The Philadelphia Eagles signed 10-year veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia Monday to add a little more back-up for the injured Donavon McNabb.  McNabb left the Eagles game against the Carolina Panthers with a broken rib, but he has yet to rule himself out of the Eagles week two match-up against the New Orleans Saints.  With Michael Vick still serving his suspension, the Eagles must have felt that Kevin Kolb is not solid enough to fill in for McNabb if he can’t go.  Garcia was on the Eagles in 2006 and did a a great job filling in for McNabb that season when he missed six games.  Garcia went 5-1 filling in for McNabb that year and the Eagles hope he can bring that success to this years squad if need be.

The Panthers drew first blood in this game scoring a TD but that just seemed to fire up the Eagles who dismantled them the rest of the game.  Donovan McNabb completed 10 of 18 passes for 79 yards with 2 TD passes and a interception before leaving the game with a cracked rib.  He will likely miss next week’s game with the Saints.  Kevin Kolb finished up the game and he didn’t look too great completing 7 of 11 passes for only 23 yards and he lost a fumble.  Brian Westbrook had a solid game with 64 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.9 ypc) while also catching 3 passes for 8 yards (2.7 avg) with a TD.  Rookie Lesean McCoy also was solid in his NFL debut carrying the ball 9 times for 46 yards (5.1 ypc).  TE Brent Celek led the way in the passing game for the Eagles with 6 catches for 37 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Eagles finished up this game with 267 total yards on offense (185 rushing, 82 passing).

The Eagles dominated this game defensively as they had five sacks, 5 interceptions and they had two fumble recoveries.  One of the fumble recoveries was returned 2 yards for a TD by Victor Abiamiri.  The Eagles were even solid on special teams in this game as Desean Jackson scored on a 85-yard punt return.  The Panthers only finished up with 169 total yards in this game (86 rushing, 83 passing).

After a three yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter, Philladelphia Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb walked  to the locker room with an apparent rib injury and did not return.  Kevin Kolb replaced McNabb, as Michael Vick is still serving his two game suspension.  It may not be too serious for McNabb, as the Eagles were killing the Panthers at the time and ended up winning the game 38-10.  This could stir some quarterback controversy in Philladelphia if McNabb is not healthy and Vick is healthy and ready to go.  The Eagles offense looked great today though, so as long as Donovan plays like he did today there will be no such controversy.  He has also proven in past seasons that he can play through injuries effectively.  The Panthers looked pathetic and no Panther looked more pathetic than quarterback Jake Delhomme, who had five turnovers (4 INT, 1 fumble) and threw for only 73 yards on 7 of 17 passing.

This should be a interesting football game.  The Panthers were 0-4 this pre-season and they looked pathetic doing it.  But, those games mean absolutely nothing.  The Eagles will likely try to go all out in the passing game in the first half to attempt getting a lead and getting the Panthers away from their powerful running game.  This could work as the Eagles like to use a lot of receivers spreading the football around as McNabb will likely stay with that M.O. tomorrow.  Brian Westbrook did not play in the pre-season after undergoing ankle surgery over the summer.  He could be on a pitch count tomorrow so rookie LeSean McCoy will likely have a important role against the Panthers.  The Panthers just hope that DE Julius Peppers wreaks havoc in the Eagles’ backfield tomorrow causing McNabb to put the ball up for grabs a few times.

When the Panthers have the football they will be giving the rock to DeAngelo Williams early and often.  Jonathan Stewart is still trying to recover from an Achilles problem so Williams likely won’t have to share the ball tomorrow and that’s likely a bad thing for the Eagles.  The Panthers rushed for 152.3 yards per game last season and they could get at least that many tomorrow against the Eagles.  If Williams gets going early in this game then Jake Delhomme could be deadly off play action trying to get the ball to Steve Smith who is one of the best playmakers on the planet. 

PREDICTION:  CAROLINA PANTHERS 24, PHILADEPHIA EAGLES 20

The Philadelphia Eagles’ starting right tackle, Shawn Andrews, will not be able to play in the Eagle’s week one match-up against the Carolina Panthers because of a bad back.  Andrews has been battling a bad back ever since he herniated a disk in week two of last season.  Andrews has not played in a game since that injury.  He re-injured his back in practice on Wednesday and its not deemed too serious but Winston Justice will replace Andrews.

In other Eagle’s news, Michael Vick will be traveling with the team to Carolina.  This is an uncharacteristic move by an Andy Reid squad, as the Eagles head coach usually does not allow players to travel with the team if they are not going to play.  Reid wants Vick to see how the team prepares for road games and get used to the road game routines.  Todd Herremans, the Eagles left guard is also out with a foot injury.  Nick Cole will be starting for Herremans.

The Eagles took the training wheels off Michael Vick and he looked rusty.  He was sacked 4 times and fumbled.  He also completed 7 of 11 passes for only 26 yards.  Vick did look o.k. running the ball with 35 yards on 7 carries (5.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Kevin Kolb was the best QB on the Eagles on this night completing 8 of 16 passes for 110 yards with 1 TD pass.  A.J. Feeley had a brief appearance completing 1 of 2 passes for 3 yards.  Lorenzo Booker was the leading rusher for the Eagles in this game with 37 yards on 10 carries (3.7 ypc).  WR Brandon Gibson (45 yards) and TE Tony Curtis (40 yards) led Eagles’ receivers with 4 catches apiece tonight.  The Eagles finished up with only 217 total yards on offense (144 rushing, 73 passing).

Linebacker Moise Fokou led a poor effort from the Eagles’ defense with 9 tackles in this game.  CB Jack Ikegwuouna also was busy in this game with 4 tackles and a interception.  The Jets finished up with 398 total yards on offense (191 rushing, 207 passing) as the Jets averaged 7.6 yards per carry in this game.  The Eagles finished the pre-season with a 1-3 record and they’re glad it’s over.