Philadelphia Eagles 2011 Season Preview
by Will Soistman
Key Additions: QB Vince Young, RB Ronnie Brown, Wide Receivers Steve Smith (USC) and Johnnie Lee Higgins, TE Donald Lee, Offensive Linemen Ryan Harris and Evan Mathis, Defensive Linemen Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, and Anthony Hargrove, Cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
Key Losses: Linebackers Omar Gaither, Stewart Bradley, and Ernie Sims, Defensive Tackle Brodrick Brunkley, Safety Quintin Mikell, QB Kevin Kolb.
Quite the offseason for the Eagles. Coming off a 10-6 2010 season where Vick shocked the football world, the Eagles aren't going to sneak up on anybody. They may even have the target on their backs more so than the Super Bowl Champion Packers. Remember, Vick and the Eagles were one pass away from beating the Packers in the Wild Card Round before the Packers won the Super Bowl. With a handful of additions and a full season of "The Michael Vick Experiment" is this the year Andy Reid and the Eagles win the big one?
Offensively for the Eagles the high-powered offense remains intact. Lesean McCoy is a great running back who catches the ball a lot and can make guys miss in the open field. Desean Jackson is scary fast, and Jeremy Maclin is already proving himself as one of the best route runners in the NFL. Vick has said himself he wants to get TE Brent Celek more involved in the offense and Riley Cooper has consistently found himself more playing time as a 3rd receiver. The offensive line is going to be the big worry for the Eagles as RT Winston Justice is on PUP and may not return to full strength this season, and Jason Peters has been simply average at Left Tackle.
The Eagles are going to need to keep Vick upright for the whole season, although they did make another smart move in grabbing Vince Young as a backup. While he is nowhere near as good as Vick, he is a very similar player so that the offense wouldn't change entirely if had to come in the game.
Defensively for the Eagles EVERYthing has changed. They now have 3 starting Cornerbacks in Asomugha, Samuel, and Rodgers-Cromartie which will keep opposing offenses at bay in the passing game. They added Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin to their already fierce pass rusher in Trent Cole to help give opposing Quarterbacks even less time to throw to aforementioned starting cornerbacks. However, the entire Linebacker corps pretty much has been wiped out from 2010. 4th round rookie Casey Matthews is slated to start and while he has some good blood in him, it will be tough for a rookie to come in day 1 and be in charge of a defense. If teams want to beat the Eagles, running the ball has to be the primary option.
Fighting injuries and starting multiple Quarterbacks the Eagles still finished 10-6 in 2010. If the Eagles can stay healthy all year they definitely have a shot at the NFC East crown and are Super Bowl contenders. The middle of the defense is shaky though, and teams know what is coming after a full year of film to watch on the new Mike Vick.
Prediction: 11-5 1st in NFC East
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