And here we thought we’d have only manufactured drama heading into camp.

The 36 Chambers of Brian Westbrook has apparently been gently suggesting that he could use a new contract for months, and this afternoon he escalated the negotiation by changing agents.  Move over Lito!  Now there’s something meatier!

Sure, B-West got paid in 2005, but he was probably the best back in the NFL last year, and was certainly the Eagles’ best player (by a lot). 

The catch is that Joe Banner has a spreadsheet, and I would suspect that said spreadsheet has some very untoward things to say about the performance of running backs as they approach the age of 30 (and even more to say about the performance of said pushing-30 running backs immediately following the signature of a fresh contract, a.k.a. the Shaun Alexander corollary).  In B-West’s defense, inasmuch as he’s complained about not getting enough carries over the years, his overall mileage is relatively low — and the Birds know it.  Thus, if they’re keeping track of these things, Westbrook has a decent shot to Get Paid. (Read the rest of this story.)

Traditionally, I react to Mike Florio’s anti-Eagles rumormongering with a knowing-but-disappointed sigh and a mild clucking of the tongue: I’m sure posting about the Birds earns him extra page views at this point, and who am I to deny a man his livelihood! Sure, some of the rumors are especially silly (especially the more outlandish ones involving Dunavin), but at least we know enough at this point not to overreact.

That said, I think last week was the first time that I actually got excited about an allegedly anti-Eagles rumor on PFT. In a discussion of the “new” draft-day trade chart (note: if you’re reading this, I assume you’re aware of both the “old” and the proposed “new” draft-day trade charts…umm, right?), Florio quoted a “league source” as saying that this so-called “new” chart was just a scheme by the Eagles to screw over the other teams:

A league source tells us that, in his opinion and based on discussions with most of the other NFL teams, the proposal is the direct result of the Philadelphia Eagles to make it easier to trade up from the No. 19 overall spot in the 2008 draft.

“The whole thing sounds like an elaborate ruse,” the source said.

A ruse, do you say? A cunning attempt to deceive the other teams? Really? From Joe Banner? (Read the rest of this story.)

I’ll admit that I really couldn’t believe the “Brian Westbrook is going to get a new contract” rumors when they first started percolating a couple weeks ago.

Not because the 36 Chambers of Brian Westbrook doesn’t deserve a raise, mind you. My man crush on this topic is amply documented. It just didn’t seem like, ahem, the sort of thing that the Joe Banner administration was in the business of doing. That is, handing out new contracts to players who got new contracts two years ago.

But lo, the rumblings on the radio gave way to speculation in the blogosphere, and pretty soon the salaried classes of blathermonkeys were reporting said rumors as true! Talks have begun, they tell us.

I consider this to be awesome news for the following reasons: (Read the rest of this story.)

Well we certainly will never accuse the Eagles of being dolts when it comes to corporate communication and PR.

Joe Banner appeared on Howard Eskin’s show yesterday afternoon on WIP to answer questions about the Eagles’ failures this year and prospects for the 2008 season. Banner clearly stated that both Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb will be back with the Birds next year.

While some of the more conspiracy-minded blathermonkeys are attempting to suggest that this was all some sort of double-reverse designed to pump up McNabb’s trade value (umm, really?), it’s tough not to take Banner at his word. For a guy who chooses his words so carefully (and who was so tight-lipped about other issues during the interview) to purposely mislead Birds’ fans just doesn’t seems likely.

Of course, we can’t help but speculate about what prompted Banner to speak on WIP yesterday afternoon.
(Read the rest of this story.)

Oh, the local blathermonkeys can’t be thrilled with this!

After weeks of baiting Andy Reid (and Donovan McNabb, but we’ll skip that for now) about his impending dismissal/ resignation from the Eagles (which, it might be noted, included an actual editorial in the Daily News demanding Reid’s departure), Big Red and Joe Banner decided to tell their side of the story — to the New York Freakin’ Times.

In a move eerily similar to the Reid bye-week exclusive with Fox Sports correspondent Jay Glazer, The Eagles PR/ marketing machine decided to go over the local blathermonkeys’ heads to tell a heartfelt tale of tragedy and perserverence from within the walls of the Novacare Center (sniff, double-sniff). This story did contain fresh, previously unheard material — all packaged up and fresh for the ole gray lady.

(Read the rest of this story.)

In response to the deliciously rampant speculation circulating on the Electric Internet in re: Andy Reid’s impending abdication of the Eagles head coaching role (more on that later today or tomorrow), Eagles prexy Joe Banner sat for an interview with the Daily News in which he stood up for Coach Reid and insisted that he didn’t think Big Red’s family issues were impacting his performance:

“There are really strong people out there - CEOs of massive companies, doctors, lawyers, coaches, players, cabdrivers - who are able to both deal with the challenges they face in their life and still continue to be excellent at what they do. Working with him every day, seeing him every day, that’s the category he’s in for me.

“It would be foolish to try to say it isn’t on his mind and doesn’t weigh on his mind. The same is true of all the other categories of people I mentioned. Some of those people do get to a point where the weight is too heavy and starts to trickle down to the other parts of their lives. But that’s not been the case with Andy.

Joe, that’s awful nice of you to stick up for your boy. But that’s not what the data says. According to a piece of academic work referenced in the Wall Street Journal a month ago, (Read the rest of this story.)