Inside the Iggles
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Eagles are still more talented than they were last season

By Nick DeCesare

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This may sound like blind optimism, but the Philadelphia Eagles are more talented than they were last year. Have they been able to put it together for a full game yet? No. However, we’re only two games into the season for a team that has added multiple new pieces on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, the Eagles have struggled in the worst way. This once high-powered offense’s leading rusher is on track for 88 yards on the year. The offensive line seems to be more porous than sponge. The team’s marquee free agent is reminding fans of the last “great” free agent to get overpaid and repeatedly get beat in coverage.

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And yet…there’s still room for optimism. Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford had an atrocious game yesterday, there’s no getting around that. He seemed to be ye olde Bradford from his days with the St. Louis Rams. Sure 0-2 isn’t the start anyone was looking for, but would you really rather have Nick Foles leading the team on Sundays?

What about the running back position? Free agent signings Demarco Murray and Ryan Mathews haven’t done much in the run game. Murray was taken down in the backfield multiple times, but that’s really on the offensive line and the scheme; why does the coaching staff repeatedly run Murray sideline to sideline when he has always been a north-south runner? On similar plays last year, I recall LeSean McCoy losing even more yardage trying to run around the defensive players.

Defensively, our linebacking corps looks better. The offseason additions of Kiko Alonso and Jordan Hicks have paid dividends, making a glaring weakness on the roster last year a position of strength this year. When inside linebackers Mychal Kendricks and Alonso went down yesterday, Hicks stepped in and performed better than you would expect a rookie third round pick to.

The secondary, with the exception of Byron Maxwell, seems improved as well. Walter Thurmond and Nolan Carroll have held up well in coverage and Malcolm Jenkins is playing even better than he did last year.

The only two positions that look worse than, or the same as, last year are the #1 cornerback and the offensive guard spots. Maxwell, who is being paid like a #1 cornerback, looks atrocious.

I’m not even sure he is a top 50 cornerback in the league. Through the first two weeks, Maxwell is ranked the 97th cornerback out of 99 qualifiers, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s scary bad. When targeted, Maxwell has given up the third highest quarterback rating, doing only slightly better than Bradley Fletcher has done with the Patriots this year.

At offensive guard, the numbers show quite the opposite. Starting guards Allen Barbre and Andre Gardner have held their own. Gardner grades out as the #20 guard in the league, and Barbre grades out as the #37 guard. So far, both are performing better than last year’s all-pro guard Evan Mathis.

The overall talent of the roster has improved since last year, but the Eagles need to make a few schematic changes for this all to work. There are many moving parts, but the team overall is much more talented than last year. The NFC East is still ripe for the taking.

Next: Takeaways from Eagles Vs Cowboys

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