With Brian Westbrook's surgery last Wednesday, we get reminded how quickly a season can be altered by an injury.  Today we'll take a look at the Eagles' roster and rank what would be the Top 20 most devastating injuries.

20)  LeSean McCoy

Let's start with Westbrook's replacement.  It's not really fair to put a rookie on this list, simply because he has yet to play a single snap in the NFL, but ask yourself this... With Westbrook already a big quesiton mark, if McCoy goes down with an injury, can you honestly say you're not completely freaking out?  Personally, I'd like to see the Eagles sign a guy like Michael Pittman (nice yards per carry average in recent seasons, can catch, and most importantly... block).  That would give McCoy the luxury of easing his way into the league rather than throwing him to the wolves Week 1 against a good Panthers D. 

19)  Quintin Demps

There's a debate on who will win a starting safety spot opposite Quintin Mikell this year... Quintin Demps or Sean Jones.  Regardless of who wins that battle, it's quite clear that Quintin Demps is the longterm answer at FS on this defense.  An injury to Demps would severely impede his growth as a talented, young player, and we need Demps on the field continuing to get better.

18)  Leonard Weaver

A fullback makes this list?  Really?  Yeah, really.  On this roster, we have 2 running backs that can pass block - Brian Westbrook and Leonard Weaver.  Having a running back that can pick up the blitz is an extremely crucial piece to this offense.  Seeing as Brian Westbrook hasn't played in all 16 games in a season since... um... ever... Leonard Weaver is really important to this offense.

17)  Kevin Curtis

You know what?  We really missed KC last year... and not just for the first 6 games of the season.  He was hampered by a sports hernia injury the entire season.  You know what a healthy Curtis averaged during the playoffs?  4 catches and 70.3 yards.  We get production anywhere near that next year, and I'm extremely happy.

16)  Brent Celek

You know who our backup TE is?  Nope, not Cornelius Ingram.  It's Matt Schobel.  I think Cornelius Ingram is going to see plenty of action this season (much more than Schobel at least), but mainly in 2 TE sets, often split out in the slot to exposes mismatches against slower linebackers.  However, if Celek gets hurt, make no mistake... Schobel will start.  I expect big things from Celek this year.  In our 3 playoff games last year, Celek had 19 catches, 151 yards, and 3 TDs.  I'm excited to see what he can do as a starter for an entire season.

15)  Stacy Andrews

Stacy Andrews is not only our starting RG, but he's also our backup RT should his brother either get hurt or need to take a few weeks off with some Prozac.

14)  Todd Herremans

Pretty much the same situation as Stacy Andrews - except he's on the more important side of the line - He's not just the LG, he's the backup LT.

13)  Sheldon Brown

Any other year, I'd have Sheldon Brown much higher, but the opposing receivers in the NFC East are complete garbage.  We also have a ton of depth at CB, so losing Sheldon wouldn't be a complete disaster, but he's still a really talented player. 

12)  David Akers

Akers was 33 of 44 (82.5%) on field goals last year, which was actually his best year since 2004.  However, he missed an easy FG and an extra point in the NFC Championship game, and definitely doesn't have the range that he once had.  Eventually, it's going to be time to replace Akers, but as we saw in 2005 (see picture above), replacing kickers mid-season is never a good thing.  Is the idea of having Mark Simoneau kicking extra points a scary thought?  Yup.  Then again, in fairness, having Mark Simoneau as our starting MLB might be just as scary.

10 and 11)  Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley

Our 2005 and 2006 first round picks are what they are... They do a great job stuffing the run, but they could both improve on getting to the QB more consistantly.  Trevor Laws looks like another run stuffer in the mold of these 2, so there is some depth, and although I like Klecko as a jack-of-all-trades guy, he's going to get manhandled in the run game if he has to see significant time.  If either of these 2 guys gets hurt, it severely messes up our Bunkley/Patterson/Laws run-stuffing rotation, and I certainly don't miss the days of Tiki Barber running for 200 yards on us.

9)  Quintin Mikell

With the loss of Dawkins, Qunitin Mikell is now more important to this team than ever.  Mikell has been learning Jim Johnson's difficult-to-master scheme for 6 years now, and can play either FS or SS.  Meanwhile, Qunitin Demps is entering his second year as a pro and Sean Jones is new to the team.  Mikell's experience in this system is therefore irreplacable.  In the Demps/Jones battle for a starting job, if Demps wins, Mikell will remain the SS.  If Jones wins, Mikell will likely move to FS.  That kind of verstility is impressive.  He played at a very high level in 2008, earning 2nd Team All-Pro honors, and if we were to be left with 2 safeties (Demps and Jones) will 1 year combined in Johnson's defense, it could be trouble.

8)  DeSean Jackson

He's 22, he had an outstanding rookie season, and he needs to be out on the field getting better... and better... and better... and better.  An injury isn't an option here.   

7)  Stewart Bradley

Are there better players on this list ranked lower than Stewart Bradley?  Yes.  However, our complete lack of depth at linebacker is very concerning.  I don't want to slight Bradley here by the way - In my opinion, he's a future star in this league.  If Bradley goes down with an injury, we're left with Omar Gaither shouting out the defensive adjustments, and I'm definitely not very comfortable with that. 

6)  Asante Samuel

In another post here on BGN, we had a Cowboys fan claiming how overrated Asante Samuel is.  After doing a little research, I found that there were only 5 Dallas Cowboys that have more career TD's than Asante Samuel.  Yup, 5 - Barber, Williams, Witten, Crayton, and that touchdown scoring machine... here it comes... wait for it... Jon Kitna!  That's it. 

My point here isn't to make fun of the Cowboys - It's to point out how much of a playmaker Samuel is.  2008 was actually a down year for Asante, as he only had 4 regular season INT's - He had 6 in 2007 and 10 in 2006 with the Pats.  However, we saw what a game-changer Samuel is in his playoff performances.  He had an INT return for a TD against the Vikings and an INT return to the 1 vs the Giants.  Those may have been the 2 most important plays of their 2 playoffs wins.  We have incredible depth at CB, but nobody on our defense is anywhere near the playmaker that Asante Samuel is.

5)  Shawn Andrews

Despite being drafted back in 2004, Shawn Andrews has only played 3 full seasons in the NFL.  He missed 15 games in his rookie year and 14 games in 2008.  In those 3 full seasons he did compete, he made 2 Pro Bowls (2006 and 2007) and was the first alternate at G in 2005.  In my own humble opinion, the absense of Andrews in the lineup last year was easily the BIGGEST reason for our short yardage woes.  We're certainly used to Andrews not being in the lineup and have very capable replacements, but he is an extremely talented player and his loss is a very big deal.  With Andrews possibly moving out to tackle this year, his importance to this team is even more great.

4)  Jason Peters

We paid a hefty price (A 1, a 4, a 6, and $10 mil per season) for our newest LT.  With the losses of Tra Thomas and likely Jon Runyan, my biggest fear coming into the season was how we were going to block the Giants with their rotation of Tuck, Umenyiora, Canty, Bernard, Kiwanuka, Cofield, Robbins, etc.  I REALLY like Todd Herremans and think he's going to be a part of our starting lineup for a loooong time... But I like him as a guard.  An injury to Peters would mean that Herremans would slide out to left tackle, and Nice Cole would fill that guard spot.  Peters/Herremans protecting McNabb's blind side sounds a lot better than Herremans/Cole.

3)  Trent Cole

The Eagles like to continually rotate their D-Linemen to keep them fresh into the 4th quarter.  It is rare that any of our D-Linemen will see 60% of the snaps throughout a game... with the exception of Trent Cole, who NEVER comes off the field.  He can rush the passer, he can stuff the run, he frees up other players when he gets double-teamed, he drops into coverage on zone blitzes, he blocks field goals, he does everything.  Trent Cole is an outstanding DE in this league, and it would be an absolute disaster to this team if he went down - I think we kind of take Cole for granted a little, and if he got hurt we'd see how badly it would affect the entire defense.

2)  Brian Westbrook

He's our best player.  Period.  As the Giants always say, "You always have to keep 22 eyes on #36."  We saw a healthy Westbrook for almost an entire season in 2007, and what happened?  2,000+ yards from scrimmage.  In 2008, he was hampered all season by various leg injuries, and it showed in his and the rest of the offense's performance.  When healthy, he's an absolute mismatch nightmare that completely opens up the passing game... You want to shade him with a safety or corner?  Good luck covering Jackson, Curtin, Maclin, Avant, Celek, and Co. with single coverage.  You want to take your chances with a linebacker?  Ask Antonio Pierce how that worked out for him.   You want to bring in a nickel or dime package?  Be prepared to get mauled by our O-Line (which averages 333.6 lbs. of beef per starter).

1)  Donovan McNabb

Like Westbrook, this certainly isn't uncharted territory either.  We all know what happens when McNabb gets hurt for extended periods of time.  McNabb is by far the most important player to this team.  Without a healthy McNabb, we realistically have no shot.