Are the Eagles Getting Old?

ESPN writer Jeffri Chadiha wrote a post-Trotter column on Thursday where he said this about the Eagles:

They're getting older in a hurry and, to be honest, I really hadn't noticed until this season. One minute they were the undaunted, up-and-coming team that was continually fighting for NFC supremacy. Now they're a team filled with a fair share of thirtysomethings at key positions.

Take one look at their roster and you'll see that some notable players -- including quarterback Donovan McNabb, free safety Brian Dawkins, defensive end Jevon Kearse, recently added outside linebacker Takeo Spikes, and offensive tackles Jon Runyan and William Thomas -- have all left their 20s behind.

What this means is the Eagles are finally facing that same question that hounds every team at some point: How much longer can their window of opportunity stay open if they're going to win a championship with this bunch?

Jason over at BleedingGreenNation jumped on this one first yesterday with a number of good points.  I wanted to add a few thoughts to what he said as well.

The first point to make is that the Eagles are not actually an old team.  They seem old, because guys like Dawkins, Thomas and Runyan have been around forever and McNabb keeps getting broken.  But if you look at the starting lineups for every team in the NFC East, you'll find a funny thing.

The Eagles are the youngest team in the division. 

Check out this table, compiled by grabbing the depth charts off of each team's website and then using Pro Football Prospectus 2007 (and some googling) to get the ages.  A couple notes: PFP07 uses the birth year without worrying about the day, so this is how old these players will all be on the last day of this year.  Also, Jim Finn is out for the season with an injury, but the Giants don't have another fullback on the roster and haven't updated the depth chart, so that's what we have there: 

(Click to get the full-size chart, unless your eyes are really good)

Pretty interesting, isn't it?  And if you believe Michael Strahan will be back to the Giants before the season begins, then the Giants' average age goes up to 28.18, making the Eagles the only team in the division with an average age under 28.

Of course, average age doesn't tell the whole story.  Non-Eagles fans might argue that these numbers are great, but counting McNabb, Kearse and Dawkins, all the good players are old.  That's what Chadiha's getting at when he says: "How much longer can their window of opportunity stay open if they're going to win a championship with this bunch?"

But as BGN points out in his post, the Eagles are actually loaded with young talent.  Imminent force of nature Brodrick Bunkley is 24.  Trent Cole and Shawn Andrews are both 25.  Lito and Reggie Brown are only 26.  And even the relatively veteran Brian Westbrook is only 28. 

So we're really talking about two different windows.  There's the "McNabb Window," which for all practical purposes probably extends for the next four years.  (Cross any commentator who suggests Kolb will challenge for the starting job in 2008 off the list of people who know what they're talking about.)  But there's also the "Eagles Window," which at this point could be open as long as Reid is still in charge of this team -- if he guessed right on Kolb.

As a McNabb fan, and generally impatient person anyway, I'd really, really like to see them win one of these suckers while Donovan is still leading the team.  But if they don't, it won't be because they're too old and it won't be their last shot at a title.

Comments

[wolfmanrob]

Isn't Justice's initial skill set very similiar to Tre's? How about Gaddis, vs. Dawkins? Of course, no one can replace Brian Superman, but at least Gaddis gets to understudy the best. JR Reed was the could've/should've inheritor, until his leg was impaled upon a barb-wire fence. Leadership, determination, awareness, comradery: these things can be learned or taught; speed, quickness, athleticism, and aptitude, cannot.

[Me]

Justice hasn't looked very good in the preseason so far, and that's going against second-stringers. He still seems like he needs a lot of work.

[roccarooter]

"if he guessed right on Kolb"
i do believe andy deserves more credit than this...

[Me]

Why? It's all a crapshoot anyway. That's why so few quarterbacks make it every year.

Kolb looked pretty good last night though. He made some truly outstanding throws in the second half.