FanHouse Reggie Brown

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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The Eagles have a long history of whiffing on wide receivers drafted in the first (or second or third) round. Quarterback Donovan McNabb arrived in Philly in 1999, and since then the front office has welcomed Todd Pinkston, Freddie Mitchell, Billy McMullen, Reggie Brown, DeSean Jackson, and last month, Jeremy Maclin.

If nothing else, the organization has gotten better at finding talent at the position, although it would take some effort to do worse than FredEx. Brown (a 2005 second-rounder) and Jackson (taken in Round 2 last year) have shown the most promise, but neither is a No. 1 wide receiver. And neither have to be; the flexibility of the West Coast Offense is accommodating like that.

There is no way I can stat up this game -- it was a stinker. Neither offense could really get anything going, both defenses were all over the field and there were enough bad plays to fill Daniel Snyder's mansion.

Still, it was a gripping game that went down to the final play of the game. It also came down to the final inches of the field.

Down 10-3, the Eagles made a last second drive to tie the game. With :12 left on the clock, Donovan McNabb completed a pass to Reggie Brown on the two, maybe three, inch line. The Redskins LaRon Landry and Fred Smoot stopped him there and with Philly out of timeouts, the clock ran out. Yes, that is the play pictured above.

This is a huge blow to the Eagles playoff chances. Coming into the game, Philly actually held its own destiny. With a win over the Redskins and next week against the Cowboys, the Eagles would have been in the playoffs. Now Philly needs to win and hope Tampa Bay loses to Oakland and Chicago loses tomorrow against Green Bay or in Houston next week. While possible, it's hard to pin your hopes on Oakland winning in Tampa against Jon Gruden.

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.

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.

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

Brian Westbrook, 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 2100 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.

Please note these changes when you go through the RB and WR rankings.

If you pay attention to fantasy football, odds are you have something riding on tonight's game. Combining these two teams, you have a veritable fantasy paradise. Let's run through the players who are fantasy relevant and examine their possibilities for blowing up, shall we?

Tony Romo -- Brinson's already covered his bad splits against Philly at home, but that's a small sample. There's no reason to sit him in any format.

Marion Barber -- He's banged up, and he's a physical back. The Eagles have a gritty defense. I don't like the way these things add up. Again, though, you can't sit him because he's a touchdown machine. You're liable to miss out on two scores if you get nuts enough to bench him. That should overtake the possibility that his yardage numbers don't end pretty.

Terrell Owens -- What a pathetic person he is to go out of his way to call Donovan McNabb jealous. He's not half the man McNabb is, nor will he ever be. Does that impact fantasy? Of course not, it was just an unrelated rant. Look, there's fire here on both sides. The Eagles really want to stop him, and they have the tools to do just that. T.O., however, loves the spotlight and wants to prove something to the Eagles. Something's gotta give, and I'm betting it's T.O. Eagles blanket him, bust-city. Book it.

Value machine takes a look at the rising and falling fantasy stock of players in light of their recent performance. If you don't see a big mover covered, he's probably already been hit in Reality Check.

Top Riser: Willie Parker
Rashard Mendenhall was thought to be the short yardage back and steal carries that fell between the tackles. Of course, Fast Willie took nearly all the carries until trash-time, when Mendenhall garnered the majority of his ten. Parker scored three times, including twice from inside the ten. You have to assume that was a statement game by Parker that he's not going away, and the Steelers obviously believe he can handle the inside-the-tackles and short-yardage work. Parker's the starter, and Mendenhall is the backup. It's just that simple.

Eddie Royal
Brandon Marshall returns this week, but Royal was all over the place Monday night. The nine catches for 146 yards were huge, but the two carries also spoke volumes. It's obvious the Broncos want the football in his hands.

Matt Forte
He displayed the quick feet and great vision Sunday night in Indy. The Bears will lean heavily on ball control offense, and that means Forte is never going to be short on touches.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Personal nightmare for Donovan McNabb. Not only have the Eagles become the worst team in a loaded NFC East, but he can't stay healthy ... as much of the city of Philadelphia is now turning on him after learning of his shoulder tendinitis in mini-camp following bouts with a torn ACL, sports hernia, and bum ankle in the past few seasons. Oh, and the receivers aren't exactly All-World. Luckily he's got the ever-explosive Brian Westbrook behind him to provide stability to the offense.

The Breakout
It's tough to tag a rookie as a solid breakout candidate. They are just so unpredictable and the hype that comes with them makes them overvalued in so many situations -- I saw Calvin Johnson picked before Roy Williams last season, for example -- but DeSean Jackson is stepping into a good situation for himself here. Reggie Brown has disappointed more often than not in his three seasons, and Kevin Curtis can't be counted on as more than a big-play threat on the outside. We know Andy Reid loves the throw the football, and Donovan can still sling it with the best. Grab Jackson late and reap the rewards by midseason.

I would love to think this report isn't true, especially since I just ripped Randy Moss' agent for peddling lies* that his client was happy to take less money to stay in New England. Well, guess what?

According to a source close to the situation, the Eagles spoke to Randy Moss for quite a while today and over the weekend, attempting to lure him to Philadelphia, much like they had Asante Samuel. In fact, the Eagles offered Moss more than the 3-year, $27 million he received from the Pats. But Moss turned it down. ...

Word out of Philadelphia is that the talks actually took place all weekend and at one point the Eagles thought they had Moss locked up, but Moss finally came to the decision that he was more comfortable with the Patriots and didn't want to leave New England.

Somebody call Leo Ryan because Moss has obviously chugged the Kool-Aid. Holy hell, that's unbelievable. But you know what, props to Moss for keeping his word. (And I mean it this time.) The dude said he wanted to stay in New England, and he turned down more money to do it.

Financially, it seems kind of a rash decision, but I still think it's the right move. Moss never seemed more motivated than he did last season. I suspect a lot of that had to do with winning every week (except that last one) and having Tom Brady chuck passes at him 20 times a game. It helps. So virtual butt-slaps all around. Randy Moss is all growns up.

Philly fans must be ecstatic. But hey, there's always Reggie Brown.

* Lies = truths

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