What are the Eagles' biggest concerns?
What are the Eagles' biggest concerns going into training camp and the 2010 season? Here's my take - one on offense and one on defense.
What are the Eagles' biggest concerns?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Over the last couple of months, I've been asked to answer a few questions about the Eagles for various sites/publications that are previewing the 2010 season.
And the same general question continues to come up, so I thought I'd answer it here: What is the Eagles' biggest concern?
For our purposes, I picked one on offense and one on defense. Here's my take as we stand a week away from the Birds' first practice at Lehigh.
OFFENSE
This one was pretty simple for me: the interior of the offensive line. Left guard, center and right guard can be summarized with the following three questions:
1. Is Todd Herremans' foot OK?
2. Can Nick Cole be good enough at center with an offseason's worth of practices under his belt?
3. Can Stacy Andrews be counted on?
Let's start with the first question. I know Herremans says his foot is fine, but I need to see it. There was obviously some reason why he didn't participate in OTAs at the NovaCare Complex and had to see a specialist. When he's on the field, Herremans is one of the Eagles' most dependable linemen. He's not only being counted on to start at left guard, but remember, if Jason Peters goes down at left tackle, Herremans would likely slide over as his replacement.
As for the second question, if you're a frequent reader, you know what I think. I think the answer is yes. Will he be as good as Jamaal Jackson? No. But I still think Cole beats out Mike McGlynn and is the starting center. During camp, he'll need to get the basics down with Kevin Kolb. The last thing the Eagles need the first month of the season is a botched snap or two that adds to their turnover total. The other key for Cole is to study and learn what to look for so he can direct the line's blocking schemes. If he can pick those things up, I think he'll be OK.
And finally, Andrews at right guard. I'm not even going to try to give you a guess here. Andrews has to show he's a completely different player than the guy the Eagles benched after awarding him a $39M contract. The fact that the Eagles reportedly were ready to cut Andrews if he didn't restructure his deal, along with the evidence of them showing more confidence in Max Jean-Gilles at the end of last season, tells me they're not sold on the idea that he'll bounce back.
DEFENSE
You can really make a case for any of several different areas on D. But to me, it's the secondary. If you believe the coaching staff and front office, Ellis Hobbs is the odds-on favorite to start opposite Asante Samuel at cornerback. But I'm not convinced they'll open the season that way. Joselio Hanson will get a shot to win the job, while Macho Harris and rookie Trevard Lindley go into camp having to prove themselves.
On the other side, whether you like or diskile Samuel and his style of play, he's not much of a question mark. The Eagles know what they're going to get from him.
But at safety, it's another story. Rookie Nate Allen enters camp as the starter, but he's yet to agree to terms on a contract. At OTAs, Allen seemed like he had the smarts to pick things up quickly, but every practice at Lehigh will be important for him. Remember what camp was like for LeSean McCoy last year? Expect a similar situation for Allen. If he's not up to the task, the Eagles will turn to Quintin Demps.
And finally, there's Quintin Mikell. Whether he was ready or not, Mikell was the quarterback on D a year ago. The Eagles gave up 27 touchdowns through the air (only seven teams allowed more), and there was general confusion throughout.
The fault is certainly not all on Mikell. The Birds need more production from their blitzes, better communication and more pressure from their front four. But Mikell's role remains key, especially with two new starters lining up in the starting secondary.
That's my take on the biggest concerns. Feel free to chime in below with what you think.
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I'm just not feeling this team this year. Too many holes and the change should have been Reid. I want a running offense and pressure from the 4 down linemen. I'm tired of relying on the blitz. Anyway you look at it this team is rebuilding. If they say otherwise their hoping for lightning in a bottle.— Gee Money- @ calling you out, what a racists comment. Are you saying that black qb's can't play but are cool? COME ON NOW WHAT THE DEVIL IS WRONG WITH YOU?— Gotenks
Now with a real leader and true All-American at his rightful place on the throne as the Eagles QB this team has filled it's biggest hole. Kevin "Mr. Clutch" Kolb aka Killer of Wild Boar With His Hands and a Bowie Knife will demand that his players perform at a high level. This team also has a high level of confidence and admiration in a true All-American and have no problem following the soon-to-be-best QB-in-eagles-history to the promised land. Even if Kolb throws 2 pick sixes the team can rest assure that Kevin "15 years from now #4 with be retied into the Hall of Fame" Kolb will get all those points back on the next drive. Kevin Kolb......my man. Wolf Out!- It's sad when somebody plays the race card here, whoever and whatever their color. The Civil War is Ovah, DUH.— rad205
- It's sad when somebody plays the race card here, whoever and whatever their color. The Civil War is Ovah, DUH.— rad205
- Good ol' Andy will have this team playing on all cylinders. Andy knows the best way to win is playing family football. Andy will manage this team the same way he manages his household with a strict by loving guidance and awareness. After trading the red-headed illegitimate stepchild, McNabb, this team is ready to make that jump to elite. Thanks again Andy for giving us the BEST EASTER EVER by trading off that deadweight and placing a real leader true All-American and legitimate son as the starting QB of our beloved Eagles. The face of the Eagles has never looked better. E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES! Andy.......my man. Wolf Out!
- I'll bet the Wolf is glad the Senate is voting on extending UC benefits today. Preserves his ability to read and comment all day without obtaining a job, which could crimp his style— habitualloser
- You called it right, Sheil, interior line and secondary. They both will struggle the first half of the season and I would consider 4-4 at the half-way point the best we could hope for. After that they would have to go 6-2 to have a shot at the playoffs. Honestly, i don't see it happening.— allen_jones
- Here's hoping that they keep the thug named Vick.— Fillieslover
- Sheil, I'm seriously concerned about the center and SAM. Why not pick up Kevin Mawae until JJ comes back? I hate going into the season with holes and this is a glaring one. Second, I don't have a lot of confidence in Fouko and upgrade there would have been perfect. RCB is also scary but I think the rookie from Kentucky may be better than advertised. We blew it not filling this hole before letting Sheldon Brown go.— K.D.
- Biggest concern = AR's staunch refusal to adjust the game plan during the game.— The Reddgie
- I'm with The Reddgie...im afraid he may have been the problem all along...— EaglesBleedMoney
- Eagles rank 4th in last decade but Andy stinks right? (well, besides the 2 min offense) NFL Standings for the Decade http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/01/07/nfl-standings-for-the-decade-colts-patriots-are-the-best-lion/— peteike
- With the return of Stewart Bradley, if Graham and Allen can get to camp and make an impact I think this defense has a chance to be pretty good. I also think that as much as we criticize Andy Reid's offense, it will be interesting to see how it runs with a QB that actually knows how to lead a receiver. It is hard to run successful slants when the receiver constantly has to stop and reach to his toes to make a reception.— Reid Must Go
- Quicker to list the Eagles' strengths. The concerns are many. The wideouts are pretty good. The running backs could be good. The QB may be promising. Trent Cole is always there. Jason Peters might be more consistent. The defensive tackles are consistent. And we have a lot of speed. The team's name this year should be ??Eagles??— tacklinjoe
- there so many concerns with this team where do u start?? but the eagles biggest concern has 2 b the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.....— the tru 1
- sorry, still concerned about Kolb. He had the luxury of a few games without any substantial film on him. D coordinaters get paid too and they get paid to find faults and weaknesses. The kid is going to get disected and when the weaknesses are found (and they will be) it's going to be a long season. Still a die hard Eagles fan, but I don't see the playoffs this year. The best we can hope for is to stay healthy, be competitive and continue to fill the holes on O-Line and secondary. Allen was a good start, need to put more emphasis there— eagledon
- Eagles biggest concern... are they now back to the gutter of NFL East for another 20 years :-)— Seed
- Another real concern, that nobody's talking about - brutal schedule. Of course, things and teams change during the season. But it is a tough, tough schedule.— mjb
I have been a voice crying in the wilderness in regards to Reid's shaky O-line for several years now. His risky plan of relying on damaged-goods players almost seemed to work until the end of last season, when it all finally crumbled with the last straw injury of Jamaal Jackson's. His O-line drafting has not been good of late, and his attempt to plug the holes with injured big men (Peters, Stacey Andrews, etc.) will not end well, as big a fan as I am of my beloved birds. Great teams build a great offensive line through the draft first and free agency second, not the other way around. Reid chose to not pick up anyone in the draft, despite the line being a glaring need. I don't understand Reid's alleged genius with building an O-line, or his philosophy that good coaching can turn anyone into a decent offensive lineman. When was the last time you saw an Eagles line actually run block with consistency? I think we are in for another long season of pass attempts ending in fourth downs. We will win some games against bad teams that way, but forget about the playoffs. I think that Reid and his passing obsession should go, far far away.- It's not that I'm a pessimist, but I see a lot more question marks than the ones Big Sheil wrote about. That said, let's say the offensive line is a work in progress that should be better the second half of the season than the first. Donovan avoided a lot of sacks simply by being so hard to bring down once the rush got to him, even without the burst he lost due to injury. If and when the line breaks down, will Kolb be as adept at avoiding the sack? The flip side is that maybe his willingness to trust the short routes because he's a little more accurate combined with his relative lack of arm strength means he gets the ball out more often and helps the line look better than it is.— KNuff
- How about this for a concern: they don't have a proven quarterback, running back, offensive line, linebackers, secondary, punter, kick coverage unit, and a field goal kicker who is over the hill. Oh, that's more than one? Whoops. 2010 Eagles: 4-12. When is the draft?— hunsinator
- I'd start Hanson over Hobbs at CB. A lot depends on the production of the DE spot opposite Trent Cole. Tapp or/and Graham must come up big, or this defense is going to get torched.— p-diddy
- yeah this would've been the time to let Reid go. different QB. Different coach. I dont see him doing well with this team. He tries the same schemes every year thinking these are the same guys that went to the superbowl. His play calling is horrible. At the very least he needs to turn it over to the Off. cordinator. He'd be a great GM. He can draft with the best of them. Just doesn't make the right decisions with the personel he has. This team may not be a playoff team anyway but if their doing bad halfway through the season look for Andy to go bye,bye— Scott10
- Lonewolf - Seriously, Get a life— MJPD345
- On offense, the O-line and Kolb are the two questions. I agree that the O-line is a bigger question. The defense should be better with Bradley back and the depth along the D-line. The secondary is definitely the question mark. I am reasonably optimistic. Hell, I better be, preseason hasn't even started.
- Sheil, what's the story with AQ Shipley at center? There was some talk of him earlier at the OTA but now nothing. Has he dropped out of the plans? The guy is a bit small, but was an All-American at PSU and a Remington finalists so he could not be that bad.— adpsufan
- adpsufan - I apologize in advance, but seeing as you are a PSU fan I now realize you don't know much. First off, it's Rimington award, not Remington. The award is named after Dave Rimington, not a shaving product. Second, the fact that he won the award means squat. In fact can you name me the award winners in the past 5 years? Only 2 of them are on NFL rosters right now. So to say "he can't be all that bad" is incorrect...— EaglesBleedMoney
- Shel, the first part is easy. As for the offensive line, the answers are no, no, and no. Cole is pretty mobile for a short fat man. That's why he can play guard. He'll get killed at center though, especially against a 3-4 defense. He's too small to effectively take on a NT. Why didn't you mention the DL? This is usually an overrated area of the D. While we know the LB's are going to suck every year, we look too much at sacks as a grade for the DL. If somebody wants to check, find out the number of sacks by the DL when NOT blitzing, versus the rest of the league. I'm betting it's an eye-opener!— jimmyj
- I don't get a lot of you who are down on this year's squad. This year is easily the most exciting we've had in two decades. I love it! It's like I bought a new car to entertain me on Sundays!— Drigh13
- Jimmyj... I don't think you understand the Birds defensive scheme. It's obvious that you don't like it, but it's equally obvious you don't get it. The SAM slot is suspect this year, but Ernie Sims at WILL and Stewart Bradley at MIKE are as solid as any LBs in the league. And our DL is equally solid. Trent Cole, Brandom Graham, Darryl Tapp, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, and Juqua Parker at the DE positions (and Ricky Sapp is gonna open some eyes too), and Bunk and Patterson are bangin' DTs. I'd like to see more depth at the DT slots, but Owens, Laws, and Dixon might (I pray) surprise us this year.— Drigh13
- Yea too bad your new car is a Prius instead of a Lamborghini Drigh13.— EaglesBleedMoney
- drigh: Generally speaking I like people who have a positive attitude to the team. Your response left me speechless however. Is this the same Ernie Sims who was ranked dead last, the worst 4-3 outside LB in football, by Pro Football Focus? In a league where every good player makes a Pro Bowl at least once or twice, (if only to replace other injured players) the only Eagle LB so honored in Andy's time has been Trotter. Jeremiah is of course done, and was not even drafted by Andy having preceded him. You can tell what a team thinks of a position by dollars, and the Eagles think absolutely nothing of their LB's, the lowest paid starters on the team. I'll take Andy and Joe Banner's opinion of their worth over yours or mine!— jimmyj
- Wow you got me. I mispelled something. And I thought a guy getting nominated for an award also meant something. But you set me straight. Thanks for all the help. Maybe I should just go return my diploma now since I really didn't learn much there it seems.— adpsufan
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