Jody Mac
09-09-2011, 07:17 AM
When the NFL lockout ended in the last week in July, we know it was going to be a sprint for all 32 teams to get ready for opening week. The Eagles have been speeding ever since, adding some serious star power at certain positions. But are they spinning their wheels at other positions? We'll find out, starting Sunday in St. Louis in the opener against the Rams.
In a shortened off-season where you add the likes of Jason Babin, Nnamdhi Asomugha,Cullen Jenkins, Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith and Vince Young you have to like the upgrading the Birds did to their roster. There is even a nice balance as three of those key off-season additions were on defense, three on offense. But the reshaping of the Eagles started before July. It actually got underway back in January.
After losing at home to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Packers in the first round of last year's playoffs, the restructuring of the Birds began. Sean McDermott, the young defensive coordinator who had to try and replace legendary Jim Johnson, was judged not to be up to the task after two seasons and was given his walking papers. The domino effect started there. Andy Reid went completely out of the box to replace McDermott. He installed his long time offensive line coach Juan Castillo as his new defensive coordinator. Eyebrows were raised! To replace Castillo in the o-line trenches, Reid coerced veteran Howard Mudd out of retirement. With a specific and rather different scheme and technique the offensive line has been ever changing since his arrival. To say the o-line is still a work in progress would be an understatement. When they line up against the Rams Sunday, only Jason Peters at left tackle is in the same spot where he finished last year and he and Todd Herremans, who has moved from left guard to right tackle, are the only ones who were even Birds last season. At left guard next to Peters is Evan Mathis who signed as a veteran minimum free agent coming in from the Bengals. At center rookie Jason Kelce has supplanted Jamaal Jackson (bench) and Mike McGlynn (released). Kyle De Van, who was an Indianapolis Colt up until 5 days ago, with the relocated Herremans watching Michael Vick’s blind side, has claimed right guard. Reid has put a lot of faith in Mudd's system and complete retooling. When dominoes fall, they can look either very pretty or very frustrating. The falling begins Sunday.
The other major area of concern for the Birds is the linebacker position. This should come as no surprise since that position has never been one of concern, at least to the coaching staff for the entire Andy Reid era. Jeremiah Trotter was a hold over from the Ray Rhodes era and was for my money the only all-pro level backer to wear green over the last dozen years. There isn't an all-pro backer on the Eagles roster this year either. Moise Fokou is the veteran of the group and entering his third season with the Birds, he is still 10 tackles short of 100 for his career. Jamar Chaney came on strong in the last month of his rookie season earning a starting spot last December but that means he still is just a couple games removed from being a seventh round pick, special teams rookie. And speaking of rookies, Casey Matthews a fourth round pick in this year's draft will start in the middle for the Birds this year. As should be expected, his play has been up and down at best. Stopping the run does not seem to be his strong suit. Growing pains are unavoidable. Will the Eagles be as ready to change the pieces as drastically at LB as they have been on the o-line? Are Keenan Clayton, Akeem Jordon and fellow rookie Brian Rolle any more attractive alternatives? Let the dominoes fall there too!
It's far from all question marks entering the season for the Birds. If the offensive line is not a disaster, the Birds offense will score points. Michael Vick and his new mega-buck contract should be able to follow up on his come back player of the year performance of last season. Some fear a let down with the money now in Vick's bank account, I do not. He is still highly motivated. We may see some wear and tear start to slow Vick at some point during his contract but it will not be this season. Although wide receiver depth may be a question, the talent level is not. Jackson, Maclin, Smith, Avant and Cooper are a fearsome five-some. We should know if DeSean is distracted by his lack of a new contract early on. While it may be the only real concern with the Birds receiving core it is a big one and one that the Eagles have the ability to rectify and would be advised to do so before the deadline to redo deals.
LeSean McCoy may just lead the league in yards from the line of scrimmage. He could be sitting on a breakout year and his first pro bowl appearance. If he should suffer an injury, the Birds are in a much better position this year with former Dolphin Ronnie Brown ready to fill the void. With pass catching tight ends Brent Celek and Clay Harbor as additional weapons, the Birds should move the ball up and down the field. They need to be better in the red zone than they were last year for two reasons. Seven is always better three and we don't yet know whether rookie kicker Alex Henery is ready to step into former kicker David Akers’ very large and effective shoes!!
On defense, Juan Castillo's d-line will get after the quarterback. It may not rival the old Jim Johnson days but believe me they will make opposing QB's pay a price week in and week out. With the talented threesome at corner for the Birds, Asomugha, Samuel and Rogers-Cromartie, the Birds can handle other teams passing game. Can they stop the run? To be determined. They will be better in the red zone than they were last year because they cannot be worse.
The one area we have not touched on yet is the punt game and we proceed with caution there. Sav Rocca was a sav-y booter for the Birds the last several season, but the other newbie Henry, punter Chas has looked up to the challenge so far this pre-season. But he is still a rookie. A bigger question may be who will be returning punts for the Birds. They have one of the most explosive returners in the game but do they really want to put DeSean back there, save game winning instances? Does Jackson want to be back there risking life and limb without the assurances of a new contract? The last thing you need is a non-focused guy ambling under those punts. Is rookie third down back Dion Lewis an inexperienced better option? This is not the first time the Eagles have come into the season without the punt returner position secured. Do you remember the G Lew return era? Not an Eagle historical hi-lite.
Add it all up and where does it leave the Birds? Starting in the NFC east, as divisional champions. The Giants and Cowboys should put up some resistance but not enough to stay with the Birds. While the Redskins have license to be improved they will not topple the Birds. Look for Philadelphia to win 11 games and take down another division title. How will the rest of the conference play out, here is my projected NFC standings.
East
Philadelphia 11-5
New York 9-7
Dallas 8-8
Washington 7-9
Central
Green Bay 12-4
Minnesota 10-6
Chicago 9-7
Detroit 7-9
South
Atlanta 12-4
New Orleans 11-5
Tampa 8-8
Carolina 3-13
West
Arizona 8-8
St Louis 7-9
San Fran 6-10
Seattle 4-12
This sets up a wild card weekend match up of the Vikings coming to Philadelphia. Donovan McNabb returns home. Unlike last year the Birds advance from the first round. I think they can go down to Atlanta in week 2 of the post-season and Michael Vick gets his second return home win of the year in Atlanta. (After the Phils take out the Braves in the NLCS, they are not going to be happy with Philly down south by January). The showdown for the right to the Super Bowl comes next against the Saints or the Pack. If New Orleans is coming to Philly as an advancing wild card, the Eagles will be heading to Indy. If they have to go to the frozen tundra of Lambeau, the Birds will be eliminated by the Pack for the second consecutive season.... and I think Green Bay will get a chance to defend their title in Super Bowl XLVI! Just short of the Promised Land for the Eagles!
Just for the record, I like New England, Pittsburgh, Houston, and San Diego to win divisions in the AFC with the Jets and Ravens as wild cards and Phillip Rivers to finally join his fellow draft class QBs Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning as a Super Bowl QB. Who will win that Green Bay/San Diego showdown? Check with me when it happens in February.
This is what my head says. My heart will be pulling for an all-green Super Bowl, and I'm not talking about the Packers. I was in attendance at the new Met Life stadium for the New York/Philadelphia pre-season finale. They play again week 15 during the regular season, I plan on being there. If the Jets and Eagles should meet again for a third time this season, in a neutral dome, that would be perfectly fine with me!
There was some trepidation that this NFL season could have been waylaid by a work stoppage. Cooler heads prevailed and football is back and ready to roll. It will be an exciting season in Philadelphia, one that may not stop the 52-year championship drought the Eagles are in, but it will be fun!!
In a shortened off-season where you add the likes of Jason Babin, Nnamdhi Asomugha,Cullen Jenkins, Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith and Vince Young you have to like the upgrading the Birds did to their roster. There is even a nice balance as three of those key off-season additions were on defense, three on offense. But the reshaping of the Eagles started before July. It actually got underway back in January.
After losing at home to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Packers in the first round of last year's playoffs, the restructuring of the Birds began. Sean McDermott, the young defensive coordinator who had to try and replace legendary Jim Johnson, was judged not to be up to the task after two seasons and was given his walking papers. The domino effect started there. Andy Reid went completely out of the box to replace McDermott. He installed his long time offensive line coach Juan Castillo as his new defensive coordinator. Eyebrows were raised! To replace Castillo in the o-line trenches, Reid coerced veteran Howard Mudd out of retirement. With a specific and rather different scheme and technique the offensive line has been ever changing since his arrival. To say the o-line is still a work in progress would be an understatement. When they line up against the Rams Sunday, only Jason Peters at left tackle is in the same spot where he finished last year and he and Todd Herremans, who has moved from left guard to right tackle, are the only ones who were even Birds last season. At left guard next to Peters is Evan Mathis who signed as a veteran minimum free agent coming in from the Bengals. At center rookie Jason Kelce has supplanted Jamaal Jackson (bench) and Mike McGlynn (released). Kyle De Van, who was an Indianapolis Colt up until 5 days ago, with the relocated Herremans watching Michael Vick’s blind side, has claimed right guard. Reid has put a lot of faith in Mudd's system and complete retooling. When dominoes fall, they can look either very pretty or very frustrating. The falling begins Sunday.
The other major area of concern for the Birds is the linebacker position. This should come as no surprise since that position has never been one of concern, at least to the coaching staff for the entire Andy Reid era. Jeremiah Trotter was a hold over from the Ray Rhodes era and was for my money the only all-pro level backer to wear green over the last dozen years. There isn't an all-pro backer on the Eagles roster this year either. Moise Fokou is the veteran of the group and entering his third season with the Birds, he is still 10 tackles short of 100 for his career. Jamar Chaney came on strong in the last month of his rookie season earning a starting spot last December but that means he still is just a couple games removed from being a seventh round pick, special teams rookie. And speaking of rookies, Casey Matthews a fourth round pick in this year's draft will start in the middle for the Birds this year. As should be expected, his play has been up and down at best. Stopping the run does not seem to be his strong suit. Growing pains are unavoidable. Will the Eagles be as ready to change the pieces as drastically at LB as they have been on the o-line? Are Keenan Clayton, Akeem Jordon and fellow rookie Brian Rolle any more attractive alternatives? Let the dominoes fall there too!
It's far from all question marks entering the season for the Birds. If the offensive line is not a disaster, the Birds offense will score points. Michael Vick and his new mega-buck contract should be able to follow up on his come back player of the year performance of last season. Some fear a let down with the money now in Vick's bank account, I do not. He is still highly motivated. We may see some wear and tear start to slow Vick at some point during his contract but it will not be this season. Although wide receiver depth may be a question, the talent level is not. Jackson, Maclin, Smith, Avant and Cooper are a fearsome five-some. We should know if DeSean is distracted by his lack of a new contract early on. While it may be the only real concern with the Birds receiving core it is a big one and one that the Eagles have the ability to rectify and would be advised to do so before the deadline to redo deals.
LeSean McCoy may just lead the league in yards from the line of scrimmage. He could be sitting on a breakout year and his first pro bowl appearance. If he should suffer an injury, the Birds are in a much better position this year with former Dolphin Ronnie Brown ready to fill the void. With pass catching tight ends Brent Celek and Clay Harbor as additional weapons, the Birds should move the ball up and down the field. They need to be better in the red zone than they were last year for two reasons. Seven is always better three and we don't yet know whether rookie kicker Alex Henery is ready to step into former kicker David Akers’ very large and effective shoes!!
On defense, Juan Castillo's d-line will get after the quarterback. It may not rival the old Jim Johnson days but believe me they will make opposing QB's pay a price week in and week out. With the talented threesome at corner for the Birds, Asomugha, Samuel and Rogers-Cromartie, the Birds can handle other teams passing game. Can they stop the run? To be determined. They will be better in the red zone than they were last year because they cannot be worse.
The one area we have not touched on yet is the punt game and we proceed with caution there. Sav Rocca was a sav-y booter for the Birds the last several season, but the other newbie Henry, punter Chas has looked up to the challenge so far this pre-season. But he is still a rookie. A bigger question may be who will be returning punts for the Birds. They have one of the most explosive returners in the game but do they really want to put DeSean back there, save game winning instances? Does Jackson want to be back there risking life and limb without the assurances of a new contract? The last thing you need is a non-focused guy ambling under those punts. Is rookie third down back Dion Lewis an inexperienced better option? This is not the first time the Eagles have come into the season without the punt returner position secured. Do you remember the G Lew return era? Not an Eagle historical hi-lite.
Add it all up and where does it leave the Birds? Starting in the NFC east, as divisional champions. The Giants and Cowboys should put up some resistance but not enough to stay with the Birds. While the Redskins have license to be improved they will not topple the Birds. Look for Philadelphia to win 11 games and take down another division title. How will the rest of the conference play out, here is my projected NFC standings.
East
Philadelphia 11-5
New York 9-7
Dallas 8-8
Washington 7-9
Central
Green Bay 12-4
Minnesota 10-6
Chicago 9-7
Detroit 7-9
South
Atlanta 12-4
New Orleans 11-5
Tampa 8-8
Carolina 3-13
West
Arizona 8-8
St Louis 7-9
San Fran 6-10
Seattle 4-12
This sets up a wild card weekend match up of the Vikings coming to Philadelphia. Donovan McNabb returns home. Unlike last year the Birds advance from the first round. I think they can go down to Atlanta in week 2 of the post-season and Michael Vick gets his second return home win of the year in Atlanta. (After the Phils take out the Braves in the NLCS, they are not going to be happy with Philly down south by January). The showdown for the right to the Super Bowl comes next against the Saints or the Pack. If New Orleans is coming to Philly as an advancing wild card, the Eagles will be heading to Indy. If they have to go to the frozen tundra of Lambeau, the Birds will be eliminated by the Pack for the second consecutive season.... and I think Green Bay will get a chance to defend their title in Super Bowl XLVI! Just short of the Promised Land for the Eagles!
Just for the record, I like New England, Pittsburgh, Houston, and San Diego to win divisions in the AFC with the Jets and Ravens as wild cards and Phillip Rivers to finally join his fellow draft class QBs Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning as a Super Bowl QB. Who will win that Green Bay/San Diego showdown? Check with me when it happens in February.
This is what my head says. My heart will be pulling for an all-green Super Bowl, and I'm not talking about the Packers. I was in attendance at the new Met Life stadium for the New York/Philadelphia pre-season finale. They play again week 15 during the regular season, I plan on being there. If the Jets and Eagles should meet again for a third time this season, in a neutral dome, that would be perfectly fine with me!
There was some trepidation that this NFL season could have been waylaid by a work stoppage. Cooler heads prevailed and football is back and ready to roll. It will be an exciting season in Philadelphia, one that may not stop the 52-year championship drought the Eagles are in, but it will be fun!!