I was just watching my former Eagles teammate Ron Jaworski and former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Merrill Hodge on ESPN talking about the upcoming playoffs. They were referring to the Eagles offensive line as the best in the NFL. I’m not shocked. I remember being thrilled when Chip Kelly signed former Alabama offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
I knew the Eagles had the talent and signing Stoutland meant they were going to get even better. That has happened and they couldn’t have chosen a better time.
Now they’re starting to get some big time respect with two of their offensive linemen named to the All-Pro squad. Hopefully they can show everybody why they were selected tomorrow night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eagles left guard Evan Mathis has been getting rave reviews for the last couple of years for his outstanding play, but he wasn’t rewarded with a trip to the Pro Bowl. Earlier today, he finally got his respect when he joined left tackle Jason Peters and running back LeSean McCoy on the NFL All-Pro team.
For the last few years, Mathis rarely gives up any pressure as a pass blocker much less a sack. He’s been outstanding at the guard position.
“It’s great to receive the recognition and it’s truly humbling,” Mathis told PhiladelphiaEagles.com. “I give a lot of credit to the coaches and my teammates who helped make this thing possible. I know it’s an individual award, but you couldn’t do it without the guys around you. It’s a good feeling, but I’m not going to enjoy it too long because we’ve got things to do.”
“For my position, the guard play is probably going to average 1,000 snaps during a season”, Mathis said. “There is much more interesting and fun play to watch when you are watching the game. So it’s really hard to focus on the guard play and to have people realize who is doing well and who is not doing well when it comes to guard play,” said Mathis. “It’s a good feeling. I wasn’t really expecting it. Hoping for it, but not expecting it. We’ve got a game tomorrow, so I’m focused on the Saints.”
“This is a very great honor”, Peters told PhiladelphiaEagles.com. “To come back this year off of injury and to make the Pro Bowl and now to make first-team All-Pro and we’re in the playoffs, it feels real good.”
“I never take it for granted,” Peters said. “I work hard and that’s what you work hard in the off-season for. All I know is that if you work hard as an individual, the team is going to be better. Any individual goal is going to make the team better, and I’m all for that.”
McCoy who is the leading rusher in the NFL and he benefitted from running behind what NFL onlookers are starting to call the best offensive line in the NFL.
“It’s an honor to be here to play with my teammates and work hard,” said McCoy. “It’s an honor, not just for us three, but as a group. Each week we come here, prepare hard and play our best. We’re honored to be All-Pro players.”
Congrats to all 3 Players and is well-deserved ..
1) Jason Peters over the last 5-6 Weeks has looked and played like the old Jason Peters of old after a so-so start to the Season.. He’s probably as close to a 100% than he’s been in some time and he’s one of those Players who just gets stronger and stronger as a game and Season go by…
2) Evan Mathis is just a super consistent player..and as durable as they come playing in every Eagle Game since his arrival a few years ago..
3) Lesean is just a Special Athlete who excels at finding and hitting th holes when none seem to be there.. Has great vision,great moves and accelaration and probably anticipates plays,holes, would be tacklers as well as anyone in the entire NFL.. Do you ever notice how Shady rarely takes a full blow to his body, he’s always moving, sliding, tilting and does an excellent job of protecting the ball and himself.. he’s a lot stronger and tougher than people realize who may just think of him as a “speedster” only
Great news for some very deserving players…..but still wonder how Donnie Jones keeps getting overlooked on these teams!!
GO BIRDS!!! PLAYOFFS BABY!!!!
Very well deserved! The Offensive Line has been dominant and a key element to our success!! If the Offensive Line continues to dominate in the playoffs with Shady McCoy’s running we can make a lot of noise!
And of course big plays from our passing game!
Kool, you are reluctant to acknowledge the qbs role in the success of the eagles, without McCoy it is a different season, likewise without Foles’ it’s a different season
Give it up man you sound childish
You forget he has an agenda!
And well deserved for shady
His development is a huge reason for the eagles success
And it’s not just his play on the field, he has matured, he says the right things because he wants the right things, his remarks earlier were not the same, he and Foles have the potential to be great long term.
LOL..Jakdog and havablunt…u guys are truly dumb as bricks!! Foles didnt make the All-Pro team, Fools! It was two of our offensive linemen and the best running back in the league who made All-Pro…not Foles.
Once again, you guys want to rob Shady and the O-line the credit they truly deserve by turning this into another discussion about Foles.
Stop it!! Give the best running back and true superstar on this team the credit he deserves for carrying us into the playoffs. Give Shady the credit he deserves for the big runs he has put together in the 4th Quarter of games to secure us wins! Shady’s yards per carry in the fourth quarter goes UP…crunch time…its Shady that has come up big!
This is why he is an All-Pro! Give him his due!
The superstar on this team is Shady McCoy…and the main reason
Hey kool you can believe that It’s shady and the oline, or only two of them, but I will not argue with you because I agree they are great, shady may be a hall of famer one day, like Foles, and he’s a great eagle , and I don’t want to diminish his accomplishments by arguing foles, they are teammates , this is a great season, can’t wait until tomorrow, peace
There is no argument jakdog! Shady is an All-Pro …we have two offensive linemen that are All-Pros! Foles don’t belong in the conversation…He didn’t make All-Pro!
Simple as that!
funny tho shady wasn’t able to run when foles took over as qb…remember that argument you and your freinds made! LOL–
hey he didn’t make the pro bowl you are correct…he also didn’t contribute a thing to the 9-2 record the eagles had when he played more than a half– meaning they were 1-4 when he didn’t… thats rather interesting!
In other negative news…
Didn’t Denny call Mathis mediocre last season? I remember it clearly having that debate with him.
Also didn’t this o-line get eaten up by Dallas last week? Need some fast improvement.
Well, I can’t find the exact thread, but this sums it up… including the first comment
gcobb com/2013/01/02/evaluating-the-eagles-who-should-stay-or-go/
Joe Namath was recently interviewed at length and was effusive in his praise of foles, stating his mobility in the pocket, ability to throw on the run, his rope like passes yet touch, concludes that foles can be one of the greats
It was all good until he then muttered “and I just want to kiss him”
Funny- i went back and looked at some of the ‘analysis’ of the gcobb experts from early in the year. “receivers can’t get separation”, “this offensive line sucks” and my favorite “with foles/barkley in there shady won’t be able to run” (that one was actually gcobb himself and the other vick lovers)–
of course HAC himself was pissed with kellys game management (remember the 2 point conversion)
Now all of a sudden with foles at qb shady had a prolific year, 2 OL in probowl, the receivers have had outstanding years and all of a sudden get separation (because the qb throws them open) and of course while not a perfect game manager yet, Kelly has proven to make wonderful in game adjustments!
No, haveablunt, what is really funny is that you dont let facts get in the way of your agenda! Early in the year, receivers were not getting separation, the offensive line was stinking up the joint. The O-line was struggling with the rookie, Lane Johnson was having some rough times, Brian Baldinger did a good job explaining it…there was talk of benching Todd Herremans because he was playing poorly.
I guess you forgot about all of that! The Eagles had began the season with a new coach, new system playing their first three games in just 11 days and their early season losses all came to playoff teams with good defenses-Denver, San Diego, and Kansas City! Our own defense was in disarray and getting handled by these good, playoff team offenses.
Kelly made adjustments, he started putting DJax in motion-running him out of the backfield, the rookie tight end Ertz started to get better, Kelly started running pick plays to create separation for the receivers…and he has consistently kept things simple for Foles…easy throws, screens, dump-offs…and to Foles credit…he has played within himself not tried to do more than what he is capable. And the Defense begin forcing turnovers putting us in great field position. Davis has done a remarkable coaching job with the Defense. But the big thing Kelly did was utilize the zone blocking scheme and Shady makes it happen!
Keep it real…and stop trying to deny Shady the All-Pro and MVP candidate his credit due for this offense, stop minimizing the greatness of Chip Kelly, a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate and what he has done. Give the offensive line there due, with two ALL-Pro players and some would argue with the best center in the league in Jason Kelce…and a sure fire All-Rookie team member in Lane Johnson…for being one of the best in the league…if not the very best!
These are the areas that have been truly outstanding for the Eagles!
Shady is our best player… Has been for three years who is denying that? You can’t even say that a qb with the third highest rating of ALL TIME with 27 TD and 2 int is a bright spot and he is 24 …
Intelligent Eagle Fans and football fans who watch the games know the deal! Opposing Players on other teams know the real deal!
Shady is simply the Eagles best offensive weapon…not Foles…Shady is being talked about as the MVP candidate of the league, All-Pro…Foles is not even in that conversation.
And this is not just because of numbers and stats…we have seen Shady raise the level of his game in the fourth quarter and put the team on his back.
Foles has gotten his due credit when he is called a ‘good’ quarterback in the mode of a Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer, and the like. He has been good and solid…his ability to protect the ball and keep turnovers down is good.
But listen to guys like Ray Didinger talk about Foles and he marvels at how Kelly has designed plays that get the receivers wide open on third and eight…he marvels at the offensive line providing Foles with all kinds of time in the pocket to throw the ball. And of course, Shady takes great pressure off of the QB especially in tight games in the 4th quarter where Foles has not done nearly as well…Shady has taken over in these tight games that we have won. After the Vikings game, in the fourth quarter where Foles failed to convert key first downs….Shady said…”Put the game on me”
This is what we need to do in the playoffs…put it on Shady!
Look, I don’t care if you rattle on and on about how great McCoy is….he is!
But to continually and constantly disparage the young QB on the Birds, who is tearing the league a new asshole. To constantly compare this kid, who again is lighting the league on fire….to compare him to Trent Dilfer proves you are not the “intelligent Eagle fan” you claim to be..
Any mention of “good QB” or “game manager QB” like Dilfer and Smith is just pure Foles bashing because THOSE QBS SUCK.
In his best season Dilfer threw 21 tds and 11 ints with 2700 yrds
In his best season (this year) Smith has 23 tds and 7 ints with 3300 yrds
Prorated over a season Foles this year would be 43 tds 3 ints with 4600 yrds (in his first full season)
As for the Oline improvement……Every Oline, either on Atl or Philly has improved as soon as you know who is not bhind centre. This was predicted.
I told you all months ago (and last year) that when Foles was put in we’d immediately begin hearing all kinds of “the oline is improving….” statements.
This is because of several factors: quicker release, consistent speed on drops, consistent spacing and steps on drops, consistent positioning in pocket etc etc. This all makes the oline’s job easier. It is difficult to block for a QB who is never where you expect him to be!!!
The Oline has improved because of 3 factors…1) Development of Johnson through the year, Peter’s full recovery from injury and 3) (most important) pocket passer who makes Oline’s job easier.
Of course the oline has improved. It always magically does when the former superstar is not on the field.
And any mentioning of Eagles’ WRs suddenly “developing” without also mentioning the QBs role in this is asenine.
You know what guys….if Shady goes down the Eagles are in trouble…If Foles goes down…the Eagles are in trouble…but if they are both healthy, we win. That’s why we are in a playoff game tonight. Bottomline end of story. This who’s better nonsense has become assinine, I’m willing to bet this is not a topic of conversation in the locker room because it’s silly. Time to move on gentlemen and root for the team. This subject is divisive and has become trite and silly. WE ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS and you guys want to keep banterring back and forth about who’s better. Win as a team….lose as a team….not tonight though. I want a VICTORY!!!
On another subject. I hope Charles Strong accepts the University of TYexas job. I think he’s an excellent coach and will get the Longhorns back on track. I thought he would get some pro head coaching consideration asI believe he would be a good head coach of an NFL team too. That will be his nextstep I’m sure. Look forTexas to make some serious noise in the next few years if he accepts the job!
No one is minimizing shady, Kelly the oline, but you are minimizing foles’ contribution, he’s had a hall of fame season and without his play, leadership, no playoffs, it’s that simple
But who cares but you kool to argue who is the mvp and to argue through innuendo that foles is not good, we don’t care, it’s a’ll good, shady, Foles, Kelly, the oline and even the defense, time to get it in bro and whup the saints
Amen eaglehaslanded
McCoy is great – the offensive line is great – Kelly is great – the defense is improving – the Eagles are in the playoffs. If you can’t give Foles any credit it must be because you are a Vick fan. Don’t worry, you can follow Vick to his next team.
Leave the rest of us alone to watch the game.