Pro Bowl Vindication

The Pro Bowl announcement is a terrific vindication for Lito Sheppard and for Andy Reid, Tom Heckert and the rest of the Eagles' personnel department. Remember the carping from the so-called "experts" (ie, Mel "Helmet Head" Kiper and the rest of the punditocracy) who questioned the Eagles selection of 3 defensive backs in the first two rounds of the 2002 draft (Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, and Sheldon Brown) when they already had Pro Bowlers Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent on the roster?

While most everyone else was focused on the near-term, Reid and the front office had their eye on the big picture and knew they needed to start grooming replacements while Taylor and Vincent were still in their prime and well before their contracts expired (Taylor hit an incentive clause that terminated his contract a year early).

And remember how going into this season one of the Eagles' biggest question marks was whether Sheppard and Brown could fill the huge shoes of Taylor and Vincent? Lewis had already become a starter replacing the aging Blaine Bishop and filled a leadership void last year when Taylor, Vincent and Dawkins all went down with injuries at some point.

Well, you don't hear many questions about those shoes being filled now. Sheppard in particular has dealt with a rep that until this year he hadn't justified his first round selection status. But shutting down Randy Moss will do wonders for your rep and confidence.

Congratulations to all. The Pro Bowl picks are sweet vindication indeed.