The first eight weeks of the NFL season are over, and now that the Eagles have had their bye week, it's time to look back and see exactly what's gone down so far. Honestly, halfway through the season, I had the Eagles with a 4-3 record, so they're exactly where I thought they would be so far this season. However, what I didn't expect was the NFC as a whole to be as mediocre as it has been so far. You have the Cowboys at 1-6, the NFC North being led by the injury laden Green Bay Packers at 5-3 and the Chicago Bears, who have no offensive line, the NFC South with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having a 5-2 record, despite being outscored by almost 30 points on the season and the NFC West, where no team is any good. Right now, it is a picture of mediocrity, and if the Eagles can win a few close games, they'll be right in the thick of things over the next nine weeks.
This isn't about what's coming up, though. This is about what's already happened. So, let's look back on the first eight weeks of the season.
Quarterback:
Boy, things have changed since the season started, haven't they? Donovan McNabb got benched, and all kinds of things are being stirred up...no, that's in Washington. However, things haven't been that easy with the Eagles, where Kevin Kolb got knocked out of the first game of the season with a concussion, then lost his starting job to Michael Vick. Vick looked very good in wins against Detroit and Jacksonville, but then got hurt against the Redskins, giving the job back to Kolb once again. Kolb had two good games against San Francisco and Atlanta, but didn't look as good against the Titans. So far this year, Kolb has passed for over 1,000 yards in about five games, with six touchdowns and four interceptions. Meanwhile, Michael Vick, who is getting the starting job back this week against the Colts, has passed for 799 yards and six touchdowns, with no interceptions and has rushed for 187 yards on the ground. If you're going to make me pick a quarterback for the rest of the season, I would go with Vick, only because of the offensive line situation.
Kevin Kolb still looks like he can start in the NFL, but Michael Vick is the better man for the job at the moment. People might not agree with his past, but the fact is that the man had done a good job as quarterback of this team before he got hurt, and he should be good again. You can argue that he played against a Green Bay team that wasn't ready for him, and against Detroit and Jacksonville, two questionable teams at best this year, but Detroit beat the Redskins, while the Jaguars just took out the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas. Vick's performances are starting to look better as the season goes along. For now, I'm siding with Vick, but the grade at the quarterback position right now is yet to be seen.
Grade: Incomplete. Injuries to both quarterbacks have gotten us little time to see how each can perform over a full season. Taking three or four games is not a large enough sample size. If Vick can play well over the next few weeks, then this will start to look better.
Running Backs:
Believe it or not, but the Eagles have more rushes this year than passes. While some of those plays were quarterback scrambles, others have been to LeSean McCoy, who is starting to establish himself as a good running back in the NFL. McCoy doesn't always get a lot of carries, but when he does, he's made them count, picking up 4.5 yards per rush and scoring five touchdowns in seven games. McCoy is also a threat through the air, leading the team with 38 catches, despite not having a touchdown.
The rest of the running game hasn't had good news this year. Leonard Weaver had one carry, and promptly blew out his knee, while Mike Bell was shipped off to Cleveland for Jerome Harrison. Harrison hasn't even touched the ball for the Eagles yet. Weaver's replacement, Owen Schmitt, has been a decent receiving option, but isn't the same presence that Weaver was last year. Without Weaver back there to pick up an extra rusher, the opposing defense has been able to get through at a decent rate, and with the offensive line struggles, that's not a good thing. However, McCoy looks more and more like the running back of the future for the Eagles.
Grade: B. McCoy has been solid, but the rest of the running game has failed to due much. Injuries have hurt, but when Michael Vick is the second leading rusher on the team, and he's only played in two full games, something isn't right.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
So far this year, Jeremy Maclin has shown why the Eagles traded up for him in the 2009 Draft. Maclin has been the go to receiver this season, catching 30 passes for over 450 yards with six touchdowns, putting him well on pace to get past all the marks he had last year as a rookie. Maclin isn't completely there yet, but he's getting close, and it's looking better and better for the young man out of Missouri. DeSean Jackson is still one of the best deep threats in the NFL, and despite suffering his second concussion in two years against the Falcons, he'll be ready to go against the Colts. Jackson was a favorite target for Kolb and Vick, as he's averaged over 20 yards a catch and scored three times. Jason Avant is still a very, very good third receiver in the slot, and he's not afraid to go across the middle to make a big catch when he needs to.
After last year's excellent season, Brent Celek has been a disappointment so far this year. Part of it can be linked to the quarterback issues, but the rest of it still can come back to him. Celek was one of the best tight ends in the NFC last season, but this year, he's just in the middle of the pack, going through half a season with just 21 catches and only two touchdowns. Both touchdowns came when Kevin Kolb was in at quarterback, showing the good bond that the two players have, but Michael Vick did have Alge Crumpler as his tight end in Atlanta, so he knows how to throw to a tight end in the middle of the field. Celek hasn't even broken 50 yards in a single game so far this season, and he needs to re-establish himself as one of the top tight ends in the NFC if the Eagles want to have a better shot at making the playoffs. If he doesn't, then the offense might find themselves in a big jam. DeSean Jackson isn't a big red zone target, and Riley Cooper, while talented, is just a rookie. Celek needs to get himself back into the offense, and that has to start this week against the Colts.
Grade: B+ for the receivers, C for the tight ends. Maclin has been very good this year, and Jackson is still a great deep threat, even with the concussion issues. When you throw in Jason Avant and Riley Cooper, it's hard to believe that this team was thinking about signing Randy Moss a few years ago. Brent Celek has been a disappointment this year, though. He needs to step up as the season goes along.
Offensive Line:
Where should I start? The offensive line has been bad this season from the first game up until the last one against the Titans. While they've improved a bit as the season has gone on, they still don't look like much of a line, and with Winston Justice, Jason Peters, Nick Cole and Mike McGlynn out there, things aren't going to get much better, either. Even when you have Peters coming out of the lineup because of injury, King Dunlap is coming in to play for him. It's not an improvement at all. I wasn't sure how Peters made the Pro Bowl last season, and this year, he's been even worse. When you throw that in with a second season ending injury in two years to Jammal Jackson, things couldn't be any worse for this offensive line at the moment.
The Eagles have given up 21 sacks so far this season, and more of them have been to Michael Vick than Kevin Kolb. Part of that has to do with Vick's ability to scramble, but the rest of it can be linked back to the fact that this line just isn't that good this year. It's hard to believe that a couple of years ago, Tra Thomas and U.S. Congressman Jon Runyan were the bookends on one of the better lines in the NFL. Now, the Eagles have Jason Peters and Winston Justice out there. It's not a good switch. This line is going to have to keep getting better, and fast, as the season continues, because the Eagles are going to be facing a lot of good rushing defenses in the second half of the season.
Grade: D. Only because they haven't looked as bad in recent weeks.
Defense:
I'm going to look at the defense as a whole, just because that's how it should be looked at. Just like the offense this year, the defense has had good games (against Jacksonville and Atlanta) and bad days (Tennessee comes to mind). While the Eagles have given up 157 points on defense so far this year, they rank closer to the top third of the league in yards allowed, still sticking to that bend, but don't break policy that Jim Johnson brought in so long ago. The defensive line has been very good at shutting down running backs this season, from Ryan Grant to Frank Gore and Michael Turner and Chris Johnson. The Eagles have faced some of the best backs in football, and none of them have reached 100 yards against the defense. That's a very, very good thing.
The defensive line has also created a solid pass rush, picking up 21 sacks in seven games this year. Of course, Trent Cole is leading the way with six sacks, but Juqua Parker has been a solid contributor as well with 4.5 sacks of his own. Brandon Graham, who was on a lot of short lists for the Rookie of the Year on defense, has been a bit of a disappointment, playing in just five games due to ankle and what's being described on ESPN as a "painful prostate infection..." has just two sacks and seven tackles this year. Broderick Bunkley is more than likely out for the season, but Mike Patterson has been holding down the middle of the line and Atonio Dixon has looked good in place of Bunkley.
In the middle of the field, the linebackers have had an ok season so far. Aside from a $50,000 fine, Ernie Sims has been just about what people expected after coming over from Detroit. He's not going to cover many people, but he will make tackles and hit people hard. That's what he does. Stewart Bradley came back from a concussion against the Packers and while he hasn't been quite the force that he was in 2008, he's getting his form back. It usually takes a year to come back from a knee injury like he had, anyway. The strongside linebacker position has been an issue, where Moise Fokou, a seventh round pick from last year's draft, took over for Akeem Jordan. That's a clear weak spot in the defense, and it's going to need to be addressed during the offseason. There's not much that can be done for it now, save for hoping that Fokou continues to improve as the season goes on.
The secondary is another issue. While Nate Allen had a great first month of the season, picking off three passes, he's started to come down a little bit as the season goes along. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the rest of his rookie year. Asante Samuel is still Asante Samuel. He's going to jump routes, make big interceptions at times and then make you scratch your head at others. He'll miss tackles, then bring down a man in the open field. Is he overrated as a cornerback? Yes, a little bit. He's still a good player, though, and most teams in the NFL would want to have him. Quintin Mikell leads the team in tackles and while he still needs some work at reading routes, he's a solid safety that just needs a little more work. I'm still wondering how he ended up as a second team All Pro a few years ago, though. Then, there's Ellis Hobbs, who is still trying to find a way to cover Kenny Britt. He's looking so much, that Dimitri Patterson just came in and took his starting job away. All I can say is it's about time. Hobbs has had good games and bad games, but the only problem is that his bad games tend to cost the Eagles a win. Look at his showing against the Titans and Kenny Britt. Seven catches, 225 yards and three touchdowns later, Tennessee is finishing off what looks like a blowout against the Eagles. That can't happen. That's why Hobbs isn't starting any more. It needed to be done, probably a few weeks before it happened.
Grade: B. The defense has looked good at times, and then laid eggs at others. While they've been able to shut down most of the high powered running backs this year, it's been the lesser known ones, like Ryan Torain and rookie Javhid Best, that have gashed the Eagles. Plus, as the game goes along, the defense has shown a bit of a lack of killer instinct. They almost lost to the Lions at the end, and the Titans came back and blew them out in the fourth quarter. The potential is there for a good defense, but they need to take that next step.
Special Teams:
It turns out the one decent thing that Ellis Hobbs has is returning kicks. While he hasn't been great, Hobbs is averaging almost 24 yards per return. It's nothing special, but at least he's not Reno Mahe. DeSean Jackson has struggled on punt returns this year, and in his place, Jorrick Calvin has stepped in and done a decent job. The punt return position could be a bit better, but if that's one of the biggest worries on special teams, it's ok.
Meanwhile, Sav Rocca is actually punting the ball well this year, averaging over 47 yards per punt. That's almost five yards more per punt than his average last year, and while that doesn't seem like much, five yards in a big situation can make a big difference. It's about time Rocca started booting the ball like that. Right now, he's third in the league in yards per punt, behind just Mike Scifres of the Chargers and Shane Lechler of the Raiders. That's not bad company to be in. David Akers is still just as solid as ever, despite missing three field goals in a single game this year. Other than that one game against the Falcons, Akers has missed just one kick this year, and he still has the power in his leg that got him to this point. Akers hasn't missed an extra point this season, and is still getting good length on his kickoffs. He's getting older, but he's still David Akers.
Special Teams: B+. The return game hasn't been great, but the kicking and punting aspect has been very, very good this year. Akers and Rocca move the grade up a notch or two.
Overall, this team is right where I thought they would be, even without all the drama at the quarterback position. These next few games are going to be the big test, as the Eagles face the Colts, then the Redskins on Monday Night Football and then the New York Giants. Those three games are going to set the stage for the rest of the season, with three more divisional games coming up at the end of the year. These last nine games aren't going to be easy for the Eagles, but if they can make the playoffs in the NFC, then anything can happen.
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