FanHouse LeseanMccoy

PHILADELPHIA -- You don't think of the Eagles along with the Saints or the Colts or the Patriots in terms of the number, the variety and the explosiveness of their offensive playmakers. Teams like that set the standard, and the Eagles don't feel like they fit into that kind of conversation. And that's fine, because they're not there yet.

But if you watched the Eagles score on big play after big play Sunday afternoon against the Giants, you got the feel that they might very well be there soon. Andy Reid's Philadelphia offense remains a work in progress, but with the number of different weapons he has at his disposal on any given play, we could soon be talking about the Eagles as one of the most exciting and dynamic offensive teams in the league.

Next week there will be a game between the two best teams in the NFC East, and it's not going to involve the defending division champion New York Giants. In beating the Giants to a pulp Sunday, 40-17, the Eagles -- and the Dallas Cowboys, who beat Seattle at home -- have sent the G-Men back to third place. New York has now lost three straight games, while the Eagles won their second in a row after an embarrassing loss in Oakland.

Leading the way for the Eagles was Donovan McNabb, who barely broke a sweat in destroying the Giants' patchwork secondary. He completed 17-of-23 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns. He continues to show a strong chemistry with DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek, who combined for 11 catches, 186 yards and three scores.

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For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.

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The NFL season is less than five weeks away, and today FanHouse is at Eagles training camp on the campus of Lehigh University. From Stop 1 and Mile 96 of Dan Graziano's five-camp, 1,100-mile road trip comes the latest news on the Birds in green and white.

UPDATE 3:20 PM -- Eagles coach Andy Reid just informed us that rookie tight end Cornelius Ingram has a torn ACL in his left knee. This likely means Ingram is done for the season, though Reid said he was just getting the news and didn't even know when Ingram would be having surgery. "Obviously it's a shame for the kid," Reid said. "He's a great kid and he was doing some good things. He was working his way in. He was a factor."

The Eagles will be without starting linebacker Stewart Bradley for the season. He tore his ACL during the first week of training camp, leaving a big hole in the middle of their defense (particularly after safety Brian Dawkins wasn't re-signed).

Compounding matters: longtime defensive coordinator Jim Johnson lost his battle to cancer and his replacement, 35-year-old Sean McDermott, is in his first year on the job. The Eagles have signed a couple warm bodies -- Matt Wilhelm and Jason Babin -- and second-year linebacker Joe Mays will also get a shot at replacing Bradley. (There was some speculation that Omar Gaither might get the nod but it looks like he'll remain the fourth linebacker, at least for now.)

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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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.

We've already given a single post to each of the seemingly most relevant fantasy football impact players from the NFL Draft -- we say seemingly because bust-hood is always a possibility in this business -- but those are by no means the only players who might matter in this coming season. With that in mind, here are the rest of the guys who's impact will be felt:

LeSean McCoy, RB, Eagles (Round 2): If you end up with Brian Westbrook, you absolutely must have McCoy. The shifty stud from Pittsburgh is exactly the type of back Westbrook is, which means he can thrive in this offense.

To get ready for this weekend's draft, we're looking position-by-position at who could go in the first round. Click here for the rest of the breakdowns, beginning with quarterback.


Knowshon Moreno (mid-to-late first round), Beanie Wells (mid-to-late first round), Donald Brown (late first-round).

Moreno's chances of becoming a high first-round pick likely disappeared when he ran a hourglass-slow 4.60 40-yard dash, but he was never really thought of as a burner--he's more of a shifty back who can also catch the ball out of the backfield. Wells also ran poorly at the combine (4.59), but he did follow it up by running a sub 4.5 at his Pro Day workout. Because the Saints already have Reggie Bush to catch passes out of the backfield, they are more likely to be interest in Wells, which means there's a good chance that Moreno will slide to the Eagles at No. 21.

With the draft approaching, we ignore and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

A lot is still in flux in Cleveland as the draft approaches. Eric Mangini used free agency to restructure the offensive line, but holes remain on defense and possibly at the offensive skill positions. There is much talk that the Browns will trade one of their quarterbacks and/or receiver Braylon Edwards before the draft, and the results of those discussions could dictate where they decide to go with the No. 5 overall pick. They'll be another team legitimately torn between whether to address offense or defense in the first round, though at this point the bigger problem seems to be on defense, where their big dreams center on a guy whose name has appeared on The Perfect Draft before.