The 2008 Philadelphia Eagles team will feature some of the most dynamic players in the NFL, if they can stay healthy. Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Asante Samuel are marquee names in the league. Each should put on a stellar show if they are able to play all sixteen games this season.
McNabb was never really healthy last year. His diminished mobility hurt the team. This year, he is reportedly back in peak condition and ready to resume his top tier performance from earlier in his career.
Brian Westbrook had more yards from scrimmage than any other player in the NFL last year. To clarify, 'any player' includes San Diego's LaDanian Tomlinson. He was rewarded in the off-season with a healthy new contract. Westbrook was never in contention for the NFL's Most Valuable Player award due to the poor performance of the Eagles, but there was not another player in the NFL who contributed as much to their team offensive output as Brian Westbrook. With better supporting players around him and a healthy quarterback, Westbrook's future looks bright.
Asante Samuel will start the season flush with the truck loads of money the Eagles offered him to come to Philadelphia from New England. The expectations for Samuel are probably unrealistically high, but partnered with fellow cornerbacks Sheldon Brown and Lito Shepherd, he will be a part of one of the best rotations in the NFL.
Head Coach Andy Reid has, in his nine years with the Eagles, drafted for the future. The team has not typically sought or gotten a great deal of productivity out of their rookies. This year, however, looks to be different. Rookie DeSean Jackson will be the starting punt returner on opening day. With the injury to Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown's lingering hamstring problems, he may play a big role as a starting wide receiver as well.
Another Eagles rookie, Quintin Demps, will be the starting day kick returner. Like Jackson, Demps showed some spectacular moves in the return game during the preseason. How well those moves translate against starting NFL players when the score counts remains to be seen, but Demps and Jackson look like they may have the skills to produce right away and for years to come.
Rookie Lorenzo Booker is listed as the third running back on the team's depth chart, but his speed and receiving skills will make him a dangerous weapon. Barring a disastrous injury, Booker will not supplant Brian Westbrook this year or any time soon, but he may see significant time on the field in two running back sets.
On paper, the Eagles have some of the top individual players in the NFL. How well they will mesh together and perform is yet to be determined. If, and this is a big if, they can all stay healthy, the Eagles will be a force to contend with in the NFC East in 2008.
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