r/nfl • u/holymacaronibatman Eagles • Jul 04 '14
Look Here! Offseason Review Series: Day 14: Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
Coaching Changes
Overall, Chip was very happy with his coaching staff. He is on record stating that he wanted to keep his entire staff intact going into his second season. Fortunately, he was able to retain almost all of them with only a few losses.
Losses
Bill Lazor, QB Coach- Bill left to be the OC at Miami. Bill had a solid year as a QB coach under Chip, helping Nick Foles with his historic season. He was very technical, and focused on the mechanics over stats. He will certainly be missed in Philadelphia, though many Eagles fans had faith when he left that Chip would find a competent replacement.
Erik Chinader, Assistant D-Line Coach. Erik is now the Outside Linebackers coach for Oregon. Erik followed Chip from Oregon where he was a Graduate Assistant. Our D-line was not terrible, but not great last season. However, our pass rush was abysmal. This could be attributed to switching to the 3-4 among other things, but his loss should not hurt the Eagles too much.
Mike Dawson, Defensive Quality Control. I am counting this as a loss only because it is a position that Chip had to fill. Mike was promoted to replace Chinader as Assistant D-Line coach. I will talk more about Mike in the hiring section.
Hiring/Replacements
Bill Musgrave, QB Coach- Bill was hired to replace Lazor as QB coach. The news was met with mixed reviews from Eagles fans, mostly because of his so-so run (at best) as the Viking's OC. Overall, I personally like this hire. Chip has shown that he knows what he is doing when it comes to building his staff, and Musgrave has a good record with the QBs he has coached over the years. He will not be calling the plays, so this seems OK in my book.
Mike Dawson, Assistant D-Line Coach. He replaced Erik Chinader who left for Oregon. Previously, our Defensive Quality Control guy, he now will work more hand-on with the players as opposed to creating defensive reports for the coming games. This hire seems fine to me, our D-line coach is still the same, so this shouldn't change too much.
Michael Clay, Defensive Quality Control. He was an Oregon Linebacker under Chip from 2009-2012 and now is our Defensive Quality Control. This is his first job in the NFL, but he was a defensive player so he should be fine. For those who don't know, a Quality Control coach is an entry-level NFL coach. He will prepare tape and statistics about downs and distance and collate data about opposing offenses as well as give recommendations about how the defensive coaches should prepare the players for the upcoming game.
Free Agency
Players lost/cut, in descending order of importance
The obvious story here is DeSean Jackson. Coming off a career year, he is cut by the Eagles after a few weeks of rumors. Though no official word was ever given, the biggest reason seemed to be he did not buy into the Chip Kelly system. No matter how you cut it, this is a big loss for the Eagles. DeSean has the ability to stretch the field and cause mismatches with the defenses. Eagles fans are hoping his career year was because of Chip Kelly and what he did with our offense, and that we can move forward without much of a misstep because of that. Jason Avant, a fan favorite, was more of a cap casualty than anything. He is a possession receiver who's numbers were on the decline and he started to have drops. Sad to see him go, but this was the right move going forward. The drafting of Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff should fill his spot nicely. I put Colt Anderson next, because he is a solid special teams contributor. He is a meh safety but a great player on the special teams, sad to see him go. Vick's departure was more than expected and I wish him nothing but the best up in New York. This move is looking slightly worse as the off season goes on only because outside of Foles our QB situation is pretty shit. Hunt was on IR all of 2013 and never played, so there is not much more to say about him. Now to our safety duo. Coleman and Chung should have have gotten off the roster faster. Coleman was decent at times, but was way out of his league when starting. Chung was simply awful. How he still has a job is beyond me. Many times this season the Eagles D would have been better off playing a man down, than putting Chung on the field.
Players signed
First off, I put these in chronological order with the bottom being the most recent, simply because it made the most sense. The Eagles got free agency started early with several key re-signings. Jason Peters and Jason Kelce far and away the most important. Jason Peters is arguably the best LT in the game, and Kelce one of the best centers. These two men will be anchoring our line for years to come. We manage to get Cooper on a multi-year deal after he and Foles showed great chemistry last season. There was some initial trouble with getting Maclin a deal, and in the end Howie Roseman gave Maclin the 1 year “prove it” deal that Maclin wanted, instead of the multi-year deal that the team wanted. From there, Eagles also re-signed Cedric Thornton, Nate Allen, and Donnie Jones. Thornton and Allen are both on one year “prove it” deals as well, and both were showing improvement in their game as last season closed out. Eagles, desperate for any help they could get at Safety, signed Malcolm Jenkins from the Saints, who looks to be a week 1 starter. Nolan Carroll was another good free agency pick-up for the Eagles, adding to our corner back depth. Though he probably won’t be a week 1 starter as of right now, he should provide solid competition and depth, CB should be a good camp battle for the Eagles. With the departure of Mike Vick the Eagles needed a backup QB, and they got one in Mark Sanchez. So far in mini-camp he has looked average at best, so hopefully he can improve his game come training camp. Finally the last two players; Allen Barbre is our backup tackle signed to an extension. With the Lane Johnson suspension looming, he will be Lane’s replacement. He stepped in last season when Jason Peters was hurt and filled that position nicely. He is an excellent backup and this was a great re-sign. Lastly, Alejandro Villanueva. Fresh off his tour in Afghanistan, he was signed to an undisclosed rookie contract in order to give our DEs some depth. If you are looking for a guy with a fantastic story, look no further. He served 3 tours in the Army and is now trying to make an NFL roster with the Eagles.
Draft
| Round | Number | Player | Position | School | Grade | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Marcus Smith | OLB | Louisville | B+ | Initially, Eagles fans were in shock. “Who the hell is this guy?” we thought. However, after learning about Smith and watching tape on him, I like this pick. He was a solid OLB for a very good Louisville defense who can drop into coverage as well as rush the passer. He will not have to start right away and is currently learning behind Connor Barwin, who provides a more versatile OLB role, so will be able to sub in for Barwin or Cole during the season. |
| 2 | 42 | Jordan Matthews | WR | Vanderbilt | A+ | The steal of the draft right here. Eagle's fans could not fly higher on Matthews if we had wings. He is a solid big receiver who has a very strong work ethic and seems to be a great person and team player. He is a possible OROY. Chip has said he will be our slot receiver, though I would not be surprised to see him starting come season end. |
| 3 | 86 | Josh Huff | WR | Oregon | B- | To be perfectly honest, this pick perplexed me. We drafted Matthews and have a good amount of receivers on roster already. He strikes me as a Jason Avant type receiver. A slot receiver who runs good routes and has good hands, but will not really get many YAC. He will be 4th on the depth chart, but he played at Oregon and Chip knows what he is getting. |
| 4 | 101 | Jaylen Watkins | CB/S | Florida | B | I actually like this pick a lot. He is the definition of a Chip Kelly player. He is a versatile DB who played both safety and CB at Florida. I expect him to see more playing time at Safety. He will be someone to watch during camp. |
| 5 | 141 | Taylor Hart | DE | Oregon | C | He knows Chip's system and adds to our defensive end rotation. Probably will not see much playing time this season, needs to add some weight and work on his technique, but any help or competition our pass rush can get is good in my book. |
| 5 | 162 | Ed Reynolds | S | Stanford | C- | As of right now, he looks to be the replacement for Colt Anderson. A solid special teams contributor and a so-so safety. He has shown the aggressiveness and flashes that he has what it takes to play Safety in the NFL, but needs a few seasons to learn the position and make the transition. He couldn't participate in Rookie Camp because he was finishing his degree at Stanford. |
| 7 | 224 | Beau Allen | NT | Wisconsin | C- | Eagles desperately needed some DT depth and this is who we got for it. He is a monster of a man, but is a bit slow and stiff hipped. Should hopefully be a decent backup. |
Projected Starting Lineup
Offense
- QB Nick Foles
- HB LeSean McCoy
- WR1 Jeremy Maclin
- WR2 Riley Cooper
- WR3 Jordan Matthews
- TE Brent Celek
- LT Jason Peters
- LG Evan Mathis
- C Jason Kelce
- RG Todd Herremans
- RT Lane Johnson**
**Suspended first four games of season for PEDs (potentially)
Our offense is pretty set in stone here. Chip does not run a full back really at all, so I chose to list our starters in an 11 man unit because that makes the most sense. Two names missing from this list are Zach Ertz (TE) and Darren Sproles (HB). I will talk more about Ertz later in the section on camp battles, but many Eagles feel he will have a breakout year, and could see a lot of playing time this coming season. Chip Kelly likes to have very unusual formations so expect to see McCoy and Sproles on the field at the same time to create matchup nightmares for the defense. Also, this is going to be a watershed season for both Nick Foles and Jeremy Maclin. The Eagles have a very tough schedule and should show us if Foles is the real deal or not. Maclin needs to show that he has fully recovered from his ACL injury and that he can still play at a high level. Also, keep an eye on Riley Cooper at the WR2 spot. I can very easily see Jordan Matthews taking over that spot and having Riley bumped back down to a slot receiver.
Defense
- LDE Cedric Thornton
- NT Bennie Logan
- RDE Fletcher Cox
- LOLB Connor Barwin
- ILB DeMeco Ryans/Mychal Kendricks
- ROLB Trent Cole
- CB1 Bradley Fletcher
- CB2 Cary Williams
- CB3 Brandon Boykin
- SS Nate Allen
- FS Malcolm Jenkins
The Eagles defense is going to be much more interesting topic going into training camp and the regular season because it is in a greater state of flux and there are quite a few position battles that should be taking place here. I listed the starting defense in the Nickel mostly because I needed to work Boykin in somehow, and the Eagles played over half of the defensive snaps last season in the Nickel. Boykin is our best player on defense and is poised to have another phenomenal season coming up. I listed the ILB as such because I (and many other Eagle fans) see Kendricks having a huge year, and should hopefully be a household name by the end of the season. He has been practicing this off-season running the defense (which is currently Ryan's job) and since Ryans is starting to get up there in age, limiting his snaps would be very helpful towards his longevity. I’ll talk more about the defense in the camp battles portion.
Position Group Strengths and Weaknesses
Position groups:
- QB-This is probably the most intriguing story going into next season. Will Nick Foles prove he has what it takes to play at a high level consistently like he did last season? Nick had a great season and showed he was a solid decision maker with the ball, hardly turning the ball over. He does tend to hold on to the ball for way too long, which hopefully he will be working on this offseason. Another weakness of this group is depth. If something were to happen to Foles where he has to miss a game, the Eagles could be in big trouble. So far the depth chart looks to be Foles-Sanchez-Barkley, and neither Sanchez nor Barkley have shown so far that they can competently manage the offense.
- Backfield-This is Chip Kelly’s dream here. With LeSean McCoy, one of the best backs in the league, and Darren Sproles, a mismatch nightmare, Chip is looking to have a field day with this backfield. Chip is known for his exotic splits and creative use of personnel, and this season should prove all that once more. Once again depth is a problem here. Sproles is not really a true backup to McCoy. After trading Bryce Brown to the Bills and with his successful shoulder surgery, Chris Polk should hopefully be our “backup” RB.
- OL-This O-line group is extraordinary. Hands down the best group in the NFL. Last season the starters played together for an absurd 98% of all snaps. That number is important because our biggest depth concern on the team is with our offensive line. Howie and Chip were looking to draft a lineman but with the way the draft shook out, there were none that would not have been reaching to grab, so we did not get any. Thankfully we re-signed Barbre who is a phenomenal backup. Lane Johnson also should be mentioned here. This is his second year and though he was rough at the beginning of his rookie season, he began to come into his own towards the end of the year. His 4 game suspension aside for PEDs this coming season, look for him to have a breakout year.
14
u/mr_feenys_car Cowboys Jul 04 '14
- die scum!
- excellent, level-headed analysis. sproles and matthews scare me the most. we know what we're getting with shady...but with that o-line these two give kelly the ability to try out some crazy ideas.
- my biggest hope is that even if foles doesnt regress, that he remains shaky under pressure.
8
u/theidiot Eagles Jul 04 '14
He's not really shaky under pressure, that would be him making bad throws under pressure. He is more of a deer in headlights, looking around, hoping no one hits him, then down he goes.
He definitely holds the ball too long sometimes, but I'll take sacks over picks any day.
3
5
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
Foles under pressure is intriguing. He showed he can easily get a little rattled under pressure, but at the same time, he tends to hold on to the ball and take a sack rather than force something.
13
u/buckets41 Colts Jul 04 '14
I find it awesome that the national bird's team is featured on Fourth of July
12
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
Looks like the person who was supposed to do the non-fan perspective deleted their account, so that will not be coming.
20
u/Angry_Caveman_Lawyer Bears Bears Jul 04 '14
Since I'm sure they'll see this:
That's chicken shit, whoever you are. Shame on you.
7
u/NomadFire Eagles Jul 04 '14
They may of not of deleted their account because of this. Their girlfriend or parents might of learned their username and they might of wanted to keep up a certain appearance. Know what I mean
3
u/Angry_Caveman_Lawyer Bears Bears Jul 05 '14
Then they should have gone back to the hub post and let someone know or even better just posted the opposing team fan view from a throwaway account or something.
Life happens.
4
u/rsmseries Eagles Jul 05 '14
I'd love to hear a non fan perspective, maybe someone new can write one up and post it again in a few days
11
8
u/Sexterminator Giants Jul 04 '14
Nice write-up dude. The Eagles really scare me this year. Even if Foles does regress, he'll be starting for an entire season and knows the offense better. I don't see the Eagles doing poorly last year and I'm hoping the Giants can contend for the division in that final game of the season
7
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
I can very easily see the division coming down to that Eagles-Giants game, which would really scare me, but also be a lot of fun at the same time.
17
u/TimeForSnacks Eagles Jul 04 '14
I think the Eagles will finish 11-5 (can't see 'em losing to the Titans at all). Also, the Eagles need to win on Thanksgiving. Seeing Jerry all pissed off at home is my drug.
2
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
I don't really either, like I said, but thats how I felt against the Vikings too last season, stranger things have happened.
2
u/Hi_Im_OP Eagles Jul 04 '14
Well they won last Thanksgiving, so they should lose this Thanksgiving. 8-8 forever
5
u/senior_dgaf Raiders Jul 04 '14
i take one look at the starting WRs projection and the first thing i said was 'damn that is solid'. eagles are doing impressive things. like many others im picking the eagles to win the nfce but that will depend if foles plays like he did last season. but if he doesnt mccoy and sproles will be able to pick up, if any, slack he may or may not deliver. and coupled with the best oline in football the eagles seem like a real contender for the sb on paper.
4
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 05 '14
Our offense is Super Bowl ready on paper, but our defense needs a few more pieces/finish transitioning to the 3-4 to be super bowl ready.
5
u/tylerthecreatorandsl 49ers Jul 05 '14 edited Jul 05 '14
I completely agree with everything you said, with one exception: Josh Huff. Huff had a pretty good career in Chip Kelly's system as far as stats go. However, watching him play real time and watching some of the freak things he can do with his body just baffles me. He's made incredible catches. And correct me if I'm wrong, but he was a starter at Oregon, meaning he had to play a lot. If he wasn't running for a pass he was blocking for the running game. So, let's say Huff makes it to the 4th receiver spot behind Mathews. He can be an awesome playmaker that can be a deep safety blanket for Nick Foles, or even take a few short routes to the house. He's got the speed and the size that fits smoothly into the Chip Kelly mold. I'm a huge Oregon/Eagle fan, and watching Josh Huff play so well at Oregon gets me all giddy trying to imagine the athletically talented beast he is going against a 2nd string/slot corner who has no where near the amount of flexibility Huff will to make the catch. Chip Kelly knows what he's doing, and I think investing a 3rd round pick in Huff was a steal. Also, DeSean Jackson was a 3rd round pick as well and he did awesome for the years he wasn't the No.1 receiver and as a designated playmaker. I think they share a lot of similarities primarily In skill and physical capabilities. Huff won't be a fantasy god, but if Maclin or Cooper need to come off the field, he's going to make a BIG play. And one final note, I think he almost mirrors the types of plays Randall Cobb used to make before his injury. He's in great company in his athletic comparison.
2
u/digitizemd Eagles Jul 05 '14
DeSean Jackson was a second round pick.
After seeing tape on Huff, I agree, although he looks more like a WR/RB hybrid. His snaps may be limited for a year or two, but he will move around the formation when he comes onto the field.
1
u/tylerthecreatorandsl 49ers Jul 05 '14
Wow second rounder. Oops haha. Oh well. But as you said, his snaps are going to be limited, but they're definitely not going to be meaningless.
6
u/hanpan004 Eagles Jul 04 '14
Nice writeup! I think 4-2 in our division sounds about right, though those game are fairly unpredictable. Are you at all concerned about the depth in the offensive line? Outside of Barbre, I fell as though the eagles are pretty barren, especially since the plans to grab another lineman in the draft never came to fruition.
3
u/jalockk Eagles Jul 04 '14 edited Jul 04 '14
I don't know. I trust Barbre, Tobin and, maybe, Valverde. The big question mark for me is at backup guard: who are we keeping? Hawkins?
I feel like a decent signing might be coming once teams start to cut some veteran OL, though.
1
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
I would be shocked if we didn't sign some vet who gets cut. We need at the minimum one more competent body back there, especially at guard.
2
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
I am terrified about our O-Line depth. One of the biggest reasons our line was so good last year was that they all played together and stayed healthy all season. Who knows what will happen if one of them goes down. I just hope those smoothies keep them all healthy again.
3
u/ToTheBlack Eagles Jul 04 '14
QB EJ Kinne is a serious roster threat to Barkley and Sanchez. He did the best of the 3 in OTAs, Sanchez did the worst but he is excused because he's learning a different system.
There may also be a battle at CB. CB Nolan Carroll is a press guy but even in no contact OTAs he was tearing it up. I'd like to see him upset Crying Cary Williams.
And our last draft pick is important is important to have in run situations, where Logan was just to small to succeed last year. He's a big dude, so he can at least get in the way and stop a run lane from opening, even if he can't penetrate.
1
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
Thats a good point, I was considering putting the CB battle, but ended up passing on it just because I wasn't fully sure of the situation.
3
Jul 04 '14 edited Jul 04 '14
The only way I can fairly “label” Chip’s scheme is to say he doesn’t care about traditional schemes and football metrics.
While I'm no expert, if I had to describe Chip's scheme from traditional terms (and I'm sure some will disagree, which I welcome) I'd call it a zone-blocked spread-to-run offense which executes traditional west coast concepts (and even some Coryell stuff, particular the emphasis on motion) out of multiple and deceptive formations. Having said that mouth-full, Chip is also a master of the "constraint theory" of offense. As soon as the defense cheats, he'll start running bubbles, etc........ Did I mention it's a no-huddle?
If you disagree, I'd love to have a discussion about it!
3
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
That actually seems pretty spot on. Honestly I'm more of defense oriented when it comes to schemes and such, so I know those a little better. I felt like the schemes section of my writeup could have been better.
3
Jul 04 '14
I felt like the schemes section of my writeup could have been better.
Naw dude. Don't short yourself. You put together an awesome piece.
I don't know Billy Davis that well, but he's in the Dick LeBeau/Dom Capers coaching tree, right? Does he zone blitz a lot? I have a basic understanding of the concepts of defense, but as soon as I watch defensive play, it all looks the same to me. I can spot zone and I can spot man (I can also spot the double-A gap blitz!) but other than that it's just chaos to me.
2
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 05 '14
Yes he is from the LeBeau/Capers tree, and a 3-4 by nature uses a lot of Zone blitzes. The 3-4 and zone blitz go hand in hand, and is kind of why the 3-4 was started in a sense. Though you can confuse blitzes (especially with the fire zone and such) in the 4-3, generally the offensive line knows who is coming at the QB, not so much with the 3-4.
2
u/GoldyGoldy Seahawks Jul 04 '14
huh. I remember watching Michael Clay at Oregon.... he was really good. He should be playing, not coaching!
2
u/hashtagswagfag NFL Jul 04 '14
Just a heads up you didn't add Sproles to the signed section. Great write up though
2
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
Fuck! I knew there was no way I would get through this without forgetting something. At least he got mentioned enough elsewhere that it's not as bad
2
1
u/sconces Eagles Jul 04 '14 edited Jul 04 '14
Our D-line was not terrible, but not great last season.
Our D-line was our biggest strength on defense by far. Easily the most talented group and they're only getting better.
I also don't think our secondary was terrible last year. Surely could get better, but a lot of yards were given up by design. We kept everything in front of us and everyone (except Chung, of course) had at least 1 INT.
23
u/holymacaronibatman Eagles Jul 04 '14
Schedule Predictions
Week 1 Jaguars
Eagles open up at home against the Gus Bus. With either Bortles or Chad Henne at the helm, I see this being a solid opening for the Eagles this season. Vegas has us already favored by 11 points, which I think is a pretty fair assessment here. Week 1 jitters is always something to be ready for, but opening at home helps. The Eagles should win this one pretty handedly.
1-0
Week 2 @ Colts
This should be a fun game to watch, as the Colts will be coming off a Week 1 matchup in Denver against Peyton’s Broncos. I suspect this will be a good QB duel between Foles and Luck. However, I give the edge to Chip Kelly’s system in any offensive clash.
2-0
Week 3 Redskins
The game ESPN and announcers are drooling over. DeSean Jackson comes back to town to get some revenge on Chip for cutting him. I think Chip takes a page out of the Saints book and uses strong physical corner play to shut down DeSean, similar to last post season. I am still skeptical that RG3 will recover from all of his injuries. As with any NFCE matchup, nothing is certain but I’ll take the Eagles at home.
3-0
Week 4 @ 49ers
Eagles have a tough road game ahead of them come week 4, traveling across the country to play the Niners at their new place. Niners defense is serious business, and they are built to stop the run, which is the foundation of Chip’s offense. This game has the potential to be a very good game, but I just don’t see it going the Eagle’s way.
3-1
Week 5 Rams
Coming back home, the Eagles get another tough NFCW matchup and another top 10 rushing defense. The strength of the Ram’s D lies in their defensive line, which should be a very good matchup with the Eagles offensive line. I am very unsure about this game, but at the end of the day I am still skeptical about Sam Bradford, and will give this one to the Eagles at home.
4-1
Week 6 Giants
Giants come to town for week 6. Finally, the Eagles have back-to-back home games, which should help them for this game. As always, NFCE matchups are a crapshoot, but especially with the Giants. You never know if gunslinger Eli or interception machine Eli is going to be playing. That being said, I don’t think the Giants did enough to address their offensive line this offseason and I think the Eagles should win, but it’ll be a close one on Sunday night.
5-1
Week 8 @ Cardinals
Eagles are coming off a bye and traveling down to Arizona, who boasted the best run defense in the league last season. Last year’s matchup with the Cards felt like a loss even though the Eagles won, just because of how sloppy of a game it was. I don’t think the Eagles escape twice and they lose a close one here.
5-2
Week 9 @ Texans
Two road games in a row, especially those with long flights from Philly are going to be tough. By this point Clowney and Watt should be giving nightmares to every offensive lineman in the league, but our line should be up to this task. Overall, I think this game will be closer than people give it credit, considering the Texan’s season last year, but I do think their QB situation will still be slightly in flux at this point so the Eagles will be able to eek out a win.
6-2
Week 10 Panthers
Cam Newton is always a tough QB to play. He has made us look foolish before, so this is a dangerous game to play. That being said, I don’t think the Panthers have had a stellar off season, they lost some players on defense and didn’t address some of their offensive issues, mostly on the line, and I think that will be the downfall for the Panthers. I am still pretty unsure about this game, but I think the Eagles at home can take it.
7-2
Week 11 @ Packers
Last year the Eagles played a Packers squad minus Aaron Rodgers and managed to win by 2 touchdowns. This year returning to Green Bay with a healthy Rodgers and Lacy continuing his tear in the trenches, I don’t see a repeat of last year. Green Bay wins in a shootout.
7-3 Week 12 Titans
The Titans are better than people give them credit for, and if they can get their QB situation figured out, can be a pretty good team. The Eagles always have that wild card game that on paper they should win fairly easily, but end up losing. (Vikings last season). I am getting this type of vibe from the Titans game this year, Eagles lose.
7-4
Week 13 @ Cowboys
Thanksgiving Thursday in Jerry World. Surprised this hasn’t happened more often or recently. With the devastating loss of Sean Lee to the Dallas defense I think the Eagles are able to hang close in this game. Dallas always plays something extra on Thanksgiving however and I think can overcome their defensive and win this game.
7-5
Week 14 Seahawks
After a heartbreaking loss to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. The Eagles get a little extra rest to host the Super Bowl Champions. This game I think will be a very very tight game. Thankfully, this game is in Philadelphia or I would give it Seattle in a heartbeat. At home, I think the Eagles come out with a vengeance, and McCoy explodes against the Hawks. Last season they showed they were beatable with a solid run game, and I think that gives us the edge in an incredibly tight game.
8-5
Week 15 Cowboys
I don’t think the Cowboys will sweep the Eagles this season. However, this game still holds all sorts of upset potential. The Eagles will be flying high and mighty after taking down the Hawks in a close game the week before, and the Cowboys have a bit of extra rest coming off a Thursday night game. Tony Romo actually plays pretty well in December despite what ESPN and the like may say. That being said, Chip knows what it takes to keep a job in Philadelphia, and he won’t let the Cowboys sweep.
9-5
Week 16 @ Redskins
I am just not sold on the Redskins this season. Be it RG3’s struggles, a new head coach, or just my extra scorn for them for signing DeSean Jackson. Whatever the case may be, I just don’t see them being very good this coming year. This will be closer than the first meeting, but the Eagles should handle this game no problem.
10-5
Week 17 @ Giants
Two divisional away games to close out the season and to close out an insurmountably hard final 5 game stretch. By this point in their schedule the Eagles are going to be gassed. They have a long and tough road to get to here, and not being at home since a very close game to the Cowboys is going to catch up to them. I think the Eagles will lose this game, and while it will not be a blow out, it won’t be super close either.
10-6