We officially have our first real detractor of the 2009 season: ESPN's Merril Hoge.  This doesn't come as a surprise to me, as historically Hoge has been one of the more vocal mainstream sports media critics of the Birds.  Remember the 2004 season?  When we went to the Super Bowl?  Hoge rarely picked us to win during that season.  As I watched NFL Live on ESPN last night, Hoge and Trent Dilfer were asked whether the Eagles are better or worse than last season.  Hoge responded with a confident "worse," citing the team's decisions to shake up the offensive line and let Brian Dawkins fly the nest.

My guess is that Hoge is simply playing devil's advocate here.  So many figures in the sports media have been praising the team for their productive offseason that it was just a matter of time before the naysayers reared their ugly heads.  Plus, his trademark arrogance and penchant for providing contrarian views have only grown since he won out in that public spat with Vince Young, following a long debate over whether the embattled Titan could find long-term success as a pro quarterback.  But saying the Eagles are worse than last season??  That's just silly.  Here's why:

We'll start with the Dawkins question.  Yes, he was the unquestioned leader of the defense, as well as one of the most beloved figures in Philly sports history, but the reality of the situation is that what's done is done and he is in Denver now.  I, and many of you, were of the opinion that the organization was making a huge mistake by letting him walk, but I realized that we have to be rational about this.  He'll turn 36 this season, and at that age, even a player of his caliber will see his skills diminish.  He plays a position that is difficult to play at his age, especially when faced with younger, faster receivers and younger, stronger running backs.  Hoge was of the opinion that the Eagles lost their anchor when Dawkins left; this may be true, but if the front office has proven anything over the years, it's that they can let veteran leaders go and move on, achieving success without them.  Recall the lessons of Jeremiah Trotter, Hugh Douglas, Troy Vincent, and Terrell Owens.  There was much grumbling from Eagles Nation when these guys left, but the team managed to win without them.  Hoge overlooks this fact, and is just arguing semantics.  This will no doubt be a bittersweet season for us all, even if the Eagles win out, simply because Weapon X won't be there to be a part of it.  But we need to move on and trust in the veteran leadership we have.

On the question of the offensive line, Hoge is simply dead wrong.  A shake-up was needed, no matter how much Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan had left in the tank.  The NFC East was not given the sobriquet "NFC Beast" for no reason. This is a division that features some of the best pass-rushers in the NFL: NY's Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck, Washington's Albert Haynesworth, Dallas's DeMarcus Ware and Marcus Spears.  Pro Bowl-caliber players, one and all.  To deal with this, the Eagles needed youth on the line.  It was becoming clear that Thomas and Runyan were getting slower, and the injuries were beginning to pile up.  Jason Peters has the youth and talent to effectively minimize sacks by these players, and moving Shawn Andrews out to tackle whilst moving his brother Stacy back to his natural position at guard is not as risky as Hoge would have us believe; remember that Shawn played tackle in college and has publicly confessed a longing to return to the position.  Hoge seems to think that it will take the new-look o-line too much time to adjust, and that Donovan will suffer for it.; methinks Merril doth protest too much.

These were pretty weak arguments for making such a bold claim.  Hoge is really reaching here, providing nit-picky examples to back it up.  The nail in his argument's coffin is his blatant overlooking of what the Eagles added in order to compensate for the loss of Dawkins and the reordering of the o-line.  In other words, the improvements the team made far outweigh its losses.  Maclin, McCoy, and Ingram are the future of this team's offense, but they could very well contribute right away.  Having a true fullback in Leonard Weaver will improve the run game.  I think that Hoge is too swayed by Peters's sack count of last year; remember that he was not happy in Buffalo and that he missed all of training camp.  Now he's rich, happy, and ready to work, playing for a perennial contender.  He underestimates the return of Shawn Andrews; having him back, healthy and happy,  is bad news for opposing defensive lines.  Finally, though Dawkins's shoes could never be filled, we have a group of young, hungry players, any one of whom can step in and do the job adequately.

Merril DuAine Hoge (yes, that is really his name) may be saying all this just to provide a different viewpoint from everyone else, but he's going to have to come at us with more than boo-hooing about Dawkins and a vague, overreaching argument about the difficulties the o-line will have in adjusting.  The Eagles are better than they were last season, bar none.  Saying they are worse without providing legitimate reasons just reveals the contempt Hoge has for this team.  Must've gotten pelted with one snowball too many while he played at the Vet.