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McNabb leads Eagles against Rams

Sep 7, 2008 - 12:51 PM St. Louis at Philadelphia, 1:00 pm EDT

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Whatever aspirations the Philadelphia Eagles have this season, the main goal should be keeping quarterback Donovan McNabb on the field.

McNabb and the Eagles hope to avoid a similar start to 2007 when they host the St. Louis Rams on Sunday in the season opener.

Philadelphia stumbled to a 1-3 start last season before inching back to .500. But with a chance to make a run at a wild card slot, McNabb missed the next two games to injury, resulting in a pair of narrow losses to the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

McNabb also missed the final six and seven games, respectively, of the previous two seasons, and his importance to the team is evident by his 73-39 career mark.

"I think he's in a great frame of mind," Eagles coach Andy Reid said of McNabb. "I know he's going to have a very good season."

For that to happen, McNabb will be looking to running back Brian Westbrook to again shoulder a huge offensive load.

Westbrook is coming off a monster season, leading the team with 1,333 yards rushing and 90 receptions to go with 12 touchdowns.

With two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, Westbrook appears to have put to rest concerns about his durability despite his 5-10 frame.

The Eagles are hoping they can get similar production from rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson, their second-round pick who is listed at 5-10 and 175 pounds.

Jackson has had an outstanding preseason, including a 76-yard punt return against the New England Patriots in the third exhibition contest.

"It's obvious that he's going to stretch the field. The defense is going to have to plan for him and see where he's at on every possession," Westbrook said. "He's an exciting player. I think probably since I've been here he probably is one of the more exciting rookies."

Defensively, the Eagles made a splash in the offseason by signing free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel to a six-year contract worth $57 million. Samuel had 16 interceptions the past two seasons with the Patriots and should help Philadelphia improved on its league-low total of 19 turnovers forced.

The Rams are looking to bounce back from an abysmal 3-13 campaign that started with eight consecutive losses.

Despite missing four games last season, Steven Jackson went over 1,000 yards for the third straight season. He missed most of training camp in a contract dispute, but has fared well against the Eagles with 230 yards rushing and a touchdown in two meetings.

The game also marks the debut of Rams defensive end Chris Long, the No. 2 overall pick and son of Hall of Famer Howie Long.