A veteran of this league, Plaxico Burress knew what to do when he is such a situation -- being interviewed on the radio, asked about how he would feel playing for that team, in this case, the Eagles -- and he did it very well.
"Nothing else would make me happier," said Burress, who then ran down the Eagles' offensive lineup with knowledge and understanding and appreciation. He sounded genuine, and no doubt is sincere. I mean, Burress and quarterback Michael Vick are great friends, Burress is familiar with the way the Eagles play, he has a sense of the great fan base, he loves the East Coast, etc.
What Burress said makes a lot of sense.
And you wonder what happens if Burress goes on, say, a Chicago radio station and is asked about playing for the Bears. Do you think he will rave about that idea, too?
Of course he will. He is no dummy. Players understand that this is the time of the year when jobs are on the line. You don't burn bridges. You don't take anything for granted and you don't pretend like you know what is going to happen next.
These next couple of weeks leading to the open of free agency on March 13, and through the draft in late April, are going to be all about smoke and mirrors. I can tell you that the Eagles aren't going to let their plans out of the bag, other than to make it very clear to all that their first intentions are to take care of their own players.
Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine.
That's part of the fun of the offseason, and it is also part of the frustration. We have waited so long to get a sense of the team's plans, and now we have to wait longer. The offseason has been interminable. How do the Eagles plan to go from 8-8 to the Super Bowl in one quantum leap?
Hang in there, gang. You are going to hear a lot in the coming weeks -- whispers from the outside, mostly -- but how do you know what to believe? Deception is the course of action ahead, a bumpy ride that is always intriguing to watch.
- Spent a few minutes with quarterback Michael Vick on Tuesday. He looks terrific and is working out virtually every day at the NovaCare Complex and, yes, he is well aware of the importance of minimizing turnovers in 2012. Interestingly, interceptions haven't been a big problem for Vick in the past. "Fumbles have been," he said. The Eagles are going to stress ball security now more than ever.
- Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is ripped, up to about 205 pounds from 198 last year, and he is looking forward to a more productive offseason than he had last year. "There was the lockout and then I was sick, so it was tough," said Maclin. "I'm expecting this to be a much more productive offseason."
- You know who has been working out every day at the NovaCare Complex? Defensive tackle Trevor Laws, who is due to be an unrestricted free agent, is digging in already. He is hopeful to stay with the Eagles and get a deal done prior to free agency. We shall see.
- How much will the mock drafts change now that the NFL Scouting Combine is over? We all say teams shouldn't alter their grades too much after watching players run around in shorts, yet the draft analysts do exactly that after the 40-yard dash times are tallied and digested.
- I love all of the Robert Griffin III speculation. Makes it fun, doesn't it? Does anyone seriously think the Eagles are going to go to No. 2 in the draft and mortgage everything to get him? With so much riding on this season? I don't completely discount the idea of drafting a quarterback, because the handful of quarterbacks after the top three are good prospects, but use your senses, man! The price to go to 2 will be huge. And the Eagles can't give up the rest of their draft for a No. 2 quarterback.
- Vick, by the way, said he ran a 4.33 40 in his pre-draft workouts, and said, I think seriously, that if he trained to run the 40 again, he could run a 4.39 right now. He is in phenomenal shape now, but he is not training to sprint. So, we'll take his word for it. The guy can fly, obviously.
