Derrick Gunn at Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia reports that the Eagles have a deal in place with Asante Samuel.

The following is the story:

Samuel Visiting Eagles on Friday

ComcastSportsNet.com

It appears the Eagles are planning once again to deviate from their model and sign a high-profile free agent.

A league source has told Comcast SportsNet’s Derrick Gunn that the Eagles have a deal in place with Patriots free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel.

Now, it’s just a matter of finalizing it – which the Eagles failed to do two years ago when they lost center LeCharles Bentley to Cleveland.

Samuel, 27, is visiting the Eagles’ practice facility on Friday.

Donovan McNabb has made a cry for more playmakers – and Samuel is one, albeit on the other side of the ball. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound five-year veteran had 22 career interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns.

The Eagles were not only last in the league last season with 19 takeaways but also the only team not to reach 20. They were also tied for last in the league with 11 interceptions.

I’m bored. Either give me the NBA playoffs or bring on opening day… Seriously, if I have to spend another Saturday and Sunday afternoon choosing between college hoops and golf- I don’t know what I’ll do. You can only do so much work around the house in the winter. Trust me, the college hoops scene blows when your alma mater is 4-11 in conference play which is good for 13th in the standings and won’t even make the Big East tourney. As a result, here’s some of what’s been floating through an angry sports mind as I still try to shake the Tyree hangover…

So Kevin Faulk likes to chill the old fashioned way… Does anyone really care? The bigger question is why was he at a Lil’ Wayne show? Didn’t he have some crony who could do the dirty work for him? Oh wait- this just in- Faulk grabbed someone else’s jacket! The drugs weren’t his… Where’s Ty Law’s cousin? I love the jacket excuse. Did Faulk just see the old episode of ‘The Brady Bunch’ when Greg accidentally grabs someone else’s jacket and gets busted for having a pack of butts. Unreal! Or maybe he watched, ‘Meet The Parents’ last night and saw how Greg Focker accidentally grabbed the jacket with the pipe… Totally classic! Regardless, he’s next year’s Rodney and will now miss the first four games of the year. I don’t think we’ll even notice him being gone. Typically, the September weather in Foxboro is ideal for passing and Tom will being doing just that as he and Randy begin to hook up for another record-breaking season.

Not everyone is going to want to read this but personally it’s an article I had to type. It’s almost like seeing a psychologist- it’s basically therapy for me. If I have any chance of jumping back into the C’s and Sox anytime soon- I’ll need to cleanse myself and a get the following off my Irish chest…

In this very space, I penned the following last year on January 23^rd:

“All in all, it was a great year. This team, in my opinion, overachieved and overcame a ton of adversity, especially the defense. Hey Rodney, if you’re listening- we’d love to have you back for another season. Hopefully, in the off-season, we can get Brady some more weapons and truthfully, I don’t see why we can’t be right back here next year. Our foundation of core players is that strong. Indy deserved it. Peyton deserved it. I’m not sure about that roughing the passer call, but as Berman would say, “Hats off to Peyton Manning and the Colts!” I wasn’t one of those people who could hit the hotel bar after the loss. Not me, I needed some alone time back in the room in front of the tube to fully debrief. I needed a controlled environment in which I could guarantee silence and be assured that I wouldn’t cross paths with any more Colts fans. Seeing Brady speak after the game was devastating. I mean he just looked so lost and hurt. He looked completely spent and just mentally and physically drained. I must say the fans were gracious for the most part even after the win as we dodged trouble left and right trying to find a cab back to the hotel. I can’t say that about some of the other places I’ve been to see big games and wound up being on the losing end.”

The happenings of the past week have perplexed me enough to step out of my fantasy shoes into reality for at least one day. First and foremost, the demoralizing defeat at the hands of the New Jersey, I mean New York Giants was crushing, devastating, mortifying and downright life-altering. However, it’s time to move on.

But now and creeping upon us Boston sports fans like the bubonic plague are Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter’s childish inquiries and firebrand allegations that there was more to the National Football League’s obliteration of the Spygate tapes than meets the eye.

It has been widely noted that Specter is an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan who regularly makes guest appearances on local sports radio outlets in the city. In addition, he has been quoted various times referring to the Eagles’ Super Bowl XXXIX loss to New England when commenting on the drawn out and continually rehashed subject of Spygate.

Is this whole Senate Judiciary Committee crap the manifestation of one very bitter and grumpy old fan? For the country’s sake, I hope so.

As I was waiting for my connecting flight to board in Atlanta on Saturday morning en route to Tucson, I heard a Giant fan cackle at the sight of me carrying one of my replica Vince Lombardi trophies. “That’s a bit presumptuous, wouldn’t you say?” he said in front of the boarding crowd.

“Not really,’ I responded. “Look at the trophy,” I shot back. “It doesn’t have a final score etched on it quite yet. That’s what this sharpie is for.” I pulled a black sharpie from the front pocket of my jeans. “When the game is over, I’m gonna take the sharpie out like this (mimicking my post-game move) and inscribe this thing accordingly. It will probably read something like 42-17 the next time you see it.”

Most of the crowd laughed but one gentleman in the back, wearing an NFC Champs t-shirt yelled, “Whoever gets the ball last will win!” To which I responded, “Yeah and then you woke up from your dream and your pants were wet!”

Little did I know the guy was right- he was dead-on!

Pinning the blame of big game loses on the athlete’s girlfriend — it’s all the rage.

There was Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren. While they dated Tiger played through the longest span without a major victory in his career.

This past season we couldn’t avoid the media obsession with Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson. Tony and his Cowboys went 0-2 with Jessica in the stands, including that loss to the Giants in the playoffs.

And now, now that Tom Brady and the Patriots went down in Superbowl XLII, in what many think is the biggest upset in Superbowl history, its only natural to think of Giselle Bundchen. Sure, Brady hasn’t won a Superbowl since Gisele was first spotted waiting for him outside the locker room in San Diego in 2006. Sure, the Patriots uncharacteristically blew a significant lead to the Colts in the 2006 AFC Championship game the following week. Sure, Brady’s minor high ankle sprain came at the most inopportune time, especially for a quarterback that - other than that right shoulder of his - has been relatively injury free throughout his career.

As I sit here at my hotel desk typing away on my laptop, I can’t help but ponder what the final score will be after the most important 60 minutes of the season come to an end. You have to admit, as much as we all “know” that the Patriots will win their fourth Super Bowl, you can’t help but wonder about the unknown.

Listen, I don’t want to plague you guys with my guesses and personal turmoil, but a 19-0 campaign must come to fruition, or the most eventful and dominant season in the history of the National Football League by one team will be nothing more than the average snowflake in a New England Nor’easter. This year’s New England Patriots aren’t average, and they have one more game to prove that.

As we enter the final days of waiting across the country, media day passed with its usual excitement and almost predictable quirkiness. But one thing that stuck out in my mind today was New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress prematurely predicting that the Giants will beat the Patriots 23-17. Wow, people just don’t learn, bulletin board material is what the Patriots feast on for meals before big games.

I couldn’t resist. I just couldn’t.

The Thursday before the Chargers game, I booked my ticket. After hitting Houston and then Jacksonville for the Pats’ past two triumphs, I couldn’t help myself. I had to find a way to get to Arizona. Rather than waiting for the boys to seal the deal after the final bell of the AFC Championship sounded- I followed protocol just like I did for the last two Patriot Bowls and I booked my flight early. For three hundred and forty bucks I’m leaving at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and coming home Monday night around midnight. You can’t beat the price and to top it off, I’ll be back in the bay state in time for the victory parade on Tuesday.

How was I to pass on this opportunity? Let’s be honest, the Pats have one game left to do the impossible and go 19-0. They have one game left to prove that they are the best team to EVER step foot on a football field. Seasons like this come along once in a lifetime.

Here’s a bulletin board of quotes for the Pats and our fans to use as motivation this week against the Chargers:

“I think the Patriots actually live by the saying, ‘If you’re not cheatin, you’re not trying,’… I mean, I think that’s the way … they live off that statement. You keep hearing the different stories of people complaining about stuff that they do. So I’m not surprised.”

- Ladainian Tomlinson

“I would never, ever react in that way… You guys know me, I’m a very classy person. I wouldn’t have reacted like that, so yes, I was upset. Very upset. When you go to the middle of our field and you start doing the dance that Shawne Merriman is known for, that’s disrespectful to me and I can’t sit there and watch that. And so yeah, I was very upset. And just the fact the way they showed no class at all, absolutely no class, and maybe it comes from the head coach. There you have it.”

- Ladainian Tomlinson

So here we are… AFC Championship weekend is upon us, and the Pats are still alive for a chance to make their fourth Super Bowl in the last seven years. Last year at this time, I was gearing up for my trip to Indy where I thought the Pats would roll on their way to the big game in Miami. I’m not gonna lie. A part of me was really disappointed when the Chargers upset the Colts this past weekend.

I wanted the Colts bad.
I wanted revenge, and I wanted it on our turf and on our terms.

Beating the horseshoes once wasn’t good enough for me, I wanted to do it twice in a season and on the biggest stage the AFC has to offer. I wanted those fans to fully realize that last season was a fluke. PERIOD!

Am I still bitter? A little bit.
Am I still scarred? You betcha!