There’s plenty of reasons to be excited about the Eagles and the upcoming 2015 season. It looks like a down year in the NFC, with the favorites Green Bay battling key injuries (loss of Pro Bowl wide receiver Gordy Nelson) and Seattle trying figure out a Pro Bowl holdout (Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor).
The Birds number one goal should be focused on getting better each week. They are a young team that has a lot to learn. They’ve got a tremendous amount of talent and plenty of room to grow and improve. This young football team wants to be playing the best football at the end of the season and hopefully in the playoffs.
The next goal should be winning the NFC East. That means beating up the only other team that I think can battle the Birds for the NFC Title is the Dallas Cowboys. They must beat the Cowboys in the second game of the season.
Their third goal should be having the best regular season in the NFC, so they can get home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
There’s only one goal after getting home field advantage throughout the playoffs and that’s getting to and winging the Super Bowl.
I think this offensive group can average over 30 points a game because they’re talented enough to do it and Chip Kelly is a step or two ahead of the league’s defenses right now. The league defensive coordinators will catch up with him in the near future, so the the Birds should be going after a Super Bowl title this year, if they stay healthy.
Quarterback Sam Bradford looked great in training camp and the preseason games, but he’s going to need to find ways to win, when he’s not at his best. He should throw for over 35 touchdowns this year, which will make him a Pro Bowl quarterback and help the Eagles to win their division. He would need to average two touchdown passes a game, which is well within his reach, when you think how potent they could be.
The key will be the running game. If they can run the football, it’s going to make Bradford better and just as important, it’s going to make the defense better. If the Eagles can run the football effectively, which they should be able to do, it’s going to make them at least an 11 win team.
They have the horses to get the job done. DeMarco Murray looks primed and ready to go. Ryan Mathews has to be the best the running back in the NFL that’s not starting. Don’t be surprised if he has a better year from a yards per carry standpoint than Murray. Darren Sproles is the best 3rd down back in the game and he is also one of the NFL’s best of punt returners.
Of course the Eagles offensive will play a key role in this season. There number one job will be to open holes for the running game because a good running game will make their pass blocking easier. I want Chip Kelly and Pat Shurmur to resist the temptation to get away from their running game. If their passing game gets going and they making big plays through the air, it’s easy to start throwing the ball play after play. That will allow defenses to focus on rushing the passer and it will get Bradford hit more often and possibly injured.
Running the ball is going to allow Bradford to throw the ball without pressure in his face. It’s going to let him play without getting hit very much. His ability to read defenses very quickly and get the ball out of his hands with precision accuracy, puts the Eagles in the Super Bowl hunt.
I want to see the young wide receiver corps of Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, get better each week as the season progresses. I don’t mind them making some mistakes, but I want to see them learn from their mistakes and avoid repeating them
Ehhh….all this talk about Chip being a couple steps ahead, I don’t buy it. How many steps ahead were we from Seattle, or Dallas in game 2?? It’s all about talent and forcing your will upon the opponent. Strong teams only get so far on disguise, before it all boiling down to your players making the plays……whether the opposing defense knows what’s coming or not. If we are truly improved as a team we will know soon enough.
Chip may just be a few steps ahead on opposing defenses…unfortunately I don’t believe our defense will be a few steps ahead of opposing offenses…So Chip is definitely a few steps behind in getting rid of Davis’ ass…
But I do agree…I see this offense averaging 30 points….but the problem with that is there can be a few 40 point games with some 17 point games mixed in…How confident are we in our defense in a game where we only score 17 – 20 points….
The Key is the Turnovers and Health of the OL (Peters and Kelce in particular)
The Eagles lead the NFL in Turnovers last Season with 36 of them which they will need to reduce to Less than 20 Total by Smarter QB Play and the RB’s and Receivers hanging onto the Ball much better than the past few Years..
The Eagles have many new Skill Players (D Murray,R Matthews, M Austin & S Aijiroutu and young Players trying to make an Impact like N Agholor, J Matthews, Z Ertz, J Huff, T Burton and K Barner)
Only Celek,Sproles and Cooper remain as Veterans of the Eagles..
As these Young Players Perform and Get Opportunities to make Plays..
It will be improtant that they collectively learn how to secure the Ball..
With a Solid, Downhill Rushing Attack that the Eagles have not had in Years should help the Eagles late in Games and late in the Season where their Physicality and their Will to Win the Line of Scrimmage should be evident as Players get Tired in games or towards the end of the Season when injuries pile up on Teams..
With Solid to Excellent Special Teams Play should mean good Field Position and Holding Teams to have to drive the length of the Field which also helps out a Defense and Puts Offense’s on their Heels a little when they have to drive 80 Yards for most the Game..
Eagles have Good Chemistry and riding some good momentum as the Season Starts in terms of QB Bradford’s Play, their Overall Health and the Youth and Athleticism that’s been added since the Kelly ERA..
Only Kelce, Peters, Celek & Cooper on Offense, Remain from the Andy Reid Era sop lots of new Faces all the way around…
On Defense, it’s only Fletcher Cox, D Ryans, M Kendricks
Kicker C Parkey remains an integral part of Special Teams Play and hopefully he’s 100% and able to boom the Kickoffs out of Play and consistently make those FG’s ..
wow, GCobb is all in on the Chipper.
His offense is fun to watch. Vinnie laid out his concerns which I agree. The Chipper’s offense injures QBs combined with Sam Bradford inability to stay healthy is a realistic barrier. i also have no faith in Mark Sanchez, who is a butt fumbling turd who failed last year in relief.
The Chipper has to win 11 games, ” NO EXCUSES” as our friend likes to say.
pre Thursday Night Kickoff prediction.
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MVP Big Ben Roethlisberger,
D MVP – Aaron Donald,
Rookie of the Year Marcus Mariota,
D ROY Vic Beasley
Paulman’s Predictions on Player Awards
Offensive MVP – QB Aaron Rodgers – Packers
Defensive MVP – JJ Watts – Texans
Offensive Rookie of the Year – WR Amari Cooper – Raiders
Defensive Rookie of the Year – DT Leonard Williams – Jets
Comeback Player of the Year Award – Sam Bradford – Eagles
Coach of the Year – Mike Zimmer – Minnesota Vikings
GM of the Year – Chip Kelly – Eagles
Adrian Petersen could have a Monster Season for th Vikings as well
but if Bradford stays healthy and leads the Eagles to the Playoffs, then I think he wins the Comeback Player of the Year and especially since Bradford’s was due to Injury and not some Legal Issues like AP had ..
I like that droy choice eos thats my boi beasley
Aaron donald is a long shot for dpoy….umma go with khalil mack in oakland
I was going to go with Khalil Mack as well for DPOY too..
But JJ Watt gets that National Exposure and on TV a lot where half the country probably have no idea who Khalil Mack is.. But hes a Beast just as GMCliff said he would be, no doubt.
His sack number will in increase with Jack Del Rio who is turning Mack loose as a pass rusher – Dennis Allen used Mack everywhere but Del Rio wants to feature him as a sack artist.
Real as long as we dont have 3 and long we will be fine because for some off reason davis is better on 3 rd and short then 3rd and long
I hope you are right Z…trust me, I hope the defense is better than I anticipate…
Roger Goddell strikes back! Does anyone else find it peculiar that after 8 years ESPN all of the sudden has received information about the Patriots cheating in the the beginning of the Century? LMAO. Your damn right Goddell and the NFL leaked that information about the Patriots after the lost in deflategate. Goddell said you want to make me look like a fool well them tapes I “supposedly” burned well guess what. lol
Checkmate
Multiple visiting coaches accuse the Patriots of turning off the ear pieces for Defensive and Offensive signal callers at crucial times in the game during that spygate run also. One coach accused the Pats of turning the play clock off in a 2 minute drive field goal play in the playoffs. Shenanigans
I like what billy d does with front 7 but he is terrible for dbs
Billy D is a LB Coach by Trade and works well with that Front 7 Scheme but boy he does leave a lot to be desired when it comes to working in Unison with the Secondary.. maybe the new Coach from Bronco’s Undlin will make a big impact in terms of Game Planning, Scheming, besides Coaching Technique, improving Ball Skills & overall Coverage Skills,etc,etc
Billy Davis has been one of the worst DC’s in football everywhere he’s held the job. Super Bowls are not won with the way the Eagles have played defense these past 2 years. The Eagles have been winning in spite of their lousy defensive play not because of it. The only defensive area in which the Eagles got significantly better last season was the sack department, but the increase from 37 to 49 did little to help the pass or the overall defense. He was a bad hire from the jump, and this should be his last season I don’t know why he is still even here.
Thats what im hoping for pman
Agree PMan. we have a D line coach that looks solid. Ill take Billy D with the front 7 because of how he uses the lb’s. We now have a solid DB coach and some talent. I’m not fully solid on the secondary but I believe we are lightyears ahead of where we were a year ago.
Gardener gets 3 year deal.obviously they’re high on him ..
Guard Andrew Gardner gets a new 3 Year Extension worth $4.7 Million and Incentives to earn $5.5 Million over the next 3 Season to go along with a $500,000 Signing Bonus that he received today…
Congrats to him and to the Eagles for taking care of a Player who won a open position fair and square over 2-3 other Players and is now listed as The Starting RG for the 2015 Eagles..
Our offense should easily average 30 pts per game. GCobb is on the money…our focus should be running the ball. We should run, run, run, and run some more. On defense, we just need to be fundamentally sound…stop giving up big play after big play…you can never account for injuries…but if we stay relatively healthy…we have to win at least 11 games and a playoff game…at least- NO EXCUSES!!
Bill Davis is definitely on the clock ,he’s run out on time and rope.In the off-season a multitude of assets were given to him ,and they’re was pursuit of a premium safety as well .The matchup with Julio Jones will be a tell tale sign ,if indeed the new coaching schemes devised by Undlin will blend into doubling Julio jones and electing to let others try to beat you.The opener being on the road and on Monday night should be enough to lift this team to display itself for all to witness.The new moving parts ,always seemingly have a learning curve attached to them .The critical running game ,needs be efficient and physical ,not allowing for predictable 3rd downs .I think this game ,highlights ,the weapon of Sproles ,who as great as he’s been ,hasn’t been exploiting drag routes as I anticipate ,running in space across the defenses.I think his touches are increased in certain games ,which is why the defense will be cheating and possibly spying ,leaving a chance for a down the field strike to a wide open Matthews ..I’ll be watching a stat we didn’t and don’t see much of late.Run after the catch ..I think that stat will be a testament to SAMs accuracy and precision..Bill Davis ..must employ his linebackers and front to create havoc and with pressure from his core interior lineman ,without blitzing must get to the QB..he must get his schemes to match his personnel ..that would be his way of rewarding Chip..anything less. See ya
Here’s the Deal that DC Davis has to utilize versus the Falcons this week..
Falcons are likely playing without 3 Starters on their OL
(LT Jake Matthews, Center Joe Hawley & RG Jon Asamoah)
The Falcons are also planning playing LG Andy Levitre as a Starter though they just acquired him last week from the Titans in the Trade…
What DC Davis has to do is blitz,blitz and more blitz right up the gut and force Matt Ryan to move and especially to his left as often as possible..
Matt Ryan is one of thos classic pocket QB’s who does his damage by stepping up between the Tackles and the hash marks and letting it rip like Drew Brees, Phil Rivers, Tom Brady, Eli Manning & Peyton Manning..
Get these QB’s moving laterally and their biggest strength is taken away
I am lining up LB Kendricks and Graham right over the Center-Guard gap and letting Logan or Cox tie up a Blocker or 2 and blitzing Both Graham & Kendricks up the Gut until the Falcons can prove that they can stop it.. Do it early and often and do not allow Matt Ryan the time to get into any rhythm.. The Eagles D does this and it’s a blow-out, DC Davis allows Ryan to get comfortable and doesn’t blitz the sink at him and it will be a much closer game down to the end with lots of points and a 1000 Yards of Offense combined by both Teams..
In Terms of Covering WR Julio Jones, I would put Maxwell right over top of him and then have Safety Walt Thurmond play 10 yards behind Maxwell and double Team most of the Evening on all passing situations
I then have Safety Malcolm Jenkins play a 1-High Centerfield and watch the deep middle..
Remember the Falcolns don’t really have a weapon at TE so they can use a double Team on Jones and let one of the others try to beat you..
Here is the foolishness, projecting Bradford’ s efficiency and effective passing ability based on three drives in a preseason game compared to his body of work in the regular season and further compare that to the numbers of the guy he replaces at considerable expense.
Foles is 14-4 as a starter
No comparison
Get your head out of your asses, the guy is suspect until and unless he posts nick foles like numbers
Jakedog foles is over you are stuck in neutral…..GET OVER IT
Just believe what’s about to go down z, that’s all, this guy Bradford shows putrid body language poor stats over his career , he’s not a high quality qb in my opinion never was never will be, we had that in foles, another poor gm decided by kelly.
He gutted the strength of the team, the play makers and instead of making the defense strong by addressing the secondary he practically gave away t he best slot cb in the league for nothing.
I will not buy in, it’s a disaster, just wait
The best slot cb is 4th on the depth chart in a terrible secondary in pittsburgh, foles has bee, just as injured prone, u see the past only, its a shame because bradford is perfect for this offense, u are a fan of the eagles when only it fits your point of view, gutted not really, old vets are gone, desean didnt block and wanted more money, lesean wasnt the downhill runner chip wanted and he was paid very well but we got a pretty good lb when healthy for cheap, and we still have plenty weapons on the field, he tried to get best safety in afc in mccourty, he got a corner from top defense in league, yea all of this stuff needs to gel together but the offense can carry the load until the defense is looking good by mid season, u can sit here and be negative nancy but this team is going to be special, I can feel it in my bones…..oh yea we still will have the best special teamz unit in league….fuck foles
Pman I must say im impressed thats exactly what i would do…..right up the gut with kendricks and graham……dude they will blow them out early with that, great job pman, only thing i would worry about is screen game right up thebmiddle with exsplosive tevin colemen…..thats something that would get us
All the talk on here about how crazy we were to let Boykin go, I just read he’s number four on the steelers depleted secondary depth chart, the guy was the talk of the Steelers camp about how good he looked and how they stole him from us and all of a sudden he feel off the face of the earth, same thing with Herremens,, I read the Colts are very disappointed with him, looks like Chip has been one step ahead as a GM so far.
I saw the same thing andrew….people only see what they want, im a huge boykin fan but last year was not a good year for him….he got abused by cole beasley a good amount
Brandon marshall days white player treated diffrently when it comes to discipline…..goddamit not gonna touch this….hac u have the floor
Maxwell on Julio Jones noway. Maxwell cant cover Jones one on one nobody can. I personally wouldn’t do that. I would double Julio Jones with Carroll and Jenkins and then put Maxwell on the # 2 Roddy White and eliminate him. I would do the same thing with Dez. I don’t know why more defensive coordinators don’t do it like that.
Anyone remember Patrick Peterson trying to cover Julio last year? Julio killed him one on one. You don’t double team him with your # 1 corner. Take your # 2 and a safety. Belichek does this. He then takes his # 1 corner to take away the # 2 receiver. Its a brilliant concept. I would dare Atlanta to run vs our front 7. You take Julio out of the game who on Atlanta can beat you? You take Dez out of the game who can beat you?
even with Jones the Falcons only won 6 games… One hot shot receiver doesn’t make a team. As for Marshall… I will let the source speak for himself.
Just read that Boykin isn’t one of the top 3 CB in Pittsburgh… interesting because I thought the sky was falling when he got traded!
I could care less where Boykin fell on the depth chart in Pitt….I care more about our depth chart at DB…losing Boykin was even more magnified when Shephard went down. created a hole in our secondary, bottom line. I like the player personnel we have in the secondary…if used correctly, the secondary can be solid!
But whats good about this is it now forces Davis to be a little more innovative with the scheme for the secondary. Safety Jenkins can cover in the slot, (Thurmond as well) depending on match ups, you could have Maxwell trailing a WR all game, even when moved to slot. Rowe is better on the outside. Carroll can be moved around a bit depending on matchups. But mainly I’d prefer to see him on the outside.
Don’t worry about double teaming Julio Jones. Matt Ryan and OC Kyle Shanahan aren’t blind. Anyone who watched Eric Rowe play against the Jets and Packers is going after Eric Rowe as first play call option. The Eagles’ safeties have to double team Eric Rowe’s responsibility. I haven’t seen any player yet not shake Eric Rowe loose. Easy first down, easy picking.
Boykins play last year out of the slot left alot to be desired last year. Boykins got more shine because of how poor our outside corners were but he is not a starting corner. IMO if he was on the team this year slot cb would still be the weak spot of the defense outside of OLB depth. His 8 int first year was a blessing and a curse. I believe it skewed him big time and he read press clippings and hype.
Where Boykins may be missed is the special teams game. That was where he was most important on this team.
Slot CB can be schemed with the having Thurmond/Jenkins/Carroll.
Also it would not suprise me that by the end of the season Thurmond is moved to inside CB and Rowe takes over the opposite safety position. My biggest concern about this team is lack of a dominant pass rusher who can beat his man one on one. Huge Barwin fan dude is a beast but he is not a premier pass rusher. We will be exposed in games on the backend when our pass rush is nonexistent.
However Vinny Curry primarily at the OLB spot could be a boom or bust move this year.