Eagles 2015 Preview: Complete Philadelphia Guide for Preseason, Season
The Philadelphia Eagles opened training camp on Sunday, which means preseason action is right around the corner. Before you know it, the regular season will be here, too.
That means if you’re not a diehard who follows football 365 days a year, it’s time to start getting re-acquainted with football and the Birds in particular—and we have just the guide to do that.
In the slides ahead, we bring you up to speed on all the major changes to the Eagles’ roster this season, what to look for when preseason games kick off in a little over a week and the key matchups on the regular-season schedule.
This comprehensive primer will hopefully carry you right up to Philadelphia’s first meaningful game on September 14.
Whether you’re an Eagles fan, a follower of a division rival or any other team in the league, this comprehensive guide should have a little something for everyone.
New Impact Players on Offense
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QB Sam Bradford
Love the change or hate it, nobody will have a bigger impact on the Eagles’ 2015 season than Bradford, assuming he’s healthy and under center. So far, he’s moving around fine and clearly ahead of Mark Sanchez in the so-called quarterback competition, which is a great sign.
Many observers were baffled when the Eagles dealt Nick Foles and draft compensation to the St. Louis Rams for Bradford, a worse signal-caller by traditional measures.
Then again, would Foles have produced any better than an 18-30-1 record and 79.3 passer rating with virtually no weapons, no protection and the coaching staff in constant flux? Guess we’ll find out now that the two have traded places.
RBs DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews
Shipping All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills was another stunner this offseason, but it’s safe to say the Eagles covered their butts on that one. As if it wasn’t enough to steal the reigning NFL rushing champion Murray from the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia also signed two-time 1,000-yard back Mathews away from the San Diego Chargers.
That’s one way to make any quarterback look better. Just pound the rock all day with your two starting running backs.
WR Nelson Agholor
It’s not as if the Eagles were hurting for weapons. The club used a 2013 second-round draft pick on tight end Zach Ertz and used second- and third-round selections on wide receivers Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff last year.
This time around, the Birds chose Agholor out of USC at No. 20 overall.
Agholor was one of the most productive receivers in the nation last year, finishing in the top 10 in receptions (seventh), yards (ninth) and touchdowns (tied for seventh). He’s an outstanding punt returner as well, with four touchdowns over the past two seasons.
It’s safe to say expectations are high—especially walking into Philly’s prolific offense—with some experts such as ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay (h/t Eagles Insider, PhiladelphiaEagles.com) predicting Agholor will win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
New Impact Players on Defense
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ILB Kiko Alonso
The Eagles were already doing fairly well at interior linebacker with DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks, but neither have the potential to become a dominant force quite like Alonso.
Acquired from Buffalo in the McCoy deal, Alonso is the prototypical three-down tackling machine in the middle that every team searches for and few ever find.
In his rookie season in 2013, Alonso earned PFWA Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with one heck of an all-around line—159 tackles (third in the NFL), 2.0 sacks, four pass breakups, four interceptions and a forced fumble. He did miss all of last season with a torn ACL, but he’s back on the field and appears to be fully recovered.
CB Byron Maxwell
Philadelphia’s pass defense ranked 32nd and 31st in the NFL the past two seasons and has been a mess for far longer. A big reason why was the lack of a true shutdown cornerback or even competent coverage on the outside.
That may no longer be the case after signing Maxwell away from the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
Some might say the Eagles overpaid for Maxwell, who is hardly established as a No. 1 corner himself. Then you put on the tape and see this guy is for real. At 6’1”, 207 pounds, Maxwell has the size to press receivers at the line of scrimmage and the athleticism to turn and run with them—not to mention a championship pedigree coming from the Seahawks.
Philly’s secondary is better off now. Period.
Key Subtractions
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You can’t blame the Eagles for not wanting to match the excessive offer the Kansas City Chiefs gave Maclin, a good-but-not-great wide receiver.
With that said, for the second offseason in a row, a feature receiver departed Philly.
As mentioned, the Eagles have plenty of weapons in the passing attack. However, none of them have ever been a No. 1 receiver in the NFL.
Matthews was the leading receiver on the team behind Maclin last season but lined up almost exclusively in the slot. Huff barely played at all, and as much hype as Agholor gets, he’s a complete unknown. The offense will probably be fine, but there has to be at least some concern.
LG Evan Mathis
Say what you want about Mathis’ decision to skip voluntary workouts this summer over a contract dispute, but the decision by the Eagles to release him looks worse. This is a two-time Pro Bowl left guard the team is now replacing with journeyman Allen Barbre, while making a change at right guard as well.
It’s not as if the Eagles were completely prepared for this, either. The club hasn’t invested a draft pick in the offensive line since taking Lane Johnson in the first round in 2013, and it showed last season when injuries mounted early in the year.
Very curious move here to let go of a known quantity over money.
S Nate Allen
No, Allen wasn’t a particularly great player, although he is probably closer to a league-average safety than most give him credit for. Regardless, it’s not so much losing Allen that hurts as the failure to replace him.
So far, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane indicates converted cornerback Walter Thurmond has been running with the first-team defense across from Malcolm Jenkins, and that experiment may work.
But if it doesn’t, the Eagles have only a collection of inexperienced, late-round draft picks to attempt to plug in there, which could be disastrous. At least there was a warm body back there when it was Allen.
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What to Watch for in Preseason
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Sam Bradford
So far, Bradford has looked good at training camp. He throws the ball downfield with ease and beautiful touch—it’s difficult not to be impressed—and he’s good at anticipating routes and really putting some zip on the ball when necessary.
Yet the true test will come in an actual game, when defenders are actually trying to hit him and there are bodies flying around his surgically repaired ACL.
Bradford hasn’t played in a live game in almost a year now, so it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll be rusty, let alone if he’s thinking about his injury too much. If Bradford struggles in the preseason, the Eagles may have to consider giving the ball to Sanchez after all.
Nolan Carroll vs. Eric Rowe
While Maxwell has one cornerback job on lockdown, there’s an interesting competition brewing at the other spot.
Veteran Nolan Carroll has been praised up and down by the coaching staff and teammates for an impressive offseason, but the Eagles did spend their second-round selection on Eric Rowe out of Utah, who could make a push with a strong summer.
Carroll is more of a proven commodity, although there’s a reason he was available as a free agent last year and the team didn’t think he was a solution to its secondary struggles in 2014.
Then again, Rowe only made the move from safety to corner as a senior in college—plus it’s not easy to plug a rookie in at a premium position like this. This truly could go either way.
Interior Linebacker Rotation
Having three starting interior linebackers is a good problem to have, but everybody wants to know how the Eagles will get all of Ryans, Kendricks and Alonso on the field.
The assumption so far is Alonso will be out there most of the time, Ryans will line up for running downs and Kendricks will take the field in obvious passing situations, but who knows?
If the best players will play regardless, preseason could help determine how the rotation works. At the very least, we should get a sense of what the coaching staff thinks of each player up to this point.
Zach Ertz
Ertz is having a great offseason, and the third-year tight end might be on his way to having a breakout season.
According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Ertz worked hard on his blocking, taking mentoring from famed offensive line coach Hudson Houck and legendary tight end Tony Gonzalez. Now he’s pushing Brent Celek for playing time.
Ertz has always been an impressive receiver, which is always fun to watch, and he is once again putting on a show so far at training camp. But his improvements as a blocker will be something to monitor this preseason, as it could be what's standing between him and the top spot on the depth chart.
Key Regular-Season Matchups
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Monday, Sept. 14 at Atlanta Falcons
Kicking off the regular season in prime time.
Sunday, Sept. 20 vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are the clear favorites to win the NFC East in 2015 after going 12-4 last season, losing 26-21 in the conference title game and making major improvements over the offseason—especially on defense.
Any game against Dallas is huge, but the Eagles won’t want to fall into a hole in the standings early.
Monday, Oct. 19 vs. New York Giants
The Giants are underrated contenders for the NFC East title. Once again, all divisional matchups are important, but the Eagles don’t want to give away the upper hand in their first meeting.
Thursday, Nov. 26 at Detroit Lions
For the second year in a row, the Eagles will play on Thanksgiving Day, this time heading to Detroit on a short week.
Sunday, Dec. 6 at New England Patriots
This could be a true measuring stick for the Eagles’ chances of contending for a championship this season. Fortunately, they’ll have an extra few days to prepare for their clash against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Sunday, Dec. 13 vs. Buffalo Bills
McCoy returns to Philadelphia in the aftermath of charges that the Eagles' head coach is a racist. Also, the franchise’s all-time leading rusher will be out to prove his former team made a mistake trading him away.
Sunday, Jan. 3 at New York Giants
Week 17, divisional matchup, playoff spot potentially on the line. This has the potential to be the biggest game of the entire season.
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