Reloaded Eagles have holes, but winning culture
Repeating as NFC East champions won’t be easy for the Philadelphia Eagles. They’ve reshuffled the back end of their defense after cutting ties with four starters, including captain Malcolm Jenkins. They have lost their left tackle in waiting, second-year man Andre Dillard, to a training camp injury. They already had lost right guard Brandon Brooks, widely considered the finest interior offensive lineman in the game, to a season-ending injury. And they have what looks like a killer schedule that includes road matchups with the Steelers and 49ers and home dates with the Rams, Ravens, Seahawks and Saints.
On the other hand . . . they have developed a winning culture under fifth-year head coach Doug Pederson, who has guided them to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. That’s something only three other teams — the Saints, Patriots and Chiefs — have achieved. Not coincidentally, each of the last four Super Bowl winners have come from this elite group.
Another thing the Eagles have going for them is continuity. They’re the only team in their division without a new head coach. That could be especially crucial following all offseason practices being completely wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.
Quarterback Carson Wentz rebounded from an uneven stretch last season to lead the Eagles to wins in their last four regular-season games, enabling them to overtake the Cowboys for the division title.
Wentz and the offense struggled throughout 2019 to produce chunk pass plays after lone deep threat DeSean Jackson suffered a hernia during pregame warmups in Week 2 at Atlanta and was able to play just 15 snaps the rest of the way.
As a result, Wentz became the only quarterback in NFL history to surpass 4,000 passing yards without a wide receiver reaching 500 receiving yards. He also became the only NFL quarterback to throw for 20 or more touchdowns and seven or fewer interceptions in three straight seasons.
Jackson, who has led the league in yards per reception three times, is back and claims to be healthier than ever at age 33. The Eagles also invested heavily in speed at his position in the NFL Draft, taking Jalen Reagor in the first round, John Hightower in the fifth and Quez Watkins in the sixth.
Based on the rotations early in training camp, Reagor looked like a starter in their three-wide set along with Jackson and Greg Ward. But Reagor will miss the first two games with a torn labrum. The role of veteran receiver Alshon Jeffery, who started camp on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from foot surgery last December, remains unknown.
But the Eagles have perhaps the top 1-2 punch in the league at tight end in Zach Ertz (88 catches, 916 yards, 6 TDs) and Dallas Goedert (58, 607, 5) and an emerging star at running back in second-year player Miles Sanders (818 rushing yards, 50 catches for 509 yards as a rookie).
To fill the void created by the loss of Brooks, they re-signed 38-year-old Jason Peters, their left tackle since 2009, with the intent of using him at guard for the first time in his career. That may still happen, but
Peters may have to shift to left tackle to replace Dillard.
The Eagles added to an already strong defensive tackle corps by signing free agent Javon Hargrave to start alongside All-Pro Fletcher Cox and be backed up by Malik Jackson and Hassan Ridgeway. They believe the power generated inside will help perimeter pass rushers Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham and are critical to containing the top running backs in the division, the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott and the Giants’ Sa
quon Barkley.
The defensive line play has to be stellar because linebacker is a weakness after the Eagles jettisoned starters Nigel Bradham and Kamu Grugier-Hill, leaving Nate Gerry as their most experienced player and T.J. Edwards as the presumed second starter.
Two 2019 starters in the secondary, Jenkins and cornerback Ronald Darby, also are gone. Their other starting cornerback, Jalen Mills, is the frontrunner to replace Jenkins at safety alongside Rodney McLeod.
Prized trade addition Darius Slay, a Pro Bowl selection for the Lions in each of the previous three seasons, will be their top cornerback. Avonte Maddox has the edge over Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas for the other starting spot.
The Eagles also feature three of the best special-teamers in the game in kicker Jake Elliott, punter Cam Johnston and long snapper Rick Lovato, who made the Pro Bowl last season.