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While it may be hard to believe, it has been eight years since the Philadelphia Eagles fell at the feet of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Since then, the team has gone through a series of makeovers, and there have been a variety of assistant coaching changes, some necessary, and others tragic.

What most people miss about the 2004 squad is the swagger they possessed, even though they may not have been the most star-studded team around.

That team played with confidence, a lot of it, and each and every player played within their role. They were a complete team from top to bottom and, while it's sad to say, since 2004 there hasn't been an Eagles squad that has had a really solid 53-man roster.

The '08 and '10 versions of the Eagles had the necessary offense, but they didn't have the defense required to be elite.

While Tim Tebow and the Saints dominate headlines around the league, one thing is clear: the 2012 Philadelphia Eagles will be the best product we've seen in the last eight years because the front office has made a concerted effort to keep the right pieces in tact and add only what's vitally necessary.

When comparing the 2004 roster to the prospective 2012 version, it's hard to ignore the similarities and even the edges that the 2012 squad holds at certain positions.

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On offense, the 2012 Eagles have a far more potent passing game than they did in 2004. The receiving corps is loaded with DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant, not to mention two solid tight ends in Brent Celek and Clay Harbor, who closely mirror the 2004 duo of Chad Lewis and L.J. Smith.

Many believe that LeSean McCoy is the second coming of Brian Westbrook and, if it turns out that his 2011 season wasn't a fluke, then this Eagles team will possess one of the most potent offenses in recent memory.

While it hurts to knock Westbrook even a little bit, McCoy appears to run with more shiftiness and more agility than Westbrook did.

However, defense is where things really get interesting. In 2011 the Eagles boasted the league's top defensive line, leading the league with 50 sacks. In 2004, the Eagles posted the league's second-highest total with 48.

With Jason Babin, Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins, and a plethora of other pass-rushers, the Eagles will surely be on track to lead the league in sacks once again.

The wide-nine scheme may not be what Jim Johnson would have thrown at you back in 2004 with Jevon Kearse and Derrick Burgess, but it's not a bad consolation.

At linebacker, the Eagles seem to be a bit shaky, but that's not to say that the 2004 corps wasn't.

While Jeremiah Trotter was the leader of the 2004 defense, he only mustered 59 tackles, a mark that newly acquired DeMeco Ryans is sure to shatter if he stays healthy.

The rest of the linebacking corps was comprised of situational players like Ike Reese, Dhani Jones, Mark Simoneau and Keith Adams, who were all well-rounded football players.

This season will hinge on the defense's ability to get off of the field quickly, and it's vital that players like Brian Rolle, Jamar Chaney and Casey Matthews excel within their roles to create a more potent Eagles defense.

It's clear that many fans were disappointed with the play of the secondary a year ago, and their disappointment is justified.

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Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie struggled to fit into their roles in Juan Castillo's new defensive scheme, but it's hard to ignore their talent. On paper, Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie are better than the tandem of Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown from 2004.

Cornerback shouldn't be a big problem for this team moving forward though. The real crux of the problem is at safety, where the Eagles have struggled to fill the void left by Brian Dawkins.

Nate Allen has been on and off the field due to injury and Kurt Coleman, while showing flashes of brilliance at times, has been wildly inconsistent.

In 2004, strong safety Michael Lewis led the team with 76 tackles. I see no safety on this roster who is capable of producing that sort of output.

Many looked at the selection of Jaiquawn Jarrett a year ago as the solution at strong safety, but in a condensed offseason he struggled to learn the defense and get adequate playing time.

The Eagles don't need a game-changer at safety. They need consistency. They need players who are solid in coverage, play the deep ball well, and can make tackles in the box when necessary.

Eagles fans shouldn't be begging their safeties to fly around like Dawkins and Lewis did, because that's asking too much.

If this Eagles team can harness just a fraction of the swagger that the 2004 squad had, then they will be headed in the right direction. Solid team defense combined with a potent offense will serve this team well.

So far things look promising, just the way they did eight years ago.