Eight Key Questions That Will Define the Philadelphia Eagles 2010 Season

Part 4 of 9

4. Is LeSean McCoy ready to be "the man" in the backfield?

Rookie LeSean McCoy turned in a solid performance in 2009 after coming out of college early. He demonstrated the well rounded running and receiving skills necessary in an Andy Reid offense.

Because former mainstay Brian Westbrook saw limited action due to injuries, McCoy got the lion's share of work at running back.

With one quick call to Westbrook's cell phone in March, Shady officially became "the man." Although others like Leonard Weaver, Mike Bell, and rookie Charles Scott could see considerable action, McCoy's continued development should prove critical to achieving offensive success.

The big question is whether McCoy can take his game from "rookie solid" to become a true threat out of the backfield?

Gone is McNabb's improvisational and deep passing ability. Gone is Westbrook's explosiveness. A little more elusiveness out of the backfield would help to open the passing lanes in a more bunched up offense.

Eagles, Falcons Prepare for a Battle of Attrition

Both the Eagles and Falcons are playoff caliber teams, but both are also severely weakened by injuries. Philadelphia currently holds the 1st Wild Card spot in the NFC, followed by the Packers. The Falcons sit one game back, tied with the Giants at 6-5. Accordingly, the game has significant playoff implications, but is somewhat overshadowed by the return of former Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick.

The outcome of tomorrow's game might hinge on which team is best able to overcome missing and injury compromised players. The Falcons will likely be without quarterback Matt Ryan, star running back Michael Turner and wide receiver Michael Jenkins, while their best wide receiver, Roddy White, will be less than 100% if he plays.

On the other side of the field, the Eagles will be without their top running back (Brian Westbrook) and wide receiver (DeSean Jackson), while tight end Brent Celek will be playing with a sprained thumb that caused him to drop passes last week. Also, they will once again be playing with a patchwork defense, including two starting corners that will play, but are hurting. Besides the players on "Injured Reserve", Akeem Jordan and Joselio Hanson will still be missing as well.

Veteran Chris Redman will start in Ryan's place, and played well in relief a week ago. Overall, he has been a solid player and should be able to take advantage of the Eagles weakened defense. He will not have the services of one of the top runners in the league as Turner aggravated an ankle injury, so Jason Snelling will get most of the carries. Jerious Norwood will likely play, but his normal explosiveness will be limited by his own lingering injury. Redman will primarily look for White and tight end Tony Gonzalez when he drops back to pass.

Once again, Donovan McNabb will be tested with a cast of relatively inexperienced players around him and if they hope to win, he will need to show the same veteran leadership that has been instrumental in the past two games. Rookie LeSean McCoy seems to get better as he gets more playing time under his belt, cutting off his blocks on runs and chipping pass rushers.

Both Jason Avant and Jeremy Maclin enter the game nursing injuries, but need to play and be an integral part of the offense. The little used Reggie Brown will get a lot of work as the third receiver as will back-up TE Alex Smith. Fortunately for the Eagles, McNabb is used to spreading the ball around and will not hesitate using any of his options.

Of course, the big story line is Vick's return to Atlanta, where he played for his first 6 years and led the Falcons to the NFC Championship game in 2004 before being convicted for running a dog fighting ring. Vick should not be much of a factor in the game, although the Eagles could conceivably make the mistake of playing him too much due to his ties with the Falcons. If Andy Reid is smart he will limit Vick and the Mildcat to its typical pair of carries for five yards and an incomplete pass so as not to disrupt too many drives.

Although both teams will be without key offensive weapons, expect the game to still be relatively high scoring. The capabilities of the offensive replacements, along with the play of each defense, should keep the ball moving down the field. Redman is a capable back-up and the Falcons will try to use their top two offensive weapons as much as possible. The Eagles have struggled to stop opposing tight ends all season, and with Jordan sidelined, Gonzalez is likely in for a huge day. Also, expect Redman to try to connect with White down the field.

The Eagles will counter with McCoy and Leonard Weaver sharing duties at running back and the usual large dose of passing. Expect both Avant and Maclin to have big games as McNabb will target a high percentage of passes in their direction due to Jackson's absence and Celek's injury. It would not be surprising to see Smith get more balls thrown his way while Celek is used as a decoy. McNabb will also use Brown, McCoy and Weaver to balance things out and keep the Falcons guessing.

Ultimately, the presence of McNabb along with the play of Avant, Maclin and McCoy should push the Eagles over the top. I see McNabb tossing a long TD to Maclin and a pair of the shorter variety to Avant. Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown will look to take advantage of Redman's rustiness, and one or both of them should pick off a pass to give the Eagles the turnover edge. Expect the Eagles to maintain a lead and have enough defense to hang on for victory.

Eagles 34

Falcons 27

Eagles Use Late Rally to Win Again

Donovan McNabb engineered another late game rally to lead the Eagles to a second consecutive comeback win against an inferior team. And, once again, the team overcame adversity, some of which was their own doing and other simply being sometimes how things go in the NFL. The victory allowed the Eagles to keep pace with both the Cowboys in the NFC East and the Packers in the Wildcard race, who both won on Thanksgiving Day.

Yesterday's game followed a similar script to the previous game, as the Eagles rallied from a 24-16 fourth quarter deficit to prevail 27-24. Seemingly shaking off growing criticism about his inability to lead the team back late in games, McNabb showed poise and precision on two scoring drives in the games final minutes. First he led the team on a 90-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown with 7:24 remaining and then took them 66 yards to a game winning field goal at the 1:48 mark.

Although the Redskins fell to 3-8, they came into the game with the 4th rated defense in the NFL, so these long drives were not easy and are clearly a good sign. McNabb had the added challenge of being without DeSean Jackson (who left earlier with a concussion) and having an ineffective Brent Celek (who later divulged that he may have torn thumb ligaments.) No matter- he simply leaned on Jason Avant, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy and they came through in a big way.

The big plays on the touchdown drive were consecutive tremendous catches by Avant for 46 and 20 yards, respectively, who is emerging as yet another weapon on the Eagles offense. Over the past two seasons, he has demonstrated a growing ability as a sure handed possession receiver, but now is displaying the ability to get separation and make catches down the field. The drive almost stalled at the one yard line, but Eldra Buckley finally was able to punch it in on the fourth play. McCoy then showed great determination and balance on a shuttle pass to get a two point conversion, tying the score.

After the Eagles defense held the Redskins, the offense took possession again on their own 20. This time McNabb used a pair of passes to Maclin (including a 35-yard connection) and a heavy dose of McCoy's running to move to the Redskins 14. David Akers came on to kick his fourth field goal of the game to make it 27-24. The defense then stepped up again, forcing the Redskins to the turn the ball over on downs.

One thing that was different from last week, though, was that the Eagles fell behind early. For some inexplicable reason the Eagles chose to open the game with an on sides kick that back fired into a quick 7-0 Redskins lead. Considering that the Redskins have one of the least effective offensive units and one of the better defensive units in the NFL, and were further hindered by injuries, electing to gamble at the outset seemed totally nonsensical. The last thing that the Eagles would want is to give them a short field or easy points.

Nevertheless, the Eagles did work back from the many adversities they faced, such as the absence of players and injury limitations, as well as the self inflicted variety such as penalties, ill advised gambles and the Mildcat. Once again, McNabb maintained composure and his young teammates around him responded well. The depleted defense was uneven throughout the contest as expected, but they came up big when needed in the end. Surprisingly, they struggled to get pressure on Jason Campbell, but forced the Redskins to work underneath all day.

Although favoring a sore neck, Asante Samuel jumped a couple routes to pick off two Campbell passes in the second quarter. The Eagles turned both of those into Akers field goals and grab a slim 16-14 lead at half.

McNabb finished the day 21-35-1 for 260 yards. Before Jackson got injured, McNabb connected with him on yet another long scoring strike. Late in the first quarter, Jackson slipped behind coverage and McNabb found him in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. McCoy and Weaver both ran the ball well all day, combining for 120 yards on only 23 carries. For the second time in three weeks, Avant led the team in receiving, accumulating 94 yards on 5 receptions.

This was another game that the Eagles both should have and needed to win. They now find themselves at 7-4, one game behind the Cowboys and in the top Wildcat spot. They found ways to win each of the past two games which is good, but their challenge may have increased further with the injuries to their leading receivers, Jackson and Celek.

Fortunately, the Eagles are showing some excellent depth and quickly growing maturity on offense. It appears they are still a few weeks away from shoring up the defense, so if they hope to win next week's big game in Atlanta, it appears that it is going to require McNabb to rally his young mates again. The Falcons pulled out a comeback win themselves yesterday and lurk just one game behind the Eagles.

Eagles Pull Out Windy City Win

The game was not a work of art or a thing of beauty, but the Eagles found a way to shake the Sunday Night NBC jinx and pull out a victory In Chicago against a struggling Bears team. The game was labeled as a "must win" on each side as both teams knew that a loss sent their playoff probabilities plummeting. Each team took control of two quarters, but in the end, the Eagles won the first and fourth quarters to register a 24-20 win.

The Eagles came into the game having dropped its last two games to fall out of first place in the NFC East, after having crushed the New York Giants to seize the division lead. Meanwhile, the Bears had lost four of their last five after a promising 3-1 start. Although coaches hate putting too much emphasis on any game that would not actually mathematically eliminate their team, players on both squads knew that the loser would face a very difficult road to make the playoffs.

Last evening, neither team played that much like a playoff team, as each repeatedly committed penalties and made errors along the way. For the Eagles, the errors were primarily three turnovers and a shanked punt that was effectively a fourth turnover. For the Bears, although their last ditch attempt to pull the game out ended with an interception, the miscues were foregone opportunities in the form of missed open receivers.

The difference in the game ultimately came down to the poise shown by McNabb to guide his young team while his counterpart Jay Cutler was misfiring all night out of fear of failure. McNabb kept his inexperienced team calm as errors and penalties let a 10-0 lead turn into a 3rd quarter deficit, while Cutler frustrated his teammates by missing wide open receivers, some of which should have been touchdowns. Trailing 20-17, McNabb engineered a methodical 11-play drive that culminated with a LeSean McCoy 10-yard touchdown run with 5:31 left in the game.

For the most of the evening, scarred by the memories of the previous week's 5 interceptions, Cutler made safe throws to avoid completing more passes to the opposing team. As a result, he over shot Greg Olsen and Devin Hester for easy scores. He appeared to get his confidence for a brief period late in the 3rd quarter when he rallied the Bears for a touchdown to regain the lead, 20-17. That quickly disappeared in the 4th quarter, and the Eagles sealed the victory by picking off a pass in the final minute.

Outside of a 48-yard scoring strike to DeSean Jackson in the 3rd quarter, the Eagles offense was effective only in the 1st and 4th quarters. A key element of that success was the run, with McCoy accumulating most of his 99 rushing yards. And, Michael Vick surprised the world by running a play in the Eagles opening drive that actually worked, as he rambled through the middle of the line on a draw for 34 yards. The drive eventually stalled out at the 7 and the Eagles settled for chip shot field goal.

McNabb had an efficient game, hitting on almost 72% of his passes, primarily in the 5-15 yard range. He eventually nailed Jackson on the bomb and racked up 244 yards for the game. He seemed destined to put up a lot of points if not for penalties and sacks creating many long yardage situations. Jackson was a force on both special teams and the base offense, racking up 56 yards on two punt returns and 107 yards on 8 catches.

The depleted Eagles defense was up and down all game. The secondary struggled in coverage with Asante Samuel leaving in the first half with an injury, Sheldon Brown limited by a hamstring injury and a myriad of inexperienced players on the field. They were aided by Cutler's lack of accuracy, but overall played hard and determined.

This was a good win for the Eagles despite their uneven performance to keep their playoff and division aspirations in tact until they can get their regulars back on the field. A less than stellar defensive performance could certainly be expected with so many players out of the line-up. Even the Eagles two fumbles by Jackson and McCoy were more a product of stellar defensive play by Bears CB Charles Tillman, who is possibly the best in the league at stripping the ball, than carelessness.

The victory allowed the Eagles to keep pace with the Cowboys and Giants, who both eked out wins yesterday afternoon. More of the burden will continue to fall onto the offense until the defense can get more of its regulars back on the field, so although some may dwell on the imperfections, there was a good deal of positive to take away. The young players continued to show more consistency, the Eagles exhibited a running game to go along with their passing game, and the team reversed trend by engineering a late game scoring drive to win.

Cowboys Visit Eagles for NFC East Showdown

The last time the Cowboys visited the Linc to face the Eagles was last season's finale. Once again the game carries significance with first place in the NFC East on the line. Last season, a playoff spot was at stake and Philadelphia fans witnessed a total dismantling of the Cowboys as the Eagles won 44-6.

Both teams come into today with their offenses clicking and having won 4 of their last 5 games. The Cowboys seemed to lack belief in themselves early in the season, perhaps a hangover from their disastrous season ending game, but now appear to have regained their "mojo." After being dogged by turnovers, Tony Romo is now playing with conviction and new found confidence, particularly with the emergence of wide receiver Miles "Yeh, baby" Austin.

A little intrigue developed this week, however, as fellow receiver Roy Williams has openly chafed at Romo's ability to get him the ball since he views himself as the #1 receiver. The Eagles would feel fortunate if this would cause Romo to look for Williams over Austin as the former has done nothing to distinguish himself as a top receiver since coming to the team last season.

Speaking of receivers, the Eagles are quickly gaining recognition for having one of the best corps in the NFL. At this point, they possess the most explosive group, which matches up well against a Dallas secondary that is a little shy on speed. Donovan McNabb will once again look to make full use of the arsenal of weapons around him. Reports are that Westbrook will sit out again, so look for LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver to share running and pass catching duties. McNabb will surely look to take some strikes down the field with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, while using Brent Celek in the middle to move the chains.

Romo spread the ball around last week, and with Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice all healthy, expect the Cowboys to do the same this week. The Eagles defense has been vulnerable to tight ends, so Jason Witten will likely be a big part of their offense and might easily ring up 100 yards receiving.

Both defenses rely on a strong pass rush to keep pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Accordingly, expect a few turnovers and some drive stopping sacks. Ultimately, though, both teams should be able to move the ball and a high scoring contest seems most likely.

Expect a seesaw game with the Eagles winning the turnover battle to register some easy points. The Cowboys will use a running back by committee approach and Witten to control the ball on methodical drives, while the Eagles will continue to use big plays on both offense and defense. Although the game will be the challenge from the Cowboys they expected last December, at the end of the day, the Eagles will have sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Eagles 37

Cowboys 31

Eagles Crush Giants in Twin Bill Opener

The Eagles continue to establish their personality as a big play team on both sides of the ball as they hit on multiple long scoring strikes and forced Eli Manning into turnovers. They seized control of the game on the third play from scrimmage when Leonard Weaver burst through the middle on a 41-yard touchdown gallop and never let up on the way to crushing their NFC East rivals by a score of 40-17.

The final score might actually make the game seem closer than it really was, as the Birds dominated the Giants in all phases of the game. If not for a fumble, an onside kick and the Eagles playing conservatively to eat up the clock, it could have been much worse. The Eagles moved the ball easily, seemingly scoring at will while pressuring Manning into erratic throws and mistakes.

Donovan McNabb had his strongest game of the season, completing 17 of 23 passes for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns. And, true to 2009 form, all were from longer range as he hit on a 54-yard strike to DeSean Jackson, a 23-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin and a 17-yard throw to Brent Celek. Adding to their long ball array, were Weaver's run and a 66-yard touchdown sprint by LeSean McCoy.

On defense, the Eagles rotated linemen and used a variety of stunts and blitzes to put pressure on Manning. Similar to last season's playoff game, the tactic exploited Manning's poise and average arm strength. On the Giants third play from scrimmage, Asante Samuel jumped a route to intercept a pass and returned it 37 yards to set up the Eagles second touchdown.

The Giants had many experts singing their praises as they beat up weak opponents in the early part of the season. Yesterday's thorough domination at the hands of the Eagles, along with losses the previous two weeks, has knocked the Giants out of first place and has them questioning their abilities. The soft part of their schedule is behind them and they face a tough slate of games ahead.

Meanwhile, besides their lapse in Oakland, the Eagles reinforced that they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender, possessing possibly the most explosive offense in the NFL. Jackson, Maclin and Celek give McNabb the best array of play making receivers that he has ever had around him. The team has largely been without the services of Brian Westbrook, so his return adds an elusive runner and pass catcher to a running corps that has been bolstered by McCoy and Weaver. Jason Avant and injured Kevin Curtis are nice accessories. This is clearly the greatest set of offensive skill position players the team has ever assembled.

Despite still in a learning mode, Will Witherspoon looks like a considerable upgrade for the defense as he flashes around the field making plays. The pre-season loss of promising Stewart Bradley left a big hole that now seems closed. This allows the defense to be aggressive with their pass rush and re-enage their secondary to concentrate on pass coverage rather than helping with run support.

Next week is the third leg of the NFC East round robin as the Eagles host the Cowboys, who also improved their record to 5-2 with a convincing win yesterday over Seattle. Dallas seems to have found their mojo as QB Tony Romo has gained confidence with the emergence of wide receiver Miles Austin. Marion Barber and Felix Jones have returned from injury, so the Cowboys are feeling like they have their own explosive array of weapons. Next Sunday night's game should prove to worthy of the prime time spot light.

Eagles, Giants Preview

The Eagles kick off the day, night New York doubleheader tomorrow afternoon against the Giants at 1 PM. Although the game does not carry the same import as the evening contest, the two football rivals are vying for the early lead in the NFC East. It is the second of 3 consecutive division games, and will likely be the hardest hitting.

With the Giants having lost two in a row, and still smarting from last year's playoff exit at the hands of the Eagles in their own yard, they will surely be looking to make a statement tomorrow. The Eagles have been a little bit bi-polar this season, which makes it difficult to project which version will show tomorrow. They have had some large margin wins, an improbable upset loss to the Raiders, a resounding loss to the high powered Saints and last week's "enough to win" performance in Washington.

The teams come into the game with some recent strengths and weaknesses going head to head against one another. The Giants boast a huge pass rush, while the Eagles have been struggling to protect Donovan McNabb. Conversely, the Eagles have been effective hitting on some long strikes, while the Giants secondary has been torched. Each could exploit the other in a big way, possibly accentuating more of an all or nothing type game when the Birds have the ball.

On the flip side of the ball, Eli Manning has been great against lesser competition, but has been erratic when under pressure. The Eagles also had success against him last year by keeping a strong pass rush in his face all day long. The Giants have a pair of talented running backs, so it is likely they will try to neutralize the Eagles rush and keep the heat off Manning by handing the ball off a good portion of the day.

With the offensive line a little healthier, the Eagles should be able to buy enough time for McNabb to get the ball down field. Brian Westbrook will most likely sit out after suffering a concussion last week, so LeSean McCoy will be heavily tested as a runner and blocker. Look for the Eagles to use Leonard Weaver in that role, and then hit him on screen plays coming out of the backfield. Overall, McNabb will likely throw a lot of screens to his running backs and Jeremy Maclin, use Brent Celek in the middle of the field and then try to exploit the Giants suspect secondary with a couple long strikes to DeSean Jackson and Maclin.

The addition of linebacker Will Witherspoon will greatly aid the Eagles ability to contain the Giants running game. His quickness also helps with putting pressure on Manning. Sean McDermott will take a page from last year's playoff game by putting the heat on Manning and challenging him to make deep throws to the outside part of the field, where his arm strength can sometimes be exposed.

I expect the Eagles to continue the lack of offensive consistency that we have seen, but still be able to hit on some big plays. On defense, they should be able to force some turnovers. At the end of the day, I expect to see the Eagles to feed off the electric atmosphere in Philly and move ahead of the Giants in the NFC East.

Eagles 23

Giants 20

Kolb Shows What Reid Sees in Eagles Easy Win

The Eagles raced to an early lead yesterday and maintained clear control of the game throughout the day, soundly defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 34-14. The score makes the game seem much closer than it really was, as the Chiefs were aided by Jeff Garcia's fumbled snap in mop up duty. The Eagles dominated on both sides of the ball and Kevin Kolb demonstrated what Andy Reid has liked about him.

Kolb threw early and often, carving up the Chiefs defense for 327 yards and 2 long touchdowns. He also eliminated the deadly turnovers which have plagued him in other performances. Overall, Kolb looked poised, confident and completed more than 70% of his passes. He also displayed the requisite NFL arm strength and some nice touch.

All of this needs to be tempered a bit by the fact that Kolb was virtually under no pressure all day long thanks to his offensive line and the Chiefs lack of pass rush. He is also coming off previous appearances where he turned the ball over when opponents limited his time and showed more complexity. Of course, all aspiring young quarterbacks go through the "school of hard knocks" as they develop, especially when jumping into the fire against a top flight defense such as the Ravens.

The Eagles defense returned to form, looking a lot more like the week 1 version than last week's edition. The Chiefs seemed resigned to the fact that they would not have the time to get the ball down the field, so running and short passing would be the only real way to move the ball without risking the health of Matt Cassel or turnovers. It seemed obvious all day that they were never going to mount a serious threat to win the game. Their only touchdown came late in the game after Garcia fumbled his first snap deep in his own territory.

With Brian Westbrook de-activated due to an ankle sprain, rookie LeSean McCoy filled in nicely, racking up 84 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Additionally, DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek each broke the 100-yard mark receiving and scored on long passes. These three, along with Kolb, provided a window into the future and a great deal of optimism about their ability to make big contributions as needed. Of course, Kolb and McCoy are clearly back-ups at this point, but it is comforting to know that they will be able to step in and perform well if needed.

The other major story line in the game was Michael Vick's return to the NFL. He participated in 11 plays, mostly designed to run, with very little productivity- unless the team opts for a nostalgic "2.7 yards and cloud of dust" offense. The Chiefs appeared to have little trouble defending the Vick Wildcat, and the best that can be said for it was that Kolb and the Eagles found a way to overcome it. The Eagles either need to get much better at designing or executing on it, or greatly curtail it, as they will not be able to waste plays as they face better teams.

Yesterday's win runs the Eagles record to 2-1 and puts them back on track. The early bye week turns out to be a blessing as it should allow McNabb, Westbrook and Kevin Curtis to avoid missing another game and risking further injury. Additionally, Jackson will have time for his groin to heal and would be well advised to avoid the Dancing with the Stars acrobatics and splits that he displayed after his touchdown catch.