Things are a lot different for Mike Bartrum. He still has football in his life, but it is of the pee-wee variety. There is travel  ahead, but for the most part Bartrum is going to stay in his home area of Pomeroy, Ohio, and see to it that every day is a little bit  better for the folks there.

Most of all, Bartrum doesn't have the structure of organized football in his life for the first time since he was about 12 years old. Bartrum announced his retirement from the Eagles and from the NFL last spring and as he did so, he made sure the transition to his life away from the locker room will keep him busy.

"I am running around like crazy. I have so many things lined up," said Bartrum, who played seven of his 13 NFL seasons with the Eagles and who made a living of delivering one great snap after another to a  kicker or a punter. "It's exciting to me to be in this position. I was blessed to play for so long in the NFL. Now I want to devote more time to my family and those in the community who have supported me  all these years."

Bartrum played in two Super Bowls — one with New England, one with the Eagles — after making it in Kansas City as a non-drafted free agent. Bartrum played in Honolulu in the Pro Bowl once and he retired after seven seasons and 107 games as a near-perfect long-snapper and (very) part-time tight end with the Eagles.

LS/TE Mike Bartrum

"I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the organization, which treated me with class right to the very end. I want that to be clear, because I know sometimes the people in Philadelphia criticize the Eagles for how they treat their players, and I can tell you it isn't  a fair characterization," he said. "The Eagles were great to me. It is a great place to work. The fans are awesome because they care so  much about the team. Players appreciate that. They recognize what the fans are all about.

"Andy Reid, I'll never have a bad word to say about him. I can't tell you enough about what he means to me. It was just a time that I  won't forget. I loved it."

Bartrum suffered a herniated disk during the 2006 season in the game at Indianapolis. He didn't think it was any long-term problem. Bartrum complained of neck stiffness a couple of days after that loss and then had extensive examinations, which discovered the herniated disc at C3-C4.

"I figured it was just a stinger, so I thought, 'It will get better and I'll come back.' But (head athletic trainer) Rick Burkholder told me otherwise, so I went on IR and I went through my rehab with Donovan (McNabb) and it wasn't getting much better," said Bartrum. "Once I got into the offseason and into February, I kind of knew from what Rick was telling me. I thought if I got away from it, I would  see what would happen. A month later, I called Rick and told him I was still having some issues with my neck when I bend my neck down.

"I was told that if I wanted to play, I was taking a chance. I could have the surgery that (Tampa Bay fullback Mike) Alstott had, but you know what: I have four kids. I played 13 years. I'm blessed with where I am at. God has another plan for me and it is much more  important than any football game."

Now that his playing career is over, Bartrum has another series of challenges in front of him. He is on a handful of boards, he's teaching at a Christian pre-school in Pomeroy and he is starting a Christian-based flag football league, in cooperation with the NFL,  and is leading a charge to have a football field and track facilities added to his high school.

"We're changing things here," said Bartrum. "People already have started the process and I'm just going to add what I can to bring  economic development to our area. Between all of that, four kids, coaching baseball, I'm pretty busy."

Bartrum lives in a house built by his father on 130 acres of farmland that he purchased. He is married to his high school sweetheart and they have happy, healthy kids.

Life is grand.

So are the memories of his time in Philadelphia, a time when his reputation around the league was as strong as any player's reputation could be.

Bartrum was the best at what he did.

"I always tried my hardest, whether the results were good, bad or ugly," he said. "I kept doing my thing, doing my thing. I could wish I could reiterate that to a lot of guys out there. I'd been playing football since 1982, when I was 12 years old. From then until 2007, all I did was play football. I understand how guys get into that rut. All we do and all we know is football.

"I'm thankful I have people outside of football who have helped me get into other things and to learn other things. Football was always the focus, but having so many relationships outside of football helped me out.

"I'm going to keep following the Eagles. I told Coach Reid that if he wants me to come there and help out here and there, I would be happy to do it. If not, it's fine and I understand. I would love to come see a game once a year for the rest of my life with my family. That would be pretty neat.

"I want the Eagles to win every, single game. I'm not playing, but I will always be with them in my heart."