FanHouse L.J. Smith

It happens every year at training camp, yet every year seems worse than the ones that preceded it: players get injured, sometimes seriously, and an offseason worth of plans suddenly become meaningless.

The Eagles will be without middle linebacker Stewart Bradley for the season, and things aren't looking good for Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas (and this is while the club tries to negotiate an extension with Roddy White).

And on Sunday, the Ravens' No. 2 wideout, Mark Clayton, strained a hamstring that will keep him out 2-3 preseason games. Compared to Bradley or Douglas, that's good news, but Baltimore also doesn't have much depth at receiver. More than that, quarterback Joe Flacco is just in his second season. Spreading the offensive burden seems like the best strategy to build on the success he had last year, but that becomes problematic if Flacco doesn't have anybody to throw to. Or maybe it doesn't.

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...
Team with the most rushing attempts in the NFL last season. With a rookie quarterback and a newly installed ball-control offense, the Ravens ran the ball 592 times in 2008. The team's 11 wins and two playoff victories give proof that the system works. Confidence in second-year quarterback Joe Flacco will be greater in 2009, so you can expect this offense to continue to run the ball at every defense they meet; just maybe not 58% of the time.

The name of the game in Baltimore will still be defense, however, even without defensive coordinator Rex Ryan and linebacker Bart Scott, who both left town to join the New York Jets. New defensive coordinator Greg Mattison should have this unit among the top five defenses in football with an extremely tough and disciplined approach and key additions like Domonique Foxworth in the secondary.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Earlier this offseason Donovan McNabb said he wanted to see how the Eagles upgraded the roster before he would talk about a contract extension. After last fall, when things got so bad that Andy Reid benched McNabb for Kevin Kolb, it looked as if neither head coach nor starting quarterback would be in Philly another year, much less long term.

Last February, the Eagles franchised tight end L.J. Smith even though he was coming off an injury-plagued 2007 season where he played in just 10 games, caught 22 passes for 236 yards and hauled in a lone touchdown.

But the team's 2003 second-round pick had been a key cog in Andy Reid's version of the West Coast offense, and seemed worth the average salary of the league's top-five tight ends, especially since it was just a one-year deal.

If you're a tight end with two options: a) the Detroit Lions or b) anyone else, you sure think you'd want to end up with option b. But in L.J. Smith's case, it looks like he might end up stuck with the Lions.

The Falcons were supposed to be Smith's other option, especially since they need a tight end to improve what was a pretty awful group of tight ends last year. But apparently the Falcons got tired of Smith's unwillingness to agree to their offer.

Now the Falcons are saying that Smith didn't really fit what they are looking for since he's a pass-first tight end and they rely on their tight ends primarily for blocking. That probably translates best as the Falcons were looking to get Smith at a bargain and now they're running him down to try to bring down his price.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

The Eagles underachieved for most of the 2008 season (the nadir had to be either tying the lowly Bengals are getting thumped by the Ravens -- take your pick) only to get hot during the last month of the season.

Philadelphia would eventually lose to Arizona in the NFC Championship game. And while nobody saw that coming as recently as Thanksgiving, the team did have high expectations heading into the season. Assuming Donovan McNabb is indeed in the organization's long-range plans, what do the Eagles need to do in the coming months to make a Super Bowl run?

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.

Earlier this week, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb wrote that he was "embarrassed" by the way he and his teammates were playing over the past couple of weeks. Well, Donovan can turn that frown upside down, at least for today, as the Eagles put up 23 fourth quarter points on their way to a 40-26 win at San Francisco.

McNabb completed 23 of 36 passes for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while DeSean Jackson hauled in six passes for 98 yards in his homecoming of sorts. And they did it all without Brian Westbrook.

The Eagles had to come from behind after blowing a 17-6 lead of their own, and it started to slip away on the last play of the first half when San Francisco's Anthony Strickland returned a blocked field goal 41 yards for a touchdown. On the opening drive of the second half, Frank Gore capped off a six-play, 78-yard drive when he scored on a six-yard run to give the 49ers their first lead of the day. Gore finished the game with 101 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Later in the quarter, Joe Nedney booted a 29-yard field pushing the San Francisco lead to nine points. Things looked good for the 49ers ... until the fourth quarter started.

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.