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The Eagles once again won another NFC East
crown under Andy Reid in 2010 and were in
the running for the #2 seed and a first
round bye ultimately wilting during the
last quarter of the season and limping into
the playoffs as the #3 seed. Overall Philadelphia
is one of the best run organizations in
the league. Year in and year out they are
contending for the NFC East divisional title.
They have a keen eye for talent and normally
lock up players to long term contracts to
ensure value. Any team would like to have
the dilemma that coach Andy Reid is dealing
with at the quarterback position. A week
one concussion last year at the hands of
Clay Matthews left starter Kevin Kolb on
the sidelines. Michael Vick gets inserted
and plays spectacularly and ultimately is
named the starter for the rest of the season.
Kolb was drafted to be the future of the
franchise but with his contract expiring
the Eagles will look to Vick to lead the
team. Overall Vick has more versatility
as a quarterback - running and throwing
- while Kolb is a prototype drop back passer.
Now that Vick is becoming more a pocket
passer coach Reid is confident that he can
run the offense in an optimal manner. He
wants Vick to make better choices when it
comes to running with the football and even
though he was out of the league for two
plus years he still has tremendous speed
and elusiveness. Vick put up very good numbers
in 2010 passing for 3000 yards with 21 touchdowns
and 6 interceptions with an outstanding
completion percentage of 62.6. He had a
quarterback rating of 100 and rushed for
676 yards with 9 touchdowns.
The running game was led by LeSean "Shady"
McCoy. He had over 1000 yards rushing, 600
yards receiving, and 9 total touchdowns.
There was an increased workload last year
for the 2nd year player and this season
the number of carries should be similar.
McCoy is an every down back and does an
excellent job in pass protection. He made
great strides from his rookie season in
blitz pick-ups and consequently his time
on the field increased. He produces big
plays as evidenced in longs of 62 yards
running and 40 yards receiving. It will
be interesting to see whom the coaches decide
will be the starting fullback this season.
Leonard Weaver was coming off a pro bowl
season in 2009 when he suffered a devastating
injury in week 1 in 2010. West Virginia
Mountaineer Owen Schmitt was moved up in
the depth chart and played ok. He does not
have the versatility of Weaver and was nonexistent
running the ball. Hopefully Weaver can return
to the starting lineup and play at a high
level. Jerome Harrison was the other back
that made some contributions last year rushing
for 239 yards. He is a shifty third down
type back that can play around 10 snaps
per game.
The defense was pretty inconsistent
in 2010 and subsequently second year defensive
coordinator Sean McDermott was let go. There
was some grumbling that a few players wanted
him gone. Juan Castillo moves from the offensive
line to the DC position in a move that surprised
many people. Castillo is an excellent teacher
that has a thorough understanding of offensive
and defensive schemes. He is one of the
most well respected coaches in the league
and his passion will be something that drives
the defense. Once again defensive end Trent
Cole led the team in sacks with 10. He has
a great burst off the edge and has been
playing excellent since his second year
in the league (2006). Unfortunately Cole
was the lone bright spot in an inconsistent
defensive line. Jaqua Parker recorded 6
sacks and the team total was only 39 which
was 10th in the league. The Eagles are always
around the top 10 in total defense and with
Castillo as the coordinator they should
be able to move up a few spots. They are
not in the company of Pittsburgh or Baltimore
but they can be close to it. Asante Samuel
led the team in interceptions with 10. He
is the typical ball hawk that bates quarterbacks
into throwing to "open" spots.
Samuel than jumps into passing lane to intercept
the ball. Castillo may not allow Samuel
to play so loose with defenders.
The NFC East will be a tight race
once again and the wild card spot should
come out of the division. Fans have been
very patient waiting for a return trip to
the Super Bowl and the off season signings reflect a commitment by the organization to win now. It is tough to gauge how
the team will fare because last season (like
many others before) there are points during
a campaign that their level of play is very
high only to drop later on. Inevitably a flame out occurs
at the end of season. Maybe this season
will be different with Vick leading the
offense and Juan Castillo teaching the defense.
Purchase Philadelphia Eagles tickets to see if the team gels together and plays well in 2011.
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