By the end of the season, Sean Considine was wiped out. Exhausted. Excited that he became the Eagles' starting strong safety and that he did a lot of good things, but plum tuckered out from the wear and tear of the game.

Drafted in 2005 weighing 212 pounds, Considine was down to 195 pounds at the end of the 2006 season.

So he knew where to begin his off-season and how to gird his body and his mind for 2007: In the weight room and on the smart side of nutrition.

The result is this: Considine has packed on 20 pounds of muscle without sacrificing his agility or his speed, and he is right in the thick of things as the Eagles' off-season conditioning program ends its first week.

"I'm always very critical of myself, and when I look back at last year, I think I left a lot of plays on the field," said Considine, who became the starter at strong safety midway through the season and ended up ranked third on the team with 107 tackles. "I came into the off-season wanting to address some of the issues I felt I needed to improve, like tackling and knowing that if I got a little stronger and put some weight on I could clean up some of the things I wasn't happy with last year.

Sean Considine started at strong safety last year and is looking to take the next step now

"I just got real worn down at the end of the year. I was trying to play my best ball of the season late in the year, and at the same time I wasn't feeling too healthy."

Considine, a fourth-round draft pick two Aprils ago, is the guy at strong safety now. The Eagles were pleased with his performance by and large, but, yeah, there were some areas he needed to better.

Last year at this time, Considine was unable to get into the weight room and improve his strength as much as he wanted because he was recovering from a shoulder injury. Those months leading up the 2006 season were devoted to strengthening his shoulder.

In fact, Considine couldn't even bench press then. To give you an example of his increased strength, Considine is putting up 350 pounds -- "My shoulder finally feels 100 percent now," he said -- a good 20 pounds more than he has ever put up.

Last year, though, he was unable to really gain his maximum strength. And as a result, after playing so much at strong safety and on special teams -- Considine was a core member of the Eagles' special teams, ranking second on the team with 265 production points -- he felt awful physically at the end of the season.

"I felt terrible. I weighed 195 pounds and I hadn't weighed that since my sophomore year in college. It took me about two or three weeks to recover from the season -- two weeks of doing absolutely nothing -- and once I got back into running and lifting I was a little bit sore at first.

"I want to go into the season at about 215 pounds, figuring that I'll lose about five pounds during the year. So, for me, 210 is OK for my body. It would help me a lot more than weighing 195.

"Early last year, it would take me a day or two to recover. By the end of the year, I wasn't recovering. That was a problem. I just didn't have enough time to get back, so it was something I needed to learn, and I did."

Once Considine regained his appetite to work out, he joined the University of Iowa's conditioning program and jumped into a varied program that included running and speed work as well as Olympic training.

He spent two months in that program -- "I did a lot of cleans and heavy squats" -- and then joined the Eagles program.

"It has been the best of both worlds," he said. "Not only that, but I've read a lot about nutrition, and I realized that is one area I was really lacking in last year. I've cleaned up my nutrition and I'm bringing in a few more calories, good calories."

A healthier, stronger Considine is a positive for the Eagles' defense, which is undergoing a bit of a new look with defensive tackle Montae Reagor and linebacker Takeo Spikes in town.

Considine aims to take great leaps this season.

"I had a chance to play a lot last year and it was a great experience," he said. "I know I have a lot to learn, technique wise and fundamentally. I hopefully will continue to improve in my entire career. It's not just strength and weight. I need to improve in every aspect -- footwork, recognition, taking the right angles.

"But I'm excited. I know what we have here and I know how much better I can be. I feel great. I'm looking forward to getting better every day."