Philadelphia fans have been hoping, begging, and even praying to the football gods for a playmaking #1 wide receiver.  Of course the personnel dept. disagreed with everyone because they were winning.  It took three consecutive NFC Championship losses before they recognized their obvious need.

Then came Terrell Owens (T.O.).  In one almost magical season the Eagles finally broke the NFC barrier and became the champions.  Even in a Super Bowl XXXIX loss to New England T.O. (9 receptions, 122 yards) had a great game.  Then he became a diva and an enormous distraction, causing a huge rift in the locker room.  In the end he was such a distraction he was eventually cut, but he cut the team deeper.

Now, two years later the Eagles have healed and are ready to begin the search again.  Shortly after the beginning of free agency they flirted with Randy Moss (98 receptions, 1,493 yards, 23 TDs), and at one point Eagles coach Andy Reid thought he would get the record-breaking wideout.  Try to picture Donovan McNabb’s rocket …

Apparently the Eagles wanted linebacker Takeo Spikes to restructure his contract, or simply stated to take a pay cut. Spikes told WIP’s Howard Eskin that this was a move on their part to save money while allowing time for them to solicit a trade for him. Spikes posted a quiet 86 tackles and 1 sack during his one-year tenure of 14 games. He missed the last two games of the season when he opted to have shoulder surgery when the Eagles were out of the playoff hunt. This move gives the Eagles about $5 million more in cap space.
Andy Reid gave no real explanation other than that he’s excited about the development of his young linebacker corps. Spikes’ former position, WIL (weak-side linebacker), will be filled by the team’s leading tackler, Omar Gaither (103 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 int.), who played the position in 2006. Meanwhile, Stuart Bradley (15 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 int.), the teams’ 24th pick in the 3rd round of the 2007 draft …