2015 Season Win Total - 9
Year In Review: The Philadelphia Eagles had a pretty good 2014. The Eagles came up short of the playoffs, but still looked good overall for the year. Finshing the year with a winning record is something for the Eagles to build on with Coach Chip Kelly. Eagles looked a little better on defense, but the loss of Nick Foles hurt this team in some games. How will the Eagles adjust to all the new players coming and going with this roster this year?
--- 2015 Key Additions:
QB - Tim Tebow
QB - Sam Bradford
CB - Walter Thurmond III
WR - Miles Austin
RB - DeMarco Murray
RB - Ryan Mathews
LB - Brad Jones
LB - Kiko Alonso
CB - Byron Maxwell
(Overview) --- The Eagles looked much better on defense last year from what i saw..They really stepped up in the run defense dept. Keeping the core of the defensive from last year with Kendricks, Logan, Thornton and Cox should be a big help to that unit..With new additions of CB Thurmond and Maxwell, the Eagles should be much better with pass defense...The Eagles really haven't had a great linebacking core and now with Kiko Alonso that may prove to help them in the middle..The loss of Trent Cole may show up at some point, but i believe the Ealges defense will be much better this year.
--- 2015 Key Departures:
LB - Trent Cole
DB - Carey Williams
WR - Jeremy Maclin
RB - Lesaun McCoy
QB - Nick Foles
OG - Todd Herremans
(Overview) --- I really believe the loss of Jeremy Maclin will hurt the passing game..Miles Austin is rather old and his production will not come close to what Maclin did last year..Riley Cooper was really a flash in the pan from what i have seen from him the last two years. The loss of McCoy really hurts the Eagles from having a flashy playmaker. On the flip side of that McCoy would often dance around in the backfield and the defense more often then not would get a hold of him for a loss of yards behind the line...Still, it was Lesaun McCoy and he is one of the leagues best running backs..I have mixed emotions for McCoy. The loss of Herramans might not be all to bad, but the Eagles are a injury or two away on the O-Line for that to really show up. Getting a OG in the draft must be a high priority here for Philly..Swapping Foles for Bradford really didn't do much for an upgrade at that position.The departure of Carey Williams should help the defense. The losses here won't be to noticeable, but Maclin being off the team will show up...Demarco Murray may get the ball way to much this year, and i have some concerns after how much Dallas used him last year. The loss of Trent Cole may show up more in the locker room than on the field..Wait and see approach here.
__________________________________________________________________
2015 Philadelphia Eagles - Schedule
Home:
-
REGULAR
-
1 SEP 14 7:10PMEDT + AT
FALCONS
-
2 SEP 20 4:25PMEDT )
COWBOYS
-
3 SEP 27 1:00PMEDT ) AT
JETS
-
4 OCT 4 1:00PMEDT ) AT
REDSKINS
-
5 OCT 11 1:00PMEDT )
SAINTS
-
6 OCT 19 8:30PMEDT +
GIANTS
-
7 OCT 25 8:30PMEDT ' AT
PANTHERS
**(BYE WEEK) Week 8
-
9 NOV 8 8:30PMEST ' AT
COWBOYS
-
10 NOV 15 1:00PMEST *
DOLPHINS
-
11 NOV 22 1:00PMEST )
BUCCANEERS
-
12 NOV 26 12:30PMEST ) AT
LIONS
-
13 DEC 6 4:25PMEST ) AT
PATRIOTS
-
14 DEC 13 1:00PMEST *
BILLS
-
15 DEC 20 1:00PMEST )
CARDINALS
-
16 DEC 26 8:25PMEST ,
REDSKINS
-
17 JAN 3 1:00PMEST ) AT
GIANTS
(Overview)
With 5 of the first 8 games being on the road i have some serious concerns. Coming back home after the road games is going to be a real challenge for the Eagles all year. The lack of warm weather teams or indoor teams on the Eagles schedule is a bad thing for the second half of the year. The schedule looks to be 50/50 with strong teams and weak teams overall. I see nothing to favor the Eagles with this schedule for this year. They do however get some of the leagues better teams at home.
_________________________________________________________
The Offense : 2014 - Pass 6th / Rush 9th
--- Newly acquired QB Sam Bradford is the "starter" for 2015. Not much of an updrage in my eyes..He has been injury prone and i'm not sold that Chip Kelly will keep Bradford as the starter..Mark Sanchez has been re-signed and with how Chip Kelly wants to run this offense a reach in the draft for Mariota wouldn't be very surprising to me. The signing of Tim Tebow will do nothing for this team from the QB position. Demarco Murray should be a nice back to have on this team as he is more of a north and south type of runner..I still think the WR core is going to suffer this year unless they get a quality WR out of the draft..I really like Jordan Mathews and i can see him becoming the Eagles #1 target this year. The Offensive line should be fine even with the departue of Herramans. Overall it's a work in progress here for Philly...I guess we will wait and see what other tricks Chip Kelly has up his sleeve before we make a solid determination on this Philly offense..At first look it looks to be down from last year.
--- Big key additions with RB Demarco Murray, Miles Austin remains to be seen. Murray ran for a career high last year and with how much the Eagles run the ball he may in fact have another monster year. If Philly is going to use up Murray, now would be the time over the next few years. Tim Tebow should bring a little bit of a circus to this Eagles organization, but i'm not sold on how he will be used for the Eagles Surely a distraction if one of the Eagles QB's go down. Eagles may in fact target a WR in the draft and i think that may help this team out big time if they can get a high profile WR. Overall the Eagles offense will be a work in progress.
--- Not a probowl cast of WR's, but the Eagles have some young talent here to work with. I really like Zack Ertz and Jordan Mathews..Both guys shined at times last year and they will be a big focus for this Eagles offense..With a decling TE Brent Celek i expect Ertz to become a big part of the Eagles offense this year . Ertz caught 58 passes and had 3 td's last year. I think he will eclipse those numbers here in 2015. Riley Cooper slid down from his big year in 2013. Last year he caught 55 passes for only 570yds. I think we see less and less of Cooper this year. Mathews (pictured middle) should be able to fill the hole here with Maclin departing for Kansas City. Mathews looked good last year, but my only concern is who will be throwing Mathews the ball..It's plain as day to see that Mathews is going to be a huge asset to this Eagles team..Is a 1,000 yard season out of the question here for Mathews?....I think not, he should build off his 2014 season of 8td's and almost 900yds..Ceiling is very high for Mathews and he will be needed.
(Area Of Concern) --- Quarterback
I'll be the first to admit this..I have no idea what in the hell Chip Kelly is trying to do here. He took his starting QB out last year because of injury..Nick Foles looked good in a ton of games and really limited his mistakes..Still Foles was injury prone over the last few seasons and it may not have been what Chip Kelly wanted for the future of the franchise..The Signing of Sam Bradford may just blow up in the faces of the Eagles..Bradford has been a injury magnet for years now. I'm not sold one bit that Bradford is the answer here for the Ealges. Matt Barkley may find himself out of an Eagles uniform come roster cut. Tim Tebow may find himself on the outside looking in. How he will be used is still a big question mark if at all..I'm not ruling out hope that Chip Kelly isn't going after Marcus Mariota..No matter what has been said, Chip Kelly is a maniac for offense and would love nothing more than to get Mariota to run this offense.
____________________________________________________________
Key Stats --- (Offense)
Demarco Murray ran for 1,845 yards last year and 13 td's...He had a alarming amount of carries at 392 attempts...Murray only in his 5th season should be in the prime of his career and it's starting to show. I have high hopes for Murray in this offense this year. Murray can also be a good threat out of the backfield in the passing game..Last year he had 57 receptions and 416yds for the Cowboys. I see Murray as a slight upgrade here for the Eagles at the RB position.
The best 3rd down conversion team in the league last year was the Eagles. Recording 103 first downs on 3rd down was a big help to the Eagles success. I think the only direction for them to go is down in this dept, but the Ealges should be able to maintain a quality 3rd down offense again this year.
We all know how many points the Eagles can put up on offense. They ranked 3rd in the league last year at 29.5ppg...This is something Chip Kelly wants and needs to succeed with this team again this year. Eagles on avg had 400ypg on offense.
___________________________________________________________
The Defense : 2014 - Pass 28th / Rush 15th
--- The Eagles look to be all in now on defense. This unit is rather scary if you know the Eagles in a good sense. The Eagles up front are young and athletic. Kendricks is a borderline probowl players and with the new additon of Alonso, Maxwell and Thurmond this defense should be much improved. Alonso is coming off a injury, but reports are he is 100% and ready to roll for 2015. The Eagles pass defense was just down right horrible last year.. After the Eagles got rid of Asante Sameul it really fell on hard times. Now the Eagles backend looks to be one of the leagues better units. High hopes for this Eagles defense this year.
--- I keep hearing chatter about the Eagles moving Kenricks. I can say this may be the worst move of all this offseason. The Eagles would really need to get a high profile player if they even moved him. He has been so high on my radar ever since he left college. He has really stepped up in this league and this may in fact be the year that he really breaks out with this Eagles defense. Fletcher Cox also had a big year last year. I expect him to really cause a ton of havoc here for the Eagles up front again. Thornton (not pictured) has been resigned and he showed he is worth the price tag..This Eagles defensive front will be much improved if Kendricks stays put with this defense.
--- With Cary Williams moving along with his NFL career away from this Eagles defense i see this as a huge help..Williams more often then not was a big liability for the Eagles backend..Sure at times he looked ok, but for the most part Williams got burned for the big play..Earl Wolff (pictured right) will now step in and the Eagles had high hopes for Wollf..This is his 3rd year in the league and coming out of NC St i was happy the Eagles picked him up.Eagles may look to a new safety in the draft though..We will see how this all shakes out for the Eagles in that position... With Maxwell, and Thurmond now in the backend for the Eagles defense Wolff or a new draft prospect should fit right in and become a solid contributor for this eagles defense.
(Area Of Concern) --- Right & Left Outside Linebacker
Connor Barwin will have to show me how good he is this year. I'm not sold on him for the most part. At times in 2014 he really stepped up..His sack total was very impressive with 14.5 sacks. Barwin made some big plays and key stops, but was often out of possition when the Eagles needed him most. Barwin is a high energy type of guy and can really help the outside if he can duplicate last years performance. I just worry it was a flash in the pan. Brandon Graham is a nice player, but i believe the Eagles can upgrade here in this spot. I'm not taking anything away from Graham at all. He was a nice player for the Eagles, but i really think the Eagles can use a high profile OLB in this years draft.
___________________________________________________________
Key Stats 2014 --- (Defense)
The Eagles 3rd down defense was avg at best..They seemed to fold up in the biggest of spots last year..They ranked 17th overall with 3rd down defense. They will improve here for sure this year.
The Eagles had the 2nd ranked defense when it came to sacks..They really got after the Qb last year and i expect the same out of this unit again this year. No team in the league forced more fumbles than the Eagles..A big help last year and if they can match that number of 26 Forced Fumbles the Eagles will be a tough game in and game out.
Giveaway/Takeaway - This was a big area the Eagles feel short in. The offense did this team no favors last year..21 Int's and 15 fumbles really hurt the Eagles on offense. Some of those turnovers really hurt them from getting a few extra wins. I'm not so sure they will improve in the Interception dept, but the fumbles with Murray should be a little better. Eagles finshed -8 last year in this dept.
___________________________________________________________
2015 Draft Positions
Round 1 - (20)
Round 2 - (52)
Round 3 - (84)
Round 4 - (113)
Round 5 - (145)
Round 5 - (156)
Round 6 - (195)
Round 7 - (237)
The Eagles last year in the draft did nothing exciting overall. The lack of starters they got out of lasts year draft is a concern. I believe this year the draft will produce guys ready step in to fill the holes on this Eagles team. WR USC Nelson Agholor is a player the Eagles are really looking strong at..Agholor is a great route runner and he has some great hands..If they Eagles can land Agholor opposite of Mathews, this Eagles passing offense can be dealdy at times this year. Area of concern for the defense can be addressed by picking up another OLB.. Last year the Eagles made a reach with Marcus Smith..Smith played in 8 games last year, but injuries really hurt his stock over all..I think the Eagles may take a look at Alabama Safety Landon Collins.. Even though Wolff is tabbed the starter, Collins if drafted may start for this team this year. OG would be a solid pickup here for the Eagles as well..It's still up in the air of how the Eagles will attack the draft. Chip Kelly rules out all thoughts when it comes to anything with this Eagles franchise right now..I think the Eagles work some magic here and go for a big splash in this years draft.
Mock - USC WR Nelson Agholor
___________________________________________________________
2015 Season Wins (Prediction)
The Eagles defense will be much improved this year. That really was the big problem for the Eagles last year. I think this Eagles defense will be in the top 10 in almost all defensive categories this year. The offense for me is the real issue here. The QB play is going to be the deciding factor for 2015. NFL is now geared for a passing league and you need a bigtime qb. I still feel the Eagles will struggle in the Qb dept this year overall. Eagles made a bunch of coaching changes all over this team for this year. I'm not so sure how that will help or hurt the Eagles. I'm very skeptical right now of the Eagles for 2015. On one hand the draft can help this team. On the other hand the new acquistions will need to help this team. The defense should be much better, but the jury is still out if this Eagles offense can pick up from were it left off. A bunch of question marks surrounding this Eagles team right now.
The WR talent is average right now. Even with Mathews and Cooper the Eagles still lack a big target on offense on the outside. The Eagles will look for a WR in the draft, and they need to get a guy who can step in for Maclin. I still believe they lack some fire power after they let Desaun Jackson go. They need a deep threat speedster who can change a game..I'm not sure they can find that type of guy in this draft with the placement of picks.
The Eagles defense is loaded up with depth. They have plenty of options if they end up with a few injuries this year. The backend for sure needs to stay healthy. The Eagles are deep with guys who can play LB and DE as well. The competition for jobs this training camp should be interesting.
Special Teams for the Eagles overall was ok last year. At times they really shined last year and gave a big boost to the Eagles on offense and defense. Most of the successes came at home for this Eagles special teams unit..Kickoff returns could use some help and i think this year they will be much better.
--- The bottom line is Chip Kelly is a winner. He has been know for his focus on offense and his lack of focus for a defense. It looks like he has changed his mind and understands you need a defense to have success in the NFL. I have no doubt his offense will be exciting this year. I do however question some of the calls he made last year in games. He is still learning how this league works, but overall i like Chip Kelly and this team can surprise this year. i would not rule rule out a struggling year for Philly either.
It's still early for this year's Eagles team. Chip Kelly has looked like a mad scientist at work thus far in Philadelphia. The defense has my hopes high for 2015. The offense i'm not sold on thus far. The schedule looks to be avg, and the Eagles can flourish or struggle. I hate the fact they play 5 of 8 on the road to open up the season. They have no indoor or warm weather teams visiting the linc in late Nov, Dec, or Jan. Arizona will visit late , but that's about it. They do get some of the leagues bests teams at home..The Eagles played very well at home last year. Special teams was a big factor last year and another year of solid special teams is a must. QB position is my most concerned area and i think this is the spot the Eagles will have trouble all year. Trying to find 10 wins on the schedule is tough for me right now. Finding 8 losses is tough as well. I think the Eagles will finsh with a 9 win season this year.
(Philadelphia Eagles) - 9 WINS = PUSH
__________________________________________
Archived TT - Jaguars --> /pregame-forums/f/9/t/1221100.aspx