Section 215
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Eagles Armchair: Putting Together The Pieces

By Tucker Bagley

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The most comprehensive weekly look at the Philadelphia Eagles on the internet. 

WALK THROUGH

The Eagles were supposed to be a good football team. They were supposed to roll through a weak division with their shiny new players and make some noise in the postseason. Sam Bradford was supposed to win comeback player of the year and a statue of Chip Kelly was supposed to replace William Penn on top of City Hall.

Only, through four weeks, things didn’t go like they were supposed to. The Eagles lost a pair of division games, Bradford looked like he had never played a down of organized football in his life and Kelly seemed more like a snake oil salesman than a football genius.

Enter the New Orleans Saints. An equally terrible team just as desperate for a victory, but for the first time all season, things went the way they were supposed to for the Eagles.

“I think after what we were able to do in the preseason, I think everyone had kind of been waiting for this,” Bradford told reporters. “It’s obviously a great feeling to go out there and be able to do that today. And now it’s just something that we have to build on.

“Obviously, it’s not going to be like this every week. But to know that when we’re clicking and we’re rolling that we can go out and do that, it’s just going to give us confidence now to go out there and do it more often.”

Fletcher Cox led the way defensively, taking Drew Brees behind the proverbial woodshed for 60 minutes, finishing with three sacks and two forced fumbles. However, Cox was quick to give credit to the Eagles secondary for his monstrous performance.

“I’m going to give the credit to the back-end today,” Cox explained to the media after the game. “All three of those sacks were coverage sacks. When the quarterback holds the football, it gives the rush time to get there.

“I knew it was a going to be a grind playing a Hall-of-Fame Quarterback. Drew Brees was getting ball out early, and a couple of times he held the ball, we got great coverage on the back-end, and we were able to get after the quarterback.”

The Eagles defense was able to overcome surrendering 388 total yards to New Orleans by forcing four turnovers. DeMeco Ryans forced a fumble late in the game and Walter Thurmond picked up his third interception of the year to supplement the fumbles forced by Cox. 

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Offensively, things were a bit more up-and-down. Bradford threw a pair of red zone interceptions in the first half, but settled down as the game wore on, throwing for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

However, the real story was the improvement of the running game. DeMarco Murray spearheaded the attack, picking up 83 yards on 20 carries. Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles added another 100 yards behind an offensive line that has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism in the early part of the season.

“We’ve worked very hard in practice and we’ve worked very hard in the film room,” Jason Kelce said. “I think everybody has obviously been ashamed of the way that we’ve been playing. The fact is that we have the quarterbacks, we have the running backs, and we have the skill players to go out there and win games on offense. As long as the offensive line gives them the opportunity to make plays, we’re going to make plays. Today we facilitated that opportunity, and that’s really all we can do.”

The true warriors of the day were Jason Peters and Lane Johnson who both played through leg injuries that would have sidelined most players for a few weeks. Maybe that’s just a hint at what kind of fight is left in this team.

Yes, the Saints are a bad football team. But until yesterday so were the Eagles. Now, there are at least some signs for hope.

INJURY REPORT

Did Not Play: Kiko Alonso, Brandon Bair, Mychal Kendricks

Nelson Agholor – After a few weeks of a growing injury list, it looks like the Eagles are starting to turn a corner. Agholor was the only player to get injured during the game, but was able to walk it off and come back in the second half. He came up lame on a deep post and said after the game he pulled a muscle in his lower leg. Agholor also noted he fully expects to play next week.

MEASURABLES

8.6 – The Eagles averaged 8.6 yards per carry yesterday when running out of shotgun. Compare that to just 3.7 yards per carry from under center and its worth noting if Kelly is on to something when it comes to running formations.

55 – Murray ran for 55 yards yesterday before contact. That’s pretty good when you consider how terrible the offensive line was in the first quarter of the season. Continuity is a big deal for an offensive line and hopefully this is just a sign things are starting to gel between the five guys up front and they will continue to improve as the season goes on.

8 – The Eagles became the first team in eight years to go for it on fourth and seven or longer in the first half twice in eight years. Hindsight is 20-20, but is Kelly’s lack if confidence in Caleb Sturgis something that could hinder the Eagles progression moving forward? If the Eagles want to make the playoffs, they will need to pull out close victories, victories that usually hinge on the leg of your kicker.

SECTION 140

Bradford’s two-face game has become very concerning. How much longer can we blame his mistakes on rust? He needs to put together four quarters of decent football together soon, or else the Eagles will have no chance at salvaging the season.

After hanging over 500 yards and 39 points on the Saints yesterday, it is safe to say Kelly’s scheme can still be effective if executed by the players.

It was a pretty good weekend.

WEEKLY AWARDS

The Reggie White Memorial Award for Defensive Dominance – Fletcher Cox and Marcus Smith

Enough cannot be said about Cox’s performance. He led all rookies in sacks in Andy Reid‘s final year before struggling to acclimate himself to Bill Davis‘s 3-4 scheme. Last season he was constantly in the backfield, but his numbers didn’t reflect the impact he had on the game. Yesterday’s game put the rest of the league on notice: Cox is an elite player and should be treated as such.

Marcus Smith recorded his first career tackle.

The Breakout Performer Award – Josh Huff and Marcus Smith

Finally, Huff got the monkey off his back. After injuries and fumbles hindered his ability to flash his full potential, he made a big impact on yesterday’s game. He returned the opening kick 49 yards. He had a nice block that sprang Murray for a 24-yard gain. He then caught five balls for 78 yards and a touchdown. There are a lot of weapons in this offense, but Kelly needs to make sure Huff gets consistent touches because he can be a game-changer.

Marcus Smith recorded his first career tackle.

NO HUDDLE

Oct 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray (29) runs past the tackle attempt of New Orleans Saints middle linebacker Stephone Anthony (50) at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 39-17. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

  • It sure was nice to see Murray make the most of his touches yesterday. For the first time as an Eagle, he received consistent blocking and looked a lot like the guy who led the NFL in rushing last season, which is good. Only problem is, Mathews looked even better. There is a reason why Mathews was a first round pick and he would’ve been by valued a lot higher in free agency if he didn’t suffer a series of injuries in San Diego. I’m not sure if increasing Mathews role is a good idea, given his injury history, but through five games he has been the Eagles best runner.
  • Who would’ve thought, at 2-3, the Eagles would be in the best shape to win the division? The Cowboys are 0-3 without Tony Romo and even if they switch from Brandon Weeden to Matt Cassell over their bye week, things seem bleak without their starting QB. The Redskins are the Redskins and it seems like the Giants are physically incapable of playing 60 minutes competent football, benefiting from a missed intentional grounding call, a dropped interception and a missed illegal man downfield on the final drive alone last night. Despite how horrible things have been here, it’s just as bad or worse everywhere else.
  • The Eagles wide receivers need to learn how to catch the ball. Jordan Matthews in particular has been dropping the ball way too much for the guy who was supposed to be the Eagles top receiver. I’m sure Bradford’s numbers would look a lot better if his receivers helped him out every once in a while.
  • Cox praised the Eagles secondary for their effort yesterday and for good reason. With each passing week, Cory Undlin’s group has gotten better and more consistent. Byron Maxwell has played very well since getting torched by Julio Jones week one, Malcolm Jenkins may be the best player on that side of the ball not named Fletcher Cox and Walter Thurmond just has a nose for the ball. Heck, even EJ Biggers recorded a pass break up yesterday. It will be a tough test for this group going against a red-hot Eli Manning Monday night.

WHO’S NEXT

The Eagles will host the New York Football Giants on Monday Night Football. The Giants are coming off a last-second victory over the 49ers last night and are riding a three-game winning streak. With the exception of Manning, the rest of the Giants are a flawed group. Yes, they have Odell Beckham Jr., but their offensive line is inconsistent, their defense just allowed 27 points to a 49ers team that had scored 28 points in their last three games combined.

Like any division game, logic doesn’t do much good when forming predictions, but since Kelly has arrived in Philadelphia, the Eagles have had the Giants number, winning three of four contests with Matt Barkley receiving the majority of playing time in the lone loss. Beckham has the potential to give the Eagles secondary last week, but his impact on the game tends to be a bit overrated.

If the offensive line can continue to improve and Bradford is able to play well for an entire game, the Eagles will pick up their first division win of the season.

Next: Phillies News: Tony La Russa Endorses Ruben Amaro Jr. as Potential Manager

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