I was on the train this morning glancing through The Metro when I came across a column by the windbag (for lack of a better word, but fits quite nicely) Angelo Cataldi. In his prediction of the 2008 Eagles season he warns fans to keep their hopes down; he gives the team 7 wins. I’m not a fan of this guy if you couldn’t tell, I enjoy real football experts/journalists. If Ray Didinger predicts 7 wins, then I might actually read into some of the points he would make in that article. All this talk of the start of the season made me think that it’s time for my own predictions for this Eagles football year. But, as much as I tried to avoid it, there’s a certain twist to my logic.

When I look at this roster, the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles, I see a lot of potential. There’s budding stars on offense and defense, experienced playmakers, and proven leaders. Last year ended with 3 consecutive wins including a masterful defensive effort in Dallas to beat the Cowboys. But I also remember than Donovan will be 32 years old on November 25. I remember that Westbrook touched the ball and carried this offense far too much last year, all on a bum knee. I have faith in the linebackers, but they still need to come out of the gate fast and prove themselves.

Growing up an Eagles fan, living just outside the city as a kid and now living in the heart of it, I think I may have become jaded and cynical like most fans in this town. It’s hard to believe that “this is the year” every single season, when all I know is heartbreak and coming up short. I haven’t seen a championship in my life and I have absolutely no idea when/if I will. So, in that state of mind, I feel this team can be very good, they can most likely contend for a wild card and then see what happens. But it’s absolutely impossible for me, no matter what the year, to not be overcome with excitement when Eagles football returns. This is what I live for; there is no question of my devotion and love for the Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers too, but the Eagles are my team, my life line. They’ve been my team since I was younger than I can remember, and they’ll be my team until the day I die. With such pride that mounts every year, I find myself thinking, “this team can do it, they’re good enough, and they’re going to surprise a lot of people.” All my thinking goes straight to the Super Bowl; after all, that is the goal. So with that in mind, I present to you my predictions as a reserved, slightly cynical and more realistic football journalist-in-the-making, but also predictions as a pumped up, bleeding green, die-hard fan.

Jekll

When I look at the way this team finished 2007 at 8-8, it really gave me some good things to look forward to for this new season. The biggest piece of this puzzle that improved late last year was the man who makes the team go, Donovan McNabb. I know that when healthy the man can throw the football with the best of them. I also know that while he stands firm to prove himself as a pocket passer, he can still take off. In the game against the Saints, D-Mac ripped off a 40 yard run into Saints territory. Now, he did fumble the ball which Kevin Curtis recovered in the endzone about 30 yards down field, but the fumble shouldn’t be a reoccurring issue. What I saw was a 31 year old proving he can still do it, in the air and on the ground. But the question in 2008 with a healthy quarterback is the same as it’s always been: who are his weapons?

Obviously you have one of the best running backs in the league in Brian Westbrook. I don’t need to regurgitate the statistics, you know them as well as the next person who reads this. The facts remains that he’s happy with a contract finally, he can find the hole and explode through it with immense speed, and juke defenders out of their shoes. Oh, and he was the leading receiver last year as well. I do get concerned that he’s carrying too much of the load, that his knee could act up again. That’s why the play of a rookie receiver in DeSean Jackson and tight end L.J. Smith will come into the spotlight in 2008 bigger than ever. L.J. is in the last year of his contract, so he should be ready to play better than before anyway, and he too is healthy again. I hope for and expect big things out of him. Curtis who was the gem of last year’s offseason is gone for 6-8 games it seems, so other receivers need to step it up. Jackson is quickly learning the offense and positioning himself to be a starter on Sunday. Reggie Brown is still on the cusp of becoming the player he should be. He will never be a number 1, none of these receivers will, but a good crop of number 2 receivers can balance out to a good air attack.

On defense the secondary as usual is perhaps the strongest position, and this year’s group is exceptionally talented. People may accuse Asante Samuel of being in the right system in New England, playing more of a sit-back, zone type coverage. I wonder if those same people saw a practice session at Lehigh or the preseason game against New England. This guy is a stud, an absolute playmaker. He makes up for his lack of height (something that kills the Eagles every year, with wideouts like Plaxico) with ridiculous leaping ability and superb timing. Sheldon Brown is a multiple Pro-Bowl snub and perhaps the best true cover corner this team has. Lito Sheppard is still unhappy, still without a new contract, but he is still in midnight green. If you have a Pro-Bowl corner as your number 3 guy, you have a seriously good last line of defense.

The linebackers are young, hungry, and excited to prove themselves to Eagles fans. There’s been a ton of hype around Gaither/Bradley/Gocong, as each made tremendous strides last year, all in different roles: Gaither in the middle, Bradley late in the year, and Gocong coming on as the season progressed. This trio has to live up to the hype for the defense to succeed. Lastly we come to the d-line. A lot of fans were surprised that Jerome McDougle was cut, but even with that move there are enough people rotating into that line to make plays. Angelo Cataldi said the praise that Patterson and Bunkley got after last year wasn’t right, that they didn’t deserve it. I think that’s horrendously false; these 2 guys are providing that inside presence to stuff the run and they did get better, faster, and stronger.

So, what does my Jekll side make of all this? A few things have to happen for this team to go anywhere. One is that McNabb and Westbrook cannot afford to get injured for extended periods of time. This offense and this team as whole will fall into something completely mediocre without either one. The defense has to pressure the opposing quarterback. We all saw that even the best can be taken down in last year’s Super Bowl with a good pass rush. Tom Brady was sacked, knocked down, flushed out, and looked like an average QB. That’s what the Eagles need to do week in, week out: pressure that quarterback. This team loves to blitz a lot, and with the speed the defense has, I like our chances of upping the sack total. Special teams are also a must have improvement for this 2008 squad. While the coverage teams looked just average during preseason, the return game was spectacular. Aside from the touchdowns, Demps and Jackson actually catch the ball and know when they have room to take off.

Here’s how Jekll see’s it:

St Louis - W (1-0) : This game should be a win without much doubt when you look on paper. The Rams had a very disappointing 2007 and didn’t improve a heck of a lot. Their first round pick, Long, will take time to establish himself as a stud. The Eagles will win, but it will be a bit closer than people think as the Eagles feel themselves out and establish their brand of football

at Dallas - L (1-1) : The Eagles have a thing for beating their arch rival late in the year, and that will come later in December. Dallas is getting a lot of hype and while I don’t think they’re a lock for the Super Bowl or anything else of that stature, they’re a very good team. This will be tough, especially on the road.

Pittsburgh - L (1-2) : The Steelers manhandled the Eagles in 2004, the best Eagles team of the past number of years (the Super Bowl year). They haven’t changed their blueprint: tough defense, smash mouth running (now with 2 studs in the backfield in Parker and Mendenhall) and owning the clock. The Eagles will find it hard to make big plays against them and they drop a tough game at home.

at Chicago - W (2-2) : September is far too early to be in a panic mode, but at 1-2 this game in Chicago is essentially a must-win. The Bears defense got ripped to shreds in a number of games last year and their offense is non existent. The Eagles go into Chi-town in primetime and get the win.

Washington - W (3-2) : It’s never an easy task for the Eagles to take on the Redskins, and this will be no different. Washington is poised for a mediocre season and if the Eagles are healthy they should be able to weather this storm at home.

at San Fran - W (4-2) : The Alex Smith era has seemingly come to an end in San Fran, but the no name inserted as starter will fare no better. Coach Nolan, who get his cred as the defensive coordinator for a number of years with the nasty Ravens defense, doesn’t even have a top 5 defense.

Atlanta - W (5-2) : A lot of worry right here for a let down game after pulling off 3 straight wins. But keep in mind that this game is after a bye week, and you know what Andy Reid teams do after bye weeks. This defense should keep Matt Ryan flustered the whole game and Atlanta lacks a lot of skill all over the field.

at Seattle - L (5-3) : The run comes to an end at Qwest, one of the toughest places to play. Hasselbeck is one of the more underrated QB’s in football, and the defense is tremendous.

NY Giants - W (6-3) : The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants; still sounds weird. From everything I have seen and heard, Eli is back to playing mediocre this preseason/training camp like he has done his entire career, except those last 4 games in 2007 that were a little important. The Eagles wont sweep the Giants this year, but I like their chances a hell of a lot better at home. Break down the teams, the Eagles have the playmakers that the Giants don’t. Plus, the Giants could falter big time without a serious pass rush.

at Cincinnati - L (6-4) : It was either this game or the next week at Baltimore as one of those games you just cant figure out. The Eagles have the better team, especially defensively, but it’s one of those games that simply gets away.

at Baltimore - W (7-4) : As noted above, this could very well be the loss in these two road games. But unlike Cincinnati, the Ravens have zero playmakers on offense and a rotating door at quarterback. Their defense is good, but is now beatable. Nice rebound game for the Eagles.

Arizona - W (8-4) : The talk all week will be “oh we could have had Fitzgerald or Boldin”, but the Cardinals all in all aren’t there yet as an entire team. The defense is suspect and can show flickers of life without ever becoming dominant. They’re a trendy pick in the awful NFC West, but have little run game with James, and will make a nice Thanksgiving meal for the Eagles.

at NY Giants - L (8-5) : Playing at the Meadowlands hasn’t been kind to the Eagles lately, especially if it’s a close game: David Akers is seemingly unable to handle the swirling winds in that stadium. They may be an 8-8, 9-7 kind of team, but I don’t see a sweep of the Super Bowl Champions, especially in their house.

Cleveland - W (9-5) : It’s uncertain whether Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn will be at the helm but no matter which guy is under the snap, he’s going to need a healthy Winslow, Jamal Lewis, and Braylon Edwards; I don’t know if that can happen, especially with the aging Lewis. And can the Browns even come close to being the good 10-6 team they were last season? Not on Monday Night in Philly.

at Washington - W (10-5) : If the Eagles are 9-5 they’ll be coming into this game with playoff positioning on their minds, and the Skins will be playing spoiler. As if it wasn’t hard enough with Washington, this game should be close yet again. But the better team should win, and the Eagles sweep the Skins.

Dallas - W (11-5) : Look back to the past few years and the Eagles success against Dallas late in the year, it’s pretty remarkable, and this game is in South Philly. This is a match-up of two good defenses and might come down to field position. Remember, this high-powered Cowboys offense managed 6 points last year in the second game. The Eagles are capable of shutting them down, and they will, to put a stamp on the regular season.

So there it is, 11-5, with a 4-2 division record. Obviously as noted before, things drastically change if a key player goes down, or if multiple players go down. McNabb or Westbrook? This team will be hovering at .500 at best. Also, the division games are always the most difficult especially with the skill of all 4 teams going into this season. But, it could also turn for the better if the Eagles manage to win either week 2 in Dallas or week 3 against the Steelers, both games I have marked as losses. But this team could easily, easily, finish at 9-7 or 10-6.

Hyde

Three words for you: any given Sunday. That means that any given week in the NFL, any team can beat any team. Just look at last year’s Super Bowl, nobody expected that. The Patriots lost to the Dolphins during a playoff run a few years back…the Dolphins! This sport is more unpredictable than ever and while all the so called “experts” pick Dallas or the trendy choice of Minnesota, the Eagles will be mounting the wins. Just look at this team.

McNabb is back and ready to return to Pro Bowl form. Do we have a number 1 receiver? No, but do we really need it? This guy led us to 3 NFC Championship games without a number 1, with guys like Pinkston and Fred-Ex. Did I mention Westbrook? The guy is a human highlight reel, and he’s going to be unstoppable again in 2008. Speaking of the receivers though, L.J. is finally looking like he’s going to have that breakout season, and when we’re 4-2 or so heading into the bye, Curtis comes back. Halleluyah.

And how about the return game? DeSean Jackson slipping to round 2 is the shock of the draft right now. Not only can he, and will be, a starting wideout for Donovan, but he’s turning the special teams around by himself.

Look at this schedule; starting off at home with the Rams is a win. We take one of two with the Cowboys and Steelers and go to 2-1. Then there’s Chicago, Washington, and San Fran before the bye. Heck, if we take 2 out of 3 there, that’s 4-2 heading into the off week. Nobody will suspect a thing, and the Birds will continue to roll, especially with the woeful Falcons after the bye, making it 5-2. We might lose to Seattle, but there’s no way we lose to the Giants at home this year, they have no pass rush! Their defense is desimated. We have a gift wrapped set of game with Cincinnati - no defense, Baltimore - no offense, and Arizona - not much of either, making it 9-3. Give the Giants their game at home, 9-4, but we beat the one year wonder Browns at home to go to 10-4. We all know how this team fares late in the season: winning ball games. Beat Washington, crush Dallas, 12-4.

Now obviously things could falter a bit, and we could be 11-5 or even a wildcard at 10-6. But what I said before - any given Sunday. The Giants snuck into the playoffs last year as a wildcard, won 4 games, and were Super Bowl Champions. Why can’t the Eagles do it? We have the players to get it done. Now throw on that jersey, turn on the tube, and watch those Eagles! E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

—–

Obviously, these predictions are, well, just that: attempts to guess something far more complex than who’s better on paper than who. Will the Eagles go 10-6? Could. Will they falter and miss the playoffs again at 8-8? Sure. Is there a chance that they go 12-4? It’s possible. Nobody knows what’s going to happen, and that’s half the fun. Just get to the playoffs and see what happens when you’re there. Follow the model the Giants did; it worked out pretty well - get hot at the right time.

So, I’m going to end with my true final prediction: 11-5. But the Hyde in me can’t resist…watch this and if you’re not jumping out of your seat ready to go for Eagles football, you might not have a pulse.