Last week, the Birds were outplayed by both the offensive and defensive lines of the Detroit Lions. It wasn’t a shock that the Eagles lost the game because they know you win or lose games in the National Football League on the offensive and defensive lines. This is the reason the Eagles have spent so many of their top draft picks on offensive and defensive linemen. Still, right now, they’re not getting the job done. If the lines don’t improve immediately, the Birds won’t beat the undefeated Atlanta Falcons.
For the last three games, the Birds haven’t been able to register a single sack. I would shake things up by starting Darryl Tapp and Phillip Hunt or Brandon Graham. They’ve got to get the attention of veterans Trent Cole and Jason Babin because they haven’t gotten the job done lately. Neither Cole nor Babin was a factor against the Lions, who single blocked the two veteran defensive ends, while throwing the ball play after play in their comeback win. This pair must be more productive or this team will be kept out of the playoffs.
At the defensive tackle position, there have been numerous reports that veteran Mike Patterson will return to practice today. Patterson could help the play of the team’s defensive tackles. Veteran Cullen Jenkins hasn’t been doing much, so I would consider sitting him down. Derek Landri seems to be laboring with a leg injury, so he needs to be replaced.
I would like to see Fletcher Cox and Cedrick Thornton be the third down pass rushers. Cox has been their best defensive tackle so far and Thornton seems to be doing the best job as a pass rusher next to Cox.
Eagles offensive line coach Howard Mudd must find a way to help the middle of the Birds offensive line play better. They were absolutely horrible in their battle with the Lions. The Detroit defensive tackles were five yards into the offensive backfield when the ball was handed to LeSean McCoy. Center Dallas Reynolds, left guard Evan Mathis and right guard Danny Watkins must get better or get replaced.
Right tackle Todd Herremans hasn’t played his best football and was beaten for a sack on a key play in overtime. Left tackle Demetress Bell needs help blocking the better defensive ends in the league.
Mudd must do whatever is necessary to improve their play and that should include allowing them to use techniques other than his. Offensive linemen who are quick and athletic tend to be very good in Mudd’s system, but the Eagles best athletes, Jason Peters and Jason Kelce, on the offensive line are injured. Mudd can’t continue to coach this offensive line like two of his best offensive linemen are still there.
The same is true for the way offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg calls the plays. They’ve got to be more balanced with the running game and they must stay away from the seven-drop pass routes. This offensive line can’t hold their blocks for the deep throws, so the Birds must go to maximum protection for these plays.
The Eagles offensive has just disappeared into to Fat air. And until Andy Reid is removed, things will not get better.
It’s amazing to me that in 2 Years time when Washbuyrn and Mudd came in an took over as DL and OL Coaches and and get players that fit their “mold”, that the Line of scrimmage has been lost and even not competitive in many games.. Remember, many of these players are “Washburn’s and Mudd’s” Players..
OMG you are so correct broski.. I second that. Juan had those boys playing. I always said little people should not be linemen. it only worked Once withMudd and Vick isnt a pocket QB like Manning, Andy needs to go. HE is embarrassing us out there. Its not even cool to be a Eagles fan it has become one LIe after another.
This is why I don’t like the extended big contracts for ever since both Trent Cole and TOdd HErremans go those nice deals, their Plays has taken a dive…
figure 4-5 Good years out of the Player and that’s it and move on to the next one.. Both Cole/Herremans are past their Football Primes and will see their play drop off as they goet older, they have played a lot of snaps…
DE Jason Babin is a waste of the DE.. I would play him on passing downs only for about 20 snaps a game and he would end up with the same production and is not an everydown DE in the NFL.. He sucks versus the run and does nothing else and if he can’t get to the QB, then he’s a big liability which some of us have been saying for a while now..
Paulman..I will give you credit ! ….You always bring a different argument
NFC East Rankings
Best QB
#1) GIants and Eli
#2) Redksins with RGIII
#3) Cowboys with Romo
#4) Eagles with VIck
RB’s as a Group
#1) Giants #2) Redskins #3) Cowboys & #4) Eagles
(I believe McCoy is the best RB in the Division, but the other 3 teams have deeper and more production from their RB Corps than the Eagles
WR as a Group
#1) Giants (Cruz,Nicks,Hixon,Randle and Barsden are heads above better)
#2) Cowboys (Austin,Bryant, Ogletree are pretty explosive)
#3) Redksins (GArcon,Moss,Hankerson and Josh Morgan and Armstong)
#4) Eagles (D-Jax and Maclin, then who ?? Avant,Cooper,Johnson,GIlyard.. are you kidding me, who do they scare..)
TE’s as a Group
#1) Cowboys with Whitten and Phillips
#2) Giants with M Bennet and B Pascoe
#3) Redskins with Fred Davis (now lost for the Season & N Paulsen)
**Chris Cooley just resigned since Fred DAvis is lost for the Season which is a huge injury for the Redksins***
#4) Eagles with Celek and no-where man C Harbor
Offensive Lines
#1) Giants – Are tough, play hurt and even out of position but still keep Eli Clean for the most part
#2) Redskins – Have improved big time over the last 2 Seasons thanks to good Coaching and some nice Draft Selections
#3) Cowboys – Have All-Pro at LT Tryon SMith and a bunck of Blue Collar types who are coached by excellent OL Coach Bill Callahan who used to coach the JET OL and The raiders before that.. Bill callahan was not a very good HC but the OL is his Specialty and he has the Cowboys OL playing better and better as the Season goes along which is always a sign of good Coaching while the Eagles play has gotten worse and worse which tells me poor Coaching, Schemes or Execution or poor Talent and combination of all 3 …
one thing to remember as well, the NFC East has fallen behind the NFC North (Packers,Bears, dangerous Lions and improving Vikings) and even the NFC West (49ers,Seahawks,Cardinals & even the Rams have all improved with young talent and good Coaching Staffs that are not has-beens or at ther end of their Careers.. and then even take a look at the NFC South where Falcons are tough and well-coached and I am sure the NO Saints are going to make noise by seasons end after the crazy off-season they have had and even the TB Bucs are moving in the right direction as a Franchise with good young talent and some good young,agressive Coaching..
When you guys and the media talk about playoffs or a SUper Bowl contendor, I just have to laugh for the Eagles are probably not even a Top 10 Team in the NFC COnference anymore.. You guys need to wake up and smell the Coffee, this Eagles Team is not as Talented as many of you think..call me a hate ror a debbie downer, fine, But I will continue to call them as I see them and this Franchise is in decline (and has been for 3-4 Years now) and is still treading water.. Take RB McCoy off this Offense and they will struggle to score 13-14 POints a Game..
Crystal Ball time
NYG are 5-2. Eagles 2 back at 3-3.
If Giants go 5-4 over their remaining 9, then Birds need to go 7-3 over their last 9…just to be tied at 10-6 each…so it looks difficult for the Birds to win the division.
Wildcard race
Minny 5-2
GB 4-3
Arizona 4-3
Seattle 4-3
Philly 3-3
Dallas 3-3
Personally I think Ariz is going to fall of because they have a worse QB (Skelton) and Oline than the Eagles.
That being said I can’t see how the Eagles are going to catch GB who is turning it on and playing complete “FU replacement refs”, mode right now(and has Jax, Ariz, and Det coming up for a probable 7-3…..
or Minny…who has a free win coming up hosting TB on Thursday…that’ll put them at 6-2
So that leaves the Birds battling for the final spot with Seattle and Dallas…with NO one back (and hosting the suddenly very important Monday night game vs the Birds in 2 weeks)
Here’s how I think it plays. Reid will not start Foles in a big game vs Falcons. And no way a rook gets a first start on Monday night in the superdome either.
But if Birds lose both (or even if they split) the season will be slipping awya and Foles will be named starter for home game against struggling Dallas….in fact that’s the perfect time…with 5 cupcake Ds in a row (Dall, Wsh, Car, Dall, TB) to get a rookie acclimated to the NFL……
Onto Defenses
Best DL
#1) Giants no doubt
#2) Cowboys
#3) Eagles (fading fast)
#4) Redksins (Rising and about the pass teh Eagles even with Orapko/Carrington out for the Season)
Best LB’s
#1) Cowboys (S Lee & Bruce Carter make a formable inside Duo and are both young and should be mainstays for the next 6-8 Seasons
#2) Gaints ( M Boley having an All-Pro Season, Keith Rivers has played well when healthy but has missed his share of time
#3) Eagles ( D Ryans has played well and consistent Football, Kendrikcs has a lot of upsdie but needs to be a little more consistent.. the other spot is invisiable and very little production though Akeem JOrdon played well last week
#4) Redskins (Fletcher is another year older and Ryan Kerrigan is basically a pass-rusher from the OLB Position.. The other 2 LB’s are young and inconsistent
Secondaries
#1) GIants – I give edge to Giants for their Safety play
#2) Cowboys – CB’s Carr and Claiborne are best CB duo in the NFC East
#3) Eagles – CB’s are good, but Asmo gets beat easily on Deep Routes and makes average WR’s into All-Rpo’s.. Eagles Safety play is average at best
#4) Redskins – Have a mess with their Secondary, probably the worst in the NFC right now and not a lot of young talent either..
SPecial Teams
#1) GIants by far, they have the best Kicker (Tynes) and Punter (Weatherford) and probably the best Returnman in Rookie RB David WIlson #2) Cowbys have Punt Returner Dez Bryant and KO Returnman Felix Jones
#3) Redksins have Punt Returner Brandon Banks, and the reliable Santana Moss but have gone thru 2 FG’s alreadt this Season
#4) Eagles have a solid Kicker and Punter, but lousy Returnmen in Boykin and Danrius Johnson who are just both overwhelmed at the NFL Level and played scared which you cannot do in the NFL.. Their COverage Teams have even been worse.. For a Roster full of Great SPecial Team PLayers that we’ve heard over the years, they sure don’t play that well on the phone..
I keep hearing names like Dion Lewis, C Harbor,R Cooper,Danrius Johnson,Curtis Marsh, Colt Anderson,Kurt Coleman,Akeem Jordan, Jamar Cheney, MAtthews and I’ve seen my local 130LB Township Team have better coverages than these supposed Professionals …
Who Bobby April has keep his job as one of the highest paid Special Teams Coach in the NFL is beyond me.. another travesty by Coach AR & GM Roseman..
To VInnie,
Playoff Race,
I would not discount the 2-4 NO Saints at all
I believe the Cardinals and Eagles are the Teams that will fade as the Season progrosses while Teams like the Bears,VIkings,Seahawks,Packers and Saints get stronger.. I actually have more upside for the Redskins and TB Bucs than I do with the Eagles & Cowboys chances for a strong finish.
If Eagles drop the next 2 or even split, < I think they are toast as far a playoff team.. Only the NFC East WInner is likely to make the Playoffs this year and I have the Eagles as the 4th Rated Overall Team in the NFC East this year
lol your rankings are all kinds off idiotic paulman. get real dude
@ Paul – I was saying all offseason that Babin was a fraud, and that the league would catch up to what his strength was…..He and Trent Cole Both look like they should be coming off the bench….18 sacks was just a lucky aberation, and in the past he will never duplicate that……Ditto Evan Mathis, whom I said was ot really worth a big contract.
The offensive line should be a major focus for the upcoming offseason….
1. DJ Fluker OT/OG Alabama 6-5 345 1st Round
2. Larry Warford – OG – Kentucky 6-3 340 2nd/3rd Round
3. Travis Fredrick – OG/C- Wisconsin 6-4 338 2nd/3rd Round
Big, Strong, Physical Offensive line man with decent speed
My Rankings were spot on Mhenski
This Eagle Team is Overrated like most things in Philly anymore..
Once Again another blunder from AR bringing in HM…when the eagles and AR made this decision to go to a smaller line they have been ovepowered from day one. AR should have kept JC as his offensive line coach and stuck to the massive offensive line they had in past years. To make that type of change especially when your QB cannot read blitz or coverages was a huge mistake that is hurting the Eagles severly right now. Blow this coaching staff up!!! and get some new leadership in Philadelphia ASAP.
This is for paulman and your rankings for offense and defense.
I am not sure if you are going off of pure production for this year, or taking past and present into it.
I will be giving a bit of both, while making production this year to be the most important.
And to make it simple, think about it this way, who would you take if you are building a team right now.
QB
The only thing I would change is put vick ahead of Romo, but vick, romo, rgIII are relatively close to each other. If vick cut down on the turnovers he would above RGIII, play offs is a different beast though and vick being a veteran would give him an edge.
1. NYG
2. Vick and RGIII
4 Romo
RB
Simply ask yourself, if you were starting a team which group would you take. I don’t care if their 3rd is better than our 3rd. My 1st is getting 85% of the work load.
When you taking out scheming (bc shaman can make any rb into a 1000 yard runner) I go
1. Eagles
2. Dallas
3. Nyg
4. Was
WR
Your 1 and 2 are a lot more important then 4 and 5, once again 123 see the field 85% of the time
1. Nyg
2. Philly
3. Dallas (don’t give me Bryant is explosive the guy drops ball after ball)
4. Was
TE.
The redskins just singed cooley off the street and you are putting him above celek??? I know celek isn’t having a strong year this year, but witten is having an off year as well.
1. Dallas (mostly bc of who witten has been for the last 10 years)
2. Eagles
3. Nyg
4. Was
O-line
We have the worst offensive line in the league right now. I think mudd can turn this group into a middle of the pack oline, but right now, it hurts my eyes to watch them on Sundays.
Defense
DL
Its very hard to compare 3-4 and 4-3 lines and lbs. you have to compare them as a full unit. 3-4 focus more on their lbs while 4-3 focus on their line.
Compared to the giants we have a slightly better lb core and worse line.
As a unit I would go
1. Cowboys
2. Giants
3. Eagles
4. Redskins
CB
The only reason you are making secondary’s a unit instead of separating them is bc you don’t want the eagles to be #1 in any of your rankings.
1. Eagles- don’t tell me dallas is better. I would take drc over carr, and nnamdi over Claiborne
And watch a little film, nnamdi does get beat, but not a lot. Most of the time when it looks like he is getting beat he is guarding the bottom route not the top, its not his responsibility on the play
2. Dallas
3. Nyg
4. Was
Safties
Horrible safeties. The only reason collemen has a job is bc we don’t have anyone to take his spot.
Special teams.
Again one of the worst. coverage teams and return teams. Our kicker Is the only thing that is giving it life.
The eagles have a very talented roster, (yes i know talent does not win super bowls), but they have a lot of room to grow.
At the end of last year we had a good enough team to make a run at the super bowl.
This year, our D has significantly improved even though we cant get any pressure. With bowls calling plays, we will continue to improve. Disguising covers, good blitz plays, good schemes to get cole and babin off blocks . And watch cox and graham start by the end of the year, they are playing to well to not get starts.
Mudd was able to turn around last years oline to get them to play very well at the end of the year, granted they had a lot more talent, but i think he can get us up to an average line.
It come back to vick. We dont need him to be a superstar. We need him to play like he did last year (with this years 4th quarter drives).
I know thats a lot of stuff, but its doable stuff, and stuff that can get us to a super bowl
Paul u gotta be on drugs ranking giants secondary best in the east, eagles rbs are worst in the east, red skins wr ahead of eagles, redskins te ahead of Philly and how you talk about lbs and don’t mention ware is beyond me.
After watching the Bears continuosly pummel and harass Stafford and watching the Eagles get 0 sacks for 3 straight weeks. Yeah Juan should of been fired. I get pissed everytime Stafford is getting pressure.
Been a while…Crazy ideas only right? Wing T/Split T/Shotgun T with Havili, McCoy, Jackson or Brown in the backfield/off line, Maclin split w Celek and Harbor in blocking or as decoys.
Brought it up for commentary..willing to discuss