What Should the Eagles Work On During Their Bye Week?

Week seven is approaching us, bringing with it the Philadelphia Eagles’ bye week. There are a lot of things that the Eagles did against the New York Giants, this past Sunday night, that they should be proud of. There are also some key things that the Eagles need to work on before they take on the red hot Arizona Cardinals in week eight.

As exciting a win as it was against the New York Giants, it was also a night filled with injuries. The Giants lost their number one wide receiver Victor Cruz, and the Eagles lost running back Darren Sproles. Sproles has been absolutely incredible for the Eagles this year. On multiple occasions he has even won the game for the Eagles, so it is a devastating loss for the Eagles if Sproles cannot play week eight.

Oct 12, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles (43) celebrates his 15-yard touchdown with quarterback Nick Foles (9) against the New York Giants during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

On the bright side, the Eagles do happen to have the best running back in the NFL on their roster. Running back LeSean”Shady” McCoy had his first solid week of the season against the Giants after many struggles in which McCoy did not look like the player we have come to love. In the past games this season, when McCoy struggled running the ball, we were able to look to Sproles to keep the run game alive. If Sproles is in fact inactive McCoy will need to step up to the challenge and continue to revert to his 2013 form.

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Someone else that can help the Eagles in Sproles absence is rookie wide receiver Josh Huff out of Oregon. Huff exploded onto the scene in the preseason showing us his incredible special teams abilities. Huff was later injured before finally making his debut against the St. Louis Rams in week five. He had one measly catch in his regular season debut. He then followed that up in the Giants game with zero targets, however, he did have one rushing attempt. There was a double end around in which a bad toss by Sproles led to a drop and almost a fumble by Huff.

Despite the different position, Huff is a very similar player to Darren Sproles. He is a smaller player with quick feet and special teams abilities. For the Eagles to be successful in Sproles’ absence McCoy and backup Chris Polk need to pick up the slack in the running game. Meanwhile, Josh Huff needs to be explosive returning kicks and punts along with getting involved on offense.

Oct 12, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Trent Cole (58) gets up after hitting New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Looking ahead to week eight, the Eagles take on the Arizona Cardinals. On top of having an incredible secondary on defense led by cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie, the Cardinals also have a very talented passing game. The key to stopping the Cardinals will be to shut down wide receivers Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald along with running back Andre Ellington. With Fitzgerald taking more of the slot receiver duties lately, cornerback Brandon Boykin needs to shut him down from the start of the game. As far as Floyd goes, cornerback Bradley Fletcher needs to stick to him like glue.

The real challenge will come with Andre Ellington. So far the teams that Eagles have faced (Jaguars, Colts, Redskins, 49ers, etc.) all have big bruising backs that use their power to gain extra yards after contact. At first the Eagles could not do anything to slow players like these, but they seem to have caught on. Ellington is much different animal. He is smaller, quicker and shiftier. In the passing game he can break a defense with his legs, so linebackers Conner Barwin and Demeco Ryans need to make sure they always have eyes on Ellington.

All in all, I saw great improvement from the Eagles this past week against the Giants, and I look forward to what head coach Chip Kelly comes up with on his week off.