Where does the Eagles' O-line rank?
How does the Eagles' offensive line stack up compared to the rest of the NFL? And will the Birds run the ball more in 2010 with Kevin Kolb under center?
Where does the Eagles' O-line rank?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Jason Cole over at Yahoo Sports continues to roll out his offseason positional rankings.
Cole's last set of rankings had the Eagles' running back situation as the worst in the NFC.
This week, he does the offensive line, and the Birds come in at No. 18:
No team has made more high-profile moves in recent years to upgrade its line with such little in the way of results than Philly. From Jason Peters to the Andrews Brothers (Shawn and Stacy), the Eagles have searched and searched for some working group after the demise of the line led for years by tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan. For all the effort, the Eagles ranked No. 20 in pass protection last season. Some people may blame that on Donovan McNabb. Don’t be fooled. The real culprit is a combination of a bad line and a running game that no one in the NFL respects, even if the stats show that the Eagles were good at run blocking. Those stats are more a reflection of how little opponents worry about the Eagles running.
I'm not as down on Peters as some others. I know one of yo bring up that Andy Reid called him the best tackle in the league when the Eagles acquired Peters from the Bills, and no one would argue he lived up to that billing. But he did put together stretches where he played at a very high level. Leading the team with 11 penalties? Yeah, that part wasn't so good. But I'm cautiously optimistic about Peters' chances to put everything together in 2010.
As for the rankings, it's tough for me to say whether this is too high or low, not having looked at the other lines closely on a weekly basis. But when I opened the link, my guess was the Eagles would be in the middle of the pack.
RUN THE BALL, ANDY!
That's the rallying cry we hear every season. If you're a frequent MTC reader, you know I'm not part of that camp. I think people are too quick to blame the lack of balance every time something goes wrong with the Birds.
But Clifton Brown of The Sporting News thinks the Eagles have to run the ball more effectively this season in particular to help out Kevin Kolb.
The good news is the Eagles have been a perennial winner under Reid. The bad news is the Eagles' running game has often struggled in three key areas: Short-yardage situations, the red zone and chewing clock while attempting to protect fourth-quarter leads. The lack of a consistent running game also hurt the Eagles against quality opponents last season. In three losses to the Cowboys, the Eagles were badly outrushed (453 yards to 181 yards) and dominated in time of possession.
I think we will see no significant difference in run/pass percentage. Will there be changes in the offense? Sure. But a stronger commitment to the run game will not be one of them.
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Sick of hearing Birds need to run the ball more. The only thing Reid runs is a pass first WC offense and that ain't going to change even if Birds had the O-line and RBs to do it. This offense with speed WRs and pass catching TEs is built to throw, not run. They will live or die this season on how Kolb and O-line perform. Defense should be better with more speed, but still a year away with a ton of question marks starting with the secondary. 8-8 this year, 10-6 next year. Legit contender for SB in 2012.— Z-Force- I am no WCO officianado, and I'm sure i will be corrected by someone here, but weren't the san francisco super bowl teams of the 80's the base line for the WCO offense? I thought that Bill Walsh ws the creator of this offense. If you look at their running game in 88 and 89, that was a big part of balancing that offense. In 88 the averaged 157.7 ypg, and ranked 2nd in the NFL. In 89 they had 122.9 ypg, and ranked 10th. In 88 Roger Craig was 3rd in the league in rushing with over 1500 yds. Even in 2003, the year they went to the SB the Eagles averaged 125.9 ypg and were 9th in the league. This may be simplistic, but based on this past success, I think it indicates that they really do need to run the ball more. The real key is getting an early lead so you can run the ball.
- The west coast offense is based on the assumption that passing early and often will get you a lead, from which your running game will then be able to wear the opposing defense down. The reason that the eagles in recent years are a 65-35% passing to rushing team is because the offense relies heavily on the big play, and has trouble sustaining momentum throughout the game, and because the defense has not been at the level it has been in the past. Of course the eagles ran more in 2003 (which was not their superbowl year) they could build a big lead and hold it— thegloryofoldstate
- Once again an Eagle sports writer going to "outside" sources to trash the team. What ever happened to evaluating the line yourself? Talk to coaches, people who know football. Nope, let's get a quote from some second hand blogger. -\td— craig123
- CenterFielder and glory: You are both right ..and wrong. I'm going to try and nutshell this as best as possible. You are correct when you state that the 88/89 Niners were proficient in running the ball, but you also have to hold into weight that the SF passing game was extremely proficient where Montana and Young were the best in the game in the short passing game, and the continuity on the OL was unmatched in the conference (other than maybe the Giants). Peters and Justice aren't going to remind you of Harris Baron and Steve Wallace and this team has NO ONE that reminds you of Sapolu, Cross and McIntyre on the interior, even on their BEST day. That was the key of their success evidenced by they also had a transition at QB during the season. You referenced the 2003 Eagles, but you also have to remember the OL was in a MUCH better state than it is now, especially at the tackles. Do you really believe they had 3 All Pro running backs on the roster or was the OL just dominating people as they won 12 of their next 14 games after an 0-2 start, 3/4 of the secondary was hurt after week 3, and their leading sacker from 2002 left via FA to Jacksonville (H. Douglas). Their OL was the key reason of why they didn't lose a game from early October until Christmas. Using that 89 Niners team as a reference is an absolute joke because that team is one of the best teams in the HISTORY of the NFL and as much as you want to think so, even the 2004 Philadelphia Super Bowl team wasn't even close to being as good as them. Its real easy for someone to open a stat book and regurgitate numbers. I actually WATCHED those teams and it was like watching a finely tuned watch keep time. Unbelievable how much much timing and precision they used to perfection. And it all starts with the QB. That's the big unknown. We don't know if Kolb's precision is going to show up on gameday and that is vital for the WCO (especially the offense that Reid wants to run) to succeed.
- Because Craig, he knows the sensitive, reactionary fan base (such as yourself) will absolutely go nuts over anything remotely negative said about the team....other than when you clowns do it yourself and are in agreement with what is said. I'd say 'Mission Accomplished'
Jason Cole of yahoo sports is an idiot. The Eagels offensive line is in the top 10 in my opinion and Donovan McNabb was a big part of the sacks given up because he holds on to the ball too long. As for the Running backs situation, you can not tell me that LeSean McCoy, Mike Bell and Leonard Weaver is the worst in the NFL. If the Eagles do run the ball more this season, they should be very successful and Charles Scott should also contribute as well.— briandawkins20- The Eagles' line is a problem, but if you want to make life hard for your line, you run only 35% of the time. The linemen need a chance to knock guys around, and get them back on their heels a little bit on the next play. If you have a great line, yeah, maybe you can do a Drew Brees type offense with lots of quick passes. But you can't ask guys to hold out the defensive line play after play for four seconds.— tacklinjoe
- If you have a great line, yeah, maybe you can do a Drew Brees type offense with lots of quick passes. There's the caveat: That was the part of McNabb's game that he did NOT excel at and it remains to be seen if Kolb's does consistently. He does get the ball out quickly and does well with the intermediate passing game. Those are two more facets that the former starter did not do well at. Btw, Saints had the worst ranked rushing offense in the entire league last season.......and they won the whole damn thing. Key difference: Brees was, and is, more accurate.
Comment removed.- thegloryofoldstate you're right, I was thinking the Superbowl was in 2004 therefore the 2003 season, but the bowl was in 2005.
the 0-line is decent. I would estimate like top 10 at pass D and maybe 20th at run D. Kolb should be fine. The horrible playcalling will not be. The team to throw the most over a season and still win a SB was the 02 buccaneers (who beat Reids team to get there). They threw it 57.4 %. Thats it. no other team that throws it more then that over a season has EVER won a SB. When the colts threw it 55/45 they won a SB, last year when they went a lopsided 62/38 they lost. No team that throws it 60% or more has EVER WON A SB. NEVER. Reid will be fired eventually. I cant wait.- I think we will see no significant difference in run/pass percentage. Will there be changes in the offense? Sure. But a stronger commitment to the run game will not be one of them. Really annoying if this is true. The run game is so fundamental to the success or failure in a game.Why the Eagles staff feels they have a shot at re-inventing the game is beyond me. I Think Andy Reid will ultimately fail as a coach because of this..— MJPD345
- yha charlie— acelasmoove
- I thought the biggest question mark prior to last season was the new offensive line. It remains the same now. You can's look at the right side of the Eagles line and say it is strong. Without a center this year it will be even worse. The Eagles needed Andrews to be healthy and return. That never happened.— hawk18
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