We welcome your feedback as the Eagles plan for the 2008 season, so we have brought back our very popular feature, You Be The GM. Each Thursday we'll run the feature by selecting some of the fans' responses to our weekly questions.

"The answer is easy ... The Draft.

"In fact, I am so insulted by this question that my first move as the Eagles' GM is to fire the person who asked this question in the first place. Only Kidding. But, no ... seriously, your fired.

"The draft is the backbone of any successful NFL franchise. Free gency is a good place to grab that one missing piece of the puzzle, but that is about it. If you can draft well, you will be a consistent playoff-caliber team over the long haul.

"Ever wonder why the Eagles' window of opportunity is still wide open as the years roll along? It is because the Eagles real GM Tom Heckert watches college football on Saturday. He watches, he evaluates and he projects. The Eagles staff during the Andy Reid era has put a high priority in the talent evaluation process. The Reid administration does an outstanding job of evaluating talent and then finds the right fit for their system. The key is to evaluate and project. Project how a talented college player will fit into your coordinator's schemes. Kevin Kolb is one example ... Surely most NFL scouts thought Kolb had a lot of talent, but Andy Reid's staff saw how well Kolb's talents fit into the Eagles West Coast passing offense. Brady Quinn may have been the most talented quarterback in the 2007 draft, but not for the Eagles system. Kolb might not have been the most coveted quarterback in the draft last year by most other NFL teams, but the Eagles are not like MOST other teams. Kolb was a great fit. Just wait and see.

"No question the Eagles made a big splash in free agency by signing Asante Samuel and Chris Clemons, but let's grade the Eagles offseason after we see the results of April's draft. I would not be surprised to see Lito Sheppard get traded on draft day for a Top 15 pick. Then we can really have some fun. The Eagles could draft two first round player OR package the two first round picks together and make a big climb up the draft board and get one true impact player in the Top 5. Yes, my feathered friends ... the draft is where it's at. See you in April ... E-A-G-L-E-S."

- Lance

"The Draft is the key to success, plain and simple. Look, you need 22 players to field a team at its basic level. Plus another 31 to get to the 53-man roster to play a season. You need depth to fill in for injured and tired players. You need a mix of veterans and young players. You need stars, you need solid players and you need role players that can do just one or two things to help a team win and have that be the only thing they care about at that moment.

"You simply cannot find all of those players through free agency. Sure, so far we have gotten a star in Asante Samuel and a solid player in Chris Clemons. That is only two guys. Maybe we will bring in one or two more players through free agency. But we will likely bring in eight or so through the draft. The free agents fill specific roles for this team, this year, and hopefully a few years after that. But to continue to field a good team for years and years to come, to find 53 players consisting of stars, solid players and role players, that foundation comes from drafting strong.

"The teams that practice that philosophy - Patriots, Colts, Steelers, Eagles - routinely find the bulk of their roster from their draft classes. The teams that spend huge amounts of money of free agents - Redskins, Raiders, 49ers (lately) - usually are the teams that struggle. I would rather have the headlines in December and January that Eagles fans have come accustomed to in the last 10 years and the ones in March that other teams have seemed to be thrilled with."

- Patrick

"I think the draft is most important to a team's success based mostly on the fact that you build your whole team through the draft. I think that free agency can help you get over the top and get to the Super Bowl much like the T.O. trade did for the Wagles a few years back, but without having drafted guys like Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Shawn Andrews, Brian Dawkins, Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, etc. we wouldn't have been in a position to add that kind of player in the free agency period. Special teams is almost built completely through the draft also, if you don't draft young guys who can compete on special teams you just have to look back to last year with the Eagles to see what happens. The draft sets you up to be in a good position to get the difference-makers in free agency that will put you over the top and into the Super Bowl.

"For example this year I would go into the draft with a very aggressive mindset and would look to do the following:

"Trade the 19th pick and a 3rd round pick to the Atlanta Flacons for the 37th and 48th picks (obviously this would be contingent on Atlanta wanting to move up). Trade Lito Sheppard to the Giants for the 31st pick. The Eagles would then have the 31st, 37th, 48th and 49th picks.

• 31st pick draft offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus
• 37th pick draft wide receiver James Hardy
• 48th pick draft cornerback/kick returner Tracy Porter
• 49th pick draft safety DeJuan Morgan

"Now some of these players may be taken earlier but I think that this would create for an incredible draft, it would address offensive line and wide receiver on the offensive side and a nickel cornerback and possible safety replacement down the road all within the top 50 players. All of those players except for the offensive lineman will play special teams right away and make our team better.  This would build a good young base for the Eagles to build upon in free agency and get us that Championship that our city desires so greatly."

- Ryan

"Limiting the question to free agency or the draft was a reasonable assumption two or three years ago. However the NFL is constantly changing. Today you must add a third choice, which is a combination of both, or perhaps a fourth with the increasing importance and prevalence of the offseason trade. Granted, trades will never be executed in the NFL as they are in the NBA or MLB. Too much preparation and specialization goes into learning a specific team's schemes during training camp in the NFL for mid-season trades to ever become a viable strategy in the NFL.

"That being said, five years ago players hitting free agency mostly consisted of fading or aging stars, looking for one last payday. This could work, (i.e. Reggie White, the original free agent) or fail miserably with rippling financial effects that cripple your organization for years after. Overall this strategy in the past was too much of a gamble.

"I think a solid strategy today is utilizing all three avenues of player acquisition including the trade to your advantage (like the Eagles did for Donté stallworth). Good GM's must create a "plan" taking into account the value of all three strategies. And then they must stick to it. For the most part I believe the Eagles have been OK at this. I think that the plan has been followed. It's not the strategy for the Eagles ... it's the execution of the strategy."

- Ronald

"The draft is the basis for building a franchise and the Eagles do a much better job in the draft than a lot of people give them credit. The smart teams use free agency to fill in spots or add a player they think can make a difference. Rarely do you see the best teams in the NFL go crazy and spend all of their money and take up their roster spots on free agency.

"While the draft is a crapshoot, free agency is even more of one. History tells you that a player leaving one team and one system where he has played well doesn't translate so easily when he has to play in another system. You've seen it with the Eagles. They have signed players who we thought would help and it hasn't been the case.

"The draft is where the NFL's focus is. You can draft a player and bring him up in your system and groom him for at least four years. During that time, you can try to retain his services with a long-term contract. The teams that draft well are usually the ones that have the most success. I think that is well documented.

"Fans love free agency. It dominates the headlines at this time of the year. But the way you build a franchise that has long-term success is through the draft. It isn't even close, really. The draft weekend is the most important weekend of the year for teams, both during the seven rounds and in the time after when the undrafted players are signed.

"The Eagles have rebuilt their front seven on defense largely through the draft in the last couple of seasons. They deserve a lot of credit for that. It isn't easy to do. I know fans tend to focus on some of the misses this team has had in the draft, but when you compare the Eagles' success in the draft to other teams' success, the Eagles have really been pretty good at picking the right players."

- Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News

This week's question ...

The top tier free agents at a key position of need are gone. Do you sign an older veteran whose best days are behind him, sign the oft-injured, never-quite-reached-his-potential player who is still young, or wait until the draft?