9.3 wins for the Eagles?

Before you rip me in the comments section, I understand that the Eagles technically cannot win exactly 9.3 games.

Let me explain.

As many of you know, Football Outsiders is out with its 2009 almanac.

For those of you unfamiliar with the site, it takes a look at football from an in-depth, statistical perspective.

The almanac makes projections for every team, explains why they predict certain numbers, etc.

The number of wins they project for the Eagles is 9.3, a lower number than you'll likely see when national publications start previewing the season in the coming weeks.

It's the first time in the past five years that Football Outsiders has the Eagles winning less than 10 games.

The reasons? Turnover on the offensive line, a projected increase in defensive injuries, play-calilng and much more.

I'm telling you this because we're going to have the almanac's Managing Editor and author of the Eagles chapter on MTC in the coming weeks. Bill Barnwell has graciously agreed to answer our questions via e-mail so I'll play devil's advocate and we'll go back and forth a litle bit.

So if you have read the Eagles chapter in the almanac and have questions, let me know, and I can pose them to Bill. If not, look for the Q&A in the future. And if you'd like to purchase the almanac, click here.

Other links to pass along:

** The folks at ESPN.com debate who has the edge in the NFC East: the Giants or Eagles.

** ESPN.com's Matt Mosley previews camp for NFC East teams. In the Eagles portion, he wonders what kind of chance Sean Jones has to win a starting safety job.

** SI.com's Don Banks provides a question for each team going into camp. For the Eagles:

The Eagles lost a ton of veteran leadership, but may have gained even more in talent. Will the gains impact their season more than the losses?

** CBSSports.com's Clark Judge takes a look at camp battles and gives Jones the edge over Quintin Demps at free safety:

He's a veteran. He forces turnovers. He's bigger. The Eagles reached out to get him. And the last time we saw Demps he had a meltdown in the NFC Championship Game.

** FoxSports.com's Adrian Hasenmayer has the Eagles third in his power rankings behind the Steelers and Patriots:

Several things are looking up in Philly — a happy QB, a rebuilt offensive line with plenty of upside and real-life WRs, all buoyed by the NFL's No. 3 defense in 2008.

** John Czarnecki of FoxSports.com says Donovan McNabb has too many weapons for the Eagles not to win the division.

Back to optimist/pessimist in the next post. I know, I know, you'l;l be counting down the minutes.