2010 Philadelphia Eagles Preview

Seeing as I am about to get into some seriously heavy packing and preparation to go to college in the next week, I figured now would be the time to put up an Eagles preview and write the NFL one once I am settled in at school next weekend.

The Philadelphia Eagles are coming into the 2010 season as an incredibly young and different team. Donovan McNabb is a Washington Redskin. Sheldon Brown has been exiled to Cleveland. Brian Westbrook is going to attempt to play a game he thinks is football in San Francisco. Kevin Curtis is off the team. Jeremiah Trotter is yet to sign his yearly contract with the Eagles. In their place, Kevin Kolb is the unquestioned starting QB. Unless Kelley Washington does the unlikely and survives the final cuts, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett, the first of whom was drafted in 2006 and the second of whom signed as an undrafted free agent in 2006 are the oldest WRs on the team. LeSean McCoy is the unquestioned starting running back. Brandon Graham will complement Trent Cole nicely at DE.

They Are Young, But How Good Are They? Even though I mentioned young players in general in the last paragraph, this section is going to focus the Eagles WRs. DeSean Jackson is entering his 3rd year with the Eagles and has already proven he is one of the quickets WRs in the NFL. Jeremy Maclin took a few weeks to get going, but once he did, he proved he can be a starting WR. Jason Avant is the team's most polished WR and arguably the best WR; underrated does not begin to describe Jason Avant. Tim Tebow's former roommate Riley Cooper has been the hands down Eagles Training Camp darling (and not just because he is incredibly good looking). The question can they stay healthy throughout the season? If they do, these WRs, combined with underrated TE Brent Celek, will be a menace to opposing defenses everywhere.

Corn On The Kolb: When Andy Reid drafted Kevin Kolb in the 2nd round of the 2007 Draft, every draft pundit and their brother thought that Andy Reid and the Eagles FO were idiots on crack for selecting not just selecting a QB, but for a selecting this QB, Kevin Kolb, with the likes of John Beck and Trent Edwards still on the board. I have already discussed this QB draft class at length and won't get into it again, but the fact of the matter is Kevin Kolb's passes are crisp and accurate. He may have only started 2 games and came in relief in a close game once, but Kolb has loads and loads of promise. If he plays in the regular season like he has in Training Camp this year and thus far in the pre-season, Kolb is going to be mentioned among the league's top QBs in a short time.

D-FENCE!: Last year the Eagles defense was their major weakness. The Eagles realized that in the off-season and made considerable changes, including trading Sheldon Brown, drafting Brandon Graham with their top pick in the draft, drafting Nate Allen to replace Brian Dawkins, and finding loads of other potential defensive playmakers in the later rounds. Sean McDermott is also entering his 2nd year as defensive coordinator. McDermott took over following the tragic passing of the great Jim Johnson shortly before Training Camp began. To make matters worse for McDermott, the defense was ravaged with injury, with the most notable one being Stewart Bradley injuring his knee at last year's inaugural Flight Night, placing him on the shelf for the entire season. Now that the Eagles have their middle linebacker back, things can only go up from last year. Granted injuries could happen elsewhere, but I really can't stress how key it is to have Stewart Bradley back in the line up.

Wild Dog: Michael Vick is the uncontested back-up QB and will once again likely be asked to contribute to "wildcat" formations and other Andy Reid gadget plays. Last year, the Vick experiment was not a rousing success. This year, Vick is back in football shape. When the Eagles signed Vick, it has become doubtless that this is the year they wanted him for, not 2009. This is the year Vick will have a chance to be an effective part of the offense with gadget plays. He is looking more and more like the pre-prison Mike Vick with each passing day and if Andy Reid uses him right (big if, by the way), he can be a menace for opposing sides.

Is This "The Year?": No. This year is not "The Year." The Eagles will not win a Super Bowl this year. 365 days from now, Andy Reid will still be the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. I expect this year to have ups and downs. Kevin Kolb will do a fine job but at the same time he will be prone to rookie mistakes. After all, he has only started 2 NFL regular season games before. Mistakes will happen. This Eagles team is young, but I fear they are too young to compete with the likes of Indianapolis and New Orleans. Get back to me in a year, and the answer will likely be yes, yes they can compete for the whole thing. But this year, while I think the playoffs are a possibility, I am not putting my eggs in a championship basket.

(Coming up sometime in the next 2 weeks: Full NFL picks, including my pre-season stab at a Super Bowl champion)

Is This The Best The Eagles Wide Receivers Have Been For Quite Some Time?

Obviously, statistically, it is way too early in the season and in the careers of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin to answer that question with a sure-fire yes, but things certainly seem to be looking that way. With Kevin Curtis on the injury, Jeremy Maclin got his chance to shine, and boy did he shine, with 6 receptions for over 100 yeards. Which does beg the question, is this the best looking group of wide receivers the Eagles ever had? From the Philadelphia Inquirer

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said Maclin's emergence resulted from Tampa Bay's coverage on Jackson.

"They rolled the coverage a lot to his side, and you want to get your weapons going," McNabb said. "Teams are going to try to take someone in this offense out of it. They're trying to take DeSean out, and when you give [other] guys an opportunity to make plays for you, I have full confidence that they will."

Jackson may still end up being the featured weapon in the Eagles' offense, but this is the first time in recent years that we've been this far into the season without knowing exactly who will be McNabb's go-to guy.

During the Eagles' 2004 run to the Super Bowl, Owens was the main man, and ever since then it has been running back Brian Westbrook. Teams tried to stop both men, but usually couldn't.

Now, the Eagles have Jackson, Maclin, Westbrook, and tight end Brent Celek, not to mention Michael Vick, rookie LeSean McCoy, and this thing called a Wildcat offense.

Although the Eagles have averaged 31.8 points per game - second best in the NFL - every aspect of the offense hasn't always worked. Sunday, for instance, the Eagles averaged only 2.4 yards per carry on 19 designed rushing plays.

"We need to be more efficient when we do run the football," Reid said.

Westbrook, at least through four games, doesn't appear to be the same force he has been the previous five seasons. He had just eight touches against the Bucs, and it's strange not to see his name among the league leaders in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage. McCoy actually had one more touch than Westbrook.

Long gone are the days of Andy Reid settling for mediocrity at that position by starting guys like Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis, and Reggie Brown who all were a sure fire bet to drop half the balls thrown their way. And even though Jackson and Maclin are doomed to make some mistakes and have some bad plays just because of their age, for once we can say that the potential at the wide out position is there and we may be looking at a couple of Pro Bowlers, a term that has not even come close to describing an Eagles wide receiver since Terrell Owens was here. And while Maclin only got the start because Kevin Curtis was injured, you can bet that if he keeps playing like this, he will be starting on a regular basis soon enough. Also, while Curtis has proven that he is a decent, not great, starting wide receiver, I think he is most dangerous as a 3rd guy, when teams are not paying him much attention. And don't forget about Jason Avant. McNabb likes throwing to him in clutch situations and more often than not, Avant can make the play.

It took him awhile, but Andy Reid has woken up and has finally figured out how to draft offensive players, just look at the running back position as well. Sure, the Eagles have Brian Westbrook, but in the past the Eagles relied on him way too much, and the result is the beaten and broken down man that you see now. This is not the same Westbrook that we saw a 2, 3 years ago, and if I'm a betting man, I don't think that he will ever regain that form. He is not a 30 carry-a-game back, he never was, and the Eagles trying to make him that all but ruined his career. Sure, he'll come in and make a big play every once in awhile, and while I see him as a great change of pace back, I think that in little time, we will be seeing more and more of Shady McCoy, another great find and great draft pick by Andy Reid. Sure he is a little Westbrook-esque, but unlike Brian, Shady is more groomed to be an actual running back, instead of some random dude like Westbrook who lines up out of the backfield, but if more effective catching the ball and bouncing it to the outside rather than running the ball.

And forgotten in all of this is perhaps one of the most underrated tight ends in the NFL, Brent Celek. Eagles tight ends have never gotten any national credit or spotlight, but perhaps if Celek keeps making plays like the one in the video below, he is surely going to get the national recognition he deserves real soon.



It's not everyday that you see someone leapfrog Ronde Barber. And speaking as an Eagles fan, that was just so sweet to watch as countless times in the past, when the Bucs played the Eagles, Ronde Barber has made a big, ginormous play against us that kills our momentum.

Bottom line, regardless of who the quarterback is, if the Eagles can play defense like they know how to play defense, and if Maclin, Jackson, and Celek really emerge as the big go-to targets and stay free of injury, this Eagle team will be in the hunt for the Super Bowl for many years looking down the road. And now just ask yourself, were we really ever saying this about the Eagles during the era of Lewis, Baskett, and Reggie Brown?

The Eagles Have Finally Signed Jeremy Maclin

Well it's about time! As you may or may not have noted, my Eagles preview was typed late last night so I was unable to give you the news that Jeremy Maclin has reached a deal with the Eagles. It is a 5-year contract. CSN Philly has the details.

Late Monday night the Eagles and first-round pick Jeremy Maclin agreed to a five-year deal reportedly worth $15.5 million, $9.5 million of which is guaranteed.

That deal is worth slightly more than the one received by the 20th overall pick, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who according to NFL.com signed a five-year, $14.6 million deal that included $9.4 million guaranteed.

Maclin is the 23rd first-round pick to agree to terms. However, the negotiation process cost him the first 13 practices of training camp, valuable time considering how complicated the offense is for rookies to master.

The wide receiver out of Missouri will be trying to earn playing time in a deep group of receivers led by second-year pro DeSean Jackson along with veterans Kevin Curtis and Jason Avant.

The Eagles also hope Maclin can preserve Jackson by handling the punt return duties.

Didn't we initially get DeSean Jackson for punt returning duties? Amazing the difference that one year makes.

I said this before, but I'll say it again. Jeremy Maclin is a good kid and I am proud to have him with the Eagles, now that he is actually signed with the Eagles. And despite missing practices, Maclin is confident that he can make the time up. Once again via CSN Philly

“I pick up things very easily,” Maclin said. “I think I’m smart and I can do things like that. I’m going to take what I learned in minicamp and hopefully translate it out here.”

In addition to the minicamps, Maclin also participated in Donovan McNabb’s annual camp in Arizona.

“I think not only was it connecting on a football level but also on a more personal level,” Maclin said. “It’s kind of off the radar. You’re kind of out there doing your thing, having fun, joking around, talking to each other but at the same time getting work in.”

Suffice to say, I look forward to Jeremy Maclin being in an Eagles uniform! Actually, I just can't wait to see Eagles uniforms. Period.