Free agency is three days old and it has proceeded exactly as the Eagles said it would. Rather, the Eagles have approached free agency as they indicated they would many weeks ago.

The philosophy was to focus on signing their own players and then see what the market looked like. So the Eagles signed Quintin Mikell and Juqua Thomas and extended A.J. Feeley through 2010.

Meanwhile, as the league spent wildly through the weekend, the Eagles announced nothing. This was not a surprise. This was the way we all knew it would be, so why the panic now?

You have some questions and I will try to give you some answers. Let's go.

First, you should know this: The Discussion Boards on this web site gauge the pulse of the Eagles' fan better than any vehicle, and the conversations all weekend were tremendously interesting.

No hysteria. just questions and concerns and intense interest. Fun stuff.

Keeping Quintin Mikell was part of the Eagles' plan

Anyway, here are the questions, and after that I will talk about some of the issues on the table.

2000 man wants to know about former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter: Is he even on the radar in Philly?

I don't know if the Eagles are going to make a run at Porter. I certainly know they have a grade on him, as they have one on every player in the NFL. Porter is going to get a lot of attention in the coming days, but I guess I would be surprised if the Eagles went after him.

Why not? Porter is a pass-rushing linebacker who has played his entire career in a 3-4 defense. He wants to come after the quarterback off the edge. The Eagles play a 4-3 defense and don't use their linebackers in such a manner. There are many other responsibilities, including the running game and coverage.

Porter wants to get after the quarterback. Don't count on him being here.

Do the Eagles need to improve at linebacker? Yes. I don't know the solution, but I know Chris Gocong was a third-round pick last year and he is going to have a chance to step up and make a difference. There are still some linebackers out there -- yes, Ike Reese is again available -- and the draft is not all that far away, and it wouldn't be a shock to see the Eagles address the linebacker unit in some way, shape or form.

sammy102102 is focused on the receiver position, specifically Jets veteran Justin McCareins. Do you think the Eagles are interested in Justin McCareins if the Jets let him go, which I think they are?

First of all, Sammy, I would never tell you if the Eagles were interested in any player mainly because the Eagles wouldn't tell me because they don't want me telling you. Got it?

But I do think it is important to discuss the wide receiver position, specifically Donte' Stallworth. To this point, Stallworth has not had a mad rush for his services, nor has he had visits. And with every moment that passes, Eagles fans have an increased hope that Stallworth could possibly return to Philadelphia.

I have said this all along: He will have a market out there. Some team is going to offer him a signing bonus of $12 to $14 million, and he will have options to consider.

Why don't the Eagles offer him that kind of money? I think you have to consider the factors here. The Eagles really, truly, honestly like their group of young wide receivers here. They were prepared to go into last season with what they had at the position, and then the opportunity to trade for Stallworth came along and the Eagles went for it -- something some Eagles fans refuse to believe the team ever does, by the way -- and Stallworth caught 38 passes in the regular season and then had a good post-season.

Now , if it turns out that the Stallworth market is lukewarm, hey, maybe the Eagles get back in the game. The Eagles like their receivers and they know there are about seven or eight receivers in the draft who run fast and who are excellent prospects.

Yes, they like Stallworth, and he is a great fit here and maybe, I don't know, maybe there is a chance he returns. I don't have a great deal of insight here, other than to tell you that I still consider it a long shot that Stallworth comes back.

slug is asking about big running backs on the market and he wants to know if the Eagles are interested in, as is being reported out there in the world of the Internet, adding a big back in free agency.

My response: I certainly see a hole behind Brian Westbrook. I would love this team to add a big running back. Correll Buckhalter is in free agency and while his market is tepid, Buckhalter is reportedly lining up a visit in Denver this week.

Ahman Green is gone, having signed a huge deal in Houston. Corey Dillon, T.J. Duckett and Chris Brown, along with Buckhalter, remain available. Plus, there are a couple or three bigger backs in the draft.

I think the Eagles need to add a big running back, and if that means they retain Buckhalter, fine. If it means they use a high draft pick, fine.

I will also tell you that I think the Eagles need to find a way to get Ryan Moats on the field this year, but that is a column for another day.

IndyEagle05 spent much of Sunday responding to my Saturday column in which I wrote that many free agents don't deliver on the promise of the big contracts and the hype and then goes on to point out some of the successes the Eagles, for example have had, players like Troy Vincent, Ricky Watters, Jon Runyan and Jevon Kearse.

Hey, Indy, great. Yup. Those players worked. Every now and then, free agency works. But go check the history. Go check the facts. Look at the teams that have won the Super Bowl recently -- Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, New England and Tampa Bay. Those teams, in seasons leading into their Super Bowl year, didn't do much of anything in free agency. The Colts lost a bunch of players last year. Yes, they signed kicker Adam Vinatieri, but they were willing to part with Edgerrin James, among others. And they won it all.

I know it works some of the time, Indy. I know that. I look at New England now and understand that the Patriots had a lot of cap room and are now spending wildly. They were willing to part with Deion Branch, among others. They didn't sign their own players during the season. We will see how it works out for New England moving forward.

The Eagles spent a lot of money locking up their young players before and during the 2006 season. Those deals look pretty good now, don't they? Aren't you glad the entire offensive line is signed, and that the defensive line is largely signed long term and that the cornerbacks have long-term deals and that there is roster stability?

The Eagles have to get better, but they aren't going to go haywire on the philosophy. That's just the way it is.

I end it here. The Godfather asks about fullback Thomas Tapeh, strangely enough at this time of the year. Will Tapeh be a bigger part of the O next year? As I look around the league, it seems that FB are starting to become more of a factor on O. Not a big factor but big enough where the D has to keep their eyes on them.

It's a good question, GF, and one that is welcomed after so many "Is Stallworth coming back?" questions. Tom Heckert was on Eagles Live! a couple of weeks ago and he mentioned the possibility that Tapeh could be utilized more in the offense as a single back. It is possible, yes. I will tell you that Tapeh has to win his job first. Jason Davis is going to offer some pretty good competition.

I also want to talk about the Jeff Garcia story. He signed his big deal in Tampa Bay. Good for Jeff and I am happy for him. In retrospect, he got exactly what he wanted -- a good financial deal and a chance for playing time.

In hindsight, the Eagles played it as they had to play it. They weren't in position to offer Garcia $5 million. Had they not gone to Feeley and had his contract extended, they would have lost all leverage with him the second Garcia entered free agency.

It wasn't a pleasant ending to Garcia's brief time in Philadelphia, but it was the way it had to be. Garcia was intent to test free agency and the Eagles understand that if he did, it would imperil their ability to extend Feeley.

So we move on, with best intentions.

That is it from me for now. I am just as excited for Eagles action as you, and I am on the edge of my seat as are you. Maybe this will be the week. Certainly, the market is not as rabid as it was a few days ago. There is still quality out there, and now the prices are becoming more reasonable.

Keep the questions coming, Eagles fans. I'm here and I'm waiting, just like you.