Grading The Philadelphia Eagles Off-Season So Far
How do the Philadelphia Eagles grade this offseason?
The Philadelphia Eagles have made a lot of fans happy with the way the current off-season has played out; and to this point, we have to give them a passing grade. There were some frustrated fans as the season came to an end with no playoff appearance and quite a great deal of uncertainty, but on paper, this team is beginning to look like one that can walk into next season and compete for the NFC East crown. Let’s examine a brief bit of history.
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For two straight seasons, the Eagles missed the playoffs. Two years ago, they had a stranglehold on the division after walking into a Thanksgiving match-up with the Dallas Cowboys and pushing them all over the field. With a month left on the schedule, one more victory would have assured them a playoff spot. It didn’t happen. Last year, winning one of their final two games would assure them a playoff spot and division title. The result? They laid an egg in the first game in an embarrassing home loss to the Washington Redskins. This past January, former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was given his walking papers and escorted out of the city almost as quickly as he was ushered in.
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Kelly would be replaced quickly by former Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Doug Pederson and he immediately went to work and added three assistant coaches to his staff including new Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz. A day later, more names would be added, but the highlight of the off-season has been what’s been done with player personnel. Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, Lane Johnson, Vinny Curry, Sam Bradford and Malcolm Jenkins have all been re-signed which makes getting Fletcher Cox taken care of the only major concern now. It’s been quite a breath of fresh air seeing as how the last two off-seasons consisted dismissing fan favorites and downgrading at important positions.
Free agency begins on March 9, and the Eagles will continue to add to an already talented roster. There’s been some controversy surrounding DeMarco Murray, but Pederson seems intent on keeping him around. Based on his success with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and their offense, there’s some confidence building within the fanbase that he’ll be able to restore some magic to the Eagles offense as the Chip Kelly system is left in the rear view mirror and this team returns to a more traditional NFL offense.
The head coaching hire wasn’t sexy, but it’s solid. The quarterback position is still an area of concern, but they’ve truly done the best that they can do there. The Cox deal has to get done, but there’s confidence that he’ll be taken care of (he does have a year remaining on his current deal). There’s really no bad news to report; so this team gets a B+ to this point in the off-season.