***The Eagles finished 2016 with a final record of 7-9....At times the Eagles were good and at times they looked really bad. I'm a bit more optimistic on the Eagles this season though...Little bit of a twist for Philadelphia this year though with my thoughts.
The Offense:
The offense will be better this year for sure....Philly has a QB who looks like he can play at this level...Wentz showed last year that he has the arm and accuracy needed to compete at this level. My only real concern for him is the sophomore slump..I think he will be fine though with the weapons he has on the outside and behind him...RB area is a bit of competition right now....When you look at the players the Eagles have at the RB position it's kinda scary talented. Fact is they have more than enough and only a few are going to get chosen at that spot. I do however think the Eagles will use the rookies in certain areas to help this team...Talent level for the Eagles might be one of the best in the league..How they use it is another question...LeGarrett Blount comes over from the Patriots, but I have concerns with him. Patriots decided to dump on Blount and that alone is a concern....He can prove to be a good short yardage back though....The speed the Eagles have with Smallwood, Clement, Pumphrey, Marshall is scary...I can see the Eagles opening up some roster spots and using these guys in certain areas...Still have Sproles and he is a veteran with talent as well...The Eagles offense is going to be a mystery..No matter who makes the team and plays, the Eagles will be a back field that's looked at hard by defensive coordinators with the weeks preparations.
Wide Receiver area is rather deep as well...Alshon Jeffrey makes the move from Chicago to Philly...I think he will fit in well here in Philadelphia....The cold weather won't hurt him by any means..Biggest issue with him is health...If he can play every game, the Eagles have a shot to turn some heads...Torrey Smith comes in as well and he picks up maybe the #2 WR spot...I'm not much of a believer in him and have seen this act before from the Eagles...Smith just doesn't do it for me...Jordan Mathews will be in the slot and he and Wentz have developed some chemistry...Agholar is on his way out if he doesn't produce every time he is on the field...Eagles now have Treggs, Hollis, Johnson and a few others...I won't be shocked if we even see Pumphrey at some point in the next year or two playing some slot as well.....TE belongs to Zach Ertz...He is one of the better TE's in the league and Wentz looked for him often last year...Brent Celek is past his prime and I think he will see limited action and catches this year....Trey Burton might be the 2nd option for Wentz and the Eagles as the season moves along..
O-line is slightly above average...They have some guys that have some talent and career starts as a group together...Health is my big issue...I seen the Eagles O-Line guys go down time after time for just normal bumps and bruises during a game....I think the Eagles have some good depth with the O-line however which will help when Jason Peters falls over from the wind...Overall the Eagles O-line will be slightly above average again, but nothing special.
The Defense:
The defensive line is the strength of the Eagles...I actually expected them last year to be one of the better units in the league...They have talent, but last year it really didn't translate to the field...I still feel the same way with the Eagles defensive front this year...I think they will be one of the better units in the league...I have them as an above average group....The LB core is solid with the names they have, how they use them is another story...I think the LB core will be good...Secondary has been an issue for Philadelphia it seems like for the last 10 years...I like the players they have and I'm upgrading them this year to average...The defense has enough youth and names to be pretty good...Something seems to happen year in and year out with teh defense that it starts to fall on it's face...I think its a combination of health, coaching and holes that really need to be filled...I think Philly is ironing that out though this year..Experience and depth is going to be a big help for the Eagles defense this year..I won't be shocked if they sit int eh top 5 in some defensive categories...I don't see them at the bottom in defensive categories in any area..That's a good sign for this unit coming into 2017.
The Schedule:
Week 1 - @ Washington Redskins
Week 2 - @ Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3 - VS. New York Giants
Week 4 - @ San Diego Chargers
Week 5 - VS. Arizona Cardinals
Week 6 - @ Carolina Panthers
Week 7 - VS. Washington Redskins
Week 8 - VS. San Francisco 49ers
Week 9 - VS. Denver Broncos
Week 10 - BYE
Week 11 - @ Dallas Cowboys
Week 12 - VS. Chicago Bears
Week 13 - @ Seattle Seahawks
Week 14 - @ LA Rams
Week 15 - @ New York Giants
Week 16 - VS. Oakland Raiders
Week 17 - VS. Dallas Cowboys
****This schedule won't be very kind for the Eagles...Opening up on the road to start the season out even in Washington will be tough...Home openers for teams are usually never easy games to steal...Then to head on the road to KC after KC opens up the season with a likely loss to the Patriots doesn't help the Eagles out much at all...They can be 1-1 or 0-2 heading into week 3....Eagles open up the season at home in Weeks 3, but it's against the Giants...That's going to be a tough game for Philly, but they can win it as easy as they can lose..Home opening games in Philly are usually a zoo...Then travel to San Diego week 4...They probably win this game, but it won't be a walk in the park...I think this game actually hurt Philly the following week as they face the Cardinals at home....Arizona could start the season 0-3 and looking for a second consecutive win if they beat the 49ers at home prior to this game in Philly...It sets up for an interesting game and could be dagger for both teams if they lose depending on how the first 4 weeks pan out...After that game they head to Carolina for a Thursday night game...Road teams usually don't fair well in these game off a tough game..Philly has that issue here I believe...Panthers on the other hand get stuck in a brutal sandwich spot...Two road games for Carolina before this game in a row and two road games after this one....Early in the season, but the Panthers will need this game for sure under the bright lights...Philly will show up, but my feeling is they lose this game......Week 7 and 8 for Philly should result in wins facing the Redskins and 49ers both at home....Week 9 will be a tough test and a game the Eagles will need, but they go into the bye week facing Denver.....Lucky for the Eagles this will be the Broncos 3rd road game in a row, and the Broncos will lose a day as well playing the Monday before....Week 10 has the Eagles on a BYE and they will need it after the first half of the season...I think the BYE week comes to them at a good time...The first half of the season I can see the Eagles going 5-3......The 2nd half of the season is a different story for me though....They come out of the Break in Week 11 and travel to Dallas....Cowboys will need this game coming off two games they could potentially lose...Week 11-13 is the Cowboys sweet spot in the schedule...They will be primed for the Eagles on Sunday night football...I think Philly drops this game.....Then at home for the Bears who will be pesky for sure...It's a key look ahead game for Philly as they will be heading on the road for 3 games with a Sunday Night showdown in Seattle in prime time....I still think Philly wins this game, but it's not that easy of a win.....Week 13-15 the Eagles are on the road for 3 straight games...I think they can lose all 3 of them...They get the Rams Week 14, but it's a sandwich spot for Philly having just played Seattle and then have to travel to the Giants....It's just a tough spot for the Eagles with these 3 games on the road...They finish up at home, but it's against the Raiders and Cowboys.....Now most think Oakland and Dallas will be in the playoffs...These game might not mean anything or they might mean everything...If Philly is sitting on the brink of the playoffs, these games will be interesting, but if the Eagles need to win both and get help, they will lose both...These two games really decide if this ticket cashes IMO...Philly gets the benefit of not playing teams coming out of the bye...That's a big help for them.
Season Prediction:
I see a bunch of positives for the Eagles this year...I also see a few negatives...I see more positives though for sure....A key concern for me is the moving parts of this team...They have a wide variety of talent on both sides of the ball...I think they have a ton of depth and good players will be filling in or end up sitting because of the depth....I'm not a big fan of moving in and out weapons on the outside and behind Wentz...He really needs some type of consistent role from those guys week in and week out...Philly has made some changes and it really changes the timing and depth chart from last year...Philly still has a ton of players that need to prove themselves...I think we see that over the course of the year though....Health will be an issue and this year it will hurt the Eagles...I see guys on this roster that just flake out and go down for no reason..I also see a few guys they need to step up that had health issues in the past...Not to mention some of the veterans, are beyond age and some guys are really small period...I see this being an issue for Philly at times..Nothing they can't get through, but it might cost them a game or two this season....Defense will be good and I'm looking at them Eagles defense to keep them in a bunch of games and pushing them to some wins...Special teams I'm not that high on..I don't like the PK at all and he will shank a few...I know he had a better year last year, but that was last year...The schedule is very tough IMO...We went over the entire thing and teh 1st half is the area when the Eagles need to grab wins...I'm not sure this roster can pull together that quick to win the tough games at home and the road games also...The 2nd half of the season after the BYE week is going to be very tough...If Philly has gelled into a good team in all areas, it's possible they sneak a few more wins out....I still feel they are young and inexperienced....Its starts with the QB....Wentz is still young and the offense has a ton of moving parts...I don't trust the health of the Eagles and the defense will need to play very good week in and week out....The BYE week comes at a good time and avoiding BYE teams will help them...I see the Eagles being very good once they go through the draft next year...Philly IMO will be a playoff team next year and for a few years after...Right now it's about building this roster and trying to hold on to some of the veterans who are talented with some years left..Also the grooming process of Wentz needs another year..Tough division as always and the schedule of teams looks overloaded with potential playoff teams...My guess is the Eagles finish the year 8-8....An improved record, but I think we actually see a much improved Eagles team talent wise...It's just going to be the drops or mental errors that cost Philly some much needed games.....Philly is on the rise and I'm usually critical of the Eagles...I give them a fair shot of hitting maybe 9 games at best, but my gut feeling is they win 8 games this year....I cant see them winning 7 or winning 9.....8-8 looks really solid to me.
Philadelphia Eagles - UNDER 8.5...........THIS LINE IS NOT OUT.....It's trending to 8.5 though...If it comes up, it's a play...If not I will pass on the 8(-140) wager.....I see no value playing under 8 at all...Wait for 8.5 or move on to the next wager.