BroadStBullies

Although they finished the 2007 season as a .500 team, the Eagles apparently still have plenty of prime-time appeal.

When the NFL released its schedule yesterday, the Eagles were one of eight teams with five prime-time games on their schedule, including a Thanksgiving night home game against the Arizona Cardinals. They were one of two teams to get that many prime-time games without having a winning record in 2007. The other was the Chicago Bears, who will be only two seasons removed from a Super Bowl appearance.

Dallas, New England, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Indianapolis are the other teams with five prime-time games on their schedules. That number can increase (or decrease) as the NFL implements its flex scheduling during the final seven weeks of the season.

"I think it speaks to the passion that exists, not just locally, but even nationally about the team," Eagles president Joe Banner said when asked about the heavy load of prime-time games. "I think it also reflects a degree of optimism about the quality of the team. We love the opportunity to play in prime time. It's fun and it's exciting to be able to showcase ourselves. I think the fans think there's a little extra thrill about it, so we're pleased the schedule turned out that way."

Actually, quite a few things pleased the Eagles about the 2008 schedule. Banner said the Eagles requested that they get a chance to open the season at home, and they'll do that when they play host to the St. Louis Rams on Sept. 7 at Lincoln Financial Field. It's the Eagles' first opener at home since 2004, the season they went to the Super Bowl.

"That's a good thing," Banner said. "You love to get off to a good start, and obviously everybody in every sport has a better won-loss record at home rather than away. We don't like to play more than two games in a row on the road, and we don't have that. There are subtleties in the schedule that once you get into the season really do matter. We have a good mix. You like to have your bye in as far as you can."

The Eagles' bye week falls after a Week 6 game in San Francisco, so the players will get plenty of rest after playing on the West Coast.

"You like to have a bye after a long trip like that," Banner said.

As for the Eagles' prime-time schedule, the first of their five games will come Monday, Sept. 15, when they will play Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys on ESPN. The game will be the final regular-season meeting between the Eagles and Cowboys in Texas Stadium, which will be replaced in 2009.

The Eagles' second prime-time appearance will be Sunday, Sept. 28, on NBC against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. It will be the Eagles' first prime-time game in Chicago since Buddy Ryan's team lost to Mike Ditka's Bears on Monday Night Football in 1989.

The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants will be the Eagles' first home prime-time opponent of the season. The Giants will come to town Sunday, Nov. 9, for another NBC game. Four weeks later, the Eagles will play their first Thanksgiving Day game at home since 1940 when the Cardinals come to the Linc for an 8 p.m. game on the NFL Network. That will be the last of three Thanksgiving Day games, following Tennessee at Detroit and Seattle at Dallas.

The Eagles' final prime-time game will be Monday, Dec. 15, at home against the Cleveland Browns. That's an 8:30 p.m. game on ESPN.

While the Eagles may like the thrill of playing in prime time, they have not done particularly well in those games in recent years. The Eagles went 16-1 in their first prime-time games with Andy Reid as their head coach, but they have gone 2-11 in prime time since then. They were 0-4 in prime-time games last season, losing to Washington, the New York Giants, Dallas and New England.

Lito update. Banner said there continues to be plenty of interest in cornerback Lito Sheppard, who remains likely to be traded before the start of the draft April 26.

"There is interest in him, and we'll just have to make a determination as to whether the best thing for the team is to move him or bring him back," Banner said. "Obviously, to this point, we've decided the best thing to do is keep him."

Banner's sales pitch followed.

"You don't see many 26-year-old [Sheppard turned 27 last week] Pro Bowl players who there is even a possibility of acquiring," Banner said. "If you look at the history of player trades, you'll see a very short list of players that age, that caliber of player, that kind of character. There is significant interest, but the reason there is interest is because he's a good player, which is a compelling reason also to keep him."

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