The young and the restless characterize Eagles' new era

The Eagles have changed.

Since the end of the 2008 season, the team has parted ways with the building blocks that took it to regular playoff appearances and one Super Bowl. In their place is a team that is young and light on experience, but, according to several players, also closer, energized, and eager to make a new mark in Philadelphia.

As with any big change, there are fewer bedrock certainties - such as near-annual playoff appearances - but also fresh possibilities for individuals and the team.

"This is a time when you want to make a name for yourself," safety Quintin Mikell said. "You want to create a legacy."

Of the 80 players on the training-camp roster and two draft picks waiting to sign, 56 joined the NFL in 2007 or later. Ten arrived in Philadelphia that year or after.

Gone are stalwart tackles Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas. Gone is defensive leader Brian Dawkins. Gone is do-everything back Brian Westbrook. And, most tellingly, gone is Donovan McNabb, who for 11 years symbolized the Andy Reid era.

These revamped Eagles open training camp Monday with a rising core of young offensive weapons and a mix of youth and newcomers throughout the defense, including a rookie in Dawkins' free-safety spot.

Only two players, Mikell and David Akers, remain from the active roster that reached the 2005 Super Bowl.

"That team, the Super Bowl team, was dismantled and it's a new team," Mikell said.

Talk to players about the generational shift and three themes emerge: energy, unity, and a college-like feel.

When he arrived in Philadelphia as an undrafted rookie, Mikell joined a team with a well-established foundation and said he didn't quite feel that he was a part of the group that had already been together for years.

"I feel a lot closer with the group of guys that we have right now," Mikell said. "It's almost like a college atmosphere, where everybody's been hanging out together. There's no, quote, superstars or stars."

Several other players echoed his thoughts. Stewart Bradley, Kevin Kolb, and Mikell each said they could feel the team coming together during off-season workouts, when nearly every player came to the NovaCare Complex.

"Everybody's kind of looking out for one another. Nobody's above the rest," Kolb said.

The college feel he and others cited seems appropriate as the team arrives at Lehigh University for three weeks of life together in dorms.

"We're all kind of a young group working together to be great one day," Kolb said.

Of course, with the energy and excitement of youth comes inexperience.

The roster is dotted with high-profile players still in their early 20s who will be leaned on for big performances this year.

"The whole team is really, really young, to be honest with you," said linebacker Ernie Sims, who arrived from Detroit in an off-season trade.

According to an ESPN analysis, the Eagles head into camp as the fourth-youngest team in the league, with an average age slightly older than 25.

If the youthful Eagles can remain a playoff team, they'll have made a remarkable transition, remaking their roster without doing time in the NFL doldrums. If the team sputters, though, its leaders will face questions about its talent evaluation and whether it too quickly shipped out a quarterback who two years ago led the Eagles to the conference championship game.

"If you're lucky enough to stay around a place long enough as a coach and as a player you're going to see change take place," Reid said. "That's what's taken place."

Added responsibility will fall on young offensive skill players still in the early stages of their careers: running back LeSean McCoy, wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, tight end Brent Celek, and Kolb, the quarterback.

On defense, rookie Nate Allen heads into training camp as the starting free safety. First-round draft pick Brandon Graham is expected to spark the pass rush and will push the team's oldest position player, Juqua Parker, for a job on the first team.

Reid, of course, is one constant who will continue putting his mark on the team. Although he dealt away McNabb, Reid also handpicked a replacement when he drafted Kolb in 2007, along with Bradley and Celek, in a draft that was even then seen as focused on the future.

That year, the Eagles opened their season in Green Bay. Of the offensive starters who lined up in that game, two - Todd Herremans and Jamaal Jackson - remain on the team. Just four of the defensive starters are still with the Eagles.

Jackson, McCoy, Maclin, Graham, and Allen were still in college. For Bradley, Celek, and Kolb, it was their first NFL game.

Now, all are expected to play major roles when the Eagles open the 2010 season, Sept. 12, against the Packers.

"We haven't played [any] football yet, so we don't know exactly what we have yet," Mikell said. "But the feeling right now is a lot of excitement and a lot of energy and an opportunity for everybody to . . . make a name for themselves right now and step out of the shadows of the legends that we had here before and create something for ourselves."