How active Philly is in the early going will show a lot about whether Donovan still "has Andy's ear" as most have believed for years. Clearly McNabb thew the gauntlet down by saying the team needed to go out and sign more "playmakers" and, given the cap situation and the relative age of the KEY parts of the team; it's a strategy that makes a lot of sense to me.
I know a few people have pointed out that the Eagles aren't "old" per se, but realistically we are an old team b/c the most vital components of our roster are past their primes. When your QB, both starting tackles and the QB of your defense are all past their primes, that's not an easy fix. The good news is that McNabb, Runyan, Thomas and Dawkins all SHOULD have productive years left; but to think we're going to magically build from within and also recapture the talent level at those key positions simultaneously is foolhardy IMHO.
Would you not say the same thing about the Patriots? Reid is plenty aware that these guys are getting up there in age. They drafted what projected as a first round Left Tackle 2 years ago, and last year they used their first pick on a QB. Many mock drafts have them focusing on the secondary with their first round pick this year. Not one of Cole, Patterson, Bunkley, Gaither, Gocong, Bradley, Mikell, Brown, Sheppard is over 30, and Brown is the only one who will be over 27 when the season starts. How much younger should the team be?
Personally, I thought the defense looked pretty good in the 2nd half of the season. They held the New England offense to 24 points, and against Seattle every one of the TD drives was 53 yards or fewer. This was mostly AJ Feeley's fault.
The team needs playmakers, and the players have spoken out and said that. Taking a chance on an injured Javon Walker is probably worth the risk IMO, for the sole reason that when he's on the field he makes a difference (something you can't say about any of the receivers now). If they do sign him, the contract will definitely have to be an incentive laden one with team options in case he can't get healthy. Coming into this season he was probably a top 10-15 receiver. They need to bring in an impact player regardless of the player's age.