Philadelphia Eagles: What Fans Of Other Teams Have To Say

June is here and we are in the middle of organised team activities (OTAs). At this point of the offseason, almost everything that could have been said about the Philadelphia Eagles has been said. The 2014 schedule, the coaching personnel changes, free agency signings, trades and draft picks have all been analyzed. More or less, we all know how we feel about the 2014 Eagles.

But what do fans of other teams think about the Birds? Sometimes, this is the best reality check and I decided to approach fans of different NFL teams to learn their opinion on the Eagles. This is what they said.

Scott Carasik (@ScottCarasik) is a fan of the Atlanta Falcons and the owner of DraftFalcons.com. He is also a writer for Bleacher Report. Here is what he had to said about the 2014 Eagles:

The Eagles are a unique team because Chip Kelly looks to focus on having his best talent on the lines. He looks to scheme for points as opposed to having dominant talent at skill positions. It’s a bit of a throwback ideal, but it makes a ton of sense for how he has coached. The only real question here is whether the defense can hold up. Chip isn’t exactly a defensive mastermind, but he’s got some talent on that side of the ball. If he can get his defensive talent to perform up to their potential, the Eagles should win the NFC East pretty easily with a 11-5 record or better.

Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) is a writer for Bleacher Report and the owner of a football blog, called Pre-Snap Reads. He is a supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he is more of a scholar of the game than a football fan. His thoughts:

The Philadelphia Eagles 2014 season will be all about adaptability. Opposing defenses will be trying to adapt to Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme, while Kelly himself will be trying to stay one step ahead of them by adding more layers to his approach. Losing DeSean Jackson should hurt the offense, but enough weapons remain around Nick Foles for it to continue to prosper.

Defensively, the Eagles did try to address their biggest problem, the safety position, but what Malcolm Jenkins offers in coverage is negated by his complete inability as a run defender. For the first time in his career, Foles is entering the season as the starter. Growing pains will be inevitable, so how he rebounds from them will likely determine the outcome of the Eagles’ season. It wouldn’t be a major shock if they missed out on the playoffs in 2014.

Aggelos Stoupas (@AggelosStark) is a football fan from Greece and a fantasy football rival of mine. He roots for the New York Giants, but he doesn’t watch football wearing blue-shaded glasses. This is what he thinks about the Birds:

I’m a 21 years old Giants fan and as long as I remember the Eagles, they’re a good team – but not good enough. I liked them as a franchise under Andy Reid and Chip Kelly seems a very good coaching option. Jeff Lurie is a good owner too and I like that he has spent a good amount of money on the team and he stays out of the media during the season. But to me, he is not good enough since he seems satisfied with Eagles being just a good team without winning the Super Bowl –something I find to be pathetic for a franchise with the history of the Eagles. My prediction for the following year is that the Eagles will be first in the division but they’ll not get past the their first playoff game.

Chandler Miller (@CM_Draft) does college scouting and draft analysis on Twitter. The Oakland Raiders are his favorite team. When I asked for his opinion on the 2014 Eagles, he replied almost immediately.

The Eagles had a great roster going into this offseason, and I feel that they improved marginally over the course of the offseason. Nick Foles plays behind the best offensive line in the NFL and even though they lost Desean Jackson, he still has plenty of talent at WR at his disposal with Riley Cooper, Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff. I expect big things from Jordan Matthews in year one.

First round pick Marcus Smith was a surprise to me, but he should be able to make an impact from day one. Smith is one of the best run defenders in the 2014 class and excels at rushing the passer from the interior. But with a front seven including Fletcher Cox, Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry and Connor Barwin, Smith won’t have to be relied upon to rush the passer right away. Also, the signing of safety Malcolm Jenkins should be huge.

With Chip Kelly at the helm, the Eagles should win the NFC East with ease in 2014. If key players stay healthy, a 12 win season is a reasonable goal.

Dennis Vourderis (dtrainn77) is a New York Jets fan. He is one of the funniest guys I follow on Twitter and his comments are always right on point. Like the rest of the guys, he was willing to share his thoughts on the Eagles.

As a Jets fan I have always considered the Jets and Eagles to be first cousins. We even decided to swap backup QBs in the offseason.

As many football fans I was pretty shocked at the emergence of Nick Foles and his video game numbers. It’s hard to estimate just what kind of damage Foles can do in his follow up campaign given the now loss of DeSean Jackson.

Going into 2014, it looks like the NFC East will still be the Eagles division to lose. Chip Kelly has another year to implement his offense and hopefully find a way to strengthen his weak link defense. I think Foles is going to prove last year was not a fluke and continue to lead a potent Eagle offense this coming season, despite the loss of Jackson. The defense will still be a weak point and ultimately hold back a talented Eagles team from being anything more than 10-11 win team that will have the best odds to host a wildcard round playoff game.