Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Preview

Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Preview

As the saying goes: the game is played on the field, not on paper.

If there ever was a team that looked great on paper but didn’t reciprocate with the Championships, it would be the Philadelphia Eagles. NFL odds makers know that they haven’t been short on regular season wins this decade but have never won a Super Bowl. Coming close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades, so if the Eagles want to win it all they’ll have to fix their short yardage game and be more of a threat in the redzone, both could be fixed with smarter play calling.
Off-season Transactions

The Eagles did some renovations in the off season, which should have plenty of fantasy implications. They upgraded their offensive line by acquiring Jason Peters and Stacy Andrews, but they will take some time to gel. The Eagles added some offensive depth in the draft with first-round pick Jeremy Maclin and second-round pick LeSean McCoy, but their most underrated acquisition might be fullback Leonard Weaver, who can help in their areas of need in the red zone and 3rd and shorts.

The media is making Michael Vick out to be the greatest weapon the Eagles picked up, but we are still waiting on a decision on when he can play in the regular season; rumors are that the Commissioner will announce a decision on Monday.
The Eagles lost quite a bit on defense, including safety Brian Dawkins and cornerback Lito Sheppard. The balance on this team has clearly shifted to the offense. Nonetheless, the Eagles are the sportsbook favorite to win the NFC so they view the changes as positive.

Offense

The Birds have one of the most talented offenses in the NFL but the problem is the coaching staff. Andy Reid and Marty Mornigweg continually choose the pass over the run, which simply fails to bring the proper balance. The Eagles were horrible in short yardage situations last year and unless they run the ball with more frequency throughout the year, they’ll find it hard to find a rhythm.

Michael Vick will add the Wildcat flavor to this offense but several members of the offense have already complained that the Wildcat throws the offense out of sync – including Donovan McNabb. There appears to be some friction between the two quarterbacks and how to divide the playing time. Having McNabb on the field to block seems pointless, same with having Vick line up as a receiver. Gridiron Experts has more faith in the leagues top defensive coordinators than a circus offense like the Wildcat, we believe it will be scratched out of many play books by December.

Defense

The typically strong Eagles defense is a wait and see on how they’ll respond after the passing of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. Johnson was the genius behind the Eagles high-pressure schemes but now Sean McDermott takes over. There will be a drop-off.

On top of the Eagles personnel losses in the off-season, the team also suffered a big blow when leading tackler Stewart Bradley tore his ACL and was lost for the year. That’s a lot of defense to lose. Most NFL predictions have this defense finishing in the Top 10 again, but those losses are significant enough to drop them to middle of the pack.

Outlook

The Eagles look good on paper but that might be where it ends. While most people criticize the Arizona Cardinals for getting hot at the end of the season and making a late playoff run, the Eagles were very mediocre in November, especially after they played to a tie with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Eagles could be good if they ran the ball more and if their defense holds up, but until we know the answers to those questions, we can’t seriously back them on the Super Bowl odds.

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