Eagles NFC East Predictions in 2016
The Philadelphia Eagles (7-9) in 2015 made a litany of off-season additions, acquiring Sam Bradford, Bryon Maxwell, Demarco Murray, Ryan Matthews, and Kiko Alonso, yet failed to lead to expectations in 2015
A fast-pace offense, frenetic practices, sports science, protein smoothies, and sleep patterns appeared to be the impeccable recipe for Head Coach Chip Kelly getting fired last year in just three seasons with the Eagles.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman dragged the Kelly name in the mud by virtually trading away all of the big name players that he inherited in order to move up in the 2016 draft to pick North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz second overall.
Offense: With the inception of the Doug Peterson era as the Eagles head coach, I expect a much more steady offense that will control the time of possession.
Peterson learned the nature of the west coast offense as a player and offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Andy Reid
With the impromptu nature of the Wentz era starting earlier than anticipated due to Bradford being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, there is a jolt of electricity in the city of Philadelphia.
Wentz has all the tangibles from having a strong arm, accuracy, mobility, and playing in pro style offense at NDST. Also the intangibles, such as never receiving anything less than an A in school.
Sounds a lot like Andrew Luck?
But, Wentz's isn't necessarily as much of sure bet, giving the fact he only had one year of experience as a starting quarterback in high school and one and half years of experience in college in FCS (I-AA) to say the least.
The Eagles receiving core is clearly the weakest in the division, anchored by Jordan Matthews who is in dire need of adhesive strips on his gloves.
Nelson Agular who looked more like a peasant than a first round pick in his rookie campaign and Josh Huff, who not only has a case for the drops but is better suited for special teams.
However, at times Matthews did look more like Jerry Rice's cousin in the slot, finishing with 85 receptions, 997 yards and 8 touchdowns last season.
Correction, more like diet Jerry Rice.
I'm mostly excited about the addition of Dorial Green-Beckham from the Titans. Green-Beckham could potentially be the steal of 2016, standing at 6 feet 6 inches, running a 4.49 40-yard dash time, he poses as a legit deep and red-zone threat.
On the ground, Ryan Mathews who won the starting running back job over Murray in 2015 I think will have another strong season with a mix of Darrin Sporles and Kenjon Barner.
The addition of guard Brandon Brooks will bolster up the Eagles injury prone offensive from last year.
However there are questions marks if right tackle Lane Johnson will be suspend, who faces a ten game suspension due to his second violation related to PED use.
Defense: With hiring of Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the Eagles will convert from a 3-4 defensive scheme to a 4-3 scheme.
The new additions of hard hitting safety Rodney McLeod and cornerback Ledois McCelvin should improved that rather septic secondary that finished 28th in pass defense last year.
2015 Pro Bowler Fletcher Cox signed the second richest deal for a defensive player in NFL history worth 6-years 103 million dollars (63 million guaranteed).
Although Schwartz's 4-3 scheme depends more on coverage sacks than a bevy of blitz packages, I expect Cox to flourish and an increase in his sack count, for he was able to get 9.5 sacks as a 2-gap interior lineman in a 3-4 scheme in 2015.
Just imagine how many sacks he can get with the responsibility of having to attack just one gap in a 4-3 scheme?
Pro bowler Malcolm Jenkins, Michael Kendrick, and Jordan Hicks, who looked to be the MVP of the defense before his torn pectoral that ended his season in week 8 will look to be the other impact players of this improved defense.
I expect the Eagles defense to be drastically better than last year and maybe finish aa a top-10 defense in the NFL.
In short, the Eagles are still in rebuild mode, for I think this will be a year for Wentz to be competitive, yet he will hit speed bumps as he learns the speed and the complexities of NFL defenses as many rookie quarterbacks do.
Despite the Eagles defense being more improved than last year, they are lacking a proven number one cornerback.
PREDICTION: With the NFC East being what it is, I do expect the Eagles to be competitive in most games, finishing second in the NFC East with a 10-6 record this season