FanHouse A.j.feeley

With Donovan McNabb's status up in the air thanks to a cracked rib, the Philadelphia Eagles have reportedly reached into their recent past to shore up their quarterback position. The team has signed Jeff Garcia, according to Jason La Canfora of NFL.com and the Philadelphia Daily News.

The move to add a quarterback isn't particularly surprising. The Eagles don't have a third quarterback available for Week Two thanks to Michael Vick's suspension and if McNabb is too hurt to start you'd understandably want to shield him from playing at all. On one hand, Garcia's not a surprising choice since he spent 2006 with the team and knows the offense.

On a couple of other hands, though, the move is awfully intriguing.

Here's some sad news for male fans of Boston Breakers defender Heather Mitts (who once won the coveted title of ESPN.com's "Hottest Female Athlete"). She's off the market, fellas.

Mitts revealed to the Boston Globe Thursday that Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback A.J. Feeley popped the question to her last Christmas.

Unless you prominently work for one of the major oil companies, chances are that -- especially in this economy -- you might look at Matt Cassel's 2008 salary of $520k and consider him rich as it is. To which I say: Yes, but, with Obama's tax plan, the wealthy will actually have to pay more, if you can believe that. Ahhhh, the plight of the physically gifted and financially secure.

So it wouldn't surprise me if, upon completing the game-tying, last-second touchdown pass to Randy Moss last night, Cassel thought not of the impressive comeback he'd just led, but of the thirsty teams who will line up in 2009 to make him something he's not accustomed to being -- a legitimate starter.

Oh, and let's not forget obscenely rich.

Because Cassel made himself a name last night, even in a loss. And it couldn't have come at a better time, as his rookie contract with the Pats expires this year. But he's not the first to recently parlay a limited starting sample size into a big-money deal. The success rate? A little spotty. Where might Cassel go, and for how much? And how will we look back on the deal years from now?

You've got questions. I've got answers. If not, I'll make them up. Each Thursday at 1 p.m. EST, I answer your queries on all things related to the NFL. If you have a question, send it over to NFLMailbag@gmail.com. Don't forget to include your name and location. Click here for the archives. Rock'n'roll.

How will the Saints offense make up for the loss of Jamar Nesbit and Jeremy Shockey for the next month, especially with Marques Colston out? Do you see any receivers finally catching anything?
- J. Willits, Jackson, MS

The Saints have been debacled by injuries so far this year; one-fifth of the roster appeared on this week's injury report. Nesbit's suspension makes him the 11th starter from the presumed opening day roster to miss time this year. That being said, while it never helps to lose a starter, Nesbit's injury opens the door for coaches to get a look at Carl Nicks, the one-time Nebraska right tackle they drafted in the fifth round this year. Nicks was thought generally to have second- or third-round talent, but some trouble he got into in college, causing him to be banned from Nebraska's pro day, caused him to drop. He was converted to left guard in the offseason and coaches rave about the athletic ability he has for his size (6'5'', 343). Nesbit has been the weakest link on a line that has really performed poorly in the run game, so seeing what Nicks can do might prove to give the line a spark.

As far as the receivers are concerned, Robert Meachem is going to get increased looks, and rightfully so. He's only got three catches in two games, but they've totaled 105 yards and a touchdown, and all have been for first downs. Each catch has showed a flair for the ability to make plays. The Saints always find a way to move the ball through the air, so they'll put together a good enough attack to hold them over, but Meachem will work his way into the forefront. By the way, the Saints have San Francisco, Minnesota, and Oakland in the next few weeks, so their schedule is pretty favorable while everyone gets healthy.

Matt Cassel will make his first NFL start this week against the Jets. That the Patriots, a team that won 18 consecutive games a year ago, are underdogs to a team that won four, pretty much tells you all you need to know. That's what happens when your future Hall of Fame quarterback is lost for the season and is replaced by a guy who last started a game in 1999. As a high school senior.

It's been well established that the new Patriots No. 1 QB spent his time at USC buried on the depth chart behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, but ESPN.com's Tim Graham dug up some Los Angeles-area coverage of Cassel's last start.

Cassel already had committed to USC when he led the Chatsworth Chancellors into a Los Angeles City Invitational playoff game against the state's most prolific passer, Palisades Dolphins junior David Koral, on Nov. 24, 1999.

The Los Angeles Daily News predicted a high-scoring affair given the QB matchup, and it was right. Palisades won, 49-42. Koral threw a touchdown pass with six seconds to play

Cassel completed only three of 11 passes for 46 yards, "but made smart decisions throughout to keep Chatsworth in the game," the Los Angeles Times reported. Koral, who went on to UCLA, was 22-of-29 for 424 yards and four touchdowns.

Whatever happens in 2008, there's virtually no way it can turn out any worse than 2007 for the Miami Dolphins. Probability makes it almost an impossibility. One of the reasons is because of the turnover in the front office and on the coaching staff, and Bill Parcells' subsequent wheelings and dealings to get "his players" on the roster.

Not sure if Josh McCown qualifies as a "Parcells guy", but he was signed this offseason to compete for the quarterback job with second-year player John Beck and rookie second-rounder Chad Henne. And so far, according to the players, anyway, McCown's the early favorite:

Feedback from a few players is that Josh McCown was the sharpest of the quarterbacks the past month and appears the most ready to play, and strong-armed Chad Henne flashed impressive skills but needs seasoning. Sparano would love for a starter to emerge from among McCown, Henne and John Beck by the third preseason game, ``but I'm not sure that happens.''

Plus, it would go against quarterbacks coach David Lee's strategy to let the threesome get the full NFL experience before naming a starter.

However this plays out, I'm guessing most Dolphins supporters don't think McCown's the guy you rebuild a team with -- he was just mediocre in stops in Arizona and Oakland -- but if he can keep the team competitive while Henne or Beck (and let's be honest, everybody knows this is Henne's team) learn the ropes ... well, it could be a lot worse. Like, say, Trent Green or A.J. Feeley. And unlike Feeley, McCown didn't cost the Dolphins a second-round pick.

It was a miserable day in Philadelphia with temperatures hovering around freezing and a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and icy rain coming down for most of the game. Before kickoff, I certainly would have thought taking the under would have been the wise decision, but the weather didn't prevent either team from putting points on the board early.

A.J. Feeley went out and showed that there most certainly should not be a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia by opening up the game with an interception on the very first series for the second straight week. He added three more interceptions on the day. If Feeley showed anything positive, it's that he brings a similar fire to the field as last year's backup quarterback, Jeff Garcia.

To get you ready for week 13, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Philadelphia Eagles/Seattle Seahawks preview.

2007 Records:

Seattle: 7-4 (First in the NFC West)
Philadelphia: 5-6 (Tied for last in the NFC East)

Last Week:

Seattle: barely won against the lowly Rams
Philly: couldn't pull off the impossible in New England.

The last time the Seahawks strolled in to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, the Monday night game turned out to be one of the ugliest in recent memory. It was week 13 of the 2005 season and Birds fans were excited for the game because Reggie White would be honored at half time. After the ceremony for number 92, many Philly faithful chose to head home to beat traffic -- or drink their sorrows away -- and few were on hand to see the final scoreboard show a complete and utter [butt] whooping, 42-0.

Hopefully for Philadelphia, things won't go quite the same today.

Matt: Why can't it be both? I'm obviously unhappy that a lousy team came so close to upsetting Seattle, but the Rams and 'Hawks have a history of playing tight games regardless of the teams' skill levels. So, I'm relieved to get the win, but it's only a matter of time until Mike Holmgren's and defensive coordinator John Marshall's predictable, unimaginative play-calling costs the team games.

Donovan McNabb didn't even make the trip up to Foxboro this past weekend yet all of the talk since the Birds tough loss to the Patriots has revolved around McNabb. On Tuesday, Adam Schefter of the NFL Network reported that when a team inquired about dealing for Donovan McNabb prior to the trade deadline, the Eagles didn't completely shut the idea down.

One team admitted it called the Eagles before the trade deadline to inquire about McNabb only to be told that Philadelphia wanted three first-round picks in return for its veteran quarterback.

When teams inquire about McNabb this off-season -– and there will be, at the very least, a small line of them with all the organizations in need of a quarterback -- the Eagles' asking price will determine whether or not the face of their franchise returns.

Demanding three first round draft picks for McNabb is basically the Eagles way of saying, "thanks, but no thanks." It will certainly be an interesting off season in Philadelphia with the quarterback situation less stable than it's been in a decade.

In other relevant McNabb news, there has been discussion following Sunday's game on the double standard that exists in Philadelphia between Donovan and backup A.J. Feeley. McNabb also wrote on his blog that watching A.J. go out and perform well on Sunday night was not "bittersweet."