Philadelphia Eagles Strategy and Personnel
by Sports Xchange
--DE Bryan Smith (3/80): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--OG Mike McGlynn (4/109): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--CB Jack Ikegwuono (4/131): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--S Quintin Demps (4/117): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--G/C Mike Gibson (6/184): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--LB Joe Mays (6/200): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--DE Andy Studebaker (6/203): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--OT King Dunlap (7/230): 4 yrs, terms unknown.
DRAFT CHOICES UNSIGNED
--DT Trevor Laws (2/47).
--WR DeSean Jackson (2/49).
UNIT-BY-UNIT ANALYSIS
QUARTERBACKS: Starter -- Donovan McNabb. Backups -- Kevin Kolb, A.J. Feeley.
At 31, McNabb still is one of the league's top quarterbacks. The key question with him is his ability to stay healthy. He has missed 15 of the Eagles' last 39 regular-season games with injuries, including a torn ACL in '06. And he had to be shut down for the final three days of the team's June passing camp with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder. The Eagles are high on Kolb, their top pick in the '07 draft. But he doesn't have any experience.
RUNNING BACKS: Starter -- Brian Westbrook. Backups -- Lorenzo Booker, Correll Buckhalter, Tony Hunt, Jason Davis, Jed Collins, Luke Lawton.
Westbrook has developed into one of the league's best and most versatile running backs. He led the NFL in yards from scrimmage last season and has erased any questions about his ability to be a carry-the-load RB. With nearly 700 touches in the last two years, the Eagles need to lighten his load a bit. Booker, acquired in a draft-day trade with Miami, is a similar type of back to Westbrook, who can be flexed out wide to exploit coverage mismatches in the passing game. Lawton, Collins and Davis will duke it out for the starting fullback job. But the Eagles only use a fullback about 30 percent of the time.
TIGHT ENDS: Starter -- L.J. Smith. Backups -- Brent Celek, Matt Schobel, Kris Wilson, Mike Gasperson.
Smith is a solid receiving tight end who can be flexed out wide. He spent all of last season injured, first with a groin injury, then a knee injury. Without him healthy, the Eagles struggled badly in the red zone, finishing 24th in the league. That should change with him back this year. Smith's injuries allowed Celek to get a lot of rookie playing time, which should benefit him greatly this season.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Starters -- Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown. Backups -- Jason Avant, Greg Lewis, DeSean Jackson, Bam Childress, Hank Baskett.
No one will confuse Curtis with Randy Moss or Chad Johnson. But he had a very good first season with the Eagles, catching 77 passes. The receiver who needs to step it up in '08 is Brown. Too many dropped balls, too much trouble getting off press coverage early in '07. But he finished strong, catching 22 passes in the Eagles' last four games. Avant is a tough inside route-runner, but doesn't have much speed. Jackson has big-play potential, but rookie wideouts usually don't get on the field much for the Eagles.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- LT Tra Thomas, LG Todd Herremans, C Jamaal Jackson, RG Shawn Andrews, RT Jon Runyan. Backups -- G Max Jean-Gilles, T Winston Justice, G Scott Young, C Nick Cole, T Mike Gibson, T King Dunlap, T Mike McGlynn.
Thomas and Runyan are entering their ninth season as the Eagles' tackle tandem. Runyan is 34 and Thomas is 33, but both still are playing at a high level. Whether the Eagles need better play this season is inside at the guard and center positions. Andrew got his second Pro Bowl invitation, but it was on reputation not merit. He was up and down the entire season. Herremans and Jackson both had disappointing years and need to improve. Jean-Gilles will compete with Herremans for the starting RG job in camp. Justice, the team's '06 second-round pick, who was supposed to be the heir apparent to Thomas at LT, has thus far been a bust, which makes it imperative that Thomas's balky back hold up.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- LE Juqua Parker, LT Mike Patterson, RT Brodrick Bunkley, RE Trent Cole. Backups -- E Chris Clemons, E Victor Abiamiri, E Darren Howard, E Jerome McDougle, E Bryan Smith, T Trevor Laws, T Montae Reagor.
In an attempt to improve a pass rush that has notched more than 40 sacks just once in the last five years, the Eagles signed Clemons, a pass-rush specialist who had eight sacks in a part-time role with the Raiders last season. He'll join Pro Bowler Cole, who had 12.5 sacks last season, and Parker, who had five. Abiamiri gives them a bigger end that they can use on first down and also move inside on passing downs. Bunkley, a disappointment as a rookie, improved dramatically last season, but needs to take the next step now and force teams to double-team him.
LINEBACKERS: Starters -- SLB Chris Gocong, MLB Stewart Bradley, WLB Omar Gaither. Backups -- Akeem Jordan, Rocky Boiman, Joe Mays, Andy Studebaker, Pago Togafau.
Jim Johnson is excited about his young linebacking corps. Gaither, who started at "Will" as a rookie, but moved to "Mike" last year, has been moved back to the weak-side spot to make room in the middle for Bradley, whose physicality and speed reminds Johnson of a young Jeremiah Trotter. Gocong, a college defensive end, figures to be used a lot more this year as a pass-rusher.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters -- LCB Asante Samuel, RCB Sheldon Brown, FS Brian Dawkins, SS Quintin Mikell. Backups -- CB Lito Sheppard, S Sean Considine, CB Joselio Hanson, S J.R. Reed, DB Marcus Paschal, S Quintin Demps, CB Nick Graham.
Sheppard's status remains uncertain, with it still likely that he will be traded by the start of the season. If he isn't, the Eagles will have as good a quartet of cover corners as any in the league. Jim Johnson said he intends to play Samuel, Brown and Sheppard together as much as 80 percent of the time. Dawkins is 34 and coming off an injury-plagued year. But he's worked hard in the offseason to get back to a Pro Bowl level. Mikell has replaced Considine, who is coming off his second major shoulder injury
SPECIAL TEAMS: PK David Akers, P Sav Rocca, PR/KR DeSean Jackson, LS Jon Dorenbos.
Akers has long been one of the league's most accurate kickers. But he is coming off a disappointing season that saw him convert just 2 of 10 field-goal attempts from beyond 39 yards. Rocca, a former Australian Rules football player, has a strong leg but needs to work on consistency. Jackson could give the Eagles the much-needed home-run threat they were looking for.
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