Can Philadelphia Eagles Reinvent Big Red’s Magic?
By Bret Stuter
Under The Radar
The Philadelphia Eagles fan base is under no misconceptions this year. There are few, if any, who see the Philadelphia Eagles as a deep playoff threat. With a team switching to a new coaching staff, everyone will be unfamiliar with their own roles, and with the roles of teammates. That margin leaves room for mistakes during games, mistakes which can be corrected.
If the team is to find success, they will need to play as mistake free football as possible. That does not mean huge runs, passing plays or well-timed interceptions, just simple grind it out no fumbles interceptions offense and not getting beaten badly on assignments on defense.
If the team can navigate the first half of the season at or better than .500 , they will be in position to challenge for a playoff spot. But make no mistakes, the fact that the team has their bye week after three games is tremendously difficult to play. The team will play a short-week home game on Thursday, December 22nd, against rival New York Giants before finishing out the season at home on New Years Day against the other rival Dallas Cowboys.
It’s tough to say who will step up this season on either offense or defense, but the team has placed the orientation back upon the shoulders of the defense. With an attack style, the defense will generate some turnovers. If the offense can avoid coughing up the ball, that will give the Eagles an advantage they have seldom enjoyed.
With a backfield of Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles and Kenjon Barner, the key may be the performance of Barner. While Mathews will be the starter, there is already concerns over his durability. Sproles is not a true feature back, but his versatility can create mismatches for the defense in route running as well as a change of pace rusher.
Barner has been slowly easing into the Eagles offense , but this year he has carried the ball most often in practices as the team carried on without Mathews and Sproles in training camp. Can that extra work translate into more production?
Wendall Smallwood might disagree. Smallwood was the 153rd player selected in the 2016 NFL draft, a small but versatile running back from West Virginia who is the heir apparent to the role currently filled by Darren Sproles. Smallwood could evolve this season into a Bryan Westbrook style offensive weapon, used with deadly effectiveness in both the running a passing games.
To be successful, the Philadelphia Eagles simply need to be very good at what they do. Defense and mistake free offense. If the team can stick to Andy Reid’s script, they’ll surprise more than a few teams this year.