The New(and Improved?) Philadelphia Eagles
During most of the last decade, the NFC East has been a breeding ground for competition. The team that has all but ruled the NFC for most of this decade has been the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won the NFC East 5 times between 2001-2006, and have made the playoffs every year since 2000, except for 2007. This year, the Eagles arein the middle of a youth movement, and could possible finish in the basement of the NFC East. This is not because of the lack of talent on the Eagles, but because of the abundance of talent their conference foes possess. The Eagles possess great young talent at the skill positions with DeSean Jackson, and Jeremy Maclin at WR, Brent Celek at TE, and LeSean McCoy at RB. The oldest player out of that group is 25 year-old Brent Celek. The two major questions about this Eagles team are centered on the team’s former strengths, their quarterback, and defense.
At the high point of this last decade, these were two things that Eagles fans did not need to worry about. Up until the death of Jim Johnson, the Eagles defense had been one of the most formidable in the league, but now, without Brian Dawkins, Sheldon Brown, Jeremiah Trotter among others roaming around on defense, the Eagles have become an inconsistent defense that has trouble getting the big stops that Eagles’s fans have come accustomed to. Sean McDermott has brought in Dick Jauron to help hammer out some of the secondary problems that plagued the Eagles last year, and the Eagles have added a lot of talent at linebacker to help take some pressure off of their front 4. The question mark at quarterback is a new issue for this Philadelphia Eagles team. Ever since the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Kevin Kolb in 2007, the media has been speculating when the Eagles were going to move Donovan Mcnabb, and replace him with Kolb. With the offseason deal in which the Eagles sent Mcnabb to the Redskins, Kolb has now inherited an offense full of weapons. Although Kolb doesn’t have the arm strength of McNabb, his throwing accuracy will be much better than that of McNabb.
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This quarterback change will need to lead in a change of offensive system for the Eagles because of Kolb doesn’t have the arm to throw the amount of deep passes McNabb has in recent years. This may lead to more of a reliance on the intermediate passing game and the rushing attack which is something Andy Reid has gotten away from during McNabb’s last few years behind center,. With the supporting cast around Kolb, the Eagles should be able to handle the change very easily. McCoy has proven himself to a talented running back and with the addition of Mike Bell for short yard situations that Eagles seem poised to have a relatively balanced offense. This whole assumption relies on Kolb, and his growth as a quarterback over the last three years. If he can come in, and handle the pressure that is asserted on him, the Eagles will be as dangerous as any team in the league. Their ability to score could help take some pressure off a defense that is good enough to hold the best teams to a few touchdowns, and could secure a few extra wins for this Eagles team. A major roadblock in the way of the Eagles and another playoff berth is the other teams in their division. The Cowboys seem poised to repeat as NFC East champions, while the Redskins, and the Giants seem good enough to secure a playoff berth. The Eagles are just as talented, if not more, then all teams most teams in the NFC, but they are in the middle of injecting youth on both sides of the ball and that could cause them to fumble away some close games. This year is a serious question mark for the Eagles, but the future is bright for this young, talented Eagles team.
By: Louis Greco
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer