Start The Philadelphia Eagles entered
their second offseason under Chip Kelly without any glaring holes on the team. Philadelphia
Eagles The offense was one of the best in the NFL in 2013, Philadelphia
Eagles setting a single-season franchise record for points scored. Philadelphia
Eagles The defense was one of the NFL's most improved during the second half of
the season, Philadelphia Eagles at one point surrendering 21 or fewer points in
nine straight games. Philadelphia
Eagles That means the Eagles didn't have to look to fill four or five starting
spots for the future this offseason. Philadelphia Eagles They added one new
starter on the defensive side of the ball and took away one starter on the
offensive side of the ball. Philadelphia Eagles The rest of their additions
were purely value pieces, Philadelphia Eagles and that's what you like to see a
contending team do during the offseason. Philadelphia Eagles The following
slides will highlight six different acquisitions for the Eagles, Philadelphia
Eagles three underrated moves and three overrated moves. Philadelphia
Eagles The Eagles may or may not have added an extremely valuable offensive
weapon in multi-talented running back Darren Sproles, who was acquired for
a fifth-round draft pick. Sproles, 31, isn't an ordinary running back. He's
never carried 100 times in a season and at 5'6'', it's highly unlikely that he
could carry the load if LeSean McCoy went down with an injury. Sproles was
signed for his abilities as a receiver and a return man. Chip Kelly's offense
is all about creating mismatches and a shifty, elusive player with Sproles'
speed will be a nightmare for defensive coordinators. My only concern is that
Sproles is past his prime, maybe even significantly past his prime. It's hard
to imagine a 31-year-old running back not being on the decline and Sproles'
numbers in 2013 indicated that he is. Although he caught 71 passes, he averaged
just 4.2 yards per carry and scored just four total touchdowns. He also
averaged just 6.7 yards per punt return and 21.3 yards per kick return. Those
are easily the worst combined return numbers of his career. Sproles benefited
from a top-10 quarterback in NFL history and an offensive genius in Sean
Payton. He still plays with a very good quarterback and a potentially brilliant
offensive mind. It's just a stretch to think that Sproles doesn't see his
numbers decline again in 2014. Flash back to the postseason in the wild-card
round after the 2013 season. With the Saints clinging to a 13-7 lead
midway through the third quarter, Drew Brees and company faced a
3rd-and-12 from their own 42-yard line. Brees promptly hit rookie receiver
Kenny Stills for a 14-yard gain and a first down, beating little-used Roc
Carmichael for the key gain. Carmichael had
only been inserted into the game when Bradley Fletcher had to leave with an
injury just a play earlier. That one play led to the Saints' second touchdown
of the game, giving them a 20-7 lead in a game they would eventually win 26-24.
Although the Eagles chose to keep veterans Cary Williams and Fletcher as their
starters for another year, they greatly increased their depth by adding Nolan
Carroll from the Miami Dolphins. In 2013, Carroll allowed just a 47.8
completion percentage and a 65.0 passer rating. Only one cornerback in the
NFL bettered both marks last year. Although Carroll has an outside chance
to defeat Fletcher and earn the number two starting cornerback spot, he'll
likely be the fourth corner (Brandon Boykin has the nickel spot locked up). The
difference between a seasoned veteran like Carroll and an unproven player like Carmichael is tremendous. In fact, if Carroll had been
covering Stills in that playoff game, there's a chance the Eagles would have
stopped the Saints and won the game. The Eagles tried everything they could to
convince their fan base that they made the right decision in signing veteran
safety Malcolm Jenkins instead of Pro Bowlers Jairus Byrd or T.J. Ward. I'm
certainly willing to give the franchise every benefit of the doubt. But at this
point, I remain unconvinced that Jenkins will be able to cure the Eagles' woes
at safety. In 2013, Jenkins rated as one of the worst safeties in the
NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He surrendered a 103.3 passer rating and
missed 16 tackles. No safety in the league rated worse on both marks. Jenkins'
biggest asset is his versatility. Originally drafted in the first round as a
cornerback, he switched to safety after his rookie year. The Eagles will be
able to use Jenkins to cover in three and four wide receiver sets instead of
replacing him with another defensive back. While I appreciate Jenkins'
versatility, I still remain largely skeptical about the signing. He's just not
very good at safety. Let's hope Billy Davis' scheme is able to bring out the
best in him. The Eagles signed outside linebacker Bryan Braman with the intent
of using the 27-year-old to improve their special teams. After all, the Eagles
allowed arguably their best special teams player from the past few seasons,
Colt Anderson, to walk in free agency this offseason. Braman's biggest asset is
his abilities on special teams but he's been a very pleasant surprise on the
defensive side of the ball during OTAs. At least one Eagles writer, Eliot
Shorr-Parks of NJ.com, thinks Braman could push for serious playing time as
Connor Barwin's backup at the "jack" linebacker position. The Eagles
lacked serious depth on defense in 2013, but they managed to stay relatively
injury-free. If Barwin, one of the most important defenders on the team, suffers
an injury, Braman is going to need to be able to step in and fill the void. The
Alex Henery hate reached a breaking point following the team's postseason loss
to the New Orleans Saints. The third-year kicker missed a 48-yard field goal in
the team's eventual two-point playoff loss, capping off easily the worst year
of his short career. In 2013, Henery proved to be inconsistent. He couldn't
handle any field goals of longer than 50 yards. And his distance on kickoffs
consistently ranked among the worst in the NFL. Naturally, the Eagles brought
in competition for Henery this offseason. The new kicker, Carey Spear, is known
as Murderleg. and a cool nickname is about all he brings to the table. Spear
has been thoroughly outplayed by Henery in camp, to the point where Henery
appears to have the job all but locked up for a fourth straight year.
It's been bad enough that the Eagles should look at bringing a veteran into
training camp because Spear clearly can't give Henery the competition he
desperately needs. Philadelphia Eagles The Jordan Matthews bandwagon has
been through the roof since the Eagles drafted the Vanderbilt wide receiver in
the second round of the draft. Matthews, a cousin of the legendary Jerry Rice, Philadelphia
Eagles has already been called the best wide receiver at camp by
Eagles reporter Jimmy Kempski. Philadelphia
Eagles He's big, fast, strong, intelligent and an extremely hard worker. Matthews
is expected to open the season as the slot receiver, per Chip Kelly, but I
wouldn't be surprised to see him emerge as the go-to receiver for Nick
Foles by the end of the season. Philadelphia Eagles I'll go as far as to
say that Matthews has almost no bust rate. Philadelphia Eagles He could easily
win Offensive Rookie of the Year. He'll be a Pro Bowler within three years. Philadelphia
Eagles I wouldn't be surprised to see him become the best receiver in the
draft. Philadelphia Eagles The sky is the limit for Matthews, especially if
remains in Kelly's offense, Philadelphia Eagles.
