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Proving there’s no Reagan-era theme that today’s Republicans won’t revive, this week’s big political question appears to be this: “Are you better off than you […]

>> Want more BeWOW workouts? Check out our archive. In this workout you are going to do five exercises, starting with 10 reps of each, […]

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has stated publicly on two different occasions now that last season was unacceptable and a repeat performance would not be tolerated. On Thursday, during his annual state-of-the-team address, he said that he needs to see “substantial improvement” in 2012.

Michael Vick was asked what that means to him.

“It means he wants to see significant improvement,” said Vick with a laugh. “I didn’t need to hear that because I know exactly what we’re facing, what we want to accomplish this season. If that’s not the goal, then what is it?”

Brandon Boykin was checking Twitter Friday afternoon when he got the news.

“People were saying ‘Congratulations on winning the slot position.’ And I’m like what? What’s going on? Did somebody make an announcement or something?” Boykin said. “I checked my Twitter, and it said Joselio [Hanson] had been released or whatever, and like 10 minutes later, he called me.”

The Eagles rookie cornerback played with the second team for all of training camp, but in the preseason, he mixed in with Hanson and the starters. The coaches liked what they saw and decided the athletic fourth-round pick was ready to get on the field right away.

You may be concerned, but DeMeco Ryans is not.

A good portion of the fan base is growing anxious about their new middle linebacker following a quiet preseason. After such a long wait for a bona fide MIKE to step in, there is trepidation that the two-time Pro Bowler might not live up to the billing.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” said Ryans of the doubters. “I don’t take it into consideration. My job is to be credible to my teammates, to go out and be accountable to what we’re doing in our defense and our scheme, and that’s the only thing that matters to me.

If NFL personnel people were starting a franchise and had their pick of any coach in America, who would they choose?

That was one of the questions Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (a former scout for the Eagles) posed to 20 personnel people, and none of them chose Andy Reid.

David Sims‘ phone rang early last summer.

The new Eagles safety had spent training camp with the New York Giants. But around 8 a.m. on cut-down day, he found out the team was letting him go.

Sims had a short stint with the Bucs during the season before eventually signing onto the Browns’ practice squad.

“When I was with the Giants and I got cut, it put heartache on me because they made me doubt my ability to play,” Sims said. “So I had to go back to the drawing board and work 10 times harder than I already was doing so I wouldn’t be put in a situation like that again if I had the opportunity. It made me open my eyes, made me want to work harder than I already was working.”

But for much of this past Friday, despite a strong preseason, it looked like Sims’ hard work wasn’t enough. This time, the call came later, but it still came.

Jason Babin had a bad of ice taped around his right calf following practice Monday, but put his health percentage at 98.9.

Is he absolutely going to play against the Browns?

“Well, I’m going to play. I don’t where the ‘absolutely’ part comes into play. But I practiced today, felt fine, it was crisp, didn’t look as if I had missed much time.”

The Cleveland Browns got an offensive boost Monday with the return of rookie running back Trent Richardson.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Richardson worked in with the first unit and looked healthy doing so. The former Alabama standout and No. 3 overall pick in the draft had his knee scoped about a month ago. Montario Hardesty and Brandon Jackson are also in the running back mix. Head coach Pat Shurmur said that Richardson will be the starter if he is ready to go, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Dealer.

Juan Castillo‘s unit ranked 16th against the run last season, yielding 113 yards per game.

The Eagles open with the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday.

Donovan McNabb may be ready to give up any hope of returning to the NFL.

Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal first reported that McNabb is close to agreeing to a network job. A source close to McNabb tells Tim McManus that it looks like he will be doing a couple of shows for the NFL Network.

The former Eagles quarterback has been honing his television skills for years, appearing as a guest analyst on ESPN and other networks.

It’s time to check in on what the national media are saying about the Eagles. Here’s the roundup.

Former Eagles nickel corner Joselio Hanson has found a new home.

According to Adam Caplan, Hanson signed a one-year deal with the Raiders after visiting them on Sunday.

Hanson, entering his eighth NFL season, appeared in all 16 games last season for the Eagles, finishing with four passes defensed.   He had been running with the first team as the nickel cornerback all preseason. Ultimately the Eagles showed their faith in rookie Brandon Boykin to fill that role and released Hanson on cutdown day.

The 31-year-old had been in Philadelphia since 2006 after one season in San Francisco. He has 209 career tackles with 49 passes defensed, four interceptions and 3 1/2 sacks.

This little piece of news kind of slipped through the cracks with everything else going on the last few days: Andy Reid said he didn’t play Dion Lewis against the Jets because of injury Thursday.

“Dion, I don’t think Dion’s really 100 percent yet,” said Reid.  “That’s why I held him and [LB Jamar] Chaney out. I just didn’t feel comfortable playing them.”

With the regular season officially upon us, this is something to pay attention to. Lewis, who was not listed on the injury report by Reid heading into the game, has been dealing with a hamstring injury on and off this preseason.

For bubble players, cut-down day is all about the phone call. If you go the whole day without one, you have made the 53-man roster. If the phone rings and the incoming call starts with a “215” area code, chances are you are being summoned to gather your things and drop off your playbook.

Just imagine how slowly time ticks by. Or how your stress level shoots through the roof when  your cell phone buzzes because a friend or family member is unaware of the circumstances.

“You go about your day. If they call you they call you, if they don’t they don’t,” said cornerback Brandon Hughes. “You get an unknown number, that’s probably them calling you. I can’t be sitting by the phone all day hoping the Philadelphia Eagles don’t call me.”

Jon Gruden believes in the Eagles.

The ESPN analyst appeared on a SportsCenter segment Sunday morning and offered predictions for every NFC East team. He was asked if he thought the Eagles would win more or less than 11 games this season.