Reid simply responded, “I’m OK with that.”

He went on to say that he understands why the media feels this way. There is a lot of youth and the team basically looks brand new.

I don’t think you could have expected Reid to react much differently to this question. Many of the Eagles current players are unproven and even the ones who have shown flashes of brilliance have only done so for a season or two.

This is not a bad thing for the Eagles, not at all. However, they will have to deal with national media doubting them until they get on the field and prove something.

I know that the young Eagles players are aware of these opinions, and I think they like it. We’ve heard DeSean Jackson talk about the “young guns” and how good they can be and knows that the only thing left to do is go out and prove it.

Personally, I never liked when the Eagles were the preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl. It’s nice to be the underdog sometimes. It gives you a reason to take your game to another level and prove everyone wrong.

That’s the goal for the 2010 Philadelphia Eagles.

Offensively, you always have to look to the quarterback first. I think that the young offensive players already respect Kevin Kolb and from what we’ve heard, wanted him to be in the position he’s in.

The offense is in Kolb’s hands and he will need to embrace that. He needs to know that offense better than anyone else on the team; he needs to understand what each player is responsible of doing on every single play.

I think Kolb has the leadership qualities a quarterback should have and is ready to run with this offense. Also, I think he may get some help from Brent Celek who seems like he could emerge as a leader. His on the field play increased in 2009 and I can see his leadership qualities doing the same in 2010.

Outside of Kolb and Celek, I think the Eagles will have mostly “lead by example” type players on offense. I think DeSean Jackson is a player that fits this bill. He’s a high-profile player but he’s going to lead by making plays on the field.

Defensively, you have to look to Quintin Mikell first. Mikell got to experience Brian Dawkins leadership first hand and has definitely seen the mold he should try to fit as a leader on defense.

There are a ton of new players trying to learn the defense and make contributions, so they’re going to need someone to go to and ask questions. I think Mikell will be that guy.

The return of Stewart Bradley should also help a lot. He is a natural leader and the middle linebacker position is a place that demands these type of qualities. I can see Bradley being the leader of the Eagles defense for years to come.

You can look at Asante Samuel, but I think he is similar to DeSean Jackson on the offensive side of the ball. He is a lead by example type of guy and although he might be very vocal on the field, he doesn’t project as a leader.

As the 2010 season gets closer and closer, it will be interesting to see what Eagles emerge as team leaders.

I’m sure there will be more of the same in 2010, it’s just a matter of who it will be. Hopefully, there are a bunch of players who exceed expectations this season, but I’m going to take a stab at picking one on each side of the ball.

Offense
I’m going to go with Cornelius Ingram here. He hasn’t seen a single play in an NFL game yet, and I think he feels he has a lot to prove. There isn’t any doubt in my mind that he lacks the ability to be a great player. Injuries have held him back, but hopefully that trend is over.

The guys is basically a wide receiver in a tight ends body. He has amazing athleticism and can be a real pass-catching threat. We’ve heard a lot about him being a redzone target for the team, and I expect him to find the end zone quite a few times this year.

Another reason he should find success is due to the emergence of Brent Celek. In 2010, Celek will start to see more attention than he has in the past and this can open things up for Ingram if the Eagles line up in a two tight end set.

If he can stay healthy, you better watch out for Ingram this season.

Defense
My defensive pick is a new addition to the team and someone I expect to get back on track in 2010, Ernie Sims.

Sims is a guy who had 100-plus tackle seasons his first three years but could not get to that threshold last year due to injury. In 2010, he will have the opportunity to lineup with the Eagles and look to get back to that plateau.

The Eagles linebackers were horrible last year, so Sims has the chance to be a savior. Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott already likes what he has seen from Sims and I expect that trend to continue.

The Eagles should see a large improvement in their linebacker play this season and I think Sims will be a big part of that.

This has to be one of the more exciting Training Camps in years for the Eagles. They will transition from the franchise quarterback they had for a decade to a guy who’s started a total of two games in his career. Although this sounds alarming on the surface, everybody is excited to see what Kevin Kolb can do in this offense.

Along with the young quarterback, the Eagles have a ton of other young players on offense who are all starting to come into their own. Collectively, it seems that they all realize that they are a talented group and have an incredible amount of potential.

The quarterback position has excitement that goes beyond Kevin Kolb. Although Michael Vick may have received a lot of attention off the field recently, he has received a lot of praise this offseason for things he was doing on the field. Marty Mornhinweg and his staff have been impressed by Vick and think he’s back to the player he was before his jail sentence. If that’s true, we should see some big things out of him this year.

Defensively, there is a lot of excitement surrounding rookies Brandon Graham and Nate Allen. Both have good chances to start in the opener against the Packers but will look to make big impacts either way.

With a year under his belt, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott will look to improve a squad that was a little shaky in 2009. The return of a healthy Stewart Bradley and the addition of Ernie Sims should help McDermott start off in the right direction.

Much like the offense, there is a lot of youth on the defense with plenty of guys who will be looking to make a name for themselves.

Although I feel that there is always a lot of anticipation at this point every year, I feel like the anticipation level for the 2010 Eagles is one of the highest in a long time. I absolutely cannot wait to see the Birds finally back in action.

Part of the reason the Eagles wanted to bring in someone to compliment Cole was to alleviate some of the pressure on him. He’s a great player and with another talented rusher opposite him, he should be even better.

Cole is a Pro Bowl talented and has already had two seasons in which he’s recorded 12.5 sacks. However, I don’t think he’s considered to be in that dominate pass rusher category with guys like Jared Allen or Julius Peppers.

In 2010, I think he can take his game to a whole new level. Cole is in the prime of his career (turning 28 during the season) and should be a menace rushing the quarterback since he’ll be getting some solid contributions opposite him.

I also think Cole can help himself by helping others. Brandon Graham and the crew of young defensive ends definitely have plenty of talent. They should be able to learn a lot from Cole, especially Graham. After the Eagles drafted Graham, people immediately started comparing his high motor play to Cole’s style of play.

Imagine having a Trent Cole lined up on both sides of the ball and the production that would come from it. That could essentially be what we see this season. Between the two, you could see 25 or more sacks.

I’m very excited to see what Cole does this year and fully expect him to set a personal record for sacks in a season.

For the Eagles, Mosley writes: “Jeremy Maclin finishes this season with more yards and TDs than DeSean Jackson.”

When you look at the duo, you know that they should put up some really big numbers. In an offense that features passing like the Eagles’ does, Jackson and Maclin will get more than their fair share of opportunities to get their hands on the ball. Beyond that, both have great speed and the ability to make defenders miss in the open field.

Although it doesn’t overly concern me about who has the better stats as long as the overall production is there, I think Mosley will be correct in this prediction.

With two seasons in the books, DeSean Jackson has emerged as one of the biggest playmakers in the game today. You can definitely make the argument to say that he’s the most electric wide receiver in the NFL right now. He may not be the best receiver overall, but I don’t think any other receiver has a better chance than Jackson to score when the ball is in their hands.

In developing this reputation, Jackson will force defensive coordinators to change their schemes to try and shut him down. Although Maclin is almost on the same level as Jackson, coordinators will focus on shutting Jackson down first.

That will absolutely open doors for Jeremy Maclin in 2010. I believe that he will give teams nightmares this season as they try to shut down Jackson. Maclin is already a good receiver, but I think 2010 will be the time where he really starts to develop a name for himself.

In this week’s podcast we discussed the following:

- General Training Camp information
- Rookie contracts
- Offensive position battles
- Defensive position battles
- Players on the bubble
- Questions we received on Twitter
- Dark horse players to keep an eye on
- Contest details

In terms of the last item, we have opened up a new contest but you will have to listen to the podcast for all the details.

If you listen to the podcast (which you should), please leave us some feedback.

Thanks and enjoy!

Kevin Kolb has been catapulted to the front of this new look Eagles team and is creating a ton of buzz. I constantly hear people saying to others that Kolb is going to be a stud. They think he’s a better fit in the West Coast offense than Donovan McNabb and that there will be no gap in success despite the quarterback change.

I’m not one to deny that I feel any different but at times I have to stop myself. Personally, I cannot wait to see Kevin Kolb in this offense and I think he will be great. However, I also realize that Kolb will have his growing pains. He may very well hear some boo birds throughout the season, and he’s going to have to accept that. No matter how much success he has in 2010, he’s not going to be perfect.

With the way people are setting the bar for Kolb (including myself), it will be interesting to see the reaction to Kolb’s first interception, a bad read, or a “Donovan” ball into the receivers feet.

As Philadelphia sports fan, we demand a lot out of our teams. In the sport of football, the quarterback position is the one who gets all the glory but at the same time receives a lot of the blame.

Are Eagles fans setting their expectations too high for a quarterback who’s started a total of two games in his career? Who knows, but I think it’s safe to say that fans should be ready to takes the ups AND the downs.

I expect a lot out of Kevin Kolb this season; however, I expect a whole lot more out of him in the future.

This is a super important Training Camp for both players as they have legitimate shots at starting the season at their respective positions. Missing any time at camp would put them at a huge disadvantage and jeopardize their starting spots.

I’m sure the Eagles are working hard to get both players contracts before camp opens next Monday, but they’re not getting a whole lot of help around the league. It seems that this has been a slow offseason in terms of signing early draft picks. Out of the 32 players selected in the first round, none have signed at this point.

Often times, players wait for contracts to get offered to those who were drafted near them so they can try to gauge their own market price. With the stalemate taking place right now, it seems like a question of who’s going to step up to the plate first.

The good news concerning Graham is that he has already come out and said he will be at camp regardless. You hate to see the guy come out to camp and not be fully focused because there is still doubt about his contract, but I’d rather see him do that than miss any of the other sessions.

For Allen, there has been speculation that he will want more money now because of the odds of him being the opening day starter. I have not heard Allen say whether or not he’d be in camp without a contract, but I hope he has the same mindset as Graham.

In the end, I hope both deals get done before Monday so there aren’t any worries. These players can potentially have a huge impact on this team, so I don’t want to see them miss any time.

Both are players the Eagles drafted in the first and have high expectations for. At this point in their careers, both players should be entering their prime. The Eagles are hoping that this is the season the two really break out and prove they are a dominant force in the middle.

Although the back to back games with the Cowboys last year were devastating, they exposed a lot of areas the Eagles could focus on this offseason. On defense, the Eagles had a lot of trouble slowing down the Cowboys’ rushing attack and that all starts up front.

None of this is to say that the duo hasn’t been good, because I think they have been pretty solid. However, they aren’t considered to be one of the NFL’s dominant combination’s in the middle. This year, they need to fit that persona.

The Eagles have built their defense with a lot of speed, hoping to force teams to throw the ball so they can attack the passer. The only problem there is that you have to be able to stop the run first. Speed helps contain runners from getting outside, but it won’t stop them from pounding the middle.

Although they will need some linebacker support, Patterson and Bunkley have to be a force in the middle. This doesn’t necessarily mean they need to pile up a ton of tackles. However, if they can draw a blocker to double team them rather than go after a linebacker than that opens up someone else to make a play.

The Eagles invested a lot in Patterson and Bunkley and now it’s time to see a big return.