In 2008, the Eagles went as far as Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook could take them. As the year wore on, the injuries started mounting for Ol' Westy. The trooper that he is, he took them to the NFC championship game. Westbrook turns 30 in September and added a high ankle sprain this offseason to the degenerative knee condition he already has. It's starting to seem like they've "plum worn him out". Rookie LeSean McCoy should seem like a breath of fresh air. Years ago, it was going to be Correll Buckhalter and Westbrook as a 1-2 punch, but injuries and some exceptional games by Westbrook changed that whole concept. The Eagles have tried other backs like Lamar Gordon to take some of the burden off Westy, but that hasn't worked. McCoy should finally be someone that is not only a force with Westbrook, but he can handle all of the runningback chores without him as well. Leonard Weaver is a fullback that can also grind out some tough yards and catch the occasional pass. Kyle Eckel is a fine blocker that will lose his starting spot to Weaver. The Eagles still have former third round pick Lorenzo Booker who should be able to do a fine Westbrook imitiation. Booker hasn't come anywhere near the high expectations.

Donovan McNabb takes far too much flack for a quarterback as productive as he is. 6 of 10 seasons he's been a top 10 quarterback in yards per game. He was an excellent runner early on and the guy simply knows how to win as evidenced by his 82-45 career record. McNabb has had a less than stellar receiving corps and studs like Terrell Owens. It hasn't mattered one way or the other, McNabb gets it done. Behind McNabb the Eagles still have AJ Feeley and Kevin Kolb. Kolb is supposedly the best quarterback we've never seen, if you listen to Eagles fans. At some point, the youngster would have beaten McNabb out for his job if he were half as good as advertised.

At wide receiver the Eagles have Desean Jackson who was a terrific rookie. Opposite Jackson is Kevin Curtis unless first round pick Jeremy Maclin can pickup the pro game quickly like Jackson did. If so, with Curtis in the slot, the Eagles would have a terrific trio each with big play ability. Curtis is a remnant of that track team the Rams used to have playing wide receiver and still has plenty of speed left. Reggie Brown has simply been ineffective. Hank Baskett is a 6 foot 4 inch wide receiver with a knack for going deep. Baskett has looked like an up N' comer ever since he entered the league. After three years, he's running out of time to be a star with the Eagles and will be stuck as a role player. Jason Avant has been extremely effective and is not going to give up his spot to anyone without a battle. The Eagles should have some terrific position battles in camp.

At tight end the Eagles are in transition. Oft injured L.J. Smith is gone. In his place are marginally effective Matt Schobel and Brent Celek. Rookie Cornelius Ingram is a wonderful sleeper candidate. He could very well start, McNabb loves to throw to the tight end and he's a far better pass catcher than Schobel or Celek. Fellow rook Eugene Bright of Purdue may surprise.

The beauty of free agency is the Eagles had the opportunity to pair up two brothers, Stacy and Shawn Andrews, on the right side of the offensive line. At the other tackle spot, Jason Peters brings his pro bowl talent to Philadelphia from Buffalo. The Eagles need a center. Jamaal Jackson isn't so great. Nick Cole has played effectively at guard and can play center, setting up a possible camp battle. Todd Herremans is a road grader that is the third player from the 2005 Saginaw Valley State team to make it in the NFL. He is the best of the bunch firmly entrenching himself on the offensive line. Max Jean-Gilles is a terrific young guard that started 10 games last year and is now looking for a spot with Herremans taking his. Winston Justice was a star tackle coming out of college but he hasn't had the experience to succeed at the NFL level. Some have been already calling him a bust as he'll sit 2009 behind two possible pro bowlers at tackle. There's waiting to play and rotting on the sideline. Justice's decline seems to have washed away any trade value he has so the Eagles better find out how to get him involved. Mike McGlynn is a fourth rounder from 2008 that is a typical brute from Pitt. He can play center and shouldn't be forgotten.

Mike Patterson and Broderick Bunkley provide a venerable human wall for opposing rushing offenses to try and run through at defensive tackle for the Eagles. Trent Cole has established himself as a playmaker defensive end. Cole needs to be more consistent, reliable to become a star. Victor Abiamiri is a solid run defender but not the pass rush threat that Darren Howard is. They'll switch on passing and rushing downs. It'd be nice if Abiamiri could develop his pass rushing skills more. Two defensive ends under 270 pounds leaves the Eagles light for the grind it out yardage but their terrific linebacking corps can usually add the necessary punch they need. Backups Chris Clemons and Bryan Smith are even lighter at 245 and 240 pounds. There's starting linebackers bigger than that. There are all sorts of leverage issues that Jim Johnson is discarding in order to get speed. Coordinator Johnson is right more often than not so he deserves the benefit of the doubt here.

Stewart Bradley is an outstanding middle linebacker that is sorely underrated. Chris Gocong is the aforementioned run stuffing outside linebacker. Akeem Jordan is some sort of experiment from the 1985 NBA draft. No wait, Jordan is an up N comer linebacker that took over the outside linebacker role midseason replacing Omar Gaither. Jordan is a quick footed linebacker that can cover well. The Eagles lack any quality depth at linebacker outside of Gaither.

Sheldon Brown has wanted to be traded, possibly he just doesn't like the influx of former Patriots. Otis Smith is an assistnt secondary coach and Asante Samuel came over in free agency last year. This year Ellis Hobbs comes to the Eagles. The Eagles will be fine without Brown and possibly the best cornerback group with him. Joselio Hanson is a coach's pet just waiting for a chance at corner, thus opening up the Brown trade possibility. Longtime ballhawk Brian Dawkins is gone and will be replaced by either Quintin Demps or Sean Jones. Jones was signed as an unrestricted free agent from the Browns and is the favorite. Quintin Mikell(the other Quintin) was a second team all-pro safety in 2008.

David Akers is a reliable veteran kicker that will be pushed in camp by yet another rookie kicker brought in to stir up some competition. At punter the Eagles have Sav Rocca who could probably punt the ball a mile in Australia but is still figuring out how to get it done in America. He's improving and could become quite the weapon in time.

The Eagles added several quality players to a team that made the NFC championship game. Westbrook's legs could impact their whole season positively or negatively. They are primed for a Super Bowl run but could be exposed for lack of depth.