One Man's Guess at Eagles' Final 53

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Brent Celek enters his first season as a starter and the Eagles are quite high on rookie Cornelius Ingram out of Florida. Veteran incumbent Matt Schobel had a miserable 2008 campaign and could be replaced.

Eugene Bright, a former defensive end at Purdue, has been signed and converted to tight end in the hopes that he could put his size and athleticism to good use as an edge blocker. But he's a longshot project who might win a practice squad job if he impresses.

The Eagles finally replaced their longtime tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan, and the makeover was overdue. While the bookends gave the team years of reliable pass blocking, they were becoming liabilities in the run game.

Peters will protect McNabb's blind side and should provide the push from the left side the team has been sorely lacking. Shawn Andrews, their Pro-Bowl right guard who missed just about all of 2008 with a bad back, will slide over to the tackle spot.

The starting guards will be Todd Herremans, who his coaches praised as the team's best lineman last year, and Shawn's brother Stacy Andrews, signed as a free agent away from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Center Jamaal Jackson will return, and his backup Nick Cole proved himself capable as a starting-level guard in emergency duty last season. Max Jean-Gilles played half of the 2008 season in place of Andrews before suffering a broken leg, and guard Mike McGlynn showed promise as a rookie and figures to stick.

The ninth and last offensive line spot will likely go to King Dunlap, the only true backup left tackle on the roster, as Herremans has very little experience on the edge. Conversely, it will take a miracle for Winston Justice to make the team as the Brothers Andrews are interchangeable at right tackle and the Eagles are so deep at guard.

Practice squad jobs might be up for grabs for young tackle Chris Patrick, whom the team is high on, as well as rookies Paul Fanaika and Fenuki Tupou.

The defensive line, like the rest of the team, is mostly set. Trent Cole, Darren Howard, and Chris Clemons will be counted on to provide the pass rush.

Victor Abiamiri, Philly's best run-stuffing end, will be given every chance to win a starting job. Bryan Smith showed a strong burst and a good motor last preseason and will likely see the field in games that count this year.

Juqua Parker is a good effort guy and a better teammate, but it's an open secret the team is trying to deal him. A fourth-rounder is all that it would take for the Eagles to part with him.

Mike Patterson, Broderick Bunkley and Trevor Laws will rotate at the defensive tackle spots, and Dan Klecko will return to his natural position to spot them after spending most of last season as the fullback. Howard will again line up at tackle on passing downs.

Stewart Bradley looked like a Pro Bowl caliber player in his first season as the team's starting middle linebacker.  The unit as a whole really took off when Akeem Jordan replaced the ineffective Omar Gathier on the weakside. Chris Gocong showed marked improvement in his second full season at the "SAM" 'backer and figures to get even better.

Gaither is versatile enough to play all three spots however, which him a valuable reserve. Joe Mays hit everything that moved as the rookie MLB last preseason and will look to build on that promise. Special teams wrecking-balls Tank Daniels and Tracy White will look to hold off seventh-round pick Moise Fokou.

Ellis Hobbs was acquired from the New England Patriots to challenge disgruntled starter Sheldon Brown as the team's starting right corner. Asante Samuel proved his worth last postseason and will again man the left side. Joselio Hanson enjoyed a very good '08 season as the team's nickel corner and was re-signed.

Jack Ikegwuonu, drafted in the fourth round out of Wisconsin last season, spent all of 2008 on injured reserve after suffering an ACL injury while preparing for the draft combine. Supposedly he had a first round grade from the scouts prior to his injury. The Eagles picked him knowing he was going to be on the shelf for a year and will probably give him a season to show whether or not he was worth the risk.

With the departure of talisman Brian Dawkins to the Denver Broncos, Quintin Mikell will marshall the secondary from his strong safety spot. Young Quentin Demps will get the first crack to replace Dawkins as the free safety.  Should he falter, free agent signee Sean Jones, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, will play in the box while Mikell will take over the center field duties.

Rookie Macho Harris has the attitude, special teams ability, and play-making flair that all secondary members coming from Virginia Tech seem to possess. His ability to play either safety or corner will help him nab the final spot away from ex-Oakland Raider Rashad Baker.

The team's specialists will once again be kicker David Akers, punter Sav Rocca, and long snapper Jon Dorenbos.

And that makes 53.

Of course these predictions are meaningless and Reid could very well decide to keep 12 offensive and defensive linemen, shaking up the rest of the roster. He could decide to make do with only five receivers or four corners.

For a team that entered 2007 without a punt returner and 2008 without a fullback, stranger things have certainly happened.

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