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2009 Philadelphia Eagles NFL Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on August 6, 2009

eagles 8609 The Philadelphia Eagles have arguably been the most dominant team in the NFC this decade with five NFC Championship Game appearances in the last eight years. But they have only made one trip to the Super Bowl and came up short. Andy Reid’s run with the Eagles has made him the winningest coach in team history and Donovan McNabb has certainly been one of the organizations most prolific quarterbacks, but both of these guys need a Super Bowl victory on their resume to elevate their position in the NFL history books. The Philadelphia Eagles are listed at +1200 to win Super Bowl XLIV at Sportsbook.com.

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Offense – The Eagles’ offense has the potential to be deadly, as we saw in a 44-6 win over the Cowboys in the last game of the regular season. Consistency has been the only thing holding this unit back at times. For as good a season as McNabb had a year ago, he still endured late-November slump. But overall, he played well, throwing for 23 touchdowns against just 11 interceptions. He was absolutely brilliant over the Eagles final five games, throwing nine touchdowns against only one interception. He runs the show, and if he is consistent, the Eagles offense will be consistently good.

Brian Westbrook will be back at the running back position, but he is coming off an injury-plagued season. He’s had his knee cleaned out and is expected to be nearly 100 percent this fall, but the Eagles won’t be able to rely on him as much if they want him healthy late in the year. That means second round draft pick LeSean McCoy needs to be ready to go to help share the load.

The Eagles didn’t appear to have much star power at the wide receiver spots last season, but they do now. DeSean Jackson, who led the Eagles with 62 catches in 2008, quickly established himself as a reliable deep threat in his rookie campaign. And the Eagles add first-round draft pick Jeremy Maclin from Mizzou to the mix. And we can’t forget about Kevin Curtis, who caught 77 passes for over 1,100 yards in 2007.

The Eagles went for a younger offensive line by not re-signing Tra Thomas or Jon Runyan. They did manage to bring in two-time Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters and Stacy Andrews, the brother of their two-time Pro Bowl guard Shawn.

Defense – The Eagles boast a talented young defense which ranked in the top four in the NFL in both scoring and total defense a year ago. They finished as the third-best pass rushing team in the league with 48 sacks. Defensive end Darren Howard had a breakout season, leading the Eagles with 10 sacks. Trent Cole, has 29.5 sacks over the last three seasons and finish with nine in 2008. On the interior, Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson were one of the best tackle tandems in the league. They helped the Eagles allow only 3.5 yards per carry last season.

The linebacker unit is young, but it is very fast and quickly developing into one of the better outfits in the NFC. Stewart Bradley, Chris Gocong, and Akeem Jordan are the three starters with Omar Gaither and Joe Mays providing good depth.

The move to bring in Asante Samuel really boosted the Philly secondary. He finished with a team-high four picks during the regular season and added two more in the playoffs. He’s joined by Sheldon Brown at the cornerback position, and Ellis Hobbs, another acquisition from the Patriots, provides the Eagles with more depth. Brian Dawkins was a great Eagle, but his age was starting to show. Strong safety Quintin Mikell, a second-team All-Pro selection will have to fill Dawkins’ shoes as a leader. Quintin Demps or Sean Jones are expected to replace Dawkins at free safety.

Prediction: 1st NFC East – There you have it. I have the Eagles pegged to win the division in my NFC East predictions. McNabb was healthy last season and it showed in his play, especially late in the season and into the playoffs. It may be now or never for this Eagles team as McNabb is not getting any younger. I like Philly to stay hungry after getting oh so close to the Super Bowl a season ago. That hunger should earn the Eagles a NFC East title and, perhaps, even a Super Bowl berth. The Eagles are listed at +200 to win the NFC East at BetUS.

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