2009 Eagles Preview: I'll Be Doggone

NFC EAST
2. Philadelphia Eagles
Projected Record: 9-7

Offense: A-
Defense: C
Coaching: C

What’s new: If you thought the circus around Terrell Owens or Brett Favre was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. How about the combined headaches of having Donovan McNabb AND Michael Vick on the same team. Also added through the draft was Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. The Eagles lost a lot on defense through free agency and injuries.

What’s good: The offensive depth. If Brian Westbrook, who is the real key to this offense, gets hurt again then the Eagles actually have someone to replace him (McCoy). There are plenty of targets for McNabb to throw to, including but not limited to, Desean Jackson, Kevin Curtis and Maclin. Throw in the unknown of Vick, and the Eagles offense is better than last season.

What’s bad: The defensive mess. Why the Eagles let Brian Dawkins leave I will never know. He had two good seasons left in him. Huge mistake. The safeties no longer scare anybody and the linebackers are nameless. The loss of Stuart Bradley was treated as huge news, but Bradley wasn’t that good to begin with. The fact the Eagles are concerned about not having him is a terrible sign.

What to expect: Andy Reid can’t even manage to keep either of his sons out of prison. How can he possibly manage the eventual McNabb-Vick issues that are going to plague this team? The death of Jim Johnson, who was the Eagles best coach on the entire staff, is certainly not going to help Reid any. Like the Cowboys, there is too much talent on this team for it to be bad. However, there’s really no way a team with a weak defense and a weak coach can consistently win in the NFL. The Eagles and Cowboys are almost identical. The Eagles are a better team, which puts them two games ahead of Dallas in the projected standings.