Shawn Andrews is on injured reserve. Stacy Andrews is on the sidelines. Donovan McNabb is, in all probability, going to be watching today's game from the press box nursing a fractured rib. The Eagles enter this litmus-test of a Week 2 game against New Orleans with an offense they did not envision when the team drew up the initial depth chart at the start of training camp.
But things happen. Injuries, mostly. And the Eagles have an offensive line now in place that, while dramatically different from last season, is still not even close to what they hoped they would have when they signed Stacy Andrews in free agency, traded for left tackle Jason Peters and slid Shawn Andrews from right guard to right tackle. The Andrews brothers had a tough week -- Shawn went on season-ending IR and Stacy was passed in the depth chart by Max Jean-Gilles, who played well in training camp and in the preseason and who steps in at right guard against the Saints.
Add in the foot injury that could keep Todd Herremans out for another month and you have an offensive line in a strange place with a lot of new faces and projected reserves dotting the starting group.
At quarterback, where everyone is going to focus for this game, Kevin Kolb is in line to start after taking all of the practice reps this week. Every day he improved, gained a greater comfort level and smoothed some of the rough edges of his mechanics. Kolb did everything the right way during the week. He paid attention to all of the details.
What that means for today is something only the game is going to answer. The Saints are going to try to get after Kolb, try to confuse him and force him into hurried throws and a myriad of mistakes.
Kolb has waited into his third season to have this opportunity. He prepared to start and was treated as the starter all week. He took every rep with the starters in practice. And that means, well, that means he is as ready as he will ever be for this opportunity.
Most of the football conversation all week has centered on the Eagles' defense and the enormous challenge it faces against a powerful and multi-pronged Saints offense. No question, the defense is up against one of the best offenses in the league.
But what about the offense? The Eagles won big in Carolina last week without a standout performance from the offense. This week, the offense needs to be a whole lot better with a cast that includes players not many expected to be starting in Week 2 of this season? Winston Justice? Not by a long shot. Nick Cole, the left guard? Maybe, because he did it last year down the stretch. Jean-Gilles? Only in an emergency.
Kevin Kolb? In Week 2? Not on your life.
Yet here the Eagles are, and by all indications they are planning on running the same offense they have run for years and years. Throw the ball early and try to get a lead and then turn to the running game. That may change some if Kolb has early struggles, but you can bet that Andy Reid trusts Kolb plenty to go out and spread the ball around and make good reads and throw the ball accurately.
How many points do the Eagles need to put up to beat New Orleans? You think it's going to be a shootout? Seems like the prevailing wisdom is that the team with the ball last is going to capture the victory. But you know how these things work. Just when you think you've got it figured out in the NFL, it goes in a different direction. Just like last week's game in Carolina. A 38-10 win? Where in the world did that come from?
Here we go again. Just how good are the Eagles? In the home opener, with a jam-packed Lincoln Financial Field watching, the Eagles take on the sexy Saints and their sizzling offense and we're going to get some more answers. About the defense, for sure. About the offense, and the depth on that side of the ball, and Kolb and the scheme and everything that goes with it.
A big game? Of course. They are all big games. This one has a different flavor, though. The Eagles aren't fielding the offense they thought they would have, which makes for one of the most intriguing scenarios possible so early in a season.
