2013 Eagles Midseason Grades

After the Eagles played through the first four games of the season, I looked at the coaching staff and each position and assigned them a grade. Four more games have gone by, and the Eagles have now played out half of their 2013 schedule.

In the paragraphs below, I’ll go through each position again and look at how the different facets of the team have improved or regressed over the last month.

Coaching Staff

Chip Kelly: Eight games into the season, Kelly still hasn’t exactly done much to impress me or ease my doubts about his chances for long-term success.

Kelly’s game management has been nothing short of atrocious in the last two games.

The decision to kick a 60-yard field goal against Dallas with 14 seconds left and one timeout was a complete embarrassment. Kelly tried to justify his decision by stating that Alex Henery had been hitting kicks from that distance in pregame warmups, but no rational coach can take pregame warmups seriously. What Kelly failed to understand was the simple idea that in pregame warmups, there’s no opposing players out there trying to rush the kick, and there’s absolutely no mental pressure on a kicker.

As if the that weren’t bad enough, Kelly’s half-baked scheme left the Cowboys with the ball at midfield with nine seconds left and a golden opportunity to complete a pass, get into field goal range, and call timeout before the quarter ended.

Kelly also completely botched last week’s game against the Giants. There was some absolutely absurd playcalling, including asking rookie quarterback Matt Barkley to rollout and try to throw for a touchdown on first goal at the two-yard line with over a minute remaining in the half. Barkley ended up fumbling the ball away and Kelly’s foolish decision to put the ball in the hands of his third-string quarterback instead of his Pro Bowl running back on the goalline cost his team an invaluable opportunity to score seven points.

Is this the kind of “innovative” and “creative” thinking that the Eagles thought they were signing up for?

Kelly’s in-game decisions have been shortsighted, poorly executed, and they’re greatly contributing to losses. The gameday coaching in the last two games has been just as bad (if not entirely worse) than what we saw from Andy Reid during his final years in Philadelphia.

There’s been very little creativity in the offensive gameplans. Kelly seems married to the shotgun and refuses to use any traditional running plays out of the I-formation with a fullback involved. The tight ends continue to be underutilized, and the head coach’s offense has generated a measly three points in the last eight quarters.

That’s a step back, not a step forward.

First Quarter Grade: C–

Second Quarter Grade: D+

Billy Davis

The improvement of the defense has been the silver lining of the Eagles’ current losing streak.

The Eagles’ defense looked as though it was destined to be one of the worst in the business through the first four weeks, but over the last month they’ve begun to take some steps in the right direction.

The performances against Dallas and New York have been particularly encouraging. Davis held the opposing offenses to 17 and 15 points respectively.

Tony Romo and the Dallas offense is potent and explosive, and holding a talented group of receivers like Dez Bryant, Terrence Williams, and Jason Witten in check is an impressive feat for any defense.

The defense is still giving up big chunks of yards, but they’re tightening up once they get to the redzone. They forced the Giants to settle for five field goals last week. In

I’m still no more sold on Billy Davis as defensive coordinator than I was at the beginning of the season. It takes a lot more than just a pair of solid outings for me to believe that a defense that looked woefully bad through the first four games of the season is suddenly over all of their previous issues.

Just think back to last season when even Juan Castillo’s defense looked as though it was improving after starting the season with two solid performances against the Browns and Ravens. True colors always bleed through, and it remains to be seen if the improvement we’ve seen is legitimate or just a tease.

But for the time being, give credit where credit is due. The Eagles defense came up with five turnovers in two weeks to help beat the Giants and Buccaneers, and then saved Chip Kelly from complete humiliation by keeping the team in their games against Dallas and New York. That’s a big step forward from the wretched performances from the first four weeks of the season.

First Quarter Grade: F

Second Quarter Grade: B

Quarterbacks

Quarterback play has been all over the map during the last month. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly from all three Eagles quarterbacks.

Michael Vick was playing a decent game in Week 5 against New York before injuring his hamstring. Vick had several big runs in the game, and helped the Eagles generate 16 points in the first half before leaving the game. Vick missed the next two weeks, and returned to play poorly in the first half of the rematch with the Giants before reinjuring his hamstring and leaving the game.

Nick Foles picked up a win in relief of Vick against the Giants, throwing for 197 yards and two touchdowns to help the Eagles come from behind in the second half. Foles turned in a great performance a week later in Tampa Bay, throwing for just under 300 yards and accounting for four touchdowns.

However, the second year quarterback fell back down to earth with an awful showing against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7. Foles missed open receivers throughout the game, and passed for just 80 yards before leaving with a concussion.

Matt Barkley had a rough debut against Dallas, tossing three interceptions in just one quarter of action. He looked better the following week against the Giants, throwing for 158 yards and avoiding interceptions, but also lost a critical fumble at the end of the first half on a play that he should have just thrown the ball away.

I went with a C+ for this group, although the quarterback position has been such a mixed bag in the last four weeks, that its tough to settle on an appropriate grade. Nick Foles was a major reason that the Eagles came away with wins against New York and Tampa, and yet he was perhaps the most guilty party in the loss to Dallas. You can’t be too hard on the rookie Barkley, who has been pressed into action out of necessity despite the fact that he really isn’t ready to play yet. And Michael Vick just hasn’t played enough to get a strong enough indication of the direction he’s headed.

First Quarter Grade: B+

Second Quarter Grade: C+

Running Backs

LeSean McCoy got off to a tremendous start, but he’s seen his production fall off significantly in the last four weeks.

McCoy has had only one 100-yard game, scored just one touchdown, and has been held to 55 or fewer rushing yards in three of the last four contests.

There are a couple of reasons for McCoy’s decline. Defenses have been adjusting to what Chip Kelly wants to do. They know Kelly wants to run first, and I think the Kelly’s run formations have become too predictable. He needs to begin using traditional running formations to add some variety to his attack.

The offensive line has also been ineffective (more on them later), and the instability at the quarterback position has also played a role in limiting what the Pro Bowler can do.

But McCoy himself also deserves a share in the blame. He’s been indecisive, and has done a little too much dancing. It reminds me of the way he played in his rookie season.

The good news is that McCoy has been contributing a little more in the passing game. After recording just seven catches in the first four games, Shady has hauled in 18 passes in the last four games, and has been used more in the screen game.

Bryce Brown continues to be a disappointment. Brown has taken 15 carries for 34 yards since Week 5. He hasn’t looked comfortable all season running out of Kelly’s run formations.

First Quarter Grade: A+

Second Quarter Grade: C+

Wide Receivers

DeSean Jackson has continued to have a very solid season.

Jackson has only had two games this year where he’s been held under 60 receiving yards. He had seven catches for 131 yards and a touchdown against the Giants in Week 5, and caught six passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns a week later against Darrelle Revis and the Buccaneers.

Riley Cooper has been a much stronger contributor over the last few weeks, hauling in 12 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown in the last three games.

Jason Avant continues to be a solid option as the team’s slot receiver, and is always good for three or four catches a game.

Damaris Johnson continues to be uninvolved in the offense, while Jeff Maehl has seen his snap count increase.

First Quarter Grade: C+

Second Quarter Grade: B-

Tight Ends

The tight ends have had some nice moments here and there, but their production continues to be largely underwhelming.

Brent Celek caught a critical touchdown pass from Nick Foles to help the Eagles beat the Giants, and Zach Ertz caught a 20-yard pass in the same game to help set up a field goal.

However, since the Week 5 tilt, Celek has just four catches for 36 yards in the last three games. Ertz, who has seen more snaps than Celek, has just seven catches for 51 yards in that same stretch.

James Casey has a grand total of two catches for 23 yards on the season, and continues to be one of the most disappointing players on the team.

Chip Kelly put such an emphasis on this position in the off-season, spending $12 million to get James Casey, and a second-round pick to get Zach Ertz. For the Eagles to get such minimal production from them through eight games is an indictment on the coach and his gameplans.

First Quarter Grade: D+

Second Quarter Grade: D+

Offensive Line

The offensive line continues to be a disappointment.

Jason Peters hasn’t been the dominate player we’ve been used to seeing. Lane Johnson has really been going through a lot of growing pains, and has had problems with pass protection.

The interior of the line just hasn’t been strong at all. Evan Mathis has been the most consistent of the group, but he’s still nothing special. Jason Kelce has made mistakes throughout the season, and he’s had too many bad snaps. Todd Herremans is looking like an old offensive lineman with a lot of miles on him.

First Quarter Grade: C

Second Quarter Grade: C-

Defensive Line

The defensive line has made some nice strides.

Fletcher Cox is adapting to the 3-4 scheme, and has been much more disruptive in the last few weeks.

Cedric Thornton has been arguably the most consistent player defensively all season, and continues to do a good job regardless of whether the team uses him as an end or a tackle.

All Vinny Curry seems to do is make plays, and all the Eagles seem to do is go out of their way to keep him off of the field. Curry has come up with a couple of big sacks for the team in limited action, and the team won’t increase his playing time. In fact, according to reports they actually attempted to deal him before the trade deadline.

Isaac Sopoaga was completely invisible through eight games, registering a grand total of 10 tackles and zero sacks. He’s been dealt to the Patriots, which will create more playing time for Bennie Logan and Damian Square.

Clifton Geathers continues to get a handful of snaps in every game, and continues to have little impact.

As a group, the defensive line is making more plays. They’re getting to the quarterback a little more frequently, but they’re still getting gashed in the running game by everyone from Doug Martin to Peyton Hillis. The flashes from Cox, Thornton, and Curry have been encouraging.

First Quarter Grade: D+

Second Quarter Grade: C+

Linebackers

DeMeco Ryans is beginning to take over this defense and assert himself as one of the leaders on this team. He’s been playing some inspired football, and has had his two strongest performances of the year against Dallas and New York. Ryans’ interception of Tony Romo had a chance to be a game-changing play if the offense had been able to convert a touchdown out of the opportunity.

Connor Barwin has been solid, but unspectacular. He came up with a big sack against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and also has consistently made plays against the run.

Mychal Kendricks has still been disappointing. He showed some signs of improvement against the Giants, recording 12 tackles, but he’s had problems in coverage and has overran plays all year.

Trent Cole has been quiet since Week 2. Cole began the year by creating a pair of turnovers in consecutive games by stripping Alfred Morris and Ryan Mathews. Since then, he’s done very little. The veteran has been unable to pick up a sack this season. The good news is that he hasn’t been a liability yet despite adjusting to the his new position.

Anyone seen or heard from former first-round pick Brandon Graham? The guy who claimed at the beginning of the season that he was ready to “erupt”? Graham has been even more invisible than Isaac Sopoaga. A former first-round pick in his fourth year, giving his team absolutely nothing.

The linebackers have jelled together pretty well in the last month. They’ve been the glue that has held the defense together.

First Quarter Grade: C-

Second Quarter Grade: B

Secondary

More improvement from young players.

Bradley Fletcher has done a really nice job in the last few weeks. He came up with an interception that swung the momentum of the Tampa Bay game, and set the stage for the Eagles to come from behind.

Nate Allen has quietly been playing some decent football. Allen hasn’t been giving up large chunks of yardage at the rate that we’ve been accustomed to seeing from him over the years.

Earl Wolff has been forced into action due to Patrick Chung’s lingering injury problems and has done a decent job considering the position that he’s been pressed into.

Cary Williams has managed to cut down on some of the dumb penalties he had been taking earlier in the year.

Brandon Boykin continues to do an excellent job as the team’s nickel corner. He came down with an interception against the Giants in Week 5, and has been one of the unit’s most consistent playmakers all year.

The secondary still has some breakdowns, and receivers have been able to gash them for big yardage. But they’ve begun to come up with plays of their own whether its through breaking up passes or coming down with interceptions.

First Quarter Grade: F

Second Quarter Grade: B-

Special Teams

The special teams just haven’t been very impactful.

Alex Henery’s only miss in the last four weeks has come against the Dallas Cowboys on an absurd decision by the head coach to go for a 60-yard attempt.

The return game has been nothing special. Damaris Johnson still hasn’t been able to get anything going on kicks or punts.

Special teams hasn’t won the Eagles any games this year, but at least they haven’t contributed to losses over the four games as they did early in the season.

First Quarter Grade: F

Second Quarter Grade: C-