Lurie glanced at the talent assembled on the practice fields Monday, noticed that quarterback Donovan McNabb was no longer limping or rubbing his shoulder, and proclaimed that he expects the Eagles to be in the hunt to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this season.

"I'm very pumped for this season, extremely," Lurie said. "I have very high expectations for this team. We have a healthy quarterback who looks great, a fast defense ... I'm just very excited about a lot of things."


That has traditionally been Lurie's outlook, but the team has not lived up to his lofty expectations in recent seasons. Since reaching the Super Bowl in the 2004 season, the Eagles have a combined regular-season record of 24-24 and they missed the playoffs two of the last three years.
It was a big change from 2001-04, when the Eagles went 48-16, won four straight NFC East titles, reached four straight NFC championship games and lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Fla.

"We are very used to succeeding at significant level and it is disappointing when we don't or can't," Lurie said. "This isn't about rebuilding, retooling or anything. This is about going for it. That's our approach. It's 'pedal to the metal.'"

Lurie's plan for the Eagles to drive circles around the rest of the conference is directly tied to McNabb's health.

Based on his performances in training camp, the 31-year-old is poised for his best season since 2004, when he set career highs for passing yardage (3,875 yards), touchdown passes (31) and efficiency rating (104.7).

By all accounts, he is finally recovered from the 2006 knee injury that slowed him for much of last season and the slight case of tendinitis that gave him a sore shoulder during minicamp.

"Part of the reason I'm so pumped up is we finally have a real healthy Donovan McNabb," Lurie said. "And he's still in the prime of his career. He's 31 and the average age of most winning Super Bowl quarterbacks is 30 or 31.

"He's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC and that helps us tremendously. If Donovan can stay healthy and keep performing at a high level, he could play as long as (Green Bay quarterback Brett) Favre, (former Denver quarterback John) Elway and those guys."

It also looks as if running back Brian Westbrook will be around for a while. Although Lurie insisted he does not get involved in contract negotiations, he admitted that Westbrook had outperformed his contract and thus was likely to get a new deal in the next few weeks.

He also strongly hinted that no offers will be coming to cornerback Lito Sheppard, despite the plea of his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, on YouTube over the weekend.

Sheppard, who sat out Monday's practice with a pulled groin, has missed 15 games with injuries in the last three seasons.

"Our philosophy is that we always try to be fair," Lurie said. "We are the distribution mechanism for 53 players and we try to spread things out as best we can while also trying to uphold our sense of fairness. We try to parcel it out and pay players who are on the field.

"You want every player to be satisfied, especially a professional like Brian. He's great, one of my favorites. I also am very hopeful that Lito will have a terrific season, that he will show us, and the league, that he's back to the old Lito, healthy and making plays."

If it all unfolds the way Lurie envisions, the Eagles could challenge preseason favorite Dallas for the NFC East crown and make a run at what is a wide-open conference this season.

If not, he will be back at Lehigh next summer, explaining that 2009 will be the year the Eagles turn it around.

"Football is a collision sport, what can I say?" Lurie said. "You always think you've put together an outstanding team that can go far, but you just have to wait and see how things pan out."