Slow news day when you are left to finally contemplate Donovan McNabb's retirement... I guess I'm "tardy" in this category because I really thought McNabb had a few more campaigns in him...

But Donny is hanging them up...

He took us close to the pinnacle. I appreciated very much as a fan being so close. Thank you, Don, for getting us so close.

So sorry his final years in the NFL were so pitiful....

Donovan McNabb plans to officially retire as an Eagle this season.

McNabb, who led the team to five NFC championship games during his 12-year tenure in Philadelphia, and to the Super Bowl in 2004-05, announced his plan on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM in Syracuse, N.Y. on Monday night, and repeated it on his national show on NBC Sports Radio.

"I will retire as an Eagle and I look forward to that opportunity and that day," McNabb said on his show.

McNabb said that the team is making tentative plans for him to be honored on Sept. 19 in Philadelphia, when the Eagles host former coach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs on NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football" at Lincoln Financial Field.

An Eagles spokesperson would not confirm or deny the plans Tuesday. There is also a possibility that McNabb's No. 5 jersey will be retired.

McNabb would be the latest former Eagle to be honored by the team in recent years, following safety Brian Dawkins, tackle Tra Thomas, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and running back Brian Westbrook, among others. Dawkins also had his No. 20 jersey retired and was inducted into the Eagles' Hall of Fame.

McNabb joined the Eagles in 1999 as Reid's first-ever draft pick (No. 2 overall--- out of Syracuse) and left when he was traded to Washington on Easter Sunday in 2010. During his Eagles' tenure, he became the franchise's career leader in pass attempts (4,746), completions (2,801), passing yards (32,873), and touchdown passes (216).

But he also had his share of detractors among the fan base, mainly due to his inability to lead the team to a Super Bowl victory. The closest he came was in the 2004/05 season, when the Eagles suffered a 24-21 loss to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, FL.

My own feelings about McNabb?

I say he's borderline Hall of Fame just based on his longevity plus the lowest INT percentage among  his peers who have thrown over 200 TD passes.

Donnie was money when he was "on"...

Truth be told, he was never given a complete set of top-flight receivers in Philly. He had T.O. in 2004, and you saw what that brief partnership did for his overall numbers. But after Owens departed, there was never again a classic "go-to guy" in the receiving corps for McNabb. He consistently made the best of what he was given to work with at both wide receiver and tight end, not to mention Westbrook out of the backfield.

McNabb had mobility, too, at least until a couple of rib-fractures convinced him it might be best for the team to throw it away or at least take a slide. From a football standpoint, McNabb is just done. His mobility is not what it was, which is what made him such a good player to begin with. His footwork was questionable, and his accuracy was suspect. Hey, it's just his time to call it quits.

What does he leave us? Every quarterback who starts for a decade and measures a good level of success leaves a legacy to the NFL.

Donovan McNabb was booed by Eagles fans at the 1999 Draft event in NYC  who wanted Ricky Williams. Suddenly, he was a story before he threw a pass in the NFL.

McNabb played on broken ankles and got to Pro Bowls and yet in his first five years, what was the biggest story? The Rush Limbaugh controversy in which the then-ESPN analyst called McNabb "overrated" and said he got great treatment from the media because they were "desirous of a black quarterback to do well" ...?

The Limbaugh thing was a watershed moment in the sports industry, because of how long that topic stayed front and center. You could almost hear every sports producer, editor and program director saying "Wow, let's keep talking about this. Everyone's fired up about it." Which is true, because it's much easier for fans to latch onto emotional human stories that they can understand rather than how McNabb was able to beat the Cover 2 on a game-winning drive. Suddenly it wasn't limited to McNabb. Off-the-field became the new on-the-field. The Baylor basketball/Dave Bliss coverage stretched over two months... Mike Price and the strip club.... Larry Eustachy and the college co-ed party.... Kobe Bryant and Eagle, Colorado.... Stories like these became the life-blood of sports coverage. But it was McNabb's situation that gave birth to this phenomenon.

And so it goes.

He got to NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl, and still, the story that went just about the entire offseason following the 2004 season? How McNabb and Terrell Owens didn't get along despite their success together. That McNabb got sick during the loss to the Patriots in XXXIX and was called out by T.O. afterwards. Freddie Mitchell (FredEx!) said he had to call a few plays in the huddle because McNabb was too ill. The Eagles denied it, but admitted McNabb was tired. How tired? How sick? We didn't know. But we talked and blogged about it from February until April. By this time, McNabb was the shining star of personal critique. Yes, other people were getting their turns in the spotlight, but McNabb was a guy you could count on every few months for one of these stories that didn't revolve around wins and losses. The Godfather of modern-day sports fodder...

He came back months ahead of time from a torn ACL in 2007 to play lights out. But that didn't matter. You know the story now. He said he didn't think he'd be back in Philadelphia after the drafting of Kevin Kolb. He asked for the Eagles to bring in more 'playmakers' on his blog, and called out his team for underperforming and of course, he didn't know the NFL rules for overtime following a tie with the Bengals. He got to the NFC title game again in the 2008 campaign but his benching earlier in the season was a bigger story. He played well in 2009 and was told he'd be the Eagles' QB for 2010. Three days after Andy Reid gave him that vote of confidence he was traded to the Redskins. It was supposed to be a fresh start. Why would Philadelphia do this? Hey, we're going to pay attention to McNabb on the field again! That is until he was benched for not having the stamina to lead a two-minute drive, and Rex Grossman was the answer. Grossman wasn't even the answer when the Bears went to the Super Bowl in 2006. Seriously? Stamina? Hey, media firestorm? After this, McNabb was an ex-Redskin. And now, he's the ex-starter for Minnesota...

For me, the bottom line on McNabb---getting to five conference championship games for the Eagles when you're the only offensive constant from all those teams is incredibly impressive.

Everyone talkin' about how DeSean Jackson needs more touches... more contact with punts... more mojo in the game plan.

Maybe they're right. But I prefer to use Peanut as a selective weapon. I want my big-money little guy inserted into very favorable match-ups and pitch-counts. I want to platoon him.

Okay, that makes me either an Andy Reid disciple, an advocate for little people, or a complete idiot. But I'll take my chances with my choice to contribute to the Great Peanut Preservation Society.

You see, in my vision DJax is a "closer", to use baseball terminology. You bring him into full-contact jeopardy only when the game is at a tipping point---or on the line. Kinda like Mariano Rivera...

The conventional thinking is simple: Get your most potentially explosive offensive player the ball as often as possible...

But over the wear and tear of a 16-game regular season (20 games if you want to project a Super Bowl appearance), you may want to consider picking your spots for a guy like Jackson--- again, in baseball parlance, you want to have him available for the save or the win.

DeSean Jackson averaged over eight touches per game his rookie season. That dipped to under seven his sophomore year and tumbled to under five before Andy Reid was shown the door.

Much of that has to do with his decreasing role as a punt returner. Jackson returned one punt last season, compared to 50 his rookie year, 29 his second season and 20 in year three. The former Pro Bowl returner has fielded fewer punts every year of his career, a discouraging trend for a player people pay to see with the ball in his hands.

Frankly I thought that was a wise move by Reid. It would have looked like a great move if only the Eagles had developed a punt return specialist to better handle the "middle inning" punts.

Chip Kelly may go in the opposite direction with Jackson as a punt return guy---but I hope he heeds my cautionary words. Jackson was one of five players (including Damaris Johnson, Jeremy Maclin, Nick Miller and Russell Shepard) returning punts at practice this week. He expects to do it during the season.

"Punt return is going to be a big factor, kind of bring my niche back out there and help that punt return team," said Jackson, who holds the franchise record for punt return touchdowns with four, twice as many as greats like Brian Westbrook and Brian Mitchell. "Not only that, but just go out there and make plays, get that electrifying unit back out there to be able to go out there and score touchdowns."

Of course I must admit there is the "pitch around" factor when DJax is back there awaiting every punt in a game.Teams often punted away from Jackson in the past, routinely giving the Eagles better field position than the past two years when Jackson rarely returned punts. 

Jackson realizes his value increases if punt-returning — even on a part-time basis — is part of his responsibilities. It's why he discussed the topic with Kelly not long after the new coach was hired.

"It's kind of both. He wanted me back there and I wanted to be back there myself as well," Jackson said. "Last year being able to have Damaris come in here and take on that role helped me out a lot. I still missed a lot of opportunities where I was able to do things in the past, whether it was 20 yards, 50 yards or a touchdown. You really don't realize but it helps out a lot."

The Eagles averaged just 10.3 yards per punt return this past season. Opposing teams averaged 13.6 yards per return.

Kelly was a bit more coy than Jackson about who will be his returner this season. He cautioned not to look too deeply into who was returning punts at practice in mid-May. When asked about Maclin being among the candidates, he said it didn't mean much.

"Does that mean he's going to be our starting punt returner?" Kelly said. "I have absolutely no idea right now."

Jackson's excited about the new Chippa design, especially about the possibility of being used in a similar way to De'Anthony Thomas, who was Kelly's all-everything with the Ducks. That includes touching the ball on running plays as well, something Jackson did earlier in his career. He averaged 15 carries a season his first three years in the NFL, but just five the past two years. He had three rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons, none since.

"Right now, that's the big thing because we're able to motion from side to side and go behind the quarterback, go in front of the quarterback, things like that. So for a defense and defender to be on the run with a guy like myself or Maclin and being able to have blockers in front of you when you're coming over to the other side, and bubble routes and fakes and going downfield, there are just so many different options," Jackson said. "That's the biggest thing I can say. This offense really doesn't have any limits."

That's the tape you want to put into your opponent's head, I can agree with that--- but when it comes down to crunch time in a real game, I much prefer a very selective use of DJax as a difference-maker--- I prefer his role to be specialized, much like a perfectly roasted Peanut that becomes the final ingredient in a winning recipe.

Nate Allen has the measurables--- people tend to forget he has a low '40 time of 4.40 and a high '40 time of 4.59... that's pretty impressive speed for a safety.

I guess the biggest complaint in the past about Allen was he didn't know exactly where that speed should be on the football field at the most opportune time in a game.

Getting lost in a defensive scheme?--- it happens.

Nate Allen, S, 6-1, 210, 4th year out of South Florida, drafted in the 2nd round by Philly in 2010... fully recovered from nagging leg and knee injuries, Allen is ready to make a statement with his play in 2013...

Nate the Skate was running with the first-team defense ahead of offseason acquisition Kenny Phillips earlier this week. "It's a fresh start. Definitely I'm excited," said Allen, who ranked 84th of 88 safeties last season according to Pro Football Focus. "I get a chance to show them what I can do and just go out there and do it."

Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Billy Davis made a statement by placing Allen with the starting defense this week, even if it is four months before the start of the season. It shows that the Eagles' new regime saw enough from Allen on tape to still have confidence he can help the team. Now it's up to Allen to show them he deserves the confidence.

Allen sees this new Eagles defense as a much better fit for his skills.

"You really don't have a lot of run responsibility," Allen said. "I mean, you do, but you're not expected to be in a certain gap on a play. You're more of a pass guy. You're basically a pass guy."

That plays right into Allen's strengths. He's not known as a physical safety or ferocious tackler. It was his ball-tracking skills that made him a second-round pick in 2010. Allen had nine interceptions and three touchdowns at South Florida. He had four interceptions in his first 16 starts with the Eagles. He has one in his past 22 starts.

As Jordan Raanan of NJ.com rightly observes: "It's no secret the Eagles' defensive backs weren't thrilled with the systems under Castillo and Bowles. Almost to a man, they griped about being spread too thin. Davis' defense is a welcome change for Allen and Kurt Coleman, who will be competing with the newly-signed Phillips and Patrick Chung for starting spots."

It's been clear from the moment the Eagles went and signed two safeties that Allen will still have an opportunity to compete. Kelly called him after signing Phillips and Chung this offseason to deliver that message. The new head coach made it clear the signings did not mean Allen wasn't part of the Eagles' future. It just meant there would be more competition, and he would have to prove himself.

Allen was far from surprised after his struggles last season, when he was benched the final few weeks for Colt Anderson. From start to finish, personal life and team, it was a tough year all around.

But the worst part for Allen was being labeled a loser for the first time in his life.

"It was how it felt to have a losing streak like that, so that I never want to feel like that again," Allen said. "It was rough. Nobody wants to feel like that. It was a bad feeling. You learn from it but you don't reflect on it too long. What's in the past is in the past. I've moved on."

The fact that the Eagles' losing streak serves as offseason fuel rather than his own personal struggles speaks volumes about Allen's character. He's a team-first guy. He never made excuses. And now he's being rewarded with a vote of confidence from the new coaches, who have him working with the starters.

"Over the course of time with 10 OTAs and three mini-camps, by the time we get to June we've got a pretty good number of snaps where we can start to evaluate and start to slot some guys and see where we are as we move into preseason camps," Kelly said.

As Raanan astutely observed, "Where they were heading into offseason camps still means something, especially to a player in Allen's unstable position. It means he's being given a fresh start, a clean slate and an opportunity to prove he was worth being a second-round pick all over again."

I for one never gave up on Nate the Skate. I saw the measurables...and I appreciated the intangibles as I watched him battle back from injuries.

I know a lot of you fine members of the Bored are way down on Nate Allen. I would simply ask you for an open mind on his current and future development... I think he's a competitor and somewhat of a late bloomer at this level. Remember Rod Woodson? Nate Allen reminds me a lot of Woodson, who didn't exactly tear it up coming out of Purdue in 1987. But by 1993, he was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.

Compare Allen's measurables and character with Woodson's---so alike. Their development timelines and early injuries are similar, too. A lot of Steelers fans were ready to write off Woodson early on. But sometimes we find making a great safety in the NFL takes a slow-cook grill.

Take it with a grain of salt. Everyone in the NFL today is high on their team's new season's prospects. If you were the owner of a team, would you want to hear anything different? For example, the Cincinnati Bengals are loving the adulation and applause they're getting for a great 2013 draft---and yet they have proven nothing of any great significance in their divisional competition for a long time.

Eagles center (rehabbing from a knee injury) Jason Kelce is no different. While Dallas Reynolds filled in for him at this week's OTA's, here's what Kelce had to say about the Eagles' O-Line:

"It can be the best offensive line in the NFL..."

Kelce, just seven months removed from ACL surgery, was on the field with his teammates at Organized Team Activities (OTA's) this week. But he spent most of practice standing around and avoiding any sort of contact.

Kelce expects to be more involved in June's mandatory team minicamps, doing everything except team drills where there is the possibility of players falling and landing on his rehabbing knee. The third-year pro believes he'll be full-go come training camp.

"Biggest thing now is that the strength is almost there," Kelce said. "When I'm out there I don't really notice it when I'm in the thick of things. But the tendon/ligament, I guess it's both, it's still not as strong as it will be at nine months. You just don't want anyone rolling on it or falling on it."

The nine-month mark will be mid-July. The Eagles open training camp later that month. As long as Kelce continues to progress, there is no reason to believe he won't be green-lighted. As thing currently stand, he's scheduled to be cleared the day before training camp begins.

"He's been fantastic, been there every day working his tail off," head coach Chip Kelly said. "He did almost everything in phase two [of practice], so he's running around doing a lot of things."

Kelly's offense will benefit greatly if Kelce, Mathis, Jason Peters and Herremans play on the same offensive line for the first time in over 19 months. The core of the Eagles' offensive line hasn't been on the field together since Week 17 of the 2011 season. Peters missed all of last year with an Achilles injury and Herremans was sidelined late last season with a foot injury.

A healthy Jason Peters (# 71), LT, 6-4, 340, 9th year out of Arkansas, would go a long way to making Kelce's prediction come true....

"We're very excited," Kelce said. "There is a new piece in Lane Johnson, but I felt that two years ago we had really come together at the end of the season, we were really excited for last year and then it seemed that everybody went down. I think when this line is healthy and everybody is there we have a very dominant offensive line. We're looking forward to that."

An improved offensive line should make for an improved offense. It should make the quarterback better, the wide receivers better, the running game better. It should make scoring points easier. Ah, if only life were that simple! Too bad something always seems to go wrong, and the monkey wrench gets thrown into the OL gears...

Someone's going to get hurt on the O-Line sooner than later. Maybe Jason Peters doesn't bounce back the way he wants to... Despite what Kelce says from his heart, I feel a major need of the Eagles to stockpile a few experienced NFL O-linemen as backup plans.

But now, here is the TWO-DEEP OFFENSE depth chart as compiled by Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who put forth the proposition that if the regular season started tomorrow, here would be your positional "2-Deep" active players:

QB
1. Michael Vick
1a. Nick Foles
2. Matt Barkley
Analysis: Foles and Vick really did split first-team reps. Barkley, a fourth-round pick last month, was already ahead of Dennis Dixon.

RB
1. LeSean McCoy
2. Bryce Brown
Analysis: McCoy and Brown were in the backfield together quite often during practice.

WR
1. Jeremy Maclin
2a. Jason Avant
2b. Arrelious Benn
Analysis: Benn begins his Eagles career in the primary wide receiver rotation, ahead of holdover Riley Cooper.

WR
1. DeSean Jackson
2. Damaris Johnson
Analysis: Johnson looks like insurance for Jackson.

TE
1. Brent Celek
1a. James Casey
2. Clay Harbor
2. Zach Ertz
Analysis: The tight ends will also double as fullbacks. Casey looked good at practice, catching everything in his direction even if the ball was thrown at his knees or feet. It's hard to know exactly where Ertz stands. Due to NFL rules he is not currently with the team.

LT
1. Jason Peters
2. Ed Wang
Analysis: Peters is back and looks healthy. The Eagles seem high on Wang.

LG
1. Evan Mathis
2. Danny Watkins
Analysis: Mathis is out for OTAs/minicamp with an ankle injury. Watkins gets perhaps his last chance to shine.

C
1. Jason Kelce
2. Dallas Reynolds
Analysis: Kelce is limited in practice until training camp. Reynolds worked with the first team.

RG
1. Todd Herremans
2. Danny Watkins
Analysis: Herremans officially switched from right tackle to guard after the selection of Lane Johnson. It moves Watkins to the bench.

RT
1. Dennis Kelly
2. Lane Johnson
Analysis: The Eagles are just bringing along Johnson slowly. He should work his way up the depth chart by training camp.

On the surface the signing of Felix Jones makes roster sense for the Eagles.

Felix Jones, RB, 5-10, 217, 5th year out of Arkansas, drafted in 1st round by Dallas in 2008.

Jones averaged close to 5.0-yards per carry throughout his career and is a very capable return man- an area where the Eagles could certainly improve. Jones averaged 24.0 yards per kickoff return throughout his career. While he only has one KR touchdown, he has longs of 69 yards and 41 yards.

Any real impact Jones can have on the Eagles will depend on his health- something that has been a problem for him throughout his career. Jones has played in 16 games just twice in five years. If healthy, however, Jones could be a potential steal for Chip Kelly and an Eagles offense that seems to be a perfect fit for the former Arkansas Razorback.

One thing Kelly is expected to do in his offense is get the Eagles running backs into space with the ball. Like LeSean McCoy, Jones is capable of taking it to the house anytime he touches the ball, especially in open space. Jones has had a receiving touchdown of 27 yards or more every season since his rookie year, and a rushing touchdown of 40 yards or more every year but last season.

The darker reason behind Felix Jones' signing, however, has a lot to do with the off-field troubles of Shady McCoy.

I'm not one to stir the pot of speculation about the domestic or legal troubles of the stars. But I have it from a reliable source that the NFL Commissioner's office is looking hard into the current legal case involving McCoy and an alleged "party bus" assault upon a female companion. The alleged incident dates back to December.

How does Felix Jones fit into the investigation of McCoy? Pretty simple, really--- he becomes a prime-time insurance policy at running back for the Eagles just in case the Commissioner decides to come down hard on McCoy with a suspension.

The case is in civil court right now. McCoy and his attorney deny all allegations, and claim the legal action is an attempt to extort a financial settlement.

No matter how it plays out in court, the Commissioner has the power to interject his own ruling and disciplinary action into McCoy's career, subject of course to appeal by the player and the NFLPA.

McCoy, still a very young man, has become somewhat of a loose cannon and an embarrassment to the league. It is not far-fetched to anticipate some type of disciplinary action coming down on him in the near future---perhaps even a suspension.

Shady needs to get himself together. Until he does, Felix Jones is more than just roster depth---he is essential insurance at running back.

Speaking of roster, here is Jordan Raanan's 2-DEEP chart based on what the Eagles defense would look like if they played a real game today:

LDE
1. Cedric Thornton
2. Vinny Curry
Analysis: This could be one of the most hotly contested starting positions at training camp. Don't be surprised to see Clifton Geathers or maybe a rookie like Bennie Logan work their way into the mix either.

NT
1. Isaac Sopoaga
2. Antonio Dixon
Analysis: Sopoaga is the man here. Dixon has to prove he can play the position.

RDE
1. Fletcher Cox
2. Clifton Geathers
Analysis: This is Cox's position. Everyone else is just depth.

OLB
1. Connor Barwin
2. Brandon Graham
Analysis: Barwin's versatility make him a natural at outside linebacker. The Eagles are trying to determine if Hunt is a fit.

MLB
1. DeMeco Ryans
2. Jamar Chaney
Analysis: Kelly looks at Ryans as the leader of the defense. Chaney is a capable replacement.

MLB
1. Mychal Kendricks
2. Jason Phillips
Analysis: Kendricks looks like he may be the Eagles' three-down linebacker in the middle.

OLB
1. Trent Cole
2. Phillip Hunt
Analysis: Graham didn't even sprinkle in with the first-team defense. It was strictly Cole working with the starters. Still, there are serious doubts about whether Cole can transition to outside linebacker. Graham appears a better fit. It wouldn't be surprising if he moved ahead of Cole at some point this season.

CB
1. Cary Williams
2. Curtis Marsh
Analysis: Williams wasn't at practice after he was married over the weekend. Marsh worked with the first team. That was a win for him after a disastrous 2012 where Andy Reid basically said publicly that he couldn't play.

CB
1. Bradley Fletcher
2. Brandon Boykin
Analysis: The newcomer Fletcher slots into the starting lineup. Boykin was the second-teamer, but still worked as the No. 1 slot cornerback.

S
1. Patrick Chung
2. Kurt Coleman
Analysis: Chung immediately projects as a starter. Kelly apparently is very high on him.

S
1. Nate Allen
2. Kenny Phillips
Analysis: Allen received a vote of confidence by being placed with the starters. It may have something to do with Phillips just coming back from injury though.