Can the Eagles Salvage their Season?

With the Philadelphia Eagles bye week here we are half way through the season and it may be time to get realistic expectations about the rest of the season. The Eagles offense has been underwhelming to say the least, and while the defense has been exceeding expectations it still has not been enough to carry the team with inconsistent cornerback play.

A large portion of these struggles can be attributed to quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford is playing football for the first time after two years of inactivity so there was bound to be a decent amount of rust on his wheels. That being said, it getting to the point where fans shouldn’t have to wait for Bradford to turn it around anymore.

Eagles /

Eagles

Bradford appears to have a lack of confidence in himself and also his receivers. Therefore, because Bradford has not yet fully adjusted to the playbook or back to the game of football he is making big mistakes.

It appears as though when there is a designed play, instead of successfully going through his progressions as a good quarterback does, Bradford looks to the primary receiver for the play. The primary receiver is determined by coach Chip Kelly. If the throw is not there Bradford then proceeds to either forces it, which often leads to an incompletion or an interception, or he takes a sack.

Some of this can be put on the offensive line since Bradford often doesn’t have enough time to go through his progressions, but overall he needs to get better mentally first and foremost.

The wide receivers are a different but equally disappointing story. Jordan Matthews who was supposed to be out wide receiver number one has been awful. He barely gets open for passes and when he finally does get balls thrown his way he doesn’t catch them.

Nelson Agholor has been even worse. The expectations might have been too high for a rookie, but for a first round pick who was thought to be so polished it is incredible how much of a non-factor Agholor has been for the Eagles even before his injury. He has been surpassed by the likes of Miles Austin, Josh Huff and Riley Cooper.

The running game had finally turned around with Chip Kelly mixing in running plays from the pistol formation. However, he got away from that last week against the Carolina Panthers and look what happened. If the Eagles had a defense this good in previous seasons they would have been the odds on favorites for the division. Their defense currently leads the league in turnovers and is very hard to run against.

With a moderately easy schedule I would say it is still realistic that the Eagles could make the playoffs and finish yet again with a 10-6 record. The must win games are the last ones against the division teams. The Eagles have the talent to turn their season around and become legitimate contenders. What happens next lies on the shoulders of Chip Kelly.

Next: Eagles Analysis: Receiver Drops Need to Stop

More from Inside the Iggles

Home/Eagles News