So who is ready to talk about the most talent in football?

[dlunc3]

Your 2012 Philadelphia Eagles


Too much speed, too much talent.

Better hope the injury bug hits this team... if not, watch out....

[meader99]

Is this just a copy from a late summer 2011 post of yours?????

[GunShard]

Eagles should work on their defense. Their defense isn't at the same level as the Ravens and 49ers.

[greenhippo]

Both sides of the ball. Texans.

[suicidekings]

4 games against teams coming off byes (WK5:@PIT, WK6: DET, WK8:ATL, WK11:@WAS), with DAL and @NO thrown into that 7 week span as well. Talk about brutal...

I don't disagree on the talent, but the Eagles really need to get off to a strong start this year or things could be tough.

[k13]

One season you'll have to get it right....won't you?

[dlunc3]

Eagles should work on their defense. Their defense isn't at the same level as the Ravens and 49ers.

While they might not be quite on the proven level yet as the ravens or niners, dont be surprised if they arent shortly. They actually gave up less total yards last year then Sf. But you are right, for a good part of the year, the team did struggle defensively. But remember, that was with all new pieces getting to know each other in a brand new scheme with a brand new d coordinator... all that with basically no offseason bc of the strike. As the year went on, as expected, the better they got.... giving up a total of 46 points over the past 4 weeks combined. This year, the cancer (asante) is gone, and the team addressed their biggest weakness in the middle. Brought over probowl calibler demeco ryans as well as spending their first three draft picks to fill this void. Not to mention the addition of Brandon Graham who spent all of last yr recovering from his 2010 injury to add even more depth to the dline.


All together, the defense is actually pretty stacked... Best and deepest d-line in the league. Two probowl caliber corners on the outside.. and a solid linebacking core anchored by demeco in the middle. The weakness on the D could be the safeties... The jury is out on those two young guys.. Overall though, nnamdi and drc settled in, along with a full yr and full off season for the team to get comfortable with Castillo, this d should be at least solid, if not stellar... With the fire power on offense, this team needs the d to just not lose them gets by coughing up leads in the 4th quarter time after time as they did early in the 2010 season.

[dlunc3]

4 games against teams coming off byes (WK5:@PIT, WK6: DET, WK8:ATL, WK11:@WAS), with DAL and @NO thrown into that 7 week span as well. Talk about brutal...

I don't disagree on the talent, but the Eagles really need to get off to a strong start this year or things could be tough.

Absolutely... the NFL screwed them. The eagles have 7 games (almost half the schedule) to where they get at least 1 less day of rest/preparation than their opponent totaling overall close to a month less of preparation then the opponents will have to prepare for them.


Its absolute BS to be honest...

[dlunc3]

One season you'll have to get it right....won't you?

Whats to get right? I havent guaranteed anything here or have even spoken about number of wins... The schedule is brutal this yr... but even still, Vegas has the eagles as the 3rd most wins this yr behind only GB and NE...

My statement was about talent alone.. No other team has the talent or speed that this team has as a whole.

[PAULYPOKER]

[k13]

Schedule not as tough as it looks. Should win 9-11 games barring injuries.

[dlunc3]

Schedule not as tough as it looks. Should win 9-11 games barring injuries.

its the timing of the games that makes it tough, not the teams they are playing... 7 games with less rest then the opponent isnt easy regardless who you are playing

[onlooker]

The Dream Team.

[meader99]

[k13]

its the timing of the games that makes it tough, not the teams they are playing... 7 games with less rest then the opponent isnt easy regardless who you are playing

Rest is overrated, they have very good PED's for that.

[Griffey4Ever]

I just don't Vick leading this team to a Superbowl victory. I'll be impressed if he can even stay healthy for more than 14 games. And yeah, sure they have talent for days but talent is useless unless applied correctly.

[dlunc3]

I just don't Vick leading this team to a Superbowl victory. I'll be impressed if he can even stay healthy for more than 14 games. And yeah, sure they have talent for days but talent is useless unless applied correctly.

You are absolutely correct..but remember, this is Vicks first full offseason as a starter with Andy Reid (who we know is an amazing quarterbacks coach) and this offense. Staying healthy is the key... and if he can (which i know is a long shot), the sky is the limit for this team with all the talent they have on both sides of the football.

[suicidekings]

Absolutely... the NFL screwed them. The eagles have 7 games (almost half the schedule) to where they get at least 1 less day of rest/preparation than their opponent totaling overall close to a month less of preparation then the opponents will have to prepare for them. Its absolute BS to be honest...

All things considered, I feel like 10-6 is a reasonable estimate for the Eagles here. Overall their schedule is pretty average, as it was last season, and looking at the factors that led to them only going 8-8 last year, there was a lot of problems that aren't necessarily going to be resolved by the extra year together. Philly is still a team that has a lot of talented parts that have not yet proven they can work effectively together over the course of the season, so it comes down to execution, not potential. Their chances of a strong post-season run would be drastically better, IMO, if they don't try to press too hard in the regular season. 10-6 should get them their chance, but continued high-risk plays with Vick in pursuit of a 12-4 / 13-3 kind of year could ruin them very easily.

[dlunc3]

All things considered, I feel like 10-6 is a reasonable estimate for the Eagles here. Overall their schedule is pretty average, as it was last season, and looking at the factors that led to them only going 8-8 last year, there was a lot of problems that aren't necessarily going to be resolved by the extra year together. Philly is still a team that has a lot of talented parts that have not yet proven they can work effectively together over the course of the season, so it comes down to execution, not potential. Their chances of a strong post-season run would be drastically better, IMO, if they don't try to press too hard in the regular season. 10-6 should get them their chance, but continued high-risk plays with Vick in pursuit of a 12-4 / 13-3 kind of year could ruin them very easily.

Im not so sure about that...

1-Asante told the media that upper management was "playing fantasy football" with the roster last yr. He was a cancer in the locker room that is now gone.

2-Djax was also a cancer due to his contract situation which has now been taken care of.

3- Coming into last season, Maclin was completely out of shape recovering from his illness last summer. This yr he is strong and prime for a breakout season.

4- As previously stated, Vick had never even had a full offseason with this team or coaching staff. He should be much more comfortable this season with the offense.

5- Two members of the offensive line were rookies last yr.. Both were good in their rookie seasons, but should be better in their 2nd yr as expected (the loss of peters will hurt, but Bell is as solid of a replacement as any).

6- DRC was never comfortable last yr as he was mainly played in the nickel. This yr he is back on the outside in man to man where he can showcase his probowl strengths.

7- Nnamdi was never used to his strengths and was not comfortable in his role most of last yr... As he was toward the end of last season, he will be used much more in man to man coverage.. and even when not, he is much more comfortable in zone packages.

8- The major weakness last yr was down the middle. This has been addressed with Demeco and Cox. The linebacking core will be 10x better with Demeco and Kendricks rather then the clowns they had in there last yr.

9- The dline, already a strength, will be even stronger. Adding cox and curry, as well as 2010s #1 pick graham (back and strong as ever) to go along with Jenkins, Babin and Cole, makes this the deepest and best line in football.

10- This is Castillos 2nd yr as coordinator, and has nowhere to go but up. The addition of Todd Bowles should make a HUGE difference in the way this D is prepared.

10- Vick gave this team a lead in the 4th quarter in every single game but one last yr (the only one he didn't, vs Buffalo, he was driving for the game winner and his wr fumbled in scoring range). With the defensive upgrades alone, many of the 4th quarter losses should be cured.


So imo, a lot of the reasons for the 8-8 record have been addressed. The defense showed flashes the last four games only giving up 46 total points.. if the defense can play anywhere near that level this yr (which should be expected with all the upgrades), even if 3 of the 6 late losses can be fixed, that leaves them with a 11-5 record.

Obviously the record means nothing as like you said, post season matters... But we saw Vick put this team in position to beat the sb champ packers in 2010 (where david akers missed 2 chip shots), so we gotta be confident he can put them in that position again. Key to the season is obviously staying healthy. Really the only question mark right now is safety... so we'll see... hopefully Nate Allen can step up here in his 3rd season...

[ColdBeerHere]

Arguably the Best Defensive Line in the NFL this year - The Buffalo Bills

• Left Defensive EndLeft Defensive EndChris KelsayMark Anderson
• Left Defensive TackleLeft Defensive TackleMarcell DareusAlex Carrington
• Right Defensive TackleRight Defensive TackleKyle WilliamsDwan Edwards
• Right Defensive EndRight Defensive EndMario WilliamsShawne Merriman

[therushishere]

1-Asante told the media that upper management was "playing fantasy football" with the roster last yr. He was a cancer in the locker room that is now gone.

He was also a cancer every year.

2-Djax was also a cancer due to his contract situation which has now been taken care of.

Is a 23 year old with 50 million who had character issues before the 50 million that much more of a sure thing after the 50 million?

3- Coming into last season, Maclin was completely out of shape recovering from his illness last summer. This yr he is strong and prime for a breakout season.

10-15 weeks of playing NFL football doesn't get you in shape?

4- As previously stated, Vick had never even had a full offseason with this team or coaching staff. He should be much more comfortable this season with the offense.

He's still been with the team for a long time.

5- Two members of the offensive line were rookies last yr.. Both were good in their rookie seasons, but should be better in their 2nd yr as expected (the loss of peters will hurt, but Bell is as solid of a replacement as any).

Or they'll have all of their flaws on tape and the whole NFL will have an entire off-season to diagnose their weaknesses at this level and how to exploit them.

6- DRC was never comfortable last yr as he was mainly played in the nickel. This yr he is back on the outside in man to man where he can showcase his probowl strengths.

Or showcase his run support skills. Why not just run right at him every other play? And if they compensate exploit the open space vacated by the player moving over.

7- Nnamdi was never used to his strengths and was not comfortable in his role most of last yr... As he was toward the end of last season, he will be used much more in man to man coverage.. and even when not, he is much more comfortable in zone packages.

Or he has 100 million reasons to not play hard anymore. Max FA signings haven't always gotten the best bang for the buck...

8- The major weakness last yr was down the middle. This has been addressed with Demeco and Cox. The linebacking core will be 10x better with Demeco and Kendricks rather then the clowns they had in there last yr.

Demeco will be a great team leader if he can still walk, run around, function and still play football after all the injuries hes been through and will continue to have to deal with. +300 odds.

9- The dline, already a strength, will be even stronger. Adding cox and curry, as well as 2010s #1 pick graham (back and strong as ever) to go along with Jenkins, Babin and Cole, makes this the deepest and best line in football.

Rookies can be a nice boost but do you really want to bank on a guy thats never played a down of NFL Football in his life? Or a guy that you picked 2 years ago that hasn't really done much?

10- This is Castillos 2nd yr as coordinator, and has nowhere to go but up. The addition of Todd Bowles should make a HUGE difference in the way this D is prepared.

A former Assistant Offensive Line Coach if im correct? Should he really be going from Assistant Offensive Line Coach to Defensive Coordinator on a good team? I know I've seen tons of high character guys getting promoted from within in Houston and they continually finished towards the bottom then we finally get a legit guy with experience in Wade and we go to #2 in the NFL.

10- Vick gave this team a lead in the 4th quarter in every single game but one last yr (the only one he didn't, vs Buffalo, he was driving for the game winner and his wr fumbled in scoring range). With the defensive upgrades alone, many of the 4th quarter losses should be cured.

Or maybe they haven't developed a winning culture or have the experience in closing out games, which can be a completely different time-consuming process in and of itself.



Not trying to pick a fight, just playing the devils advocate here. I'm not saying the Eagles won't be a good team, or making any judgement on them as an organization- im just having a little fun and contributing the other side of the perspective. I think Vick is a great talent and they'll be a fun team to watch and definitely have a chance to do well.

Good luck.

[meader99]

He was also a cancer every year.


Is a 23 year old with 50 million who had character issues before the 50 million that much more of a sure thing after the 50 million?


10-15 weeks of playing NFL football doesn't get you in shape?


He's still been with the team for a long time.



Or they'll have all of their flaws on tape and the whole NFL will have an entire off-season to diagnose their weaknesses at this level and how to exploit them.



Or showcase his run support skills. Why not just run right at him every other play? And if they compensate exploit the open space vacated by the player moving over.


Or he has 100 million reasons to not play hard anymore. Max FA signings haven't always gotten the best bang for the buck...


Demeco will be a great team leader if he can still walk, run around, function and still play football after all the injuries hes been through and will continue to have to deal with. +300 odds.


Rookies can be a nice boost but do you really want to bank on a guy thats never played a down of NFL Football in his life? Or a guy that you picked 2 years ago that hasn't really done much?


A former Assistant Offensive Line Coach if im correct? Should he really be going from Assistant Offensive Line Coach to Defensive Coordinator on a good team? I know I've seen tons of high character guys getting promoted from within in Houston and they continually finished towards the bottom then we finally get a legit guy with experience in Wade and we go to #2 in the NFL.


Or maybe they haven't developed a winning culture or have the experience in closing out games, which can be a completely different time-consuming process in and of itself.



Not trying to pick a fight, just playing the devils advocate here. I'm not saying the Eagles won't be a good team, or making any judgement on them as an organization- im just having a little fun and contributing the other side of the perspective. I think Vick is a great talent and they'll be a fun team to watch and definitely have a chance to do well.

Good luck.

Good post...... Probably looking somewhere around 50/50 on the points and counter points.

[slacker00]

Fun team to follow, but I don't see a postseason run from them. Even if Vick is healthy, he's only 2-4 in the playoffs.

[4TH AND STUPID]

philly does NOT have the best defensive line in football.


try again