FanHouse KevinCurtis

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Eagles, backed by two injury-prone, aging talents with yet another shot at fantasy greatness! Andy Reid and company have loaded up on new toys for Donovan McNabb. They are hoping to rekindle the memories of when a guy named T.O. was around. Finally, McNabb breathes deep and says, "Now I have enough playmakers." However, will he and his homeboy Brian Westbrook actually be able to stay healthy?

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With under two minutes remaining in the NFC Championship, the Eagles found themselves down seven points and facing a fourth-and-10 situation.

On fourth down, Donovan McNabb's pass just slipped through the hands of Kevin Curtis as he appeared to fall down. When watching the replay, it appears Curtis was clipped from behind by a Roderick Hood -- who had fallen down himself. Announcers Troy Aikman and Joe Buck -- neither of whom are qualified to dissect officiating -- said defensive pass interference could have been called.

There was little reason to think -- at least as soon as 15 real time minutes ago -- that the Philadelphia Eagles had any chance of beating the Arizona Cardinals and advancing to the Super Bowl. Adrian Wilson was sacking Donovan McNabb frequently, Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie were smothering the Guls' receivers (whom are average at best anyway, DeSean Jackson's youth aside).

Then, all of a sudden, McNabb hit Kevin Curtis on a laser-rocket-arm 50 yard completion on third and 19 that set up the Eagles up in the Arizona red zone, a rare occurance today indeed. Four plays later, D-Nasty found Brent Celek in the back of the end zone and the Eagles were suddenly within nine points.

What if I had told you in Week 7 that I'd rather have all Chiefs in my fantasy starting lineup than all Eagles? I can pretty much guarantee you'd think I lost some sadistic bet, whereby I was forced to sacrifice all my fantasy credibility in publishing an insane piece. Either that or you'd just think I was really freaking stupid.

Just six weeks later, and it doesn't sound so crazy. In fact, I don't even think it's close.

First of all, let's check out the schedules.

The Eagles' sked runs like so through Week 16: vs. Cards, at Giants, vs. Browns, at Skins

There are some good matchups in there, I guess. The Cards at home shouldn't pose a huge amount of resistance, and they should shred the Browns. I don't think I like them at all against those division rivals on the road, though. We should also consider the recent trouble they had against the Bengals, so by no means are the Iggles a sure thing against a weak opponent.

As we get ready for another huge NFC East matchup between the Giants and Eagles, Derek from the Iggles Blog was nice enough to offer some insights on the Eagles for this week's Behind Enemy Lines feature.

This is a huge game. A Giants win puts some separation between them and the rest of the division. An Eagles win put them, along with the Redskins, just a game back of New York.

The New Orleans Saints got Jeremy Shockey back for yesterday's loss to the Panthers after he missed a couple of weeks with a sports hernia. But even though he was on the field, Shockey just didn't look like he should have. His fumble early in the game was a huge turning point, and he knows that really cost his team.

However, he isn't so humble when it comes to his injury. Shockey stated that he feels the team screwed up in their diagnosis of his injury and that he returned too soon.

``I'm worried that this thing could have been taken care of in camp, like it should have been,'' said Shockey, who the Saints acquired from the New York Giants in July for two draft picks. ``If it wasn't misdiagnosed in camp like it was there'd have been no problems. ... Next time I know. When I get hurt I'll get three or four opinions besides just the team's.''

By comparison, Eagles receiver Kevin Curtis had hernia surgery in August and he still hasn't made it back to the field. Shockey had his surgery one month ago.

Whether this is just an excuse or a valid complaint, it could leave the Saints without another offensive weapon. Marques Colston also struggled in his return from injury, (finger) and the team has lost Reggie Bush for at least a month.

There's a buzz growing around this year's trade deadline. After the busiest offseason of trade activity ever, there were still a lot of long-lingering rumors that have been growing on the vine through six weeks of the season. Now, with the trade deadline upon us, there seems to be a genuine feeling (or is it just hope?) that this deadline will be unlike the many dormant ones that have come before. Well, it's not going to happen. As far as movement is concerned, this deadline will be less Phil being taken out at a gas station and more Tony enjoying Journey over onion rings.

Regardless, here's a look at which players have the most trade-deadline buzz:

Tony Gonzalez: The new Jason Taylor (active Hall-of-Famer seeks new team with legitimate championship hopes) wants to be a veteran leader on a Lombardi team instead of a veteran leader teaching kids how to play pro football. The Chiefs claim that they're willing to oblige for the right price, but is the right price really the third-rounder they're reportedly asking for? I take it the answer is no, since the Giants, the team most heavily in pursuit of Gonzo, are offering a sixth-rounder. This seems like the perfect opportunity to employ conditional picks to protect both sides, but Carl Peterson has never been a GM really willing to play ball, and at this point I think the "willingness" to do what's right for Gonzalez is conjecture.

Every week when the dinner bell rings on Friday evening, we'll be here to provide you a comprehensive injury report for the NFL weekend to follow. For those injuries that go right down to the wire, drop by our Fantasy Fanhouse expert live chat from 10am to 1pm EST every Sunday and we'll take care of you on those bloody game-time decisions. As always, please feel free to chime in with opinions, updates, and rumors in the comments.

The Arizona Cardinals

Anquan Boldin - Coach Whisenhunt left open the possibility of Q's return to action in Sunday's game against the Cowboys as he practiced lightly on Thursday. Still, with the bye week coming in Week 7, it doesn't make much sense to rush him back to action this week. Wait until closer to gametime to make a sit/start decision, but definitely plan on starting another receiver for week 6.

Roddy White - Roddy scared owners on Wednesday when a big in-practice collision kept him out of action and earned him a "Questionable" on the injury report. It looks like this was just precautionary, however, so he should be ready to go on Sunday.

The Baltimore Ravens

Willis McGahee - McGahee's injuries du jour, his knee and ribs, kept his practices very light and he sported the red no-contact jersey in practice. Expect him to play on Sunday, but with Le'Ron McClain continuing to mop up the goalline touchdowns and about a third of the carries.

The Buffalo Bills

Trent Edwards - Edwards sat out of practice Tuesday and was sent home on Wednesday as he is still woozy from the concussion suffered in last Sunday's game. The Bills have a bye this week, so it really doesn't matter; just keep an eye on him next week.

The Eagles will be without their top offensive threat Sunday in San Francisco.

Brian Westbrook, who's coping with a few broken ribs, will miss the game.

With Westbrook out of the lineup, the entire complexion of the Eagles high-powered offense changes. Correll Buckhalter isn't a bad option, but he's no Westbrook -- who compiled over 2,100 yards from scrimmage last season. The main blow for the offense is the loss in Westbrook's ability to catch passes from out of the backfield. Donovan McNabb will be leaned upon heavily to make plays himself.

Also of note in the Eagles report was that Reggie Brown will miss the game, and that Kevin Curtis might play. Even if Curtis goes, DeSean Jackson is obviously going to be an integral part of the offense this weekend. Along with Jackson and Buckhalter, the Eagles will likely need Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis, and L.J. Smith to step up their respective games. They cannot afford to lose anymore ground in the beastly NFC East.

Fantasy Spin:
Buckhalter's a viable start, Jackson's a must-start, and McNabb is always a must-start. Take a look at Curtis as a last-minute desperation sleeper in deep leagues or on teams with significant bye week issues. If he plays, he's liable to shake free for a deep one.