It's Game Time: Eagles at Carolina a tough opener for both teams....

Both the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles have huge obstacles to overcome in Sunday's game at 1 P.M. in Charlotte. Eagles head coach Andy Reid announced on Friday that All-Pro candidate RT Shawn Andrews will not be playing in the opener, and the Tackle who will take his place on the right side opposite the great Carolina DE Julius Peppers will be the relatively inexperienced Winston Justice, who's in his 4th year out of USC. Uh oh, says Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Phil Sheridan. And Eagles star RB Brian Westbrook, who lines up on the right side when blocking for QB Donovan McNabb, probably will see only limited action. Sheridan speaks the obvious when he states Eagles fans would much prefer to see a healthy Shawn Andrews at RT and a healthy Westbrook at RB for every offensive down. But that's not going to happen this Sunday. "So," says Sheridan, "if Justice is left out there to deal with Peppers, and Westbrook's rookie replacement LeSean McCoy has to take on the veteran responsibility of pass-blocking for McNabb, picking up the Carolina blitzes, and making sight adjustments on his check-down pass routes, it could be a long and frustrating afternoon for McNabb and the Eagles' offense." Sheridan's got a point. The blocking and blitz-pick-up skills of a running back in the NFL are probably 60% of a RB's job description. These skills are not the glamorous duties and will rarely wind up on an ESPN highlight reel, but they are essential to a passing formation. And the Eagles, with a piece-meal offensive line missing three starters and a backfield lacking the experienced Westbrook, will run the real risk of Carolina's DE's breaking through and killing McNabb on nearly every passing down. And I expect the Panthers to be coming hard after McNabb on nearly every passing down. Carolina head coach John Fox replaced DC Mike Trgovac in the offseason with a new defensive coordinator---Ron Meeks, formerly of Indianapolis. Trgovac had drawn fire for rarely blitzing and for a prevent-defense mentality. The guess here is Meeks has changed all that and will be given the freedom to aggressively throw blitz packages at the Eagles all day long. The basic format of the Panther defense hasn't changed much, with a heavy reliance on a four-man rush, two-deep zones and fast linebackers like Jon Beason to cover up the openings. But Meeks is going to turn loose some of the defensive backs and LB's to blitz McNabb, as he is confident Peppers will bust up the right side of the Eagles O-line with regularity. Philadelphia leads the all-time series with the Panthers, 4-1, and part of the reason for that is McNabb has historically been able to burn Carolina's secondary with quick slant routes, so that the D-line of the Panthers did not even have a chance to get to him in the pocket. This time the big key for Carolina to keep that from happening again is their emerging star cornerback Chris Gamble, now in his 6th year out of Ohio State. Gamble makes the big money now, the big shutdown corner money, and now is the time for Gamble to show he deserves it. The rest of the Carolina secondary will have to worry about the long ball, because Eagle WR DeSean Jackson can fly and can catch the deep throw and he requires double coverage from a safety. If McNabb can stay upright in the pocket, he'll have a whole lot of offense available to him downfield and across the middle. Meanwhile the Carolina offense wants to do what they do best: run up the middle with DeAngelo Williams and break down the Eagles D-line. Carolina is betting the Eagles are nowhere near as strong as they used to be up the middle after the Eagles' loss of MLB Stewart Bradley to injury and SS Brian Dawkins to free agency. QB Jake Delhomme also has one of the best receivers in the NFL, Steve Smith, who excels with improvising in mid-play, great leaping ability, and grinding out yards after the catch. And you can never rule out Delhomme's leadership on the field, even when he may be struggling with his timing or his accuracy. Just as Donovan McNabb somehow always seems to recover from a bad play with a great one, Delhomme is the Panthers' charismatic difference-maker too, reminding me at times of a younger Brett Favre in the way he moves around and directs traffic. So the stage is set, with the questions at hand: Can the Eagles defense prove it is still good enough to stop Carolina's running game up the middle, and can Reid and McNabb improvise a fallback plan to save themselves if the Eagles' O-line and pass protection self-destruct? The drama unfolds Sunday on Fox TV at 1 P.M. Telling you the story will be Dick Stockton on play-by-play, and a new analyst on the block, Charles Davis, who's broadcast college sports almost exclusively in his career. Welcome to the big stage, Mr. Davis....it's game time! (Writer's Note: As promised in an earlier article, I'll post the late Vegas odds on every Eagle game in 2009 as an on-line sports betting experiment. The latest odds from USA Players.com are: the Eagles favored by 3 points. The rule for Eagles Eye will be I am only allowed to bet on the Eagles to cover the spread. I am never allowed to bet against the Eagles! (the Pete Rose clause)... So today I open the account with a $50 bet on the Eagles to win $50 by covering a 3-point winning spread. I'll keep a weekly running tally for you on the season, and all (if any) winnings will be donated to charity. THIS IS BY NO MEANS INTENDED AS AN ENDORSEMENT OR COMMERCIAL FOR SPORTS BETTING...and also, NO PEPPER ALLOWED!----Thomas Jackson)