Dave Spadaro's Offensive Line Preview

Dave Spadaro wrote in his Daily Column about the state of the offensive line, with the tackle's specifically in mind. He has this to say about Jason Peters:

At left tackle, the Eagles have a beast in Jason Peters. He is listed at 349 pounds, and I wonder if he has played at that weight. The guy just looks gigantic. He has so much bulk and power and even watching him in the spring camps he showed incredible feet. He has to get up to speed with what Juan Castillo wants -- as we have discussed -- but you see it in Peters. You see the "special." You see the ability.

There is a bit of the unknown here after so many seasons of knowing what to expect from Thomas, and that is going to take some getting used to. But the possibilities seem endless. The Eagles are going to run left and make Peters a focal point of the offense. They are going to have his Gene Kelly feet there in pass protection and his Rambo drive blocking punishing defensive linemen in the running game.

I believe that Jason Peter's does have the potential to be the answer at left tackle. For the longest time Tra Thomas was dependable, but his run blocking was never great. Jason Peter's strength is run blocking, and with Juan Castillo's coaching, he could do wonder's for the running game.

Here's what Spadaro had to say about Shawn Andrews:

At right tackle, the Eagles are banking on Shawn Andrews. The mega-talented young man is in a good place mentally and physically right now. He loves the challenge of playing on the edge, and Andrews has responded to the responsibility. It is quite remarkable that Andy Reid chose to push Andrews' buttons after last year's disappointing performance by sliding Andrews to right tackle. When the season was over, many wondered if Andrews would be a significant piece of the puzzle. Could the Eagles count on him at all?

Turns out, Reid had more than status quo in mind with Andrews, and the two-time Pro Bowl guard could become as significant as any player on this roster. If Andrews blossoms as the Eagles hope at right tackle, the team has a chance to have the most dominating tackle tandem in the league. Peters is going to play well. He's just too good, and Castillo is too good a coach, for that situation to turn out otherwise. Andrews has all the skills -- there may be no better pair of feet in the league -- and he is mentally motivated to be the very best tackle in the game.

If Andrews returns with a Pro-Bowl caliber season at Right Tackle than the Eagles will be set for this upcoming year.

Because if they make it happen, if they play like the Eagles think they can play, wow, the dynamic of this offense will change immensely. Want a power running game? The Eagles can do that? Screen passing game? Yup. Play-action passing? Sure thing.

WhatIfSports calls Eagles Super Bowl Season

Dave Spadaro of philadelphiaeagles.com wrote an article about what WhatIfSports predicted for the 2009 Eagles.

"We use a simulation software that we've been building for almost 10 years (since 2000) that we've been honing for the NFL. We've also been doing it for baseball, basketball and hockey ... that takes into account every possible statistical interaction of the players on the field. By using all of the interactions to come up with probabilities for what could happen on each specific play, we simulate every single play of every single game to come up with an outcome.

Spadaro then goes on to show that this statistical machine has been accurate:

They've been on a roll… North Carolina to dominate the NCAA basketball tournament, Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl (by four points), the Phillies over the Rays in the World Series, the Celtics taking out the Lakers in last year's NBA Finals (in exactly six games), Detroit over Pittsburgh in the 2008 Stanley Cup (as of the end of the regular season) and last year's March Madness, where they hit every game from the Sweet 16 through the Championship and finished in the 99.9+ percentile on every major bracket pick'em.

Defense will lead the way. According to all the numbers crunching and the analysis, the Eagles defense -- led by Trent Cole's 11 sacks, Asante Samuel's five interceptions and Stewart Bradley's 71 solo tackles -- will allow a league-low 13.4 points per game against a schedule featuring six games against teams that made the playoffs last season.

Offensively Eagles will average 22.4 points per game. Donovan McNabb will toss 21 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions while completing 56.2 percent of his passes for 3,449 yards. Brian Westbrook is on line to gain 1,059 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on 241 attempts. He will also catch 49 passes and score another 3 touchdowns and account for 1,534 total yards and 11 touchdowns . McCoy, the rookie whose numbers are hard to project, is slated to run for 534 yards and score 6 touchdowns and to chip in with 25 receptions and another 2 scores. Desean Jackson is projected to catch 59 passes for 848 yards and 4 TDs. Brent Celek is down for 34 catches, 443 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Spadaro does note that the machine does not take into account for injury's to key players like McNabb or Westbrook.
These predictions are interesting, and they provide an optimistic outlook for the 2009 season, but they don't mean anything. Until the Eagle's go out on the field and prove these statistics rights (or hopefully better) than this is just another bold prediction on the Eagle's Website.