2009-2010 Philadelphia Eagles Prediction and Preview

Last Season -

The Philadelphia Eagles 2008 campaign did not get off to the greatest start losing 3 out of the first 5 games. The Eagles were amidst large scrutiny for their struggling offense through the opening weeks of the season. Quarterback Donovan McNabb was benched for the first time in his career after failing to move the ball and throwing a high volume of interceptions. However, McNabb returned behind center with a new attitude making a huge impact on the Eagles offense. Philadelphia came back to win their last 4 out of 5 games on the season including a huge 44-6 blowout over Dallas to earn a playoff berth in week 17. The Eagles finished in the top 10 in overall defense and right outside the top 5 in passing averaging 244 yards per game through the air. The Eagles defense was impressive throughout the entire season. Outside of the tremendous defenses that dominated nearly all statistics in Baltimore and Pittsburgh, the Eagles defense was perhaps the best in the NFC. The Eagles held opponents to 18.1 points per game and only 274 yards per game. Philadelphia’s defense only got better towards the end of the season holding teams to only 12.8 point per game in their final 7 games of the season. Not only will the Eagles return one of the best defenses in the NFL, but the offense could be even better in 2009.

Off Season -

The Eagles did a great job over the off-season keeping some of their players and adding talent to the roster. The Eagles signed FB Leonard Weaver from Seattle for a one year deal. Weaver will have a big role in making paths for running back Brian Westbrook, but he has excellent skills with the football as well. Philadelphia should be able to display his talents if they can utilize him in their offense. The Eagles grabbed some more offensive talent in the NFL Draft. Philadelphia chose Jeremy Maclin out of Missouri with the number 19 overall selection. Maclin is a unique playmaker who broke an NCAA record as a freshman tacking up 2,776 all purpose yards as a freshman. Philadelphia will likely use Maclin from the start of the season as a special teams returner, but will need to assist the young guy with route running before he will be extremely effective on offense. The Eagles backed up their solid first round pick by making another fine selection with the number 53 overall pick. Philadelphia chose running back LeSean McCoy out of Pittsburgh. McCoy finished 9th in the NCAA in total rushing racking up nearly 1500 yards on the season. McCoy will fall into the number 2 spot on the depth chart entering training camps and will see touches as Westbrook’s relief. The Eagles chose TE Cornelius Ingram out of Florida in the 5th round while seeking help in the secondary with Victor Harris out of Virginia Tech in the 5th round as well. The Eagles lost Brian Dawkins after his contract expired at the end of the season, but signed former Browns safety Sean Jones over the off season in attempt to keep the secondary strong as they were in 2008.

2009 Preview -

The Philadelphia defense should be another difficult unit to beat heading into the 2009 season. The addition of Sean Jones makes the secondary even deeper. Corners Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel both do great jobs from keeping big plays from happening. The Eagles will again be the best defense in the NFC and that should be worth a few wins on its own. However, the offense will hold their own weight as well. As long as McNabb does not have any disastrous season, the offense should be fine. Brain Westbrook receiving ability is just as dangerous as his running ability. If they can find a way to use Maclin on special teams, I believe they will be a better team all around which could be bad news for the rest of the conference considering they were 4 points away from capturing the NFC Championship in 2008.

2009 Prediction -

The Eagles first two challenges will be interesting match-ups. They will take on a strong defense from Carolina in week 1 while battling the NFC’s best offense in week 2. It will be interesting to see how balanced the Eagles are in those games. The schedule outside of the division does not look bad at all, but the NFC East is possibly still the best top to bottom. Philadelphia should be the best team, but with Dallas and New York in the same division they will still have their share of battles. However, the Eagles have a knack pulling it out in the division and we believe that will continue.

Pick - 1st in NFC East (11-5 overall)