The pre-season is officially over and the 2009-2010 NFL season is officially underway. Unfortunately for the Eagles, there are still a number of questions that have to be answered as they head down to Charlotte, North Carolina for their season opener against the Carolina Panthers.

Here are the top five things to watch for in Week 1:

1. Offensive Line:

The offensive line, which was seen as one of the Eagles’ biggest strengths coming into training camp, has to now be considered the biggest question mark as the season begins. Every member of the o-line, with the exception of center Jamaal Jackson, missed time during training camp and has yet to play together this pre-season. Jason Peters and Stacey Andrews were brought in during the offseason with much fanfare, in hopes of complimenting the fragile, but talented, Shawn Andrews. Unfortunately, Shawn Andrews has yet to play a down, and has in fact not played in a game since the second game of last season. He has missed all of …

Longtime Eagles offensive lineman Jon Runyan was back in town Thursday working out for head coach Andy Reid, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and general manager Tom Heckert at the NovaCare Complex.

Reid said that the Eagles wanted to see where Runyan was physically in his rehabilitation. Runyan underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee shortly after last season and was not re-signed by the Eagles when he became a free agent this off-season. He spent nine seasons with the Eagles and never missed a game, garnering him the nickname The Iron Man. He has started 192 straight regular-season games, the longest active streak among offensive linemen.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Runyan’s former line mate Shawn Andrews, who did not practice yet again on Thursday. He was on the field, but was in shorts as the rest of the offensive line went through drills. Andrews has been bothered by a sore lower back for much of the pre-season, missing all four pre-season games, as well as training camp.

One …

For the second time in his career A.J. Feeley, an eight year veteran with an average QB rating of 69.0, is no longer an Eagle. He was cut late Sunday to make room for Antonio Dixon, who was picked up off of waivers.

It became likely that Feeley would leave Philadelphia when Michael Vick was signed. This signaled that Andy Reed is still a believer in the mobile quarterback with the threat of a run. This made Kevin Kolb…

The Eagles signed tight end Alex Smith on Tuesday. In a surprising move, the Eagles cut current backup tight end Tony Curtis, who played well last Thursday in the final preseason game against the New York Jets.

Smith spent his first four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and was cut by the New England Patriots over the weekend.

“It just felt to me that the Eagles would be the best fit for me – just finding a team that I felt like I could come in right away and help,” Smith said. “Coach [Andy] Reid said they love to use the two tight ends. He said it’s an offense I’ve run the last four years, so he doesn’t see any problems throwing me right in the mix and getting things done.”

Smith’s production has declined every year, starting with his rookie season in 2005 in which he had 41 receptions for 367 yards. That dropped to 35 in 2006, 32 in 2007, and 21 in 2008.

“By no means …

After weeks of speculation, Roger Goodell announced Tursday that Eagles quarterback Michael Vick would be reinstated and eligible to play Week 3 at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Goodell and Vick met Thursday morning in New Jersey to discuss when he might be reinstated.

Goodell told a room full of reporters that he has been in contact with Vick on an almost daily basis.

“A lot of those issues I’m focusing on are off the field,” Goodell said. “How is he dealing with the transition? … Does he have the right people around him helping him make decisions?”

The announcement allows the Eagles to make a decision on their final 53-man roster, which is due by 6:00 PM on Saturday. They can carry a 52-man roster, or put him on the exempt list. Then they could carry the full 53-man roster, but Vick would not be eligible to practice.

Before signing with the Eagles two weeks ago, Vick has not played or practiced football at the NFL level in almost …

According to several reports, Michael Vick is expected to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Thursday and a ruling on his reinstatement could come as early as Saturday.

According to a source speaking with the Philadelphia Daily News’ Les Bowen, the ruling is expected to come before Saturday’s 6:00 PM deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters to 53 players. This would allow the Eagles to properly prepare their final roster.

Goodell has previously said that he would make a ruling by Week 6 of the regular season, although many people expected the decision to come before then. While Goodell could suspend Vick for any number of games, or not at all, it is expected that he will miss two games, becoming eligible in Week 3 at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

If Vick is suspended, then the Eagles will need to decide whether to carry a 52-man roster, or put him on the exempt list. Then they could carry the full 53-man roster, but Vick would …

Omar Gaither has been named the starting middle linebacker for the Eagles, replacing the injured Stewart Bradley.

“I’m going home,” said Gaither, who played middle linebacker in 2007 before losing the job to Bradley in 2008. “I feel like Dorothy. I didn’t click my heels. I got on my knees and did a lot of praying. It’s good though. I’m looking forward to it. I think it will be exciting for me.”

Bradley tore his ACL on August 2 during the team’s “Flight Night” charity practice at Lincoln Financial Field, ending his season prematurely.

Gaither appeared to be the obvious choice to replace Bradley, but the Eagles decided to give sophmore Joe Mays a tryout.

“You try to justify and understand things that happen, but you can’t do that,” Gaither said. “You just have to keep playing. You would think that I would be the guy that would go in there right away, but Joe played well last year, and they felt like he could go in there and do …

I’m sure Shawn Andrews is a nice guy. And he’s certainly a hell of a football player, when he’s actually on the field.

But I’m starting to really get fed up with his lack of being on the damn football field. He has yet to participate in a live practice with the Eagles this preseason, let alone a game. He just flew out to California to have a doctor examine his ailing back. There are rumors that he’s (still) mentally not in football shape. He does not appear to be very interested in playing football anymore, but is simply going through the motions for the paycheck.

Now a video has surfaced of Andrews rapping (sort of) about Michael Phelps and smoking weed. The video isn’t really so much Andrews rapping, but more talking about rapping. And then he plays the song, and I’m not sure if there is any actual words…

You better just watch the video for yourself. I guess this is what Andrews is doing while the rest of his teammates are on the practice field….

Eagles’ coach Andy Reid announced Tuesday that quarterback Michael Vick will play the fourth quarter of Thursday’s preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field.

“Michael will have an opportunity to play,” said Reid, who indicated Vick won’t play much. The Eagles will “take it play by play, see how he adjusts to game speed.”

It will be Vick’s first action since serving a 23-month prison sentence for running an illegal dog fighting operation.

So we want to know, if you are going down to the game Thursday night, are you going to cheer or boo Vick when he walks onto the field for the first time?

Whether you think Michael Vick deserves a second chance to play football or not, or if you think he can help the Eagles win a SuperBowl, is one thing. But are you excited enough that Mike Vick is an Eagle to go out and buy his jersey?

We here at Hot Stove Philly want to know: have you purchased, or are you planning on purchasing, a Michael Vick jersey?

The Eagles will make play their second preseason game Thursday night at Indianapolis against Peyton Manning and the Colts, but they will be without a good portion of the roster.

A total of 12 players will not be making the trip west, including most of the rebuilt offensive line. Guards Todd Herremans and Stacey Andrews tackles Jason Peters and Shawn Andrews are all injured. Center Jamaal Jackson is the only member of the offensive line, which was supposed to be greatly improved from last season, to remain healthy throughout the entire preseason. All five members of the offensive line have yet to play together as a unit this preseason.

Herremans has a stress reaction in his foot and is expected to miss the entire preseason. Stacey Andrews has been practicing, but the Eagles are playing it safe with his surgically repaired right knee and keeping him out of Thursday’s game. Peters suffered a quadriceps strain last Thursday in the team’s first preseason matchup against New England and has …

According to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer Thursday, Dick’s Sporting Goods will not stock Michael Vick jerseys, at least not until company officials have an opportunity to “evaluate the reaction of Eagles fans.”

“Right now we don’t know how much of a demand there is for” the jersey, Dick’s chief marketing officer, Jeff Hennion, said in a prepared statement. “If there is a demand for it, we’ll sell it.”

While the move isn’t purely humanitarian, I give Dick’s credit for taking at least a partial stand against the team’s signing of the controversial Vick. While there may not be a huge rush for Vick jerseys, at least right now, there are certainly a fair portion of Eagles fans who are purchasing them. If the demand gets too great, then you can’t fault Dick’s for making the business decision and selling them. It’s a small gesture, but I give them credit for it.

Modell’s Sporting Goods almost didn’t stock Vick jerseys, according to Mitchell Modell, owner and CEO of the sports store, but in the end the demand …