The Eagles had dominated the NFC East since realignment, going 16-2 in the division before last year. That is over. They were 0-6 last season; Donovan McNabb's injury and the T.O. saga were only part of the problem. The defense started to show its age in a hurry and they could not run the football. The lack of a power running back and injuries along the offensive line did not help, which led them to throw the ball 63% of the time. The loss of Owens and a sub-par receiving corps means that the Eagles will need to run the ball a lot more and rely on their defense to be successful.
Before Owens got there, Philadelphia had Duce Staley and a healthy Correll Buckhalter in 2003. Staley is long gone and Buckhalter has missed the entire season three of his five years in the league (including the last two). Brian Westbrook has never carried the ball more than 177 times in a season and has missed time with injuries three years in a row. It is hard to believe second-year back Ryan Moats is the answer. He had three long touchdown runs (59, 40, and 18), but averaged 3.1 yards on his other 52 attempts last year and also fumbled 3 times (he fumbled 16 times in his final two years at Louisiana Tech). He is fast and at 5'8", 210, is basically a clone of Westbrook without his catching ability.
Last year was the first time either LT Tra Thomas or C Hank Fraley had ever missed significant time with injuries in their career (both finished the year on IR). Fraley is only 28, but Tra Thomas is 31 and his back trouble might resurface trying to support his 6'7", 349 pound frame. The Eagles locked up RG Shawn Andrews with an extension (7-years, up to $40 million) and still have former pro-bowler RT Jon Runyan. The Eagles added insurance with OT Winston Justice (USC) in the second-round and 356-pound OG Max Jean-Gilles in the fourth-round. Both players are more talented than their respective draft positions would suggest (Justice slipped for character, Jean-Gilles for conditioning). The offensive line should be one of the best in the league again.
However, McNabb does not have much to work with in the way of receivers with Reggie Brown and Todd Pinkston projected to start. WR Jabar Gaffney (Houston) is nothing special. It is hard to see how they will be successful on offense with the current group of running backs and receivers. Westbrook is a playmaker, but the offense will struggle to move the ball consistently. Did I mention Terrell Owens will no longer be available as the go-to-guy on third down? Owens picked up 32 first downs in his 7 games with the Eagles last year. For comparison Westbrook had 27 in 12 games.
The Eagles will have to rely on their defense more than they would like. The addition of DE Darren Howard (New Orleans) and first-round pick DT Brodrick Bunkley (Florida State) will help the defensive line, but DE Jevon Kearse is not the player he used to be. The secondary suffered last year after CB Lito Sheppard's injury, but they struggled as a unit (especially in man-to-man coverage) the entire season, which was a bit of a mystery. It would not be a stretch to say CB Sheldon Brown, FS Brian Dawkins, SS Michael Lewis, and Sheppard are all among the ten best players on the team. MLB Jeremiah Trotter is great against the run, but is really the only linebacker worth mentioning (LB Shawn Barber projects to start after being cut by Kansas City). This defense should bounce back from a subpar performance last year, but it might not be enough to counter the problems on an offense that also lost its coordinator Brad Childress (Minnesota).
To say Philadelphia is the same team that went to NFC Championship game in 2002 and 2003 before Terrell Owens arrived is false. Some key players are a lot older and it does not look like they have the running backs to pound the football. McNabb might be glad Owens is no longer with the team, but he will miss him on the field. The good news is that he is the only notable departure. Defenses have no reason to respect the run and McNabb could be in for another year of punishment. He threw a lot of balls into the ground last year to avoid sacks, and we might see more of the same this season. If McNabb gets hurt, then the Eagles do have a very capable backup in Jeff Garcia (Detroit). However, Garcia might be tough to keep healthy. The Eagles would realistically be very lucky go 3-3 in the NFC East. They might already be out of the picture by Thanksgiving and it will not get any easier after that. Their final six games are at Indianapolis, Carolina, at Washington, at the Giants, at Dallas, and Atlanta.
Key Additions: DE Darren Howard (NO), DT Brodrick Bunkley (R), QB Jeff Garcia (DET), LB Shawn Barber (KC), WR Jabar Gaffney (HOU)
Key Losses: WR Terrell Owens (DAL), OC Brad Childress (MIN), QB Mike McMahon (MIN)
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