Philadelphia Eagles Semi-Coherent Bye Week Preview

How to successfully get through a week without Philadelphia Eagles‘ football.

After seven weeks of sporadically entertaining and often frustrating weeks of football, the Eagles have reached their bye week. It’s been a thoroughly confusing season, so this seems like a good time to look back at the season thus far and discuss what we’ve learned.

Preseason is Even More Meaningless Than We Thought

We knew that preseason records should be taken with a grain of salt, but you used to be able to gain a little bit of insight into the team based on how well they played. Thanks to the 2015 Eagles, we can officially declare preseason to be completely useless in terms of predicting how a team will perform.

Sep 3, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tim Tebow (11) drops back to pass against the New York Jets during the second quarter of a preseason game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve always thought it was the height of idiocy to gamble on preseason games. Do you really want to have money riding on the likes of Tim Tebow and Matt Barkley? But do yourself a favor next summer; bet on the Eagles in their second and third preseason games.

Over the past two years, it’s become clear that Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense gives the Eagles a major advantage in preseason games. The basic schemes and lack of urgency by opposing defenses means that Eagles receivers will generally run free. And that’s how we were fooled into thinking that Sam Bradford was going to be awesome this season.

Speaking of Sam Bradford….

We Have No Clue Who the Eagles Quarterback will be in 2016

The motivation for the Bradford trade was sound. Kelly correctly pointed out that unless you’re drafting near the top of the first round, it is extremely difficult to obtain a franchise quarterback. So they decided to go after a guy with franchise potential who was available because of his injury history.

Oct 25, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) reacts on the sidelines in the fourth quarter. The Panthers defeated the Falcons 27-16 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Even when healthy, Bradford was never all that spectacular on the Rams. Supposedly that was because he was saddled with a poor offensive line and lackluster wide receivers. So how did the Eagles welcome him to town? By cutting both starting guards and allowing their best wide receiver to leave in free agency.

The offensive line has had some issues with run blocking, but for the most part, they’ve given Bradford enough time to throw. However, Bradford hasn’t done all that much with that time. He doesn’t throw deep, and his passes often require tough catches by his receivers. Unfortunately, they have proven unable to make tough catches.

It’s possible that Bradford plays much better in the second half. After all, he is coming off a season lost to injury, and sometimes it takes players some time to round back into form. But it’s also possible that he continues to look like the average-at-best quarterback that he’s been his entire career.

So what do the Eagles do next year? Re-sign Bradford and hope he just needed more time? Pursue another reclamation project like Robert Griffin III or Colin Kaepernick? Hope that they can find their franchise quarterback in the draft?

Maybe they should go after a quarterback in free agency. I believe Ryan Fitzpatrick may be available!

The Defense is Better, but Still Not Great

The Eagles have either led or trailed by less than a touchdown in the fourth quarter of every game this season. Most of the credit for that belongs to the defense. They’ve generally been good at stopping the run and generating turnovers, and that will keep a team in most games.

Aug 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Byron Maxwell (31) intercepts the pass attempt of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (not pictured) during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The rebuilt secondary is still far from elite, but they’ve looked much better than last year when Bradley Fletcher was getting burnt with regularity and Nate Allen was continually out of position. Byron Maxwell is clearly overpaid, but aside from his opening week struggles against Julio Jones (join the club), he has been a clear improvement. Meanwhile, Walter Thurmond is making it seem like the switch from corner to safety is a simple transition.

The defensive line has been a team strength, although it was somewhat troubling the way the Panthers were able to run on them. It would also be nice if they could generate more of a pass rush. Part of their weakness in that department is due to a waste of a first round draft pick from last year.

Marcus Smith is an Huge Bust

There’s no denying it anymore: Marcus Smith sucks and was an awful choice in the first round. The guy can barely get onto the field, and when he does, bad things happen to the Eagles. (See the reverse play against the Panthers.) He almost makes Danny Watkins look like a smart pick. (Just kidding – that pick was probably worse only because Watkins was 26 when they drafted him.)

Here’s the problem with completely missing with a first round pick: You’ve not only wasted a resource that could have helped the team, but the team probably still has the hole that they were trying to address with that first round pick. Which is why the Eagles are still looking for another pass rusher and depth at outside linebacker.

Enough Review…What About this Week?

With no game to watch this weekend, many Eagles fans may be asking themselves an important question: What the hell do I do with myself?

If you’re feeling lost, you can always consult my helpful Guide to Beating the Bye Week Blues. If you’re still searching for idea, you could always check out some of the other area teams in action.

Temple

The Eagles may be inactive, but there is still a huge football game being played in the city of Philadelphia this weekend. Temple University’s football team is off to its best start ever at 7-0, and that perfect record is going to be put to the test as 9th ranked Notre Dame comes to town.

Oct 22, 2015; Greenville, NC, USA; Temple Owls wide receiver Romond Deloatch (23) is stopped after his catch by the East Carolina Pirates defensive back DaShawn Benton (6) during the 4th quarter at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Temple Owls defeated the East Carolina Pirates 24-14. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Haters will mention that Notre Dame hasn’t really been relevant in decades (they did play in the NCAA Championship game a few years ago which seems pretty relevant if you ask me), but the school still carries a boatload of tradition and has legions of fans.

It will be interesting to see how the Temple players react to such a big-game atmosphere. This is probably the biggest game in program history, and the players haven’t ever received this much attention. On the other hand, prime-time coverage and attention from ESPN should be nothing new to the Notre Dame players. Being Notre Dame, just about EVERY game they play is a big one and receives this much attention.

The 76ers

In case you missed it, the 76ers began their season on Wednesday night. If they only played one quarter, Sixers fans would have walked away happy. Rookie center Jahlil Okafar was on fire, and the Sixers took an early lead.

Oct 23, 2015; Manchester, NH, USA; Boston Celtics forward Amir Johnson (90) blocks the shot by Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) during the second half at Verizon Wireless Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, NBA rules dictate that games be four quarters long. The Sixers, hampered by the fact that they only had nine active players for the game (and it’s questionable just how many of those nine are actually viable NBA players), quickly wore down and lost by 17 points.

It will probably another long, loss-filled season, but in Okafor and Nerlens Noel, they at least appear to have a couple of solid building blocks in place.

The Flyers

To avoid having the city go two straight years without a playoff team, the Flyers may be Philadelphia’s best hope. Despite Thursday’s loss to the Devils, the Flyers are off to a solid start this season. This is a refreshing change from recent years, when the team would rack up early season losses and spend most of the season fighting uphill.

Is There Any Hope for the Eagles?

When you play in an unimposing division – and the NFC East is the very definition of unimposing – you’ve always got a shot. Just about every team in the division has looked capable of winning it this year.

Oct 25, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) shakes hands with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) after their game at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 31-30. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Redskins fans are feeling confident because Kirk Cousins just led them to a comeback win and was a bit fired up afterwards. Despite looking awful against the Eagles, the Giants are still in first place. And Cowboys fans know that as long as they’re still in striking distance when Tony Romo and Dez Bryant return, they’ve got a decent chance.

Of course, every team has also looked capable of finishing in last place too. At this point, you could probably throw darts at a dartboard and have a decent chance at figuring out the final standings.

So What’s Ahead?

The Eagles second half schedule is far from impossible. Yes, the trip to New England seems imposing, and it will be tough to beat the Cardinals, even if the game is at home in (presumably) cold weather. The Dolphins, Bucs, Lions, and Bills are on the schedule, and while none of those games are automatic wins, the Eagles should have a fighting chance.

Most likely, the season will come down to how the Eagles fare in their remaining division games. The Eagles went 1-2 against their NFC East foes in the first half, and it’s tough to see them winning the East if they don’t win their remaining divisional games.

But that’s a concern for the future. This weekend, I suggest that everyone relax, spend some time with family, and take a week off from being perplexed by the Eagles.

Next: All 22: The Development of Byron Maxwell

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