A look at the Eagles

After we got a look at the Eagles when the Giants played them in week 3, I asserted on this blog that the Eagles were waaaaaaay overrated. Despite having an array of really talented skill positions players on both sides of the ball, they are a seriously flawed team and will have a disappointing season. I am not saying that they will crash and burn and be below .500. But for a team designated as the dream team, with Super Bowl aspirations, a team that virtually every NFL prognosticator and preseason forecaster conceded the division to, they will fall well short.

Well guess what - all of a sudden all the football analysts are hopping on my bandwagon and agreeing with me that the Eagles have serious foundational problems.

Their flaws seem obvious - the interior of their OL is weak and while the two OTs are solid, they are far from great. The QB has a cannon for an arm and is a great runner, but is not a great pure QB. Sean McCoy is one of the best runners in the league, which gives their offense as many weapons as anyone, but there seems to be no balance or philosophy to the offense and with their weak OL, they seem to be not good in short yardage situations. But mostly, their problems are on defense. Their DL does not have great depth, has generally light players and not stout against the run. The LBs are a disaster and the S position is weak. When the middle of the field is open, and the DL can be run on, you have troubles on defense. The defensive philosophy was to load up the defense with speed, with speed pass rushes and Asomugha at CB, because teams would have to throw against the high scoring Eagles offense. Not a bad plan, except you can throw to the middle of that defense. Add to that the fact that Asomugha has been playing terribly, for some inexplicable reason and the defense has been really poor.

On top of these structural flaws, we have news this week that the Eagles have suffered three injuries further weakening these units. Antonio Dixon, the DT who was a huge body and decent space eater against the run is out for the season. Trent Cole, the Eagles best DE, is out for at least 3 weeks with a calf problem. Jason Peters, their left OT is out for at least 3 weeks with a hamstring strain.

I still think the Eagles have enough skill position players and playmakers to have a good record, but with these basic personnel flaws, it's hard to see them as a real Super Bowl threat.