Andy Reid isn't one to make a knee-jerk reaction. He isn't one to cut corners on a game plan just because he has a starter or two out for a game. Reid has been here before, and his confidence in his entire roster has generally allowed the Eagles to overcome setbacks. As the Eagles put the finishes touches on their preparation for Sunday's opener in Carolina, Reid is again proceeding with confidence and aggressiveness even with the news that right tackle Shawn Andrews will miss the game, to be replaced by Winston Justice.

Now, Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg are likely to make adjustments. That happens all the time. Carolina has a very fine defense. Julius Peppers is an elite defensive end, and there are other key players in a good, aggressive front seven. The Eagles have confidence in Justice at right tackle. He is a former second-round draft pick who has improved every year and who played a lot of snaps as a starter in the preseason. Justice has a chance to establish himself a little bit here.

Same with Nick Cole at left guard. Cole stepped up last season at right guard replacing Max Jean-Gilles, who replaced Andrews. Yeah, there is a lack of live-game familiarity up front, and that is going to be something to watch and the coaches are going to have to scheme to make sure Peppers and Co. don't have their way at the line of scrimmage.

But the truth is, the Eagles are going to run the offense. And that means they are going to spread things out at times and throw the ball. They're going to spread the ball around to a good group of playmakers. They are going to try to exploit matchups and try to get the offense going right away in Carolina.

Early rhythm is the goal. Finding some high-percentage completions for Donovan McNabb is so important. Making sure he has time to throw to the wonderful cast of weapons is, obviously, the first priority.

We're going to get a glimpse on Sunday in Carolina what approach the Eagles want to take and how they plan to get all of their pieces involved. Carolina's defense has its own question marks, and in a lot of ways this game comes down to the adjustments within the scheme that the coaches make. Can the Eagles run the ball against Carolina's interior defense? Can the Panthers apply pressure on McNabb to take away the throwing game down the field?

I know it's rote at this point to say, but the game is going to be won and lost at the line of scrimmage on both sides. The Eagles defense has the obvious challenge of containing one of the best running games in the league. The Eagles offense has to prove its depth down two starters along the offensive line.

Friday was the day to really start feeling geeked for the opener. The Eagles held a lively, crisp practice and the players are tremendously excited about the opener and the possibilities it brings. This can be a very, very good football team if the right pieces come together. Clearly, the Eagles have some questions to answer, including the free safety position (rookie Macho Harris starts), middle linebacker (Omar Gaither returns to the starting lineup there) and the offensive line (already explained). Carolina has its own questions, so the time is right to start finding some answers.

The Eagles are going to play their game on offense. They are going to be aggressive. Reid and Marty Mornhinweg aren't taking the thee-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust approach. That isn't Eagles football. Eagles offense is about good X's and O's and creative thinking and smart football. Eagles football is about scoring early and getting into a flow right away. The goal, then, is to play Eagles football from the opening whistle on Sunday and to carry it through for 60 hard-fought minutes.