Philadelphia Eagles:        

2013 RECORD: 10-6  

2012 RECORD: 4-12   

2011 RECORD: 8-8   

2010 RECORD: 10-6   

TEAM OVERVIEW: Faced with a rather unfair schedule to start ’13, the Eagles survived and in the end, thrived.  The bandwagon was full after they upset Washington in the MNF road opener, but seats were available after they dropped to 1-3, and especially after they stood at 3-5 following home losses in the Division to rivals Dallas and the NYG.  True, they only beat one playoff team after that, and it was a GB team without Aaron Rodgers, but Philly was a team on the right track after winning the Division on the road at Dallas.  The close playoff loss hosting New Orleans only temporarily dampened spirits as the needle looks like it’s pointing up.  Chip Kelly is a different kind of NFL HC and maybe similar to Seattle and Pete Carroll, Chip’s roster is just in the early stages of a major overhaul.  Kelly’s schemes require a different set of player characteristics and that’s what makes this offseason very interesting.  In ’13, he got a taste of the fast-paced NFL draft scene.  Now we’ll see how Chip Kelly uses the draft going forward. 

KEY STATS: Philly scored 442 points, good enough for 4th in the NFL.  As usual they were strong on the road, going 6-2.  The run O is usually a plus and even without much of Michael Vick the Eagles were #1 in the NFL at 5.1-160.4!  As suspected, RB McCoy was able to thrive in this offense.  In yardage the Eagles were #2 in the NFL.  Chip Kelly had no chance to ease into the NFL with an extremely unfair three games in 11 days, followed by games 4-6 all on the road at Denver, the NYG and Tampa.  The run O was a respectable 4.05 after game #6 and improved even more after that, finishing 4th at 3.8.  The pass D was 63% at that point but finished under 61%.  The big turnaround came in the turnover ratio which went from -24 in ’12 to +12 last season.  Kelly’s fast-paced offense did lead to a -7:11 time of possession #, meaning Philly will have to look for depth and athleticism all over the defense.  Philly was 29th in yards allowed.  One area needing improvement is pass protection as the Eagles allowed 46 sacks.  Spread-wise, Philly’s long term trends did not regress much when 4-12 in ’12 and were good in ’13.  They are now 28-9 on the road after a loss (1-1 in ’13), 24-9 after 2 straight spread losses (2-1), 55-27 as a non-Division road dog (2-1), 27-13 in domes (80% as a dog in domes), 10-21 in home openers (0-1), and 21-33 if favored by 7+ points (0-1).

2013 DRAFT REVIEW: My best 1st guess was that Chip Kelly would look for athleticism as a prerequisite for many of his skilled position players.  OT Johnson and TE Ertz were the most athletic at their respective positions.  Philly lost three DL so DT made plenty of sense.  This was the 1st time since ’02 that Philly made no trades in rounds 1-3.  Maybe that changes once Chip gets more comfortable with the process.  Philly did make one draft day trade, and it was an interesting one.  Do they wish they did not go after Matt Barkley?  Philly signed nearly rated LB Knott after the draft.  Knott was highly productive at ISU but was off a shoulder injury and is not a sack type.  He had 8 tackles and might fit as a role player. 

1-04, OT L Johnson: Former TE highly athletic, and fit Kelly’s scheme as expected 

2-35, TE Ertz: Solid pass catcher is a nice underneath target.   36-13.0-4 as a rookie.

3-67, DT Logan: Quick and strong, but small as a NT.  Kelly likes to have rotational DL. 27-2 debut.

4-98, QB Barkley: Quick decision-maker who threw too many picks in ’12 and looked out of place here

5-136, SS Wolff: Productive, physical high character guy, with 4.4 speed.  Zone guy a nice 45-0 in ’13.

7-212, DE J Kruger: Average in college, but like brother, can develop if team is patient.  No action in ’13.

7-218, CB Poyer: Field work better than his below par measurables.  Zone guy with 21 tackles for Cleve.

7-239, DE King: Production not there.  10 of 13 starts were at DE.  Strictly a project.  Cut, with Cincy.

2012 DRAFT REVISITED: Philly’s last draft in the Andy Reid era could be remembered for the almost throwaway pick of QB Foles.  My 8th rated QB (some had him far worse) learned Kelly’s system quickly and exceeded all expectations by hitting 64% with a fantastic 27-2 ratio.  1st round pick DT Cox was fine at 41-3.  LB Kendricks was better than that with a 106-4 ledger.  DE Curry fit in Kelly’s rotation with 22 tackles (4 sacks).  CB Boykin continued the high level production of this class with 47 tackles and 6 picks.  OT Kelly started 10 games in ’12 but was a reserve under Chip Kelly’s Eagles.  RB Brown was a late round pick who contributed.  Brown ran 314-4.2-2.  The ’12 draft grade included undrafted WR/KR Johnson (25.9 KR in ’13) and the trade for stud LB Ryans, one of my favorites when drafted.  In two years he has amassed 240 tackles!  He added 4 sacks in ’13.

TOP STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS PRIOR TO THE DRAFT: Once again the run O gets the nod and as said here last year, this area figured to get even better under Chip Kelly.  Pass protection has been an issue but I’m putting big plays allowed on defense slightly “ahead” of OL as a weakness that must be properly addressed.

FREE AGENCY ANALYSIS AND STAFF NOTES: There were four moves to note.  Philly traded for RB Sproles which will serve to further diversify their offense.  WR Avant left, but so far all other wide-outs remain.  FS Jenkins helps to fill a huge void.  Chip Kelly also added talent to his special team unit.  In a 5th move, Mike Vick is now a Jet.  In a stunning 6th move, WR Jackson was cut even though a trade for mid-round pick was practically assured.  They just wanted him gone.

2014 DRAFT NEEDS: Draft Needs as of March 30th.  Safety, WR, CB impact, DL depth, with one future starter, extra (cover) LB, young OL.  Nate Allen and Earl Wolff could be factors but if Philly could land Louisville’s Pryor it would be ideal.  WR was not even going to appear on this board.  Now it has to, with no real talent other than oft-injured Maclin and one year success story Riley Cooper.  Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams are the CB’s.  More help is needed.  Philly lines up in a 3-4 but the DL has no rotational depth and will wear down without adding more bodies up front.  There’s talent in this extremely instinctive LB group but the unit’s flaw is pass coverage.  Chip Kelly is going to want to add more quickness to the current OL.