Pictured: Any drunk girl within a 30 mile radius of Roethlisberger
It's not that I think the Eagles will be bad - I think they'll be a decent team. But I don't think they'll be as good as many Philly faithful believe that they will be. Let's take a look at the following reasons as to why they won't make the playoffs....
1) McNabb is gone.
Now, I do believe that sending McNabb on his way was the right move. Kolb is ready to lead this team, and I think eventually, Kolb will be a good to very good QB in this league. He showed in limited playing time last year that he has the ability to be a successful QB at this level. However, he also made it pretty clear that he has a lot to learn too (his turnovers against the Saints ruined any chance of winning that game). Even so, he moved the ball easily and kept the Eagles competitive for 1/2 a game against the Super Bowl Champs, and he absolutely lit up a piss-poor KC defense. It's hard to fault him too much for his performances there. On top of that, Kevin Kolb is pretty goddamn badass. Seriously. The dude hunts wild boar using "a 12 inch bowie knife and a couple of dogs." I don't know what more I could ask for in a QB... .
"I am all that is man."
So if I'm so high on Kolb, why am I so low on the Eagles? Well, Kolb's going to be making his 3rd start this September. He's surrounded by a very, very young offense, and a line that could be a bit shaky to start the season. No Westbrook. No veteran WR to help him. No veteran QB to mentor him. I think Kolb is going to have a few games this year where he kills the Eagles, much like he does wild hogs....
They have no idea how fuckin dead they are
That's not to say it will be all his fault, but you don't go from a consistent, careful QB like McNabb to an unproven guy like Kolb without suffering a bit of a setback. That being said, I do think Kolb will be a very good QB in a couple of years. Elite? I wouldn't go that far, but good enough to win a lot of games and be productive - I picture him being similar to Schaub in Houston. Keeping all this in mind, if Kolb comes out and plays a couple of great games early next year, fully expect me to have a gigantic man-crush on him and to defend him fiercer than I defend Chase Utley's ability to pick up chicks.
2) Their depth on the offensive line. In short, I don't like it. You have Peters, Herremans, Cole, Stacey Andrews, and Winston Justice penciled in as starters across the line. If either of the tackles go down, the starting guards can slip out to play tackle, and Max "The Sloth" Jean-Gilles comes in at guard. If Nick Cole gets injured, I don't even know what the hell happens. Seriously. I think we just forfeit the season. Even without Cole getting injured, I don't particularly like him starting at center, but quite frankly, we don't have any other options. I know we added several undrafted rookie linemen, but even so, I had more confidence in the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi than I do in our linemen off the bench.... I mean seriously - an army of "elite" soldiers armed with advanced weaponry versus a group of these guys wielding sticks?!?
Ewoks - Adorable, yet deadly
3) A Suspect Secondary Sheldon Brown has been our toughest corner for awhile now, and the Eagles sent him packing this year for a limited return (in my opinion). Many people will point out that we have perennial pro bowler Asante Samuel starting at corner, but in my opinion, he's much better suited as a #2 corner because he's a high risk, high reward player, and then on top of that, he is next to useless against the run. Aside from Samuel, the Eagles have a host of guys who are borderline (at best) starters - Marlin Jackson (who may be kept out at CB rather than moving to safety), Ellis Hobbs is coming back from an injury that was a borderline career ender, Macho Harris should be moving back out to corner, Joselio Hansen is a decent nickelback, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who wants him to start for their team... Beyond that it's all rookies. Combine that with a rookie starting at safety (or even he may move out to corner!), and you have to wonder how this secondary is going to hold up against the powerhouse offense at Dallas, who just supplemented a strong offense with the best WR in the draft. True, the Eagles drafted some pass rushers to help mask their weak secondary, but even so, with rookie pass rushers (especially undersized ones) you never know what you're going to get.
4) Suspect Run Defense The Eagles have brought in a few undersized DE's through the draft, and they brought in Ernie Sims, a smallish LB who struggles against the run. And, depending upon who you ask, the rookie Allen also struggles against the run.... Fuckin great. Do you want to see Brandon Jacobs running against that defense twice a year? How about Tashard Choice, Felix Jones, and Marion Barber? Then there's the All-Madden 2006 RB trio of Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, and Willie Parker... speaking of Madden 2006, who was on that cover?
Oh, that's right...
5) A Tough Division
The Cowboys improved this offseason - their offense looks deadly (assuming their line gels okay), and as blatantly evident in the final two games vs the Cowboys, the Eagles matchup awful against them. The Redskins also improved - they got themselves a bargain QB who excels with little surrounding talent, and quite frankly, they had the talent level of a .500ish team last year, and their major flaw (a coach who is a friggin retard) has been addressed.
Pictured: Jim Zorn (Citation Needed)
The Giants really aren't that much different than the team that won the Super Bowl a few years back. And this is a division that many people already considered the best in the league before this offseason.... It's not exactly an ideal situation.
6) A Tough Schedule They get the AFC South and NFC North in addition to a tough division. Ouch. The Colts, the underrated Titans and Texans, then the up and coming Packers, the strong Vikings, and the questionable Bears... It doesn't help that the end of the schedule is the toughest stretch - honestly I'd trade the Eagles schedule in for any one else's this year. On a brighter note, they do get to play the Lions once...
7) Leadership Issues The Eagles are a young team. Absurdly young. The only non-kicker on their team who will be 29 or older when the season starts is Jaqua Parker, who has an outside chance of being cut anyway. Their offense is led by a first year QB and features a lot of young WR's. Aside from Herremans, I don't think any of their offensive linemen have the experience or tenacity to be a leader. Defensively, I trust Stewart Bradley to be the leader, but he even only has 1 real year of playing time. There's no more Westbrook, McNabb, Dawkins, or even Trotter.
I think the Eagles are going to start the season off pretty strong - Look for them to be about 5-2 heading into the bye week. From there, the shit is going to hit the fan. They close out the season about 3-6 and finish right around .500.
I'm hoping this team gels midseason, hits stride, and doesn't look back, but I'm just not that optimistic... at least not yet. I think they finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs.
No comments:
Post a Comment