Five Players Who Will Make or Break the Philadelphia Eagles In 2009

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Football is a team game.

Everyone knows that.

But often it's the play of a handful of players who can be the difference between a team watching the playoffs on TV in January or playing for a chance at a Super Bowl championship.

For the Eagles, there are several of the guys on the 53-man roster who could be the key to push the Eagles over the edge.

QB Donovan McNabb: The quarterback is always a key ingredient of a championship team and McNabb will be no exception for the Eagles.

Since joining the team back in 1999, the Eagles have been fortunate enough to have one of the game's top quarterbacks leading their team. A five-time Pro Bowler, McNabb has taken the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX.

And he has mostly done so without the services of a No. 1 caliber wide receiver. Other than the 21 games in which McNabb had Terrell Owens, he has been forced to play with the services of James Thrash, Todd Pinkston, Reggie Brown, and Freddie Mitchell.

Not anymore.

The Eagles never signed that No. 1 receiver fans pushed for—notably Arizona Cardinals' Pro Bowler Anquan Boldin–but the front office did select speedy slot receiver Jeremy Maclin out of the University of Missouri.

The combination of Maclin, DeSean Jackson, and Kevin Curtis will give defenses some trouble and McNabb some weapons.

Factor in possession receiver Jason Avant and big playmaker Hank Baskett, and McNabb is poised for a banner year.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect over 3,500 passing yards and 25 touchdowns from McNabb, as well as 11 to 13 wins in the regular season and a deep playoff run.

Should McNabb go down, pray.

The team's backup currently is unproven third-year player Kevin Kolb, who has shown flashes of ineptitude in brief stints as quarterback. Kolb has two years of watching one of the best in the game under his belt, but he has yet to prove himself out on the field.

FB Leonard Weaver: Until Leonard Weaver joined the team, the position of fullback has long been forgotten here in Philadelphia.

Weaver gives the Eagles an exciting weapon.

The runner-up for the Pro Bowl in the NFC last year, Weaver is a talented pass blocker and an above-average ball carrier.

He should help the team on short yardage runs—an area that hurt the Eagles on a consistent basis last year. Weaver will be able to contribute on short passes as well.

He should be able to extend the life of aging star Brian Westbrook and help to break in up-and-coming rookie LeSean McCoy.

OT Shawn Andrews: Andrews has had a roller coaster of a career, to say the least.

He broke into the NFL as the 16th overall pick in the 2004 draft and was immediately penciled into the team's starting lineup at right guard.

Andrews broke his leg in his first career NFL game, missing the rest of the miraculous 2004 season and the team's Super Bowl appearance.

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