The Cowboy Roundup: Reviewing the Eagles’ Off-season
By Brian Smith | July 12th, 2008
Over the next few weeks leading to training camp, let’s take a look at what the rest of the NFC East did this off-season. Going in inverse order of finish, we begin with the Philadelphia Eagles.
OVERVIEW: After their string of division titles and NFC Championship game appearances to begin the millennium, the Eagles are now coming off two last-place finishes in the last three seasons. In fact, Philly needed to end the year on a three-game winning streak just to finish .500. By averaging just 12.5 points to open the season 0-2, the Eagles created a hole from which they were too inconsistent to escape. In fact, it wasn’t until the final three weeks, when they were out of playoff contention, that the Eagles were able to win more than two in a row.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: As usual for the team, their defense was one of the toughest in football, allowing just 18.75 points per game (best in the division). In eight games, the Eagles allowed 16 points or less. The linebackers were excellent; Omar Gaither had a breakout second season, leading the team with 103 tackles, and veteran Takeo Spikes finished with 85 tackles and a sack. Defensive end Trent Cole had a career-high 12.5 sacks (more than twice anyone else on the team).
Offensively, Pro Bowl back Brian Westbrook had yet another sensational year. He rushed for 1,333 yards (4.8 per carry) with seven touchdowns; he caught the most balls on the team (90) for 771 yards and another five scores. Total line: 368 touches, 2,104 yards (that’s an average of 5.7 yards per touch), 12 of Philly’s 36 offensive touchdowns. Wide receiver Kevin Curtis added his first career thousand-yard season.
WHAT WENT WRONG: On offense, just about everything. Although Curtis’ 1,110 yards look nice, take out his 221-yard day against Detroit, and he averaged just 59.3 yards per game. In fact, the Eagles’ leading receiver for any given week had more than 100 yards just four times. Again, not counting that 56-point outburst versus the Lions, and Philadelphia averaged only 18.6 points per game. Quarterback Donovan McNabb missed a few games with injuries; when he did play, he recorded more than 250 passing yards in only seven games, and he was sacked 44 times—far too many for a quarterback as fragile as he has become.
Moreover, the defense was good, but it just couldn’t make enough big plays. The team recorded a meager 37 sacks and finished near the bottom of the league with 11 interceptions. As the Giants showed, a championship defense puts pressure on the quarterback and forces turnovers.
FREE AGENCY: The Eagles started the off-season by landing perhaps the best player available in cornerback Asante Samuel. Samuel is an elite cover guy, who should help improve on those 11 picks. He’ll be a good role model for promising players Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard; immediately, he’s the best Philly defensive back since Troy Vincent (with apologies to Brian Dawkins). Plus, Samuel has a few rings to display as motivation.
The team franchised tight end L.J. Smith, and the other players it brought in (Chris Clemons, Joselio Hanson, among others) should be solid role players on defense. The only offensive free agent signed was Kansas City tight end Kris Wilson. Spikes and Jevon Kearse were released, but Philadelphia doesn’t seem to have lost anyone of great importance.
THE DRAFT: Despite not having a first-round pick, the Eagles put together a solid draft this April. This could look even better next year, if Carolina has their expected miserable season and nets Philadelphia a top-10 pick in 2009. No. 1 pick Trevor Laws should be a Week 1 starter on the line and help the team get more than 2.3 sacks per game. Receiver DeSean Jackson, taken just two picks after Laws, is simply explosive—he can make plays with the football. However, he has a tendency to rely on that quickness at the expense of real route-running and effort on every play. If the coaching staff can keep him centered and add some muscle to him, Jackson could quickly become McNabb’s favorite target. Fourth-round pick Quintin Demps brings some youth to the secondary. The Eagles looked to address McNabb’s protection by adding three offensive linemen.
OVERALL: The Philly fan base is far too impatient to tolerate many more .500 seasons or last-place finishes in the NFC East. Yes, the Eagles augmented an already-playoff-caliber defense, but Jackson was the only skill offensive player added, and rookie wide outs tend to struggle most of that first season. Although he his one of the 10 best players in the game, the Eagles’ offense remains too reliant on Westbrook; as the touches pile up and he nears 30, he needs help from Jackson, Curtis, and Smith. McNabb must stay completely healthy all year, and, to do that, he needs to be protected by his line. Bottom line, the team doesn’t seem to have done enough with its offense to get it back to the postseason.
GRADE: C 2009 PROJECTED RECORD: 7-9
Over the next few weeks leading to training camp, let’s take a look at what the rest of the NFC East did this off-season. Going in inverse order of finish, we begin with the Philadelphia Eagles.
OVERVIEW: After their string of division titles and NFC Championship game appearances to begin the millennium, the Eagles are now coming off two last-place finishes in the last three seasons. In fact, Philly needed to end the year on a three-game winning streak just to finish .500. By averaging just 12.5 points to open the season 0-2, the Eagles created a hole from which they were too inconsistent to escape. In fact, it wasn’t until the final three weeks, when they were out of playoff contention, that the Eagles were able to win more than two in a row.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: As usual for the team, their defense was one of the toughest in football, allowing just 18.75 points per game (best in the division). In eight games, the Eagles allowed 16 points or less. The linebackers were excellent; Omar Gaither had a breakout second season, leading the team with 103 tackles, and veteran Takeo Spikes finished with 85 tackles and a sack. Defensive end Trent Cole had a career-high 12.5 sacks (more than twice anyone else on the team).
Offensively, Pro Bowl back Brian Westbrook had yet another sensational year. He rushed for 1,333 yards (4.8 per carry) with seven touchdowns; he caught the most balls on the team (90) for 771 yards and another five scores. Total line: 368 touches, 2,104 yards (that’s an average of 5.7 yards per touch), 12 of Philly’s 36 offensive touchdowns. Wide receiver Kevin Curtis added his first career thousand-yard season.
WHAT WENT WRONG: On offense, just about everything. Although Curtis’ 1,110 yards look nice, take out his 221-yard day against Detroit, and he averaged just 59.3 yards per game. In fact, the Eagles’ leading receiver for any given week had more than 100 yards just four times. Again, not counting that 56-point outburst versus the Lions, and Philadelphia averaged only 18.6 points per game. Quarterback Donovan McNabb missed a few games with injuries; when he did play, he recorded more than 250 passing yards in only seven games, and he was sacked 44 times—far too many for a quarterback as fragile as he has become.
Moreover, the defense was good, but it just couldn’t make enough big plays. The team recorded a meager 37 sacks and finished near the bottom of the league with 11 interceptions. As the Giants showed, a championship defense puts pressure on the quarterback and forces turnovers.
FREE AGENCY: The Eagles started the off-season by landing perhaps the best player available in cornerback Asante Samuel. Samuel is an elite cover guy, who should help improve on those 11 picks. He’ll be a good role model for promising players Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard; immediately, he’s the best Philly defensive back since Troy Vincent (with apologies to Brian Dawkins). Plus, Samuel has a few rings to display as motivation.
The team franchised tight end L.J. Smith, and the other players it brought in (Chris Clemons, Joselio Hanson, among others) should be solid role players on defense. The only offensive free agent signed was Kansas City tight end Kris Wilson. Spikes and Jevon Kearse were released, but Philadelphia doesn’t seem to have lost anyone of great importance.
THE DRAFT: Despite not having a first-round pick, the Eagles put together a solid draft this April. This could look even better next year, if Carolina has their expected miserable season and nets Philadelphia a top-10 pick in 2009. No. 1 pick Trevor Laws should be a Week 1 starter on the line and help the team get more than 2.3 sacks per game. Receiver DeSean Jackson, taken just two picks after Laws, is simply explosive—he can make plays with the football. However, he has a tendency to rely on that quickness at the expense of real route-running and effort on every play. If the coaching staff can keep him centered and add some muscle to him, Jackson could quickly become McNabb’s favorite target. Fourth-round pick Quintin Demps brings some youth to the secondary. The Eagles looked to address McNabb’s protection by adding three offensive linemen.
OVERALL: The Philly fan base is far too impatient to tolerate many more .500 seasons or last-place finishes in the NFC East. Yes, the Eagles augmented an already-playoff-caliber defense, but Jackson was the only skill offensive player added, and rookie wide outs tend to struggle most of that first season. Although he his one of the 10 best players in the game, the Eagles’ offense remains too reliant on Westbrook; as the touches pile up and he nears 30, he needs help from Jackson, Curtis, and Smith. McNabb must stay completely healthy all year, and, to do that, he needs to be protected by his line. Bottom line, the team doesn’t seem to have done enough with its offense to get it back to the postseason.
GRADE: C 2009 PROJECTED RECORD: 7-9
posted by The Gryphon at 8:00 AM
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