Philadelphia Eagles: 10 Positives
Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Eagles season is over. That’s what you might have been thinking if you have been reading everything online this past week after the Eagles were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers. There is a lot of negativity surrounding the Eagles. No one seems to understand the Eagles, are they a not very good team who are lucky to be 3-1? Or are they unlucky to not be 4-0? They’re winning without playing well at the moment, that’s something great teams do, right?
Let’s stop thinking about everything that is wrong with the Eagles. Let’s focus on some positives. If the Eagles go out there Sunday and get beaten at home by the Rams then I’ll get negative, but for now let’s look at some positives.
1. The Eagles Are 3-1
I’m stating the obvious here but it can be hard to know after this past week. The Eagles haven’t played their best football yet but they still have 3 wins and only 1 loss. Certain players like receiver Jeremy Maclin and running back Darren Sproles have been extremely good. If someone had said to me before the season, would you be happy with a 3-1 record after the first 4 games; I would have said yes.
2. I Have Faith In Quarterback Nick Foles
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles has had a really inconsistent start to the season. He looked awful last week against the 49ers and missed a lot of throws. A lot of this is because his mechanics are poor at the moment, he is not stepping into throws or setting his feet. This is probably because he doesn’t have faith in the offensive line at the moment but that is no excuse. I have huge faith in Foles though, I expect him to bounce back this week as he has previously done.
3. Injured Players Will Return
The Eagles are missing some really key players at the moment on both the offense and defense.
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Inside linebacker
has missed a couple of weeks but will hopefully be back soon. Offensive lineman
and
are both expected to be back for the week 10 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Even if the Eagles struggle to win games without Kelce and Mathis, the season will not be over by week 10 and they will provide a spark to the offense and the running game. Suspended offensive lineman Lane Johnson also returns this week.
4. This Point Last Season
At this point last year, the Eagles weren’t 3-1; they were 1-3. The Eagles had just lost three straight games, giving up 111 points in the process and only scoring 66 points. Two of those defeats were at home. We all know what happened the rest of the season. If the Eagles could go from 1-3 to 10-6, then they are on pace to do even better this season.
5. The NFC Is Not Playing Well
The Eagles should really be pushing for a first round bye this season in my opinion. The Seahawks will probably take the first spot, but the second spot is up for grabs. The New Orleans Saints have looked awful so far and are currently 1-3. The Green Bay Packers are only 3-2 and they play in a tough division. The Eagles have a chance of getting a first round bye.
6. Sport Science!
The Eagles players continued to get better towards the end of last season as other teams fatigued. Head coach Chip Kelly’s sport science regime keeps the Eagles players in better shape than other teams. The Eagles should win more games towards the end of the season as other teams start to get tired. This was evident last season as the Eagles went from 3-5 to 10-6. Veterans such as linebacker Trent Cole said they had never felt so fit towards the end of a season as they did last year.
7. Special Teams Improvements
The Eagles special team unit has been near perfect this season. Rookie kicker Cody Parkey has been a huge upgrade over Alex Henery. So far the Eagles have returned a punt for a touchdown, returned a kick for a touchdown and blocked a punt for a touchdown.
8. Eagles Young Players Will Improve
We saw this happen last year, young players will continue to improve as the season progresses. Former first round pick Lane Johnson struggled at the start of the season but was very good towards the end. Nick Foles also showed huge improvement towards the end of the season. Fletcher Cox has been a stud so far. Rookie Jordan Matthews has already looked very good so far and he should continue to get even better as the season progresses. Hopefully other rookies will begin to contribute too.
9. The Eagles Upcoming Schedule
Before the Eagles week 7 bye, they play two home games against the Rams and the Giants. The Eagles have a real chance at winning both those games; neither team are great teams and the Eagles home record has been very good of late. The Eagles could easily be going into the bye at 5-1.
10. Chip Kelly
Dare we really doubt head coach Chip Kelly? He’s made some bad decisions as has everyone but he an incredible football coach with a great football mind. I believe Chip Kelly will get these players playing great football again.