NFL Previews: Philadelphia Eagles

VETERAN PLAYER MOVEMENT

KEY ADDITIONS

Player, Pos., 2009 Team

Mike Bell, RB, New Orleans
Alex Hall, LB, Cleveland
Marlin Jackson, S, Indianapolis
Ernie Sims, LB, Detroit
Darryl Tapp, DE, Seattle

KEY LOSSES

Player, Pos., 2010 Team

Shawn Andrews, G, Free agent
Jason Babin, DE, Tennessee
Reggie Brown, WR, Tampa Bay
Sheldon Brown, CB, Cleveland
Chris Clemons, DE, Seattle
Kevin Curtis, WR, Free agent
Chris Gocong, LB, Cleveland
Sean Jones, S, Tampa Bay
Donovan McNabb, QB, Washington
Alex Smith, TE, Cleveland
Brian Westbrook, RB, Free agent
Will Witherspoon, LB, Tennessee

Draft
Rd., Player, Pos., Ht., Wt., College

1. Brandon Graham, DE, 6-2, 268, Michigan
2. Nate Allen, DB, 6-0, 207, South Florida
3. Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, DE, 6-3, 263, Washington
4. Trevard Lindley, CB, 5-11, 183, Kentucky
4. Keenan Clayton, LB, 6-1, 229, Oklahoma
4. Mike Kafka, QB, 6-3, 225, Northwestern
4. Clay Harbor, TE, 6-2, 252, Missouri State
5. Ricky Sapp, DE, 6-4, 252, Clemson
5. Riley Cooper, WR, 6-3, 222, Florida
6. Charles Scott, RB, 5-11, 238, LSU
7. Jamar Chaney, LB, 6-0, 242, Mississippi State
7. Jeff Owens, DT, 6-1, 304, Georgia
7. Kurt Coleman, S, 5-11, 192, Ohio State

Offense:
The offense now transitions to the post Donovan McNabb era as the Eagles now turn to Kevin Kolb as the man who will run their show. It will be interesting to see how the Eagles offense runs without McNabb and unsung hero Brian Westbrook. Kolb has had an awful preseason, so if he fails, Michael Vick will be the gut they turn too. Their RBs are led by LeSean McCoy who is a younger Westbrook and their north/south runner is Leanord Weaver. But the part of the offense I'm most excited on seeing is the WRs who has the explosive Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Brett Celek. They are young, they are fast, and if Kolb has good chemistry with them, this offense could be explosive.

Defense:
Their Dline is consistent but never spectacular. Trent Cole, Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley will be at tackle and we will see Brandon Graham at left end. Again, solid but unspectacular. Their linebackers are a bunch of guys that are getting thrown together, call me crazy but I'm not confident when I hear names like Stewart Bradley, Ernie Sims, Alex Hall, Keenan Clayton and Jamar Chaney. Maybe they will hit gold, but I'm skeptic. In their second season without Brian Dawkins they did everything they could to try to make a proper replacement, which they didn't do last year. They picked up Marlin Jackson, drafted Nate Allen and still have Macho Harris. One of them should work out. Asante Samuel is good, but can't tackle and Ellis Hobbs on the other side isn't that great either.

Overall:
Good team, but don't believe the hype. This team has some glaring holes on the defensive end. 9-7.