Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles clinched a playoff spot in one of the most bizarre ways we could have imagined.
In the final week of the season, the Eagles received unlikely help from the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans just to be in contention for a wild-card spot in the playoffs.
After manhandling the Dallas Cowboys 44-6 at home, the Eagles found themselves heading to Minnesota to play the Vikings in the opening round of the playoffs.
With back-to-back wins against the Vikings and New York Giants, the Eagles surprised the world by reaching their fifth NFC Conference Championship game in eight years as a six seed.
Despite falling just short of the Super Bowl by losing 32-25 to the Arizona Cardinals, the Eagles were impressive toward the end of the season, winning six of their final eight games.
After a strong finish to last season and an offseason in which they took advantage of free agency and the draft, the Eagles are suddenly considered by some analysts as favorites in the NFC this season.
For some, this is an easy statement to believe considering the way the Eagles played at the end of last season. However, the road to the Super Bowl for the Eagles may be more challenging than people realize.
Sure, the Eagles were nothing short of impressive this offseason when it came to signing players through free agency and the draft. However, there were other moves made that may cause the Eagles to make adjustments they never thought they’d have to experience come September.
Whether they were for the best or for the worst, the Eagles offseason was filled with numerous changes that will have an impact on the upcoming 2009 season.
Jim Johnson takes leave of absence for chemotherapy
No matter what team you play or cheer for, we all hope for the best for Jim Johnson and his family during these difficult times.
In 1999, Jim Johnson was recruited by Andy Reid to take over as defensive coordinator for the Eagles. Ten years later, the two are still working together and have had plenty of success with the Eagles.
For the first time in his coaching career with the Eagles, Reid may have to start the regular season without Johnson by his side as defensive coordinator. In January, Johnson was diagnosed with melanoma for the second time since 2001.
He spent the final two games of the 2009 playoffs coaching from the press box since he was in too much pain to be on the field.
A few weeks ago, Johnson announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from the Eagles to undergo his second round of chemotherapy. Whether or not he will be able to return before the start of the season remains unknown.
Secondary coach Sean McDermott will take over the defense until Johnson’s return.
At issue is whether or not Johnson’s absence will have an impact on the Eagles’ defense. Johnson is known throughout the league as the coordinator who loves to blitz the quarterback on a consistent basis, and he has had the Eagles defense ranked near the top of the league each season.
In 2001, Johnson and the Eagles became the fourth team in NFL history to give up 21 points or less in 16 straight games in a season. Last season, his defense finished fourth in the league by giving up just 18.1 points per game.
Hopefully Johnson can make another full recovery and return to the Eagles as soon as possible. However, this is one of those situations where Johnson’s health is more important than whether or not he is on the sideline.
As much as the Eagles and their fans would love to see him back as soon as possible, we all want the best for Johnson. If this means his leave of absence is longer than expected, than the adjustments will be made.
The rest of the Eagles staff has adjusted to Johnson’s style of play on defense the last 10 years. McDermott should do a solid job as far as taking over the defense in the meantime.
Filling in the void at safety left by Brian Dawkins
For the last 13 seasons, Brian Dawkins, also known as Weapon X, was the heart and soul of the Philadelphia Eagles. Words can’t describe his passion for the game of football and the city of Philadelphia loved him for that.
Before the offseason, any Eagles fan would have laughed if you asked them if they thought Dawkins would ever play for a team other than Philadelphia. When March rolled around, those fans weren’t laughing anymore.
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