(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
In the aftermath of yet another loss in the NFC Championship game and in response to Donovan McNabb's demands that the Birds add some weapons on both sides of the football, the Eagles are hoping this group of free agents and highly-touted rookies are the missing ingredients that will net them a Super Bowl ring and a parade down Broad Street in 2009.
For a fan base that has not experienced an NFL Championship since 1960, it's the Super Bowl or bust. Whether the 2009 Eagles are good enough to make a run to the big game will depend upon whether the players they've brought in via the draft and free agency will mesh with the team's current players.
Perhaps the biggest area of concern for the Eagles in 2009 is on the offensive side of the football, starting with the offensive line.
The Birds are hoping that Jason Peters, a two-time Pro Bowler with the Buffalo Bills, can fill the void at the left tackle spot that was created when aging veteran Tra Thomas joined the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On the other side of the Eagles' offensive line, the team is hoping that Shawn Andrews, who missed all of last year with a back injury, will make the transition from the right guard spot to right tackle. Andrews made the Pro Bowl twice at the right guard spot.
“Shawn's been an All-Pro guard so he should look good at tackle. I think he's enjoying it. He's in phenomenal shape right now. I think his back is fine, he's been up here working out and doing everything that the other guys have done and it hasn't bothered him,” said Eagles head coach Andy Reid.
The Eagles have also brought in 6' 7", 324 lbs, Stacey Andrews, Shawn's brother, not only to presumably play at the right guard spot, but to also serve as a support for his younger brother, who experienced a bout of depression early last season.
From a football standpoint, Stacey Andrews, who suffered a knee injury at the end of last season while playing with the Cincinnati Bengals, is versatile enough to play tackle and guard. If he is completely healed from his injury, McNabb might have enough time to reach his receivers down field.
The No. 1 complaint of Eagles fans throughout the “McNabb-Reid” era is that this offense is not having a game-breaker at the wide receiver position—outside of Terrell Owens in 2004, the year the Eagles went to the Super Bowl.
The two most enduring images of the Eagles loss in the NFC title game was watching Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald torch them for nine receptions, 152 yards, and three touchdowns, and Kevin Curtis dropping a McNabb pass on the game's final play.
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