Ranking the Eagles 15th
SI.com's Peter King is up with his annual offseason power rankings. The Eagles come in at No. 15. But what about the rest of the NFC East?
Ranking the Eagles 15th
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
SI.com's Peter King is up with his offseason power rankings.
Where do the Eagles rank? No. 15.
I was in favor of going to Kevin Kolb, but that doesn't mean there's a 12-win season waiting to happen. There's likely to be growing pain, maybe with a Mike Vick replacement game or two.
Before you start going crazy, King fully admits that his rankings should not be taken too seriously. My guess is he'd skip this column if it were up to him, but fans, readers (and bloggers) love arguing over these rankings as they try to kill time over the next couple of months.
In the NFC East, King has the Giants at No. 9 and the Cowboys at No. 10, but he doesn't discount the possibility of the Eagles winning the division:
Pick a team out of the hat in this division. In the last six years, the NFC East champs, in order, have been Philadelphia, New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, New York and Dallas. The Giants have spent so much money and draft currency on the defensive line, and it simply has to be better or the natives rightfully will be able to wonder if Jerry Reese knows how to build a team, or did he just catch lightning in a bottle in his first year, the Super Bowl year. The offense will score enough, that I know. What it comes down to for the Giants is the defensive investment being smart enough, and I say it will.
The other teams he has ranked ahead of the Eagles are: the Packers (1), Saints (5), Panthers (8), Seahawks (11) and Vikings (13). Donovan McNabb's Redskins are 20th.
More links:
* Earlier in the offseason, I wrote about how rare it is for a rookie pass rusher to have an instant impact. NFL.com's Pat Kirwan tackled the topic recently also:
I'm not here to rain on the draft parade, but if your team selected a pass rusher in the top two rounds, and is about to spend the big bucks to sign him, don't expect your money's worth right away. Be realistically happy if your new addition is active for 16 games, records 30 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble. That would make him above average for a rookie.
* The National Football Post's Wes Bunting does not see Eagles fourth-round pick Keenan Clayton having a successful NFL career:
A gifted size/speed athlete, but he just doesn’t strike me as anything more than a special teams guy at the next level.
Become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
what does the eagles being ahead of the redskins on may 17th mean..nothing they could be ranked number 1 today and it still means jack. hey loan dog6 why not make kolb into napoleon bonaparte leading the troops into the battle of waterloo.— only 9- Hey Eagle fans, name an active coach with a higher winning percentage than Reid. Anyone, anyone....... fire the coach, get rid of probowlers, that is how you get....better? 15 is right on target and who cares, the Giants and Cowboys are not too far ahead of the birds. Defense will be better with Bradley back. Hopefully the oline gets healthy. Then in rests on Kolb & McCoy. McNabb and Westbrook will be missed if both of them are not probowl caliber in 2010 and that isn't easy.— pking222
- Star QB? Huh? Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. The guy hasn't even played a full season. As for the Airborne Army Ranger bit, this is a sports forum. There are plenty of other websites just waiting for you to post your most intimate of fantasies. Please stay on topic.— jonnyb0916
- Let's look at the years an Andy Reid team did not make the playoffs. 1999, Donovan and Reid's rookie years; nuff said. 2005: Super Bowl hangover, Donovan missed the last six games. 2007: Donovan coming back after being seriously injured each of the two previous seasons; probably the only bad year Andy had coaching (during the regular season, anyway). Chances are 50-50 the Eagles have a winning season and probably 40-60 they make the playoffs, what with a ew QB and a defense that will probably get worse before it gets better. I'm looking at 2010 as gravy--if they get in the playoffs, good for them, but I'm not expecting it. The 2011 season, however, will probably be the real test for Andy and whether he still has it as a good coach that drafts and prepares his teams well. As for winning a Super Bowl, that's a different conversation altogether. Personally, I think they should have fired Andy after 2008, kept Donovan, and hired Shananan. We'll get to see in Washington this year if that's a winning combination.— andrewfrombrooklyn
- The Eagles are not mediocre, yeah there is an unknown at QB but don't imply the Eagles are middle of the road, since the late 80's four seasons with 7,8 or 9 wins. The other 14 with 10+ wins 4 with 6 or less. Is it me or are the dumbest Eagle fans the ones who post the most.— pking222
lol..you can hate and call names all u want..truth is mall security is after me..i have to run...wolf out.— wolf 4
I was pointing out that since Peter King has the Eagles well ahead of the Redskins that he is not projecting a big falloff for the Eagles without McNabb or a big uptick for the Redskins with McNabb. All of the McNabb apologists on this site seem to think the Eagles will be terrible without #5 and that the Redskins will win a Superbowl and McNabb will go out like John Elway.- no surprise, I might rank them lower, closer to Washingtom with their present cornerback solution. Conrenerback a0 can't or doesn't want to tackle b) coming off a serious injury and a rookie who is thinner but not as tall as a runway model. DISASTER— lerze77
Comment removed.- 15th means 8-8. I figured the Eagles for 5-11. They did not upgrade either through FA or draft.— 4thand10
- lonewolf 10: Most comments offer nothing; your's are always enjoyable. You don't just think outside the box. You're in a whole-other box. Keep up the witty sarcasm. Very amusing.— mccloudmj
- Comment removed.
- Inre that 4th round pick: I have NO problem with this guy as a bona-fide GOOD special teams player. Lord knows we can always use another good one. And I also think he would be a blow-out patch at DE if necessary. And if KK looks decent this year, and the O-line can get good enough fast enough to keep him upright through most of the snaps, we just might have a surprise to pull in '11, if the D continues to improve.— TBear
- Aww look at the crybabies. The Eagles 15th " he doesn't know what he's talking about". See nobody else around the country is drinking that kool aid that Reid is selling but some frontrunning Philly fans that's why this upcoming season is going to be like The Great Depression! Dan? So you're happy that he rated the Eagles over the Skins who won like 4 games last year. If that's your motivation the more power to you.— Birdman411
Eagles should be ranked higher because the Defense will be in the top 5 this year and Kolb will shine in his first season starting because he has weapons in Celek, Jackson and Maclin as well as McCoy.— briandawkins20- Seriously, who even listens to what Wes Bunting says?? He has zero credibility and is a tool.— crohnkiller
- Comment removed.
- King is actually very good at ranking, which is why he hates to do it. The NFL is very unpredictable -- makes it worth watching. I'd put the Cowboys at 5, the Eagles at 17. King is right that the Vikings' line is declining, but even with Jackson at QB, I'd but the Vikes #10.— tacklinjoe
- lol..Kolb will show and surprise. playoff bound..— wolf 4
- Comment removed.
- Peter King is almost always wrong. So that could mean a few things. First, the Giants won't win the division; The Seahawks are NOT better than the Eagles (nor is Carolina), and the Eagles are better than #15.— montgomeryhopkins
- 15 is fair because QB is a huge question mark. When its all said & done, two decisions will define Reid's career in Philly: 1) draft McNabb #2 and 2) Start Kolb in 2010. I hope the 2nd turns out as well as the first.— dragoon6
- we have to take a step back after losing so much in the off-season as far as leadership and experience but we'll be okay in a year or two— bigALtheone
- Comment removed.
- lonewolf 10, like everyone else, you have NO idea what Kolb will do. "Star QB"; now that's funny!— JBinPA
- Smack dab in the middle; mediocre is their middle name!— JBinPA
If Kolb wasn't as star QB in the NFL he would probably have been a Airborne Army Ranger leading troops into battle. His command of his team is uncanny and he will not allow his team to lose focus like McNabb did to Shawn Andrews.- Yea, richards4captain18. That is a very strange choice for not living up to the hype.
- The Seahawks and Panthers better than the Eagles? Huh?— chesapeake
- All I know is that Joshua Jackson from Fringe should play Kolb if they make a movie out of all of this.
- I will never understand why the Giants get so much hype. They will not contend for the NFC east.
- Packers are #1? That's our opening day opponent!— nmlawyer
- Peter King had the Bears winning the Super Bowl a year ago. He also had the Saints 24th— mcat13
- Wes Bunting's article is guys who won't live up to the hype. There is hype surrounding the Eagle's 4th round pick?— richards4captain18
- Glad to see that Peter King has the Eagles with Kolb ahead of the Redskins, and that the Redskins aren't even in his conversation about the eventual 2010 NFC East Champion.
Follow
Sheil on Twitter. And become
a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds
coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Download it here.
