Les Bowen: Season filled with new parts: Looking at the 2010 Eagles by position

In a recent conversation with a few reporters, one of the things Andy Reid emphasized about his team was that "I see what everybody sees" - the Eagles are inexperienced, with lots of brand-new parts that are going to need a break-in period. This is as close to an admission of rebuilding as you are likely to get.

Of course, that doesn't mean the 12th-year coach doesn't expect to contend, or to win. But he would be delusional if he thought he was just going to roll out the starters and dominate the NFC, the way he did in, say, 2004. The 2010 Eagles shouldn't be a terrible team - if they are, then you have to question whether the people assembling all the young talent really know what they're doing - but realistically, this group probably is going to struggle, perhaps be really good one week and really bad the next.

As of yesterday, the average age of the 53-man roster was 25.98 years. Subtract the three specialists - 36-year-old punter Sav Rocca, 35-year-old kicker David Akers and 30-year-old longsnapper Jon Dorenbos - and that figure drops to 25.52.

Right now, the roster features an even dozen rookies, double last year's figure, when the Birds weren't exactly an old team. Two rookies will start on defense, first-round defensive end Brandon Graham and second-round free safety Nate Allen, a first during Reid's tenure. The oldest offensive starter is 30-year-old center Jamaal Jackson; five projected offensive starters will be 25 or younger (Winston Justice, 25, Brent Celek, 25, DeSean Jackson, 23, LeSean McCoy 22, and Jeremy Maclin, 22) when they kick off the season Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field against the Packers.

Here's a position-by-position analysis of how things look in this year of transition:

OFFENSE

Quarterback

 

Kevin Kolb has the leadership chops, the toughness and the smarts to be very good. We don't really know yet if he's physically up to the rigors of being a No. 1. What he has to do is play, and in the early going anyway, that's going to entail making mistakes and bouncing back. Kolb will be tested early the way inexperienced quarterbacks are always tested - with all-out blitzing, perhaps disguised in ways to catch him unaware. Michael Vick is capable of coming in for Kolb and getting some first downs, maybe putting points on the board, but he has not established he can run the offense smoothly over a long stretch. Mike Kafka is here to watch and learn.

Running back