Donovan McNabb checked in on his blog yesterday to fill us in on what he's up to Arizona this week.

Just wanted to check in from Arizona again. I've been out here this week working out with a few guys including Brian Dawkins, LJ Smith, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett and Lorenzo Booker.

We have been getting after it from sunup to sundown. We start at Fischer Sports, a place I have been working out at most of the offseason. Brett Fischer – an Eagles fan from Bucks County - is a physical therapist, certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist. He has helped me through what he calls functional training. We mimic the motions that we use on the football field. For me it might be an emphasis on using my abdominals, hips and lower body to create torque when I throw the ball. For some of the other guys it might be trying to get explosion out of their cuts.

If I remember correct, usually Reggie Brown would head out to Arizona to work with McNabb. I'm somewhat surprised he's not there this year... that said, I don't read much into it.

A couple of days ago, Matt Mosley of Hashmarks busted out with several articles on the NFC East (Philly, Dallas, NYG, Skins).  They are all worth reading - know thy enemy know thyself - but we should bear in mind he wants to see controversy where there may not actually be any.

Consider his article on the Birds.  The first portion of the article is dedicated to McNabb's health in general and of McNabb's arm in particular.

This time, the problem had lingered for almost a month. In an offense built around McNabb's getting the ball downfield, a recurring shoulder problem sends up major red flags.

That's in direct conflict with Spadaro's assertion that DMac is probably fine:

From what I can ascertain, based on the talk toward the end of the June passing camp and from what I've seen, quarterback Donovan McNabb is finished with his rehab on his right shoulder and is in Arizona. From what I think, everyone concerned with McNabb's shoulder is confident that he is ready to go for training camp. I could be wrong, but that is my perspective.

Mosely also touches on the Eagles pursuit of Randy Moss and LJ's injury rehab (Russian Kettlebells?...).  He briefly explores Lito's contract situation and suggests we should have gotten a 3rd round pick for him while he "still had value".  Finally, Mosely asks if Reid can bounce back from the tough personal issues of last year:

The Eagles stuck with him through the tough period and he has more motivation than ever to reward them. He knows how important McNabb is to his team's success and he has gone out of his way to make his star quarterback comfortable. McNabb is a fierce competitor, but he's also a sensitive player who reads into every comment. That's why you don't hear a lot people on this coaching staff fawning over Kolb's progress even though he's actually taken some major strides.

In all, Mosely seems to like Philly's chances in the division this year.  His article spends a great deal of energy trying to find things that are wrong with the Birds, but finally ends on a positive note.  This team should be good - presuming it doesn't get bit by injuries again this year.

First up, LJ Smith says that last year was just one big fluke...

L.J. Smith called it an aberration. Something that rarely happens twice. A bout of misfortune coupled with Murphy's Law.

He was referring to the sports hernia injury that sidelined him for most of mini-camp last season and required a second surgery in August and the late knee injury that, in total, rendered him useless for most of 2007.

Oh, did he mention that 2007 was supposed to be the walk year of his contract?

"It's one of those things where I like to look at it as a fluke," he said. "You don't want to ever have to have something like that happen again in your career."

Another guy who spent most of last year banged up was Todd Herremans, who doesn't want to blame injuries for his performance

"I don't want to blame it on anything," he said. "There's no excuse for technique breaking down. If I was getting overpowered or if I looked like I had a weak leg or anything, I don't think I really did. I think my focus just came away from my technique and what I was supposed to be doing out there.

"The way I look at it is, I need to be on the field because no one's job is ever secure," Herremans said. "That's the nature of the NFL. If you miss a couple games and someone comes in and fills for you and they start playing really well, you might be lost in the shuffle."

Herremans will be facing competition for a his starting job from Max Jean Gilles, who drew special praise from Andy Reid when he filled in for both Andrews and Herremans at points last year. Good news for Herremans is that Max Jean showed up 10 pounds overweight to minicamp...

Finally, at a Volunteers of America dinner Andy Reid said some nice generic stuff...

“You always make your number one goal to win the Super Bowl,” Reid said.

“There’s nothing you want to change in the attitude of the city. With the Eagles, yeah. The culture of the Eagles – people (now) want to win, they have won and they have an expectation of that.”

Not likely... fairly generic stuff from McNabb, but it was interesting to read what he said about Desean Jackson simply because he never really talked about the kid in mini camp.

He lists some of the usual questions he's gotten and his answers

Q: Did the team do enough this offseason to compete for a Super Bowl?

A: We have enough to compete right now. If there is a chance to continue improving our roster after June 1 than we should look at that too.

Q: Without any new offensive weapons, how will the team improve this year?

A: Having L.J. Smith healthy is a good start. We need to be more productive in the Red Zone and that's a part of the field where the tight end is crucial. When L.J. was hurt last year we seemed to get away from that too much.

Q: What about DeSean Jackson?

A: He impressed me with his speed and ability to catch the ball. Hopefully he will be able to shorten the field for us with his return ability on special teams, and stretch the field on offense with his speed.

I suppose the June 1 line is interesting. Clearly McNabbb is still looking for more pieces.