The Eagles have released 30-year old running back Brian Westbrook.  Westbrook played in 8 games for the Eagles last season and he carried the ball 61 times for 274 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 25 passes for 181 yards (7.2 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  The company line is that the Eagles released Westbrook before free agency began to give him a better shot of finding another team but the real reason that got rid of him is because he makes a lot of money and he’s injury prone.  Westbrook played in 107 games for the Eagles in his career and he carried the ball 1,308 times for 5,995 yards (4.6 ypc) with 37 TD runs.  He also caught 426 passes for 3,790 yards (8.9 avg) with 29 TD grabs.  Westbrook finishes his career with the Eagles #2 all-time in rushing yards, #3 in rushing TDs, #3 in receptions and #10 in receiving TDs.  The Eagles will give Lesean McCoy more carries in his second year and they will likely look to add at least one running back in free agency, through the draft or a trade to help McCoy with the workload.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted with offense in mind early in the draft using both of their first day picks to boost that side of the football.  WR Jeremy Maclin (1st round, #19 overall) out of Missouri was solid for the Eagles as a rookie.  He played in 15 games for the Eagles last season and he caught 55 passes for 762 yards (13.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also returned 7 kickoffs for 124 yards (17.7 avg) and 6 punts for 30 yards (5.0 avg).  Maclin will be a huge impact player in the near future for the Eagles because of his speed.  Running back Lesean McCoy (2nd round, #53 overall) out of Pittsburgh will have a huge role in the Eagles’ offense going forward as the team likely won’t bring back Brian Westbrook next season.  McCoy played in 16 games for the Eagles last season and he carried the ball 155 times for 637 yards (4.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 40 passes for 308 yards (7.7 avg) last year.  The M&M boys were both great picks for the Eagles last April.  Tight end  Cornelius Ingram (5th round, #153 overall) out of Florida and OT Fenuki Topou (5th round, #159 overall) out of Oregon both missed their rookie seasons as they spent it on the Injured Reserve List.  CB/KR Victor “Macho” Harris (5th round, #157 overall) out of Virginia Tech was a nice little find for the Eagles.  He played in 15 games for the Eagles in which he made 41 tackles, 3 tackle for a loss and he defensed 2 passes.  Harris also returned 19 kickoffs for 394 yards (20.7 avg) last season.  LB Moise Fokou (7th round, #230 overall) out of Maryland was also a gem for the Eagles last season.  He played in all 16 games for the Eagles last season and he made 39 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  WR Brandon Gibson (6th round, #194 overall) out of Washington State did not play a down for the Eagles last season but he was valuable to them because they traded him to the Rams for linebacker Will Witherspoon.  Witherspoon played in 11 games for the Eagles in which he made 58 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, defensed 5 passes, had 1 sack, forced 1 fumble and he intercepted a pass that he returned 9 yards for a TD.  Gibson went on to play 9 games for the Rams in which he caught 34 passes for 348 yards (10.2 avg) with a TD grab.  Guard Paul Fanaika (7th round, #213 overall) out of Arizona State didn’t make the Eagles but he did finish the season with the Redskins but he didn’t play in any games for them.

GRADE FOR 2009:  A-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Eagles have signed 26-year old running back Dwayne Wright to a 2-year deal.  He only played one year with the Bills (2007) and he appeared in 15 games in which he carried the ball 29 times for 94 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg).  Wright also returned 1 kickoff for 0 yards and he made 3 tackles.  I’m not so sure what the Eagles see in Wright but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

The Philadelphia Eagles looked completely over-matched in their NFC Wild Card loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday.  The Eagles were dominated in the second quarter and they pretty much deserted their running game because of that.  They rushed the ball only 13 times for 56 yards.  Donovan McNabb threw the ball 37 times, completing 19/37 for 230 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception for  QB rating of just 68.5.  If not for a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin, which was thrown by Michael Vick and not McNabb, the Eagles would have been outscored 27-0 in the second quarter.  The Eagles gave the Cowboys a lot of help by turning the ball over 4 times, including 3 fumbles lost by McNabb, Vick, and Leonard Weaver.  The Eagles only had the ball for 20:26 minutes, with the Cowboys having a possession time of 39:34, so the Eagles were dominated in almost every offensive category.

The Eagles defense didn’t do their part either, with the Cowboys laying a beat down on them in the second quarter with 27 points.  Tony Romo, who had never won a postseason game coming into this matchup, looked very comfortable despite the Cowboys sacking him 4 times.  Romo finished with 244 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23/35 passes for a QB rating of 104.9.  All of the turnovers by the offense obviously put the defense into some tough situations, but they barely challenged the Cowboys’ offense.  They let them run all over them with Felix Jones rushing for 148 yards and 1 touchdown on just 16 carries.  The Cowboys finished with 198 rushing yards as a team and had 10 more first downs than the Eagles.  The Cowboys were the better team in this game and this was a very disappointing end to the Eagles’ season.

The Eagles have three QBs on the roster all with starting experience and they are all pretty good.  It all starts with 33-year old Donovan McNabb.  McNabb played in 14 games this season for the Eagles and he has completed 267 of 443 passes (60.3%) for 3,553 yards with 22 TD passes and 10 INTs (92.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 37 times for 140 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD carries this year.  McNabb has now played in 148 games in his career with the Eagles and he has completed 2,801 of 4,746 (59%) passes for 32,873 yards with 216 TD passes and 100 INTs (86.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 573 times for 3,249 yards (5.7 ypc) with 28 TD runs.  A couple more really solid seasons for McNabb would really give him a solid case for making the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

25-year old Kevin Kolb really stepped up this season when McNabb was out due to injury.  He played in 5 games this season for the Eagles and he completed 62 of 96 passes (64.6%) for 741 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (88.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for -1 yard (-0.2 ypc) this year.  Kolb has now played in 12 games in his career with the Eagles and he has completed 79 of 130 passes (60.8%) for 885 yards with 4 TD passes and 7 INTs (68.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 21 times for -1 yard (-0.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Eagles might put Kolb on the trading block around draft day in April but if not he should be a solid back-up to McNabb again in 2010.

29-year old Michael Vick fresh out of jail helped out the Eagles a little bit in 2009.  Vick played in 12 games for the Eagles this season and he completed 6 of 13 passes (46.2%) for 86 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (93.7 QB Rating).  Vick also carried the ball 24 times for 95 yards (4.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year.  Vick has now played in 86 games in his NFL career and he has completed 936 of 1,743 passes (53.7%) for 11,591 yards with 72 TD passes and 52 INTs (75.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 553 times for 3,954 yards (7.2 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  I doubt that the Eagles will pick up Vick’s option for 2010 unless they trade Kevin Kolb which I don’t think would be too smart of a move.