The Nature Of The Beast

For the past ten years, the Eagles have employed Tra Thomas to protect Donovan McNabb's blind side. He's done it well, with two All-Pro selections and three Pro Bowls on his resume.

And in perhaps the best testament to his performance, he started 165 out of 166 games. Or that the only time he's really been noticed is (a) when he tried to get his name changed (it didn't work, so he gave up), and (b) when he left.

On the list of things that Eagle Fan will worry about in this off-season, Thomas signing with the Jaguars will be low on the list. After all, he's 34 and not likely to be getting better, the team has an extremely good track record in knowing when to say goodbye, and one has to think that after a decade of making mostly good moves, they know what they are doing in replacing a fixture like him.

But, well, ten years of not worrying about a position is nice, especially given the laundry's history of revolving doors on the offensive line (imagine, if you will, what Randall Cunningham might have done with Tra Thomas and an actual coach, or whether Lawrence Taylor achieves the constant crushing on Ron Jaworski, had they simply had a tackle of Thomas's abilities)...

Well, you can worry, if you like, about the changeover at safety, or whether or not Brian Westbrook is too old for this sort of thing. Me, I'm going to be looking at the line. Hopefully, not for long.