I was watching Comcast Sportsnet a few days after the draft and saw an interview with Sheldon Brown where he was asked what he thought about the Eagles using their first pick of the draft on a QB.  His response was brilliant, and if you ask me, it's the quote of the year.  Brown answered "if you are relying on a first round draft pick to help you win this year you might as well just say you're rebuilding."

I'll be the first to admit I was bummed, borderline devastated, that the birds didn't draft help in the secondary with their first pick.  After five straight hours of watching the draft and realizing that Michael Griffin, Reggie Nelson and Brandon Merriweather were all off the board I was frantically searching online for who the experts had listed as the next best available safety or corner.  We all agree that its time to start grooming a replacement for Dawkins.  I know that.  You know that.  But the truth is, drafting that player this year barely, if at all, effects our chances at succeeding this year. 

Let me say it this way.  I think everyone can agree that the Eagles have been pretty damn successful in the Andy Reid era, making the playoffs in five of the last six years.  Our first round picks in those years?  Brodrick Bunkley (9 tackles), Mike Patterson (44 tackles), Shawn Andrews (broken leg in the first game of the year), Jerome McDougle (not worth listing stats), Lito Sheppard (a non-factor his rookie year), Freddie Mitchell (please) and Corey Simon (9.5 sacks).  So let's see, the only two people that made an impact in their rookie year were Mike Patterson and Corey Simon.  In case you forgot, we missed the playoffs in Patterson's first year.  Corey Simon?  Its safe to say we WERE rebuilding that year. 

So back to the quote of the year - "if you are relying on a first round draft pick to help you win this year you might as well just say you're rebuilding."  We're not rebuilding this year.  We're just not.  This year we make a run at the super bowl.  I've said it before and I'll say it again....I hear Arizona is beautiful in February, who's in??

Like most Eagle fans, I despise the way the Eagles management handles free agency and the draft. I want them to be like me at my fantasy auction; drunk and gluttonous. I see a big name…I take it! I see a hoagie….I eat it! Instead, the Eagles are that loathsome, water-sipping, buttoned-down wuss sitting next to me. The guy with the plan and the temperance to see it though. The guy who kicks my ass every year.

So I despise the way they run the team, but I’ve learned to give them benefit of the doubt, something that unfortunately most Eagles fans have not. After all, the Eagles have been in sniffing distance of a championship for more years under Reid than under all previous Eagles head coaches combined. So they must know something. You just have to dig a little to find it…

As we all know, this past Sunday, Reid spent his top draft pick on a Quarterback. A top notch QB you say…what in heavens for? We already have one. He’s helped us get to the playoffs six times in his eight year career and even took us to the Supe once! Sure he’s had a few injuries, but nothing chronic, right? I mean he’s only 30 coach! What are you thinking? Are you sending us a message about McNabb? Are you sending McNabb a message about McNabb?

Or do you have a plan?

Let’s flashback 20 years ago to draft day 1987 (doodle-oo, doodle-oo, doodle-oo): Bill Walsh, coaching genius, father of the West Coast offense and most likely hero to young Andrew Reid hangs up the phone with Tampa Bay GM Rich McKay and cements a curious trade. A 2^nd and 4^th round pick for a young and talented, but extremely raw QB named Steve Young. Not the Steve Young you know today, but the Steve Young who was about to be thrown into the recycle bin for a brand new Vincent Testaverde.

Now I was busy trying to graduate from high school right around then, so I’m not 100% sure what the reaction was, but I’ll bet there was some head scratching by the fans and maybe the media too. Something like…A QB? We’ve got one coach! His name is (ahem) Joe Montana. He’s taken us to the playoffs five times in his eight year career and he’s even won a few Supes coach! Sure he had an injury last year that sidelined him for half the season…but it’s nothing chronic right? I mean he’s only 30 coach!

Hmmmm……familiar?

Here’s what Reid’s thinking: McNabb might keep getting injured and I’m not tanking this whole thing just because of one guy (even if it is my best little buddy Donovan). On the other hand, he may have half his career left, but he needs to know that the clock is ticking. Either way, I’m here for the long term and that means long term plans for each and every position. That includes QB.

So, let’s go back to 1987 and see what happened next?

Montana came back from his injury and guided the team to four consecutive divisional championships and two more Superbowl rings, all while the threat of Young lurked behind the clipboard.

Then Montana got injured again...this time more seriously. He missed all of the 1991 season and most of the next and by the time he was fully ready to come back he found that the QB job was not his. Young went on to take the 49ers to the playoffs seven times in the next eight years and even notched his own Supe victory before retiring in 1998.

What the 49ers did was truly remarkable. They negotiated a change at the most important position, the QB, while maintaining complete dominance over the league. All told, they had 16 playoff appearances in 18 years. They kept the brass ring in their sights for almost two full decades, a record seemingly untouchable. Unless of course you’re a man with a plan. So here’s to the Birds future…pass me a beer. On second thought, make it a Kool-Aid