Eagles-Colts: Why we care

A quick rundown of what to look for tonight:

Keep McNabb healthy - One of your keys might be to see how the offensive line performs. Mine is to make sure they don't get Donovan McNabb killed. Winston Justice and King Dunlap are your starting tackles. The coaching staff sang the praises of Justice throughout camp, but he did not play well last week against the Patriots. It will be interesting to see what Dunlap has to offer on the left side. Miscommunication is probably a given, considering these guys have never played together as a unit. I thought Max Jean-Gilles was pretty good last week. We'll see if he can keep it going.

Run the ball, Andy - This one might seem kind of confusing. I'm not one of the people constantly clamoring for Andy Reid, Marty Mornhinweg and company to run the ball, but it makes sense tonight. See the above point for reason why. Let's give the inexperienced line a little bit of a break by keeping the ball on the ground. McNabb and the receivers have actually had a lot of reps to get in sync. DeSean Jackson, Hank Baskett and Kevin Curtis have missed a practice here and there, but nothing significant. Sure you want to see how Baskett, Reggie Brown and Brandon Gibson are going to compete, but can't that wait for when A.J. Feeley's in the game? Besides, you can continue the learning process for LeSean McCoy, and maybe see how guys like Eldra Buckley and Lorenzo Booker perform against the Colts' first-team defense.

Playmaker on defense - The Eagles' defense seems solid for the most part, but who are the real playmakers? Asante Samuel is one, but beyond that? Trent Cole won't play, and neither will Darren Howard. The Eagles had no luck getting to Tom Brady last week. Will it be more of the same with Peyton Manning? I'm also still keeping an eye on Quintin Demps and Sean Jones. Plus you'd like to see Joe Mays stand out a little more than a week ago.

Special teams - This unit was awful against the Pats, but it is the preseason, and we've seen that with other teams also. The Giants had a punt blocked for a safety Monday night. But still, it'd be nice to see things go a little smoother tonight.

Remember, you can join me for a live chat at 8 p.m. during the game. Somehow, I feel like things will be a little calmer than last week when the Michael Vick news broke.

And one more note. Warrick Dunn's agent Jim Steiner tells Les Bowen that the Eagles' interest in the veteran running back came before training camp started.

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Earlier posts today on Plaxico Burress going to jail and Randall Cunningham's take on the Vick addition.