Philadelphia Eagles: Areas Of Need For 2011
If you watched any football this weekend you probably know that there was a little bit of a game that occurred in the New Meadow Lands Stadium. What happened, you ask? Well Mike Vick and his band of merry men decided they didn't like the idea of losing in their second meeting with the Giants this season and scored 21 unanswered points with less than 10 minutes left in the game.
No biggie.
One would be hard pressed to have watched that performance without thinking, "Wow, these guys are invincible."
Well, unfortunately, one would be wrong. As spectacular as the Eagles can be, and have been this season, they are not without their fair share of personnel problems. If the Birds want to be elite in 2011 there are a few areas they are going to have to tweak to get there.
Full Back
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The fullback? Are you kidding me?
No. I'm not.
I know fullbacks aren't always considered a key aspect to the offense; they're typically big guys who serve as blocking backs and maybe take a handoff in short yardage situations. But last season Leonard Weaver became something of a factor back for the Eagles, recording over 300 yards rushing and 140 receiving.
While that might not seem like anything special, consider the fact that he also accounted for 23 first downs. No one will ever claim Leonard Weaver is an explosive guy, but he's certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Well, he was, at least. Until he suffered a season ending injury in the first game of this season. In his stead is Owen Schmitt who, for what it's worth, is a solid guy who plays the position fairly well when it comes to blocking and short runs, but he doesn't add a whole lot to the offense in terms of putting points on the board.
The fullback position is one that many teams seem to over look, but a healthy Weaver or the addition of another fullback who can maybe put up some points certainly would not hurt.
Tight End
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What's going on with Brent? Last year folks were suggesting Brent Celek was one of the top tight ends in the NFC, if not the entire league. But this season...not so much.
He's not terrible but his numbers are down from last season. This could have a lot to do with the fact that Vick gets the ball to his fast receivers a lot, but that doesn't make up for the drops which have cost the team some big plays this season.
The Eagles' offense is great, there's no denying that, but it would not hurt to have the full back and tight end performing at the levels they were in previous years.
The Offensive Line
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Yet another area that's not terrible, per se, but could certainly use some work.
Mick Vick is certainly known as a rushing quarterback and is without a doubt a sight to behold on the field. Some of his 28 sacks are because he does like to move around out there, thereby exposing himself to hits. Not all of them though.
The Eagles' O-Line is porous at times and seems a little weak against the blitz. I'm not sure just how many times Vick got touched in this last game, aside from the three sacks, but it was a good bit. The Birds need to toughen up on the line if they want to keep their QB safe in the pocket.
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Corner Back
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The fact that Asante Samuel missed four total games this season and still leads the league in interceptions is pretty impressive. The fact that he takes pride in picking apart the Manning Brothers makes it all that much sweeter.
Having said that, to suggest the defense suffers without him on the field is an understatement.
Samuel in an incomparable player, but his seeming inability to make tackles takes him out of the category of shut down corners. That's fine for him, I suppose, as he's played this way his entire career and done so well. But, again, when Asante is out, the other offenses are far more able to pick the defense apart.
Dimitri Patterson is no slouch, but he's no Samuel. He's played every game this season and had only one game in which he really stood out (the second time against the Redskins with two INTS and seven tackles). The Eagles should fortify this position in the same manner that the Jets did, to assure dominance in the pass attack in 2011.
Pass Defense
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It's hard to be nit picky with a team that forces as many turnovers as the Philadelphia Eagles, they lead the league in interceptions taken away with 23. While that's a great number and certianly something to be proud of, they also rank 21st when it comes to passing yards allowed per game with an average of 227. They're a little better against the run, allowing only 1,446 rushing yards this season, but they have given up 339 points, placing them, again, 21st in the league.
Losing Nate Allen, the rookie from South Florida, to a ruptured right patella tendon does not help matters. Still, there is plenty of blame to go around. If it weren't for what a few standouts on defense (Asante Samuel most notably) and the entire offense, the poor play of the pass D would be under far more scrutiny. For now, all is well since the wins keep piling up, but the Birds are going to have to get things right especially if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Red Zone Scoring
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To be honest, I'm not really sure how you would fix this, but when you consider the Eagles opponents score 76 percent of the time they enter the Red Zone and the Eagles only score 52 percent of the time, something is wrong.
Too many times this season the Eagles marched down the field in dominant fashion only to be held to a field goal or nothing at all. That's a problem. I don't know that there are particular personnel changes that have to be made to fix that, but something has to be done. The Birds have left far too many points on the field due to poor play beyond the opponent's 20.
Penalties
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The Philadelphia Eagles are the third most penalized team in the league averaging 8.1 penalties and 71 penalty yards per game. The only teams with more are the Detroit Lions and the Oakland Raiders. In their last game against the Giants, the Eagles had five penalties. This lack of discipline is enough to make any Eagles fan cringe as games can be won and lost on silly penalties.
The Eagles are going to have to tighten it up in 2011 because this simply cannot pass, especially if the offense isn't as explosive next year.
Quarterback
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I know what your thinking, "Mike Vick is awesome. Why would they need to imporve at QB next year?"
Well, here's the thing, Vick has only played one complete season in his professional career. Because of the dynamic of his play he gets hurt often and misses games. However, what he has done, without a doubt, earned him a spot on the Eagles' 2011 roster.
Kevin Kolb is a pretty solid quarterback with a ton of potential. For this reason, there's a good chance he won't be in Philly next season, but rather a place that could better use his talents.
When you have a quarterback that gets hurt as often as Vick does you need someone reliable to back him up. There is Mike Kafka, the rookie from Northwestern, but he's untested and while an in-game situation is a great test, it certainly is not the best.
The Eagles are going to have to find a back-up quarterback who can keep the team competitive should Vick sustain another injury next season. Otherwise, one hurt knee, ankle or shoulder could spell disaster for Philly.
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