Lesean McCoy is gone. Jeremy Maclin, Desean Jackson, and Evan Mathis will not be returning to play for Philadelphia in the forseeable future. There is no point in discussing the manner of their departure anymore. Now is not the time to constantly look backward like most commentators do. It is time to focus on the obstacles ahead.
Chip Kelly’s fast break offensive attack has been exiled, and there is a great chance that the defense will no longer be playing 40 minutes a game. No more debates on the vaunted ‘time of possession’ statistic either. Who ever the new head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles will be, it will be a completely different philosophy governing this team.
However, Kelly’s last year as head honcho in Philly was not a complete waste. There were some very important developments and takeaways we would have never found without it. Some of those takeaways were not good and others were very good. What possible takeaways could the Eagles offense have possibly had in a 7-9 season? I’m glad you asked…
- Jordan Matthews can be THE guy…
It has actually been a long road for Matthews this season. After Maclin took a new deal with Andy Reid, even Matthews’s most avid supporters did not believe that he was ready to be the first option in an NFL offense. He was very productive for the Eagles last season, but his lack of deep speed and experience against top flight defensive backs was a concern. Matthews himself stated in the off-season that the team would not have a “number one receiver” and would instead just feature him on the outside more. Eighty-five catches later, including a rather large total of dropped passes, Matthews believes that he can not only be the first receiving option, but the BEST receiving option for the Eagles. The fact that he was three yards short of reaching 1,000 yards is serving as a motivational point for Matthews as well. If Matthews can learn to be a more consistent target for next season, the Eagles may have another awesome player to pay at the end of his rookie contract. - Josh Huff… Still has potential?
We saw a lot more of Josh Huff this past season than we did in his first year. He was buried on the depth chart below Matthews, Maclin, and Riley Cooper in his rookie season, so this year was supposed to be the year he shined. No one needed Huff to post a 1,000 yard season, nor did they expect him to, but he definitely did not live up to what we need from him. He played just under half the snaps on offense this year, and totaled just 312 receiving yards on 27 receptions, which is justly classified as pedestrian at best. He has the speed to get the job done, but his route running and hands leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully, the third year will be the charm for this guy. Eagles fans are not expecting much, but they are still rooting for him. - Riley Cooper could be released… FINALLY!
Cooper followed his unimpressive 2014 season as a starter with an even more disappointing 2015 season. He played just under half the offensive snaps, which is a big switch from playing 80-percent of the snaps in 2014. He also posted just 21 receptions for 327 yards all while starting 13 games for the Eagles. A starter getting these numbers is almost laughable considering the money he was paid after benefiting from Jackson’s abilities in 2013. He will almost surely be cut this off-season unless the next head coach lacks wide receiving options. - Sam Bradford can be THE guy… for now?
Bradford proved that he is very capable of running a great offense. He did not produce hugely impressive offensive statistics from the pocket, but he did prove that he is worlds ahead of Nick Foles as a pro passer. His accuracy in many of his throws, especially in the second half of the season, was simply masterful, and many of the interceptions on his resume were the result of receivers dropping footballs placed perfectly onto their hands and chests. Even with all the dropping that occurred during the year, he still managed to convert 65-percent of his passes, largely due to the fact that almost 37-percent of his completed passes went running backs. The question now becomes whether the Eagles can pay Bradford what he thinks he is worth, which could possibly be upward of $20 million a year. Speaking of Bradford’s contract… - If Bradford is too expensive, a rookie will be the starter…
It is unlikely that the next head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles will take the job knowing that Mark Sanchez will be his best option at quarterback. Anyone who comes in will more than likely have a history of developing young quarterbacks, and will have to choose a quarterback to grow over the next two drafts. Bradford will be looking for a huge pay day but giving a contract that falls in the range of $20 million a year doesn’t seem to be an option for the team (They only have $18 million in projected cap space at this point). For an idea of what a Bradford deal would look like, Ryan Tannehill received a 4-year, $77 million extension, and his deal will almost certainly be used as the basis for Bradford’s deal. That might be a little rich for a team that could be entering rebuilding mode. Paying a rookie would be cheaper and will allow the team to retain key players. - Offensive line play was the reason for Chip Kelly’s fall from grace…
The offensive line played poorly as a group, and there is no NO OTHER REASON for Kelly’s fall from grace. The release of Evan Mathis was particularly egregious because he was arguably the best offensive lineman on the team and, undoubtedly, the team’s best run blocker. The All-Pro and Pro Bowl guard could also have taken away a lot of the stress that Jason Peters and Jason Kelce faced during the season because of the significant skill gap between Mathis and Allen Barbre. Kelce was constantly bull rushed and plowed in the middle of the line by bigger and stronger tackles while Barbre and Matt Tobin repeatedly allowed penetration on seemingly every single run play that ran outside the tackle or required pulling. If the offensive line didn’t allow defenders to meet DeMarco Murray 5-6 yards behind the line of scrimmage, the run game would have been much more productive in more ways than one. Unfortunately for Eagles fans, there is no quick fix in offensive line play, and the best the Eagles will be able to do is install a new blocking scheme and produce more with the same personnel. The offensive line is at the top of the list of reforms that the Eagles should look at in the draft. - Jason Peters is on his way down…
Peters is a hall of fame left tackle that will see his bust in Canton almost immediately after he becomes eligible, but it’s time to face the music. Father time and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are the only ones who are undefeated in their professions, and I do not expect Peters to defeat either one of them as he began to show signs of his mortality late in this past season. He did fight through tough injuries this year as well though, so it is very possible that we could see a resurgence in his hall of fame career next year after an off-season of healing. It is still something to think about during the draft and free agency though. Stashing a young developmental player away in the depth chart to learn from Peters and Lane Johnson could be the best way to go. - The run game will STILL be the focal point for this team’s offensive success going forward…
Anyone who believed that Murray was miscast in Kelly’s fast paced offensive attack is silly. Anyone who believed that Ryan Matthews was a better fit in Kelly’s fast paced offensive attack were right on the money though. Murray struggled running the toss plays that Kelly used to stretch lanes and gaps in defenses because the penetration was such that he would routinely fight would-be tacklers 4-6 yards in the backfield. That is not the fault of the running back by any means, but analysts who only have time to look at statistics after the game is over almost always pointed to Murray’s inability to run east and west as the culprit. Going forward, Murray will more than likely need a zone blocking scheme in single-back and “I” formations to be more successful than he was this season. If this becomes the case, then it will be very easy to say that Murray’s production will increase in the future. Darren Sproles is still the greatest trade the Eagles have made in the last few seasons as well, so there is no reason to believe that the running back group will falter next year unless something very strange happens along the offensive line… Again.
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