Do Eagles lack an elite player?
A couple national lists with the league's top players were recently released, and it's tough to find an Eagles player among the top 50. Do you disagree with the lists, or do the Eagles lack an elite player?
Do Eagles lack an elite player?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
DeSean Jackson is the Eagles' best offensive player.
Trent Cole is the Eagles' best defensive player.
That's how I see it. That's probably how you see it. And while that might be how the national media see it, that doesn't mean Jackson and Cole are considered elite players around the country.
Which brings us to a couple lists I stumbled upon today.
Let's start with Pete Prisco's list of the top 50 players in the NFL on CBSSports.com. How many Eagles made the cut?
How about zero?
No Jackson. No Cole.
Here are the receivers that made it ahead of Jackson: Andre Johnson (7), Larry Fitzgerald (11), Randy Moss (28), Brandon Marshall (40), Steve Smith (49).
There are no specific guidelines for Prisco's list - just that these are the top 50 players in the league. Moss is 33, and Smith is 31, but both guys have some good years left in them. If you're projecting forward, in other words - Which 50 players would you start your franchise with? - it's easier to make the case for Jackson, who's only 23.
As for Cole, Prisco lists him among the players who "just missed" the cut. The pass-rushers in the top 50 are: DeMarcus Ware (5), Dwight Freeney (10), Jared Allen (12), Mario Williams (17), LaMarr Woodley (26), Julius Peppers (31) and Elvis Dumervil (32).
Meanwhile, Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com put out a similar list recently, but he goes with the top 100.
Four Eagles made the cut, and one even cracked the top 50: Asante Samuel:
A two-time Super Bowl champion, three-time Pro Bowl participant and two-time All-Pro, Samuel's evolved into a senior leader in the Eagles locker room. Though he rarely plays press coverage and isn’t exactly Dick Butkus when it comes to tackling, he's one of the league’s premier interception artists. In the last two seasons, the 29-year-old's recorded 13 regular-season interceptions, including two in the playoffs. His nine picks last year were tied for most in the NFL.
Jackson comes in at 53; Jason Peters at 65; and Cole at 95.
Here is the criteria for Schrager's list:
1. Which player would I rather have on my team?
2. Which player would make the most impact on my team?
3. Which player will be the best in 2010, specifically?
Given those rules, I have a hard time believing Cole shouldn't be higher. He has 34 sacks in the last three seasons and hasn't missed a game. He's only 27 and has shown he's excellent against the run also. There are really 94 players better than him?
Your thoughts?
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You win with Super Stars, and at this point the shelf is pretty bare right now, we have some good players but not Super Stars yet... If Kolb does not blossom into a Good QB, we will be looking at some pretty bleak years ahead.— CrashTestCorzine- My money is on Kafka. Kolb doesn't impress me. He'll be a lifetime backup.— dapmman
- I think Dapman will be cut from the team by the 2nd preseason game.— tommy_the_k
- This is the year to listen to the national media, Eagle fans are admittedly biased, some of us admit that and some of us don't, and to think that this brand new Eagles team is going to do something special is plain ignorant. The O-line is in shambles, the best starter out, the best backup playing out of position, an unknown at one guard, an unknown injury at the other, and 2 tackles who have been serviceable, but not 'dominant'. The defense is tiny across the board, with question marks at every LB position, rookies being counted on for QB pressure, and 2 HUGE ?? marks in the backfield. You have a 2nd year RB with a new-to-the-system backup, a new QB who has more career int's than td's, and a backup who 2 years ago was running in the yard instead of running for yards. It's going to be a long year people, a necessary step to rebuild, so get ready for it.— Bleue
- If our middle linebacker returns to form he'll be in there within 2 years. He has a huge upside if he doesn't have any more injuries. The guy was a beast.— regulus6633
- Trent Cole is the most underrated player in the NFL. PE website had a great breakdown of the elite DEs over the past 3-4 years and only Jared Allen has posted consitently better numbers across the board. And the stats don't even tell how good he is against the run. It's only further evidence that Prisco and Schrager are cookie-cutter football journalists.— Axeman54
- Regulus6633 - I like Stewart Bradley, just like you. But what exactly did he did prior to his injury? He was good, not a beast though, I think you are putting a lot of praise on someone who really hasn't done anything in his NFL career...let alone after a knee surgery that generally takes over a year to fully recover? Just saying..— EaglesBleedMoney
Comment removed.- The Eagles definitely don't have an elite coach.— JayDuce
- Desean Jackson is the closest and is only getting better and they say a receiver is not at his best till the 3rd year. The only problem is he is dependent on a player getting him the ball. McNabb under threw him a lot and I have a feeling Kolb may not be the answer. Losing Westbrook and at the very lest a threat of a running game will hurt this team.— lgdoran
- Bleue - objective assessment of the team.— barrywil
- We got Kolb— JFD
- This offensive system is designed to spread the ball around, so building an elite player on offense, as far as stats go, is going to be hard to do. That being said, both One Yard and The Mac have the potential to be elite players, and One Yard is already an elite playmaker (when you make the pro bowl at WR and Returner, you are an elite playmaker). The defense as a whole needs to be top ten to talk about any of the individual players being elite. Not there yet. Bleue, good analysis, albeit a little pessimistic. Things could just as easily go right instead of wrong.— The Reddgie
- With Desean's punt returning ability, do you really pick all those other receivers over him? I'm not so sure I do. Did I overlook it or did I not see McNabb in the top 50 OR in the "just missed" list?
This list is bogus not to include D-Jax and his between the hash mark catches or Kevin "Mr. Clutch" Kolb. Then again the media didn't get a real chance to see them being that McNabb held this team back for so long and took us out of the national spotlight. D-Jax circus catches and his ability to turn into a bowlingball when going over the middle easily makes him the best WR in the game period. Kevin" Mr. Clutch" Kolb will be the best player in the NFL by midseason. His leadership is uncanny and he will push this team to greatness. Under Kolb's guide I can see this team placing 12-20 players into the Pro Bowl and adding 5-10 players for the best 50 players in the NFL for next year's list. If Kolb wasn't in the NFL he would be leading troops into battle as an Airborne Army Ranger Special Forces officer.
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