Philadelphia Eagles Team Needs for 2012

Philadelphia Eagles
2011 Season: 8-8
Offense: 399.1 YPG (4th), 256.9 Passing YPG (9th), 142.3 Rushing YPG (5th), 24.8 PPG (8th)
Defense: 324.9 YPG (8th), 212.3 Passing YPG (12th), 112.6 Rushing YPG (16th), 20.5 PPG (10th)

2012 Potential Free Agents: DT Antonio Dixon, WR Desean Jackson, DEs Victor Abiamiri and Juqua Parker, FB Owen Schmitt, WR Steve Smith, QB Vince Young, OT King Dunlap, OG Evan Mathis

Third up in my 2012 offseason preview is my favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles.  Nothing more needs to be said than that 2012 was a complete and utter disaster and almost couldn't have panned out worse.  The Eagles were projected to win 9.75 games based on their points per game and points allowed per game, but constantly collapsed in the fourth quarter, choking away at least five fourth quarter leads to lose games. Newly appointed defensive coordinator Juan Castillo couldn't do anything right the first half of the season.  He moved Nnamdi Asomugha away from the right cornerback spot at which he had so much success over the past years, playing him at safety and even nickel linebacker, although Nnamdi isn't known for his exceptional tackling.  The Kevin Kolb trade that brought in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie probably brought with it a pressure to get Asante Samuel, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on the field together, even if in most situations, each was being put in the complete worst situation to succeed with their respective skill sets.

We all know the criticisms of Andy Reid.  His offense has been pass-happy even before the passing craze swept across the NFL recently.  The only problem with that is that he's had a top 10 runningback in the NFL for almost the past decade, whether it was Brian Westbrook in his prime or Lesean McCoy now, that he refuses to utilize properly.  He's horrible on challenging plays, to the tune of a 32.8% success rate (Philly.com provided the research back in 2009).  Additionally, he's quite possibly the worst coach with clock management.  Remember back to the Super Bowl when with 7 minutes left, the Eagles' offense was still huddling while down 2 scores.  Or when the Eagles had the ball at midfield with 1:50 left and one timeout, down 7 against the Saints in 2007, and punted the ball to them on 4th and 10, basically surrendering the game.  Reid's on the hottest seat in the NFL coming into 2012, and if he doesn't get this team to the playoffs, heads are going to roll.  But as with all NFL teams, we've seen about all the coaching changes that will take place this offseason, so I'll move on to addressing the Eagles' major problems.



The Eagles' offense was actually one of the best in the NFL, which got little public attention this year, as their leads often dissipated due to silly mistakes and lack of production in the fourth quarters of games.  The biggest difference between this season and the 2010 season where the Eagles nearly defeated the Super Bowl champion Packers in the playoffs was the drop-off from 27.4 PPG in 2010 to 24.8 PPG in 2011.  The offense sputtered as Vick's passing efficiency regressed from 2010, although it's arguable that he continued to evolve as a passer this year.  Teams definitely figured out that taking away a demonstratively upset Desean Jackson really limited the Eagles offense, and that especially was the case when Jeremy Maclin went down with an injury for a 3 week span in November and early December.  Additionally, missing Michael Vick for those three games due to injury also hurt the team.  Michael Vick's completion percent dropped to 59.8% from 62.6% surely didn't help, and he also threw 14 interceptions in 2011 compared to 6 in 2010.  Vick seemed to be more devoted to passing this season, as he only attempted 76 rushes for 589 yards in 2011, while in 2010 he rushed for 676 yards on 100 carries.  Additionally, his rushing touchdowns fell off, but that's a function of Lesean McCoy scoring 20 touchdowns this year as well as the Eagles' red zone woes that are nothing exclusive to the 2011 season.  Vick is far from a problem here, and Vince Young was a very competent backup.  If Young is brought back, the Eagles are set at this position in that case, and given Mike Kafka's solid play in his brief appearance against Atlanta in week 2 early this season, Kafka may be moved up to #2 QB on the depth chart in favor of letting Young return to the team.  Regardless, backup quarterback will always be important with the Eagles, as Vick is a walking time-bomb.  He WILL miss games due to his reckless style of play and diminutive stature for a quarterback.  So if the Eagles aren't confident in Kafka to start 3-4 games, they'd better find an answer, fast.

At the skill positions, the Eagles are loaded with young talent but have one major question mark to address, Desean Jackson.  The fast-as-lightning receiver hits free agency coming off a horribly disappointing season, filled with turmoil, whether it was his suspension for a game due to missing the walkthrough prior to the game, or his constant inability to catch more than half of the balls thrown to him. According to Pro Football Focus, in 2010 he dropped 12 of the 61 catchable balls thrown to him (19.67% drop rate) which was actually the worst drop rate in the league of any receiver.  He consistently only catches about 50% of his targets, and is a boom or bust player who's also a major diva.  The Eagles need to decide whether his ability to take the top off of a defense is valuable enough to pay him nearly $10 million with the franchise tag, whether he should be trusted over the course of a long-term contract to produce, or whether he's a replaceable quantity.  My feeling on the matter is that Desean is extremely talented and dynamic, but a cancer in the locker room and constant source of trouble.  For a quarterback that already has a lower completion percentage, you need receivers that are more sure-handed like Maclin and Avant.  Jackson and Vick were dynamic in 2010, but Jackson really had no impact in 2011.  His speed and agility are elite at the position, so it would hurt to lose, but the Eagles should scour free agency and the draft and see if they can't identify a replacement for him.  Maclin, Lesean McCoy, Brent Celek and Jason Avant form the rest of a solid offensive core that will be in midnight green for years to come, so Desean is the only issue here.

The offensive line is quite polarizing, as the left side of the line was pretty much unanimously seen as the best in football in 2011, while the right side of the line was pretty poor in protection.  Winston Justice, the normal right tackle, was injured throughout the season, only playing 6 games in 2011, meaning that the entire line had to change.  Todd Herremans, a solid left guard, was shifted to right tackle to play in Justice's absence, and while Herremans is a fine swing tackle, he didn't perform as well as needed protecting Vick's blind side.  Remember, Vick is a lefty quarterback, so Herremans is the blind-side tackle, making right tackle almost more important in the Eagles' offense.  Two rookies started on the offensive line, Center Jason Kelce of Cincinnati and Danny Watkins of Baylor and couldn't have been more different.  Danny Watkins struggled quite a bit, which isn't too surprising, as he'd only played football for four years in any form prior to the NFL.  Jason Kelce actually supplanted Jamaal Jackson at center and was named Pro Bowl alternate at center for the NFC.  Evan Mathis took Todd Herremans' place at left guard, and was named to Pro Football Focus' All-Pro Team of 2011.  He was an otherwise unknown name prior to this year, but played quite well and should reprise his role at left guard next year.  The star of the offensive line though was left tackle Jason Peters, who was pretty unanimously regarded as the best left tackle in the NFC, if not the entire league, this past season.  Peters, Mathis, Kelce and Herremans are here to stay, and Herremans may shift into right guard if Danny Watkins isn't deemed ready to play.  But the right side of the offensive line does need serious work or at least a backup plan, as Justice missed ten games last year and 3 in 2010.

The defensive line did lead the NFL in sacks this season, but the "Wide 9" scheme employed by new defensive line coach Jim Washburn led to some serious headaches throughout the season.  The Eagles were consistently gashed by the running game early in the season, and even when they firmed up their run defense towards the end of the year, it was too late.  The Wide 9 scheme essentially dares offenses to run the ball, as if they pass, the defensive ends have a major speed advantage on the offense's tackles in getting to the quarterback.  Jason Babin and Trent Cole were phenomenal this year, with Babin finishing near the top of the league in sacks.  The interior defensive line is the issue, but with Antonio Dixon, the best run-stopper on the Eagles, returning from injury in 2012, and Cullen Jenkins, the Eagles should have quite the formidable front line.  Cullen Jenkins' contract has a 1-year escape clause that the Eagles can exercise, eliminating the final 4 years and $20 million from his free agent deal.  I'd expect them to do so unfortunately, although Jenkins was rated a top ten defensive tackle by Pro Football Focus, as their contracts really add up over time to make it tough to re-sign young stars like Lesean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin.  Re-signing Antonio Dixon must be a priority this offseason, as the Eagles defense improved once he entered the fold in late 2010.  Backup DEs Victor Abiamiri and Juqua Parker also will be free agents this offseason.  I'd look for Parker to get overpaid by another team to become a full-time starter and for Abiamiri to simply not be brought back.    Defensive line is always a priority for the Eagles, and as much as I hate the idea, the depth is very weak for the front four, and the Eagles will need to address it through the draft and free agency.

Linebacker is the #1 problem on this team, as there are arguably no average starting linebackers on this team, much less above average players at the position.  One or two of Jamar Chaney and Brian Rolle will likely be starting in 2012 on the defense, but the third linebacker must be a true difference maker.  This is the one spot I think the Eagles truly need to address, and signing a top-level linebacker or drafting an elite middle linebacker is crucial to the Eagles' defense improving.  I usually don't name names in this portion of the analysis, but MLB Luke Kuechly (Boston College) makes too much sense for the Eagles not to select him with their first round pick.  He's been labeled one of the most instinctive linebackers in years, and that's exactly what the Eagles lack, as the linebackers all too often bite on playaction and leave the middle of the field wide open, and arent all that great of tacklers either in run support.  If I had my way, I'd replace two of the three starters. A trio of Chaney (SAM), Kuechly (MIKE), Rolle (WILL) and Keenan Clayton or Brian Rolle coming in for nickel coverage situations will probably have to suffice this year.

The secondary is quite puzzling, as Nnamdi Asomugha looked quite mortal on the field, mostly as a result of Castillo miscasting him as the next Charles Woodson.  We can see now that Asomugha is best left on his side of the field to provide blanket coverage on that side of the field.  Asante Samuel is the same way on the right side, although he's far better in off coverage than Asomugha, posing an interesting problem for the Eagles' defense.  Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie didn't look comfortable at all in the slot for nickel situations, and was underutilized (which is understandable with Samuel and Asomugha at cornerback).  The likely outcome, which is unfortunate, is that Samuel is traded away for draft picks in April, and Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are installed as the starting cornerbacks, with the defense focusing on man-to-man coverage.  Having Asante Samuel better in zone coverage and Nnamdi Asomugha better in man-to-man coverage posed a pretty difficult problem for Juan Castillo in his first season as defensive coordinator.  His movement of Nnamdi around the field was to help get Rodgers-Cromartie, the prized off-season acquisition in the Kevin Kolb trade, on the field.  The cornerbacks will be dealt with however and won't be a weakness in 2012.  The safety play, however, will be quite an issue, as none of the safeties that played last year provided average or above average play at the position.  Nate Allen and Jaiquawn Jarrett will likely return as the starters, but there needs to be some marked improvement from the two second-round picks from the '10 and '11 drafts.

Team Needs:
1. Linebacker: All three positions could use an upgrade, but that's not realistic, so the Eagles need to address at least one or two of the starting linebacker positions.  Free agents available include Curtis Lofton (Atlanta), Stephen Tulloch (Lions), London Fletcher (Redskins), and Barrett Ruud (Tennessee).  They'll look at linebackers in the draft too, although the Eagles have never been a team to spend high picks on linebackers.  The top options are Vontaze Burfict (Arizona State), Luke Kuechly (Boston College) and Zach Brown (North Carolina).  I'd look for Kuechly to be the pick, and for the Eagles to draft another linebacker later in the draft, such as Miles Burris of San Diego State.

2. Safety: The safety position is in pretty dire straits right now, but I wouldn't look for the Eagles to draft a replacement at the position, as they've had no luck recently with drafting safeties.  I think the Eagles make a serious run at Laron Landry (Washington), and also look at signing Thomas Decoud (Falcons) or Michael Griffin (Tennessee).

3. Offensive Line: I think Winston Justice will be fine here next year provided he's healthy and Todd Herremans is a nice insurance policy if Danny Watkins isn't playing up to standards, but the Eagles still need to seriously consider bringing in a big time new face on the line if they don't trust Justice and Watkins.  Evan Mathis NEEDS to be re-signed in free agency, as him and Peters worked great together in the first year of Howard Mudd's blocking scheme.  Cordy Glenn (Georgia) could be a possibility in the first round, as could Mike Adams (Ohio State).  I wouldn't be surprised if the Eagles opt for an offensive lineman in the first round, their philosophy to winning games starts up front, as shown in their drafting history.

4. Speed WR: I believe Desean Jackson will be shown the door this offseason, and that leaves the Eagles in need of a faster WR to stretch the field, or at least a potential #1 receiver to flank Jeremy Maclin.  Free agency offers plenty of options, including: Vincent Jackson (Chargers), Mario Manningham (Giants), or a cheaper option such as Robert Meachem (Saints) or Pierre Garcon (Colts).  The draft has plenty of burners available at the position.  Two Arkansas WRs, Joe Adams and Jarius Wright are two of my personal favorites that should go in the middle rounds, and sleepers like T.Y. Hilton (FIU) and Chris Owusu (Stanford) could provide that threat that Desean Jackson has for the past few seasons.

5. Defensive line depth: If the Eagles re-sign Antonio Dixon and bring back Cullen Jenkins, this should be fairly simple, and isn't a high priority.  If one or both get away however, defensive tackle could become the #1 priority for the Eagles, and we could see them try to trade up for Michael Brockers (LSU) or draft another first-round caliber defensive tackle.  Trevor Laws and Derek Landri are backups that also become free agents, but I'd expect the Eagles to retain the services of at least Laws at defensive tackle.  Landri should be able to be signed towards the end of the offseason with little trouble as a fourth body.