Changes The Eagles Need To Make

Chip Kelly’s statement after signing a deal to be the Birds new head coach, “Big people beat up little people”, was never more true than on Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field when the Saints were pounding the Eagles defensive line and the New Orleans defensive line was putting the brakes on Shady McCoy and holding him to 77 yards on 21 carries.

I saw that Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis game planned to stop the New Orleans passing game, which left his run defense susceptible, but that’s still no reason why our run defense got gutted for 185 on 36 carries.

I think the New Orleans Saints did us a favor by showing Kelly and crew that we need to get bigger and stronger.  I like the job rookie nose tackle Bennie Logan did all season, but he’s an undersized nose tackle at 295 pounds.  I want to see him get bigger and stronger or we will need to move on.  The Saints mammoth center and guards were moving him out of the there, as they pounded the ball down the throats of our defense.

We have two really big defensive linemen and they are Fletcher Cox and Clifton Geathers.  Cox is a guy we can build around, but we must continue to get bigger and stronger upfront.  We want more big guys on both the offensive and defensive lines because we didn’t win the battles upfront in our last two football games.  The Dallas Cowboys won the battle upfront with us and so did the Saints.

We have a very good offensive line, but there’s still no reason why we’re not trying to get bigger and better.

When playoff time arrives each year, the weather turns cold and the team that wins the battle upfront usually wins the football game.  We need to continue to add big, tough and physical players, who will help us win in the playoffs.

The Eagles secondary did a good job against the Saints.  The same can’t be said for the front seven of the Birds defense versus the run, but the strongest part of the New Orleans offense, their passing game, was held in check, but their running game beat the Birds.  New Orleans started out the game winning the battle on the ground and they never stopped until the game was over.

Trent Cole and Brandon Graham registered sacks against the Saints, but the Eagles pass rush was missing in action for most of the night.  Going forward the Birds need a dominant pass rusher, who is going to guarantee them some pressure on the opposing quarterback without blitzing.  Cole had a big second half of the season, but you never can get enough pass rushers.  The Birds need a pass rusher, who registers 12 to 16 sacks a season.  If you can’t get to the passer in this league, you’re at the mercy of the opposing offense.

The Eagles must upgrade the safety position.  I heard NBC’s Cris Collingsworth talk about how Sean Payton felt they could run the ball on the Eagles because their safeties were poor tacklers.  The Birds need better play from the safety position versus the pass and versus the running game.  Payton must have looked a reel of Patrick Chung plays.

Why does Chung always seem to be at the scene of the crime?  Every time an opposing player makes a big play, Chung is the guy getting beat.  I can almost guarantee he won’t be back next year.  All Eagles fans would like to see him wearing another teams jersey next year.

I think there’s a good chance that Eagles kicker Alex Henery won’t be back next year.  Henery doesn’t have a leg strong enough to boot the ball out of the end zone on kickoffs and it really cost the Birds last night.  That kickoff return by Darren Sproles and the subsequent penalty on Cary Williams helped to cost the Birds the game.  It was like a turnover.  The Birds won the turnover battle, but last the game on a change of possession, which put the Saints in Eagles territory to start their winning drive.

Henery also missed a field goal, which could have been the difference in the game.  Yes, Nick Foles took a foolish sack, which made the kick much tougher, but a good kicker makes a 48-yard field goal in the playoffs.  After the game when Kelly was asked about Henery’s future with the team, the coach said he would talk about the status of individual players and the roster at a future date.

The Birds will need to make decisions at the wide receiver position opposite DeSean Jackson.  Both Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper have contracts expiring before the next season.  I supposed they will bring both of them back because Maclin won’t be able to demand a big contract until proves he can perform they way he did in the past and Cooper must prove he can continue to be productive.

I’m confident that as we get better talent, Kelly is going to be able to make our offense even more explosive than it is already.  We need to get faster and bigger at the wide receiver position.