Philadelphia
Eagles
2018 Record: (9-7) 2nd NFC East
2018 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 22.9 (18th)
Yards: 365.3 (14th)
Pass Yards: 267.2 (7th)
Rush Yards: 98.1 (28th)
Defense
Points: 21.8 (12th)
Yards: 366.2 (23rd)
Pass Yards: 269.2 (30th)
Rush Yards: 96.9 (7th)
Eagles-Nation was riding high during the 2018
offseason after winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history. With that
success, came greater expectations for this club to repeat those feats entering
the 2018 regular season.
With Carson Wentz recovering from his torn ACL, the
Eagles brass understood that going back to Nick Foles to start the season was
their only option. Seeing roster turnover and stacking the defensive line
group, this version of the Eagles surly viewed as a club ready to compete in
returning to the big show for a second straight season.
Right from week one, the Eagles didn’t appear to have
that same killer instinct they possessed during the season prior, looking
somewhat vulnerable. It was clear offensively that the Eagles didn’t possess
that running prowess which they enjoyed during their super bowl run, and it
only compounded further when the team lost Jay Ajayi to a season ending ACL
injury. Like most teams in the league, Philly endured more than their fair
share of sending players to the medical room, which in turn made the team appear
to play better (at least in the win column), which was quite baffling to say
the least.
As the Eagles completed the first half of the 2018
season, the group appeared to be something of a Jekyll and Hyde obtaining
little consistency in the process. Having a 4-4 record entering their week 9
bye, most knew a strong push would have to be had to find a way back into the
postseason.
Philadelphia came off their bye dropping their game to
the Cowboys, followed up by a complete dismantling at the hands of the Saints.
A loss like that would normally send teams in a downward spiral to an early
offseason, but Coach Pederson rallied his troops to finish the last six games
with a with a 5-1 record, ultimately stamping their ticket back to the
postseason.
While getting back to the dance is one thing, we all
know that anything can happen in the NFL postseason. The Eagles took their
talents on the road on Wildcard weekend to face one of the best defensive
groups in the league (the Bears). They managed to claw and grab their way to
victory with assistance from Cody Parkey’s last second missed field goal.
Keeping the hope of a Super Bowl repeat alive, the
Eagles traveled to New Orleans for the divisional round and managed to shock
the viewing public to obtain an early 14-0 lead. Philly looked decisive in how
they played that first quarter, while capitalizing on the Saints shortcomings.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, Sean Payton adjusted his approach from the second
quarter on and dominated the field of play thereafter ending the Eagles
run.
2019
Offseason WorkBook:
The
Coaching Staff
It wasn’t a surprise to witness the same cast of
characters retain their positions on the coaching staff, as Doug Pederson
stayed the course with Mike Groh (offensive coordinator) and Jim Schwartz
(defensive coordinator) for the upcoming season.
In attempts to improve and shake things up, Pederson
did revamp his specialty coaching staff with hiring and promoting 11 new
members to the group. Positional and assistant coaching moves dictated the
Eagles staff as they look to regroup for the upcoming season.
The
Offense
Right off the bat, the main conversation regarding the
Eagles is what would be done with backup quarterback Nick Foles? While this
conversation has been floating around since the Eagles were eliminated from the
postseason, we’ve recently gotten more certainty on his future. While the
Eagles exercised the option on Foles contract for the upcoming season, he did
reject the deal opting out from the current stipulations. Recent reports have
also concluded, that the Eagles wouldn’t franchise the quarterback leaving him
free to explore the open market once again.
Now that Foles will find his way to new pastures this
season, perhaps some undervalue the importance he brought to this club.
Relegated as one of the best backups in the league, Nick was able to bring the
city of Philadelphia a Super Bowl title in relief of Carson Wentz. Having that
security blanket behind Carson Wentz (who’s health is now in question), was
paramount in the last two seasons. Nevertheless, the Eagles will have to move
forward without his services.
Adding to the quarterback position, some within the
Eagles circle have voiced their concern over Carson Wentz, believing his recent
injury history could become problematic. While reviewing his statistical
achievements, Wentz was on pace to shatter previous career highs had he been
able to stay on the field for the entire year. It’s our contention that Carson
struggled at times due in part to the lack of efficient run attack the Eagles
couldn’t provide. Adding viable runners to this roster will do a world of good
to Carson’s outlook in 2019.
As for the running backs currently on this roster,
it’s no question in our minds that a massive talent infusion needs to occur.
With Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement both suffering season ending injuries last
season, it was clear the cupboards were quite bare and production slipped.
Clement should again find his role as the change of pace back and receiving
option, but finding a true number one runner should be top priority.
The receiving core is a thinner group led by Alshon
Jeffery and Nelson Agholor, but outside of that, more talent needs to be
applied. Trading for Golden Tate looked to be the elixir needed to elevate this
unit’s production, but his return to the club has never been a certainty.
Receiver depth is another area greatly needed this offseason.
Continuing down the path of pass catchers, perhaps the
strongest group on this offense is the tight end position. Zach Ertz is one of
the best in the business, teamed with youngster Dallas Goedert; we would go to
war with these gents any day of the week.
The
Defense
In reviewing the defensive side of the ball, it’s
quite easy to see the strengths and weaknesses of this group as a whole.
The Eagles stacked their defensive front last
offseason in snagging former Seahawk Michael Bennett, and former Lion Haloti
Ngata, to see great production from the group. While super star Fletcher Cox
remains the heart and soul of this defense, we did see solid development from younger
players on this line. This group helped generate a whopping 44 sacks on the
2018 campaign while holding the 7th rank in rush yards defended,
quite clear where the strength sits on this defense.
While the defensive front is a guiding force, the line
backing group can hold their head high with what they bring to the table as
well. Lead by Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks, the middle of the field is never
in serious doubt with these two leading the way. Both players were team leaders
in tackles generating 97 and 91 takedowns respectively last season. Suffice it
to say, after these two talents, the Eagles could use a great deal of depth at
the position. It’s not difficult to envision the Eagles making moves to improve
this area of the defense this offseason.
Moving to the weakness of this unit, the secondary
requires a great deal of depth improvement, as injuries decimated the backend
of this defense this past season. Losing both starters Ronald Darby and Sidney
Jones half way through the year completely derailed their outlook. Also losing
safety Rodney McLeod after week 3, his absence alone left opposing teams able
to exploit the Eagles deep week-to-week. Don’t get us wrong, when this group is
playing together then can be an absolute force, but as seen from this past
season, depth was a major concern.
Team
Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
When reviewing the Eagles financial statements (salary
cap), our eyes nearly fell out of our heads. Philadelphia currently sits with
one of the worst cap situations in the entire NFL, and have some work to do to
help correct this roster.
Starting with the numbers, the Eagles hold just under
1 million (+$884,684) in positive cash flow and have 17 free agents to contend
with. This is an obvious dreadful situation to be in as extremely difficult
choices will be on the horizon.
First, looking over team free agents the Eagles would
like to entertain resigning; Brandon Graham, Jordan Hicks, Golden Tate, and
Ronald Darby form the priority talents ready to hit the open market. On a
lesser note, Jay Ajayi and Haloti Ngata hold some value, but have likely played
their last downs with the Eagles.
Finding ways to keep these players while adding others
can only occur with cutting bait with high priced talent currently on the
roster. Clearly in our eyes, Jason Peters is a player ripe for becoming a cut
casualty with his 13.1 million eating up 6.75% of the team’s space, and holding
a mere 2.6 in dead money. While Peters could return and dominate another
season, his injuries compared to his payout are too vast to justify any longer.
Nelson Agholor is another player that holds far too much capital for this
franchise with his 9.3 million or 4.81% applied to the cap, with zero dead
money attached. An outright release or trade would be exactly what the doctor
ordered here.
Rounding out other potential moves to help aid this
cap trouble - Michael Bennett holds 7.2 million, while Chris Long could add
another 5.6 million in savings with a mere 300k applied to dead funds between
the two of them. Not stopping there, Jalen Mills could be released saving the
team another 2 million dead cap free. There are savings to be had, it’s just depends
on how deep general manager Howie Roseman wants to go.
If these moves come to fruition, there is a potential
savings here in the amount of 37.2 million dollars toward the Eagles free cap
with a meek 2.9 million heading over to dead money. Many wins can be had here.
The
NFL Draft
Having draft capital in your pocket is a necessity
when your books are completely out of whack and over spent.
The Eagles currently possess a healthy 8 selections on
draft day including an additional 2nd round and 6th round pick.
Having no 7th rounder shouldn’t be felt to any grave degree.
While the Eagles select from the 25th
overall spot in the first round, could we envision a trade down to secure more
draft wealth? In our eyes trading out of the first round altogether wouldn’t be
the worst situation as they could revamp and retool this club given the
potential for key losses in attempts to garner more funds.
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