Philadelphia Eagles

Apparently, giving someone a key to a city is something people still do. Evidently it doesn't just happen in sitcoms! The latest man to receive the honor is Michael Vick, who was given the key to Atlantic City by Mayor Lorenzo Langford. "Michael Vick is caring and compassionate enough to reach out to our city when we were at our lowest point during the immediate aftermath of Super Storm Sandy," said Mayor Langford. "Twelve hours after a nationally televised Monday Night Football game, he was lifting the spirits of our residents confined to shelters with his generosity' particularly our young people. "And now, here he is again, helping us to spread the message that Atlantic City is open for business and ready for the summer season, all while continuing to encourage our youth to make positive contributions to the community." Vick was in AC to help promote the "Restore the Shore" event which is designed to let tourists know that the Jersey shore is back in business after parts were devastated by superstorm Sandy last year. I'm sure this news will be met with some manufactured controversy as all Michael Vick related news does... But honestly this seems like as good a reason as any to give away a symbolic award. Hopefully, at the very least it does help get the word out that the shore is indeed open for business once again.

Daily News NFL writer Paul Domowitch takes your questions Friday at noon on where things stand with the Eagles, after another week of OTAs.

In 6-7 Ifeanyi Momah, the Eagles have a freakishly tall developmental WR and it just so happens that they might also have the best coach in the world on staff to work with him. Harold Carmichael made 4 pro bowls as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles while himself being a freakishly tall WR that came into the league as an obscure prospect. The 6-8 Carmichael was a 7th round pick out of Southern in the 1971 draft, Momah went undrafted out of Boston College. Momah told Bob Grotz that the Eagles great has immediately taken the rookie under his wing. "He's about a half-inch taller than me," Momah said. "The first day I got here I went in his office. He grabbed me, actually, and was telling me all the things in this league I could do with my height. And I'm trying to go out and use all that stuff and make sure that I use my height." It sounds simple, "using your height," but it's actually a key point. The Eagles have had tall WRs before, but not all have really shown an understanding of how to use their height (I'm looking at you Hank Baskett). "Instead of just being out there playing football, go out there and be big," said Momah. "That's the main thing that we have to work on. It's in all aspects. Get in between the defender using your body. Beat him down the field. Use your body to get position. Even in short routes, trying to post the guy up with kind of like a basketball aspect to it." Momah still remains a long shot to make the roster, but it is notable and exciting to see that Carmichael has taken such an active interest in the kid.

Cordell Walker, Texas Ranger has FINALLY weighed in on the controversial Tim Tebow debate that will never go away, regardless of how marginally terrible the quarterback plays.

Ron Jaworski was a guest of 97.5 The Fanatic earlier this week and talked about his level of optimism for the Chip Kelly era. Prepare yourselves... it's not very high. "I've had a number of conversations with Chip. I have incredible respect for what he's done at the collegiate level. It's going to be interesting to see if this style of offense projects to the NFL," Jaws said recently in an interview with 97.5 The Fanatic. "I'm going to say no. But again, I hope I'm wrong because I want Chip and the Eagles to be successful." So exactly why won't Chip's offense work in the NFL? "I just don't see NFL passing concepts in this offense," Jaworski said. "It's a movement offense by the quarterback, off the run action, off the read action -- a lot of short, quick passes, dart routes, bubble screens -- very few plays down the field with NFL passing concepts." This is where things get a little confusing. Because no one, Chip Kelly included is saying that the offense he ran at Oregon will work in the NFL. So it's hard to say what Jaws is arguing against. "It's easy to say, 'Yeah, it worked in college.' Then I looked at a game like Stanford. Stanford, a good defensive football team, shut them down. I hope it works. I like the innovation, but I think it's going to be very difficult." First, literally no one is saying "yeah it worked in college." Not Kelly, not anyone. Second, it's kind of short sighted to say Stanford "shut them down." Yes, this past year Stanford did play well against Chip Kelly's Oregon Ducks, but that's hardly been the case over Kelly's time there. In 2011, the Ducks rung up 53 points on that same "good defensive football team." The previous year, they hung 52 on the Cardinal. The year before that? 42. So sure, Stanford played a good game last year, but that seems to have been the exception more than the rule in their history with Chip Kelly. I guess Jaws has a short memory or he just didn't bother to look. In the end... I suppose I agree with Jaws. I don't think Chip Kelly's Oregon offense will work in the NFL. Now will his Eagles offense? That's an entirely different question and one that Geoff Mosher was wondering if Jaws even understood? Apparently, Jaws knows something nobody else does. Kelly has said his offense would be catered around the quarterback who emerges as his starter. At last check, that competition is still ongoing. Therefore, Kelly's NFL offense has yet to be entirely scripted. But based on what he's seen of the Ducks -- he said he studied seven or eight of their games -- Jaworski isn't optimistic.

Since free agency has pretty much been picked over and the college draft is in the books, I have decided to go division-by-division to highlight some of the key additions and losses for all 32 NFL teams as part of an eight-part series for Sporting Charts. Starting in the AFC with the West, I will save the best for last by finishing things up with the NFC East. The following is a link to my first

Philadelphia Eagles TE/FB James Casey (knee) will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee and should be ready for training camp. Huddle Up: The Eagles and new coach Chip Kelly have plans for the versatile Casey, a free-agent pickup from the Texans, in the team's new-look offense, and this setback could result in more reps for second-round pick and former Stanford standout TE Zach Ertz once he's cleared to join the team after college graduation.

Last season, the Eagles safety unit faced plenty of adversity. Kurt Coleman, Nate Allen, David Sims, and Colt Anderson all started games with limited success. That is why the Eagles brought in a pair of veteran free agents and a rookie to compete with the tenured members of the group. One of the veteran free agents, Kenny Phillips, is an addition that has been met with both concern and intrigue by Eagles fans. The University of Miami alum was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft and has been a starter in the league. Phillips played the last five years for the New York Giants, spending almost as much time on the field as on the sideline, nursing his problematic left knee. When he has been healthy, Phillips has been star on defense. However, he has missed 21 games over the last four seasons, which makes him a question mark for an Eagles safety unit that is searching for answers. Phillips met with reporters this week and was asked about his current bill of health. "My knee is good," said Phillips. "The MRI showed that it healed up nice, so right now I am just taking it one day at a time." Despite the good news regarding his knee, Phillips notes that the training staff is being patient with the free agent acquisition. "They are definitely letting me take my time," said the Miami native. "They are just monitoring me right now, so I can be good when it really counts, during training camp and in the preseason." Since Phillips is not facing added pressure from Chip Kelly, the coaches have him working with the second-team defense. While he understands that he can improve his stock as the offseason moves forward, Phillips is still getting use to not being a starter. "It's a lot different (not being a starter) right now (because) I am not with the first group, but I am still getting as many reps as those guys," said Phillips. "So basically its just about going out there, making plays and showing the coaches that I'm a starter." Another storyline surrounding Phillips is that he goes from "bad guy" to "good guy" in Philadelphia, after defecting from the Giants. The narrative is familiar for the Eagles with Steve Smith joining the team in 2011, but it has taken time for Phillips to get use to. "It's weird being rivals for so long, but now we're friends," said the former Giant. "I am enjoying (being an Eagle) so far." According to Phillips, current Giant safety Antrel Rolle spoke very highly of new Eagles defensive coordinator, Billy Davis, who coached him in Arizona. The veteran believes Davis will put him in a position to be successful. "I am going to get a chance to show I can make plays," said Phillips. "I like the opportunity I am getting with the defense and I feel like it will be a big year (for me)." For the Eagles, getting a "big year" out of Phillips would be a major plus for the defense. If all goes well and his knee holds up, Phillips could be with the team for a while, because he plans on playing for a long time. The Eagles will now have to hope the slow approach will get Phillip ready for the preseason and he can take advantage of being eased into the new defense.

Eagles tight end James Casey underwent arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this week and will miss the rest of the organized team activities over the next 2 ½ weeks. Casey, whom the Eagles signed as a free agent, is expected to be ready for training camp in late July. The Eagles didn’t confirm the surgery to clean out loose cartilage until this morning. USA Today first reported the news. Casey was at practice Monday, the only practice this week that the media was allowed to observe. So the surgery must have taken place either Tuesday or Wednesday. The Eagles must have known the knee was bothering him, however, because they signed tight end Will Shaw on Monday and released running back Miguel Maysonet, an undrafted free agent. Casey is coming off his best season in the NFL in 2012 while serving as both a fullback and tight end for the Houston Texans. He set career highs in receptions (34), yards (330) and touchdowns (three). His absence leaves the Eagles thin at tight end during the OTAs, which continue next week and the week after. That’s because Zach Ertz, the Eagles’ second-round draft pick, isn’t eligible to participate in OTAs because his class at Stanford doesn’t graduate until mid June. That leaves Brent Celek, Clay Harbor, Emil Igwenagu and Shaw as the tight ends for the rest of the OTAs.

The NFL and WWE share big hits and larger-than-life personalities, but according to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, the two companies could soon be sharing employment opportunities. Marvez, who has a background in covering the NFL and wrestling (use to write a pretty prominent wrestling blog), reports that the WWE's Jim Ross met with the NFLPA on Wednesday to discuss the future of players who are cut by teams and need jobs. The WWE wants to recruit bottom-of-roster NFL talent to become their new superstars. The NFLPA, which serves as a management entity for the players' best interests, could serve as a matchmaker between the league and the squared circle. The move makes sense as the WWE wants big, athletic young guys with charisma, and the NFL has a boatload of those characters. Wrestling and football have been bedfellows in the past. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (played defense for the University of Miami), Bill Goldberg (played for the Falcons), Steve McMichael (played for the Bears Super Bowl team), Lawrence Taylor (had a match at Wrestlemania), Bart Scott (TNA), Adam Jones (TNA), Brock Lesner (participated in Vikings minicamp) and dual-sport legend, Bronko Nagurski (played for the Bears and was a world champion) all competed on the field and in the ring. For some players who enjoy the spotlight and life on the road, the wrestling business could be a welcomed profession, especially if their NFL careers are in the toilet. Guys like Chad Johnson, Terrell Owen and even Tim Tebow, who all have "big star" appeal, could make a mint in the wrestling business. With that said, there are several current Eagles that will be on the streets come September. For fringe talent, it may be in their best interest to jump at the opportunity with the WWE. However, only time will tell on who will have the "unwanted" freedom to make the switch. Editors Note: BGNers, who do you see as the best Eagles player for the WWE? What should their ring name be? What would be their finishing move?