these days. "I'm boring," McNabb said yesterday with a laugh.

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Maybe this is why Andy Reid doesn't like having that No. 1 wide receiver that everybody wants, that No. 1 guy who catches most of the touchdowns and is indispensible to the offense. Because if you lose that guy, then what?

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Andy Reid didn't hesitate to play the leadership card Monday when asked about disgruntled running back Brian Westbrook.

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They never did get the big-time all-pro wide receiver they coveted. They didn't add a proven double-digit-sack defensive end. They still don't have legitimate backups for their aging all-pro offensive tackles.

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Donovan McNabb was watching "SportsCenter" on ESPN Tuesday night when the lead stories of the day were previewed.

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Wilson, one of the Eagles' low-key offseason acquisitions, is the likely replacement for Matt Schobel at backup tight end.

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If the consensus is that DeSean Jackson will come in as a rookie and contribute right away returning punts while gradually learning how to be an NFL receiver, then he isn't part of the consensus.

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The best thing for the Eagles, Marty Mornhinweg suspects, may be less of their best player. Less Brian Westbrook? Yep.

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Andy Studebaker played his college football at Wheaton College, a small, private, ultra-conservative NCAA Division III school near Chicago, where professors who get divorced are fired from their jobs because of the way school officials interpret the Bible.

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Why would the Eagles give up so quickly on Sheppard, a first-team all-pro during the 2004 Super Bowl season, a former first-round pick who hasn't even turned 27 yet, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, the only player in NFL history with two career interception returns for touchdowns  …

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Consider first that Tra Thomas is entering his 11th NFL season and Jon Runyan his 13th. Factor in that both Thomas and Runyan are unsigned beyond 2008. And then remember how poorly Winston Justice played against the Giants.

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For every Jerome McDougle, there's a Trent Cole. For every Winston Justice, there's a Shawn Andrews. And for every Matt McCoy, there's an Omar Gaither.

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The Eagles continued tweaking the middle of the roster yesterday, adding depth at tight end by signing veteran Kris Wilson to a three-year deal.

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The Eagles signed somebody yesterday who already has a statue in town named after him. Rocky Boiman. "There's definitely some irony there," this Rocky said. "It should be a fun thing."

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