
Well after a long
offseason, the NFL Draft is complete and the 2010 season is only 4 short months away :-/.....
ok that may be a while, but for the
diehard fans,
theres mini camps, training camp, and of course preseason that will hold you over which all starts in one short month. I figure now is the perfect time to address the state of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Recap: The Eagles ended the season with a 6 game winning streak before falling to the hands of the Dallas Cowboys and falling to 11-5. The loss dropped the eagles from second in the conference to 6th, and a wildcard rematch with the Cowboys, where they would again fall to the cowboys, in what would be franchise QB Donovan McNabb's final game as an Eagle.
Recap analysis The cowboys completely manhandles the birds, causing for the offseason's rebuilding of the birds. McNABB had no time in the pocket, and the eagles could not muster any pressure. both games were all time lows in eagles history
Offseason:It was a house clearing for the birds, as they would release several big names, including B.Westbrook, K. Curtis, W. Witherspoon, S. Andrews, and J. Trotter .They also made some key trades, trading R. Brown to the Bucs, C. Gocong and S.Brown to the Browns. Finally, they traded McNabb to their division foe Redskins. They also added Dyrell Tapp and Ernist Sims to solify key needs.
Offseason Recap: seen the rebuilding job comming for years. still thought McNabb had years left in the tank, but u cant keep the nxt franchise Qb waiting can you? dont agree with trading sheldon brown or releasing w. witherspoon. left major holes at their positions. Andrews more liability than help. love the ernie sims signing.
Draft: the eagles trade down from 24 to 13, pass on safety stud e. thomas, and DE draft brandon graham, pass on another safety t. mays, nab n. allen, proceed to trade another half dozen times before settling on a slew of defensive help with a couple of corners, lbs and corners.
analysis: the eagles wanted graham... and they got their guy, a lil expensive tho as they gave away both their 3rd round pics to get him in wht many considered the deepest draft in 20 years. would have prefered e. thomas, but not too upset. I think they did too much wheeling and dealing at the end of the day. they ended up with a sluw of 4th n 5th rounders. good guys but not guys thats gonna step in rite away and contribute, in the third round u had guys that could. think the eagles outsmarted themselves here, give them a B. like their pics but they coulda got more quality talent with the pics they had.
Final Analysis: the eagles may deny that they are rebuilding, but the writing is on the wall. This team is young, fast, and pretty good, but lack depth at the linebacker and cornerback positions. Espically CB.. I dnt see A. Samual on this team nxt year (beefin with reid, mcdermit) so they should address that position very soon. the offense is young and explosive, but did not address the offensive line as aggressively as I thought they would. could be a problem for Kolb against aggressive defensive defenses.
Kolb will not be the primary key for the eagles to be successful in 2010, it will be the defense. They addressed the lack of a pass rush by adding Graham, who can immediatly step in opposite t. Cole and be effective. Adam Sheftler even went so far as to predict tht Graham will be the defensive rookie of the year. well jus have to wait n see as for the offensive. Kolb and Jackson had a solid connection in their short time playing together, thats a good sign. Mccoy was a solid rookie last year and the eagles will need him to continue that success, The eagles need a power running game, eldra bunkly needs touches with mccoy. once again, a high scoring offensive is in the works.
HONESTLY.. i see this team as an 8-8 team.
a young team and a tuff schedule is never a good mix... and their schedule is tuff the tail end of tht schedule features dal(x2) nyg(x2) indy, and Minn. Theres also alot of young new faces there. these guys need a year or 2 to gel and become the solid unit they they've been for the last decade. I think we need to make one more addition to the team. D. Sharper, who lead the league in interceptions last year is still available. that would be a solid pick up to help out a struggling defense.