BREAKING DOWN THE EAGLES

by Robb Perkins

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Current FA's: None

Gains: Leonard Weaver (FB), Eldra Buckley (FB), Danny Amendola (WR)
Losses: Correll Buckhalter (RB), L.J. Smith (TE), Greg Lewis (WR), Drisan James (WR)

Fantasy Offense Draft Picks:
1st Rd-Jeremy Maclin (WR) Missouri
2nd Rd-LeSean McCoy (RB) Pittsburgh
5th Rd-Cornelius Ingram (TE) Florida
6th Rd-Brandon Gibson (WR) Washington State

Depth Chart: (updated 7/8/09)
QB-Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb, A.J. Feeley
RB-Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy (rc), Lorenzo Booker, Eldra Buckley
FB-Leonard Weaver, Kyle Eckel, Marcus Mailei (rc)
WR1-DeSean Jackson, Reggie Brown, Hank Baskett, Brandon Gibson (rc), Shaheer McBride,
Brandon Robinson (rc)
WR2-Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin (rc), Danny Amendola, Marcus Thigpen (rc)
TE-Brent Celek, Cornelius Ingram (rc), Matt Schobel, Eugene Bright (rc)
K-David Akers
Notes: The following players have been placed on IR-
Practice squad-

2009 Weekly Schedule (all times EST)
Sept. 13 at Carolina 1:00
Sept. 20 New Orleans 1:00
Sept. 27 Kansas City 1:00
Oct. 4 BYE
Oct. 11 Tampa Bay 1:00
Oct. 18 at Oakland 4:05
Oct. 26 at Washington 8:30
Nov. 1 NY Giants 4:15
Nov. 8 Dallas 8:20
Nov. 15 at San Diego 4:15
Nov. 22 at Chicago 8:20
Nov. 29 Washington 1:00
Dec. 6 at Atlanta 1:00
Dec. 13 at NY Giants 8:20
Dec. 20 San Francisco 1:00
Dec. 27 Denver 1:00
Jan. 3 at Dallas 1:00

Strength of Schedule Rankings:
Team schedule (based on '08 records)-9th (137-119)
Passing-16th-210.5 yards allowed per game
Rushing-14th-115.5 yards allowed per game

2008 Philadelphia Eagles Percentages
Total Passes	606	59%
Total Rushes	427	41%
Total Plays	1033

	Target	%	Rec	Yrds	TD
DeSean Jackson	121	20%	62	912	2
Brian Westbrook	70	12%	57	402	5
L.J. Smith	64	11%	37	298	1
Kevin Curtis	63	10%	33	390	2
Jason Avant	57	9%	32	377	2
Hank Baskett	51	8%	33	440	3
Brent Celek	38	6%	27	318	1
Greg Lewis	35	6%	19	247	1
Reggie Brown	34	6%	18	252	1
Correll Buckhalter	29	5%	26	324	2
Thrown Away	25	4%	0	0	0
Lorenzo Booker	10	2%	6	11	0
Tony Hunt	6	1%	6	42	0
Matt Schobel	3	0%	2	10	0





Totals	606	100%	444	4023

News and Notes:

For the first time since 2003 Donovan McNabb stayed healthy for the entire season and set a career high throwing for 3,916 yards while adding 23 touchdowns, the third most of his career. History does not bode well for McNabb to stay healthy for entire 16 game season again but if he does, he should post similar numbers making him a low number one or high number two fantasy quarterback. Kevin Kolb will serve as McNabb's backup again this season but the fact that he threw zero touchdowns and four interceptions in 34 attempts last season does not give me a lot of confidence from a fantasy perspective should McNabb get injured. He could be worth a desperate bye week start as only Arizona and New Orleans threw at a higher percentage than the Eagles.

When the Eagles do choose to run they will again rely on Brian Westbrook as their primary back however his true value lies in the receiving game. Westbrook had ankle surgery recently in a procedure that his agent, Todd France, has been quoted by ESPN.com as saying to "clean it up". He could be sidelined through training camp. Westbrook is still a top number two or low number one fantasy option but his upside is limited and his risk is higher than most backs in the same position. The Eagles drafted LeSean McCoy out of Pittsburgh who looks like a Westbrook clone and should have fantasy value this season with huge upside down the road. Lorenzo Booker will be the mix but I do not see any real value unless he vaults to the top of the depth chart due to injuries and even then, I do not see great value. Fullback Leonard Weaver is actually one of the few fullbacks in the league that has potential fantasy value, he caught two touchdowns last season for Seattle on 39 receptions and had 33 carries two years ago. He should see a few touches per game.

At receiver DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis appear to have the top two spots cemented with Reggie Brown, Hank Baskett, Jason Avant, and rookie Jeremy Maclin fighting for time. Brown has proven his value is limited while Baskett and Avant have shown flashes; neither appears to be full-time starter material. Maclin has potentially the most talent and best upside of any receiver on the team and while I think he spends a majority of this season as a return man, I love his future potential and could see him as a solid number two fantasy receiver in 2011.

L.J. Smith has fled to Baltimore leaving Brent Celek as a super sleeper this season with rookie Cornelius Ingram as a wildcard with undeniable talent but history of injuries following him to Philly. I like Ingram's potential but it could take a couple of years before he has any real value. If healthy, he is more talented than Celek and number of tight ends around the league for that matter.

After three years of making less than 78 percent of his field goal attempts David Akers hit 33 of his amazing 40 attempts last season, good for 82.5 percent, while adding 45 extra points. He should again be number one fantasy kicker.

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I.D.P. and Defensive Notes
by Jon Rascon

Base defense: 4-3

2008 Fantasy leaders:

Tackles: Stewart Bradley (108), Quintin Mikell (93), Trent Cole (77)
Sacks: Darren Howard (10), Trent Cole (9), Juqua Parker (5)
Interceptions: Asante Samuel (4), Mikell (3), 8 with 1

Ascending: Stewart Bradley. Has top 10 potential. Could be outstanding value.

Descending: Asante Samuel. One of the best cover corners to be sure. But 10 picks ain't happening again anytime soon.

Notes:

The Eagles defense is one that I think is designed for the unit, as opposed to individual players. They don't have a lot of great individual defensive players from a fantasy standpoint, but their team defense does put up a respectable number of bonus plays each year. They just get spread out all over. The one player who is fantasy relevant is Trent Cole. Last year, Cole racked up 77 tackles and 9 sacks, making him a bona-fide top 15 selection on the defensive line. Cole is only 26, so he still has some upside and could break double digit sacks in 2009. Broderick Bunkley and Mike Patterson are both very solid defensive tackles, but they are not anything more than bye-week subs.

On the linebacker front, Stewart Bradley had a "breakout" year in 2008, racking up 108 combined tackles. Bradley should be able to at least approach those numbers again in 2009, if not more. At the present moment, I liken Bradley's value in 2009 much like I valued Barrett Ruud in 2008. Many will skip over Bradley come draft day, and he could present nice value this year, even coming off a mini breakout year. The other linebackers (Chris Gocong, Akeem Jordan and Omar Gaither) are nothing more than bye week waiver wire pickups at this point, but that could change if Jordan can keep Gaither on the bench full-time. Jordan would have very sneaky value if he plays full-time in 2009.

Asante Samuel is the name that everyone knows of in the Eagles defensive backfield, but he's also the least productive (from a fantasy standpoint). That's what happens when you are a true cover corner. The other cornerback spot could be Sheldon Brown or Ellis Hobbs, either of which should get plenty of action as the opposite cornerback of Samuel. Right now, stay away until we get a clear picture of who will be starting and how much three cornerback packages the Eagles employ. The names that fantasy folks should keep in mind are the safeties, Quintin Mikell and Sean Jones. Both are willing tacklers and will rack them up in a hurry. Mikell has the higher upside, but there is no reason to shy away from either.
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PRELIMINARY (VERY) O-LINE ANALYSIS
by Chris Graley

The Eagles are probably the hardest o-line for me to analyze this year and I won't have a decent opinion until the last pre-season game, but I'll give you my initial impressions.

At the LT spot is Jason Peters. Two years ago, I had to eat a little crow. I stated that although I thought that the converted TE showed a lot of promise in the passing game, he was way too raw in his run blocking and I didn't think he could improve enough to be the Pro-Bowler that homers were saying that he was. He of course went to the Pro-Bowl that year, but I was still down on his run blocking. Last year his pass blocking imploded. He was tied for worst among LT's with 11 1/2 sacks. Now he'll be the first to tell you that his play had suffered because he didn't get the contract that he wanted, but I'm not buying that. Unless the guy has no pride at all, you don't hang your QB out to dry while you're thinking about your contract during the game. There is either boom or bust at the LT spot and I'm not sure which one it is yet.

At the LG spot Herremans is solid. I didn't consider how his knee injury affected him 2 years ago and didn't give him enough credit. He came back with a great year. He's a better pass blocker than a run blocker, but the only thing holding him back in run blocking is strength. He has good technique in both areas and is a tenacious blocker.

Center Jamaal Jackson looks like Tarzan but plays like Jane. How a 340 lb Center can be such a bad run blocker amazes me. He struggles mentally and is penalty prone. I've never been a fan of Centers that struggle mentally.

Stacy Andrews struggled at Tackle last year, but given his size, the move to guard should help. He has all the physical tools, but needs to play with more heart and smarts. Playing with his brother should help in both areas.

Shawn Andrews is now the starting RT and much like his brother is very athletic for his size. Shawn missed some time in pre-season due to depression though, and missed most of the regular season due to a back injury. He's a heck of a player, but that's a lot of ifs.

I'm predicting Philly as having an average line right now, but that will probably change a lot in either direction before the first game. They have a huge amount of potential with an equal number of question marks.

Two things that I know for sure are that they got a lot younger and have decent depth. The finished 17th overall among the lines last year, so I think ranking them as average now, is not a bad idea. Right now consider them as the same as last year.

Position-by-position grades with rush/pass blocking unit rankings coming in July.

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PLAYERS TO WATCH/AVOID (at his A.D.P.)

by Stan Feldman

Undervalued: TE Brent Celek. Celek has very much gone under the radar despite his strong performance in the 2008 postseason (19 receptions, 151 yards and three touchdowns) as well as the team's separation from veteran tight end L.J. Smith. Celek will step into the starting role and offers good value on draft day given his late-round ADP.

Overvalued: RB Brian Westbrook. Westbrook's ADP has fallen about half a round since the news of his offseason surgery, which turned out to be less serious than expected. Despite the good news about his surgery, Westbrook is still overrated given his history and owner's subsequent need to handcuff backup LeSean McCoy before the tenth round.

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BURNING QUESTION
by Rick Perkins

Q: Not a single Eagles player went over 1,000 yards or 5 touchdowns last year. Any reason for optimism in 2009?

A: Minimal. Philly's offense by nature spreads the ball fairly thin. The running backs in an Andy Reid system will always get theirs and I look for 2009 to be no different. Eagles RB's combined for a full 20% of McNabb's attention last year. Rookie DeSean Jackson did very well for himself to match that - accounting for another 20% of the team targets all by himself.

But the concerning thing for Jackson owners (and those owning any ONE entity in the Eagles passing game) are the acquisitions of rookies - RB LeSean McCoy and WR Jeremy Maclin. We must also account for the meteoric postseason rise of TE Brent Celek. He was targeted 280% more in the final eight games of the regular season than the first eight.

There's only one football and I see no fewer that six pairs of hands in a cookie jar that held 571 attempts in 2008. And that was with a 3:2 pass to run ratio (high even for the Iggles).

Forced to names names with a gun to my head, DeSean Jackson is the likliest to eclipse 1,000/5 this year. Decent #2 WR numbers.