Eagles Bye Week Questions

The bye week in the NFL is traditionally time to kick back and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your team.

With the Eagles being one of the lucky (or unlucky, depending how you look at it) recipients of the earliest bye in the NFL in Week Four, it's hard to come up with conclusive opinions thus far. 

Backup QB Kevin Kolb has been under center for two of the three weeks, thanks to Donovan McNabb's broken ribs that he sustained in the season-opening thrashing of Carolina (and Kolb leads the Eagles in passing yards—never thought I'd live to see that day in 2009). 

The starting offensive line that the Eagles had coming into training camp is now all but a dream, as RT Shawn Andrews has been shut down for the second straight season (placed on IR last week to make roster room for Michael Vick), LG Todd Herremans continues to rehabilitate from a stress fracture he suffered in the preseason, and RG Stacy Andrews continues to work back into starter shape, alongside Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles.

Brian Westbrook has already sustained one of his trademark injuries (he sat out last week's game against the Chiefs to give his ankle more time to rest), opening the door for second round pick LeSean McCoy to show what he could do.

And with Kevin Curtis once again sidelined, rookie WR Jeremy Maclin was given the chance last weekend to start alongside WRs DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant.

With that in mind, let's look at the biggest questions the Eagles face in the stretch run of their season (granted, their stretch run happens to stretch for 13 games).

1) The health of their QBs:

This is, by far, the most important issue the Eagles must confront for the rest of the season.  McNabb is a fighter, through and through (how about when he broke his fibula playing the Cardinals on the third play of the game... and finished the game with four touchdowns?), but his cracked ribs could become a dominant issue of the 2009 season.

Unlike Matt Hasselbeck of the Seattle Seahawks, who only suffered a partial crack in Week Two, McNabb's bottom rib cracked all the way through. Neither Andy Reid nor I are doctors, but from his explanation, McNabb needed to remain more-or-less immobile, especially at first, to allow the rib to gel back into place.

Luckily for the Eagles, they seem to have a competent backup with Kevin Kolb, the third-year pro who just became the first starter in NFL history to throw for 300-plus yards in his first two starts (although, give Reid's pass-happy offense and the Chiefs' gawd-awful some credit for that one).

But Eagles fans don't pay hundreds of dollars each week to see Kolb...they pay to see No. 5. While the Eagles have a relatively easy schedule coming out of the bye (tilts against Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Washington in Weeks 5-7) that could give McNabb more time to rest if necessary, Eagles fans are praying they see McNabb out on the field sooner, rather than later.

2) The Mike Vick/Wildcat Element

On a related note to their revolving turnstile of quarterbacks, I couldn't go any further without mentioning QB Michael Vick. Once arguably the most electric, explosive, dynamic player in the NFL (and this was only three or four years ago!), Vick is now firmly set on the road to redemption with the Eagles this year. While he's not speaking to churches or school children about the evils of dogfighting, he provides the Eagles with the ultimate Wildcat option.

In fact, Vick's gone so far as to say that he was the "originator" of the Wildcat in Atlanta. While that may or may not be true (really, can you take credit for being such a non-threat passing that running became your best option?), Vick does provide the Eagles and offensive coordinator Marty Morningwheg a new and exciting toy.

If Vick can retain some of his explosiveness that he demonstrated during his pre-jail days, he certainly can gain the Eagles some tough yards on the ground and through the air. Thinking back to the Eagles' propensity to fail on third-and-short conversions last year, it's hard to say Vick doesn't add an extra element of danger to the team.  (Seriously. Put him in on 3rd-and-2 and watch the defensive coordinator on the other sideline have an aneurysm trying to figure out the play call.)

Given the Eagles' love of the Wildcat so far (by Reid's count, the Eagles ran 12 plays in the formation against the Saints, and got Vick on the field for 16 plays last weekend), it's hard to say whether they'll maintain this torrid pace of single-winging it when McNabb returns.  But it's sure worth watching.

3) The offensive line

This one hurts. Literally.

No RT Shawn Andrews. No LG Todd Herremans for a few more weeks—he's aiming to get back by the Redskins game, but that might even be a stretch. No RG Stacy Andrews in the starting lineup.

The Eagles are relying on a hodge-podge of quick fixes to patch up their offensive line.  So far, it's worked. Backup RT Winston Justice has filled in admirably thus far. Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles have both stepped up in years past, and have managed to do so this year.

But can this patchwork line really hold up all year? What happens if the Eagles' prize of the offseason, LT Jason Peters, goes down? With former LT Tra Thomas now playing for Jacksonville, the Eagles might have former RT Jon Runyan at the front of their Rolodex, as Runyan continues to search for a team and the Eagles continue dangerously thin in front.

4) The RB situation/Leonard Weaver

This situation became much less worrisome last weekend after seeing how second round pick RB LeSean McCoy out of Pitt could handle a starter's load.  Much like incumbent RB Brian Westbrook, McCoy is a small, speedy back who won't be pushing piles of defenders around any time soon, but will instead rely on cut-backs for his success.

Still, with Westbrook already suffering tenderness in his ankle that he had surgically repaired in the offseason, would the Eagles feel comfortable moving forward with McCoy as their lead back, potentially? Career RB Correll Buckhalter has moved on, as he's locked into a timeshare with Knowshon Moreno in Denver. Second-year RB Eldra Buckley, who ran well in the preseason, is the only other running back on the roster, which could spell trouble for the Eagles if Westbrook's ankle injury is more severe than he's letting on.

More troublesome for me, personally: Where the hell is Leonard Weaver? The fifth-year pro, after four productive seasons on the Seahawks, was supposed to provide the Eagles with their first real fullback in over a decade. Instead, Weaver has disappeared offensively, happy to simply provide blocking support in the run game.

That's great, and certainly needed, as the Eagles' running game looks to get on track while incorporating elements of the Wildcat.  But Weaver should look to become more involved with the offense, as he's a decent pass-catching back (at least on short routes) and has the leg power to move the pile. There's no reason he shouldn't be touching the ball five times a game, rushing/receiving combined.

5) The vaunted NFC East

This could ultimately prove to be the Eagles' largest obstacle: their division.  As usual, the NFC East is off to a torrid start, with only the Redskins dragging their feet.  Regardless, an 8-4 total division record after three weeks is nothing to scoff at, even if a number of those wins came against AFC West and NFC South teams (keep in mind, the Giants have faced the Cowboys and Redskins already, meaning NFC East teams have only lost to two teams outside of the division in three weeks of play).

The Giants look like they've returned to Super Bowl form already, with the questions surrounding them about WR already evaporating due to inspired play from (the other) Steve Smith and Mario Manningham.  With a renewed focus on the ground attack last week (where they simply pounded the Buccaneers for over 200 yards), the Giants appear strong on all aspects of offense, defense, and special teams. Hard to see a fault with this team three weeks into the season.

The Cowboys have already gone through one Tony Romo crisis this season, but rebounded nicely with a 21-7 thrashing of the Panthers on Monday night. If Eli Manning hadn't led the Giants down the field in the two-minute drill against the Cowboys two weeks ago, the Cowboys are the 3-0 team in charge of the NFC East, with everyone all smiles in Jerry-ville. 

While their pass defense has looked especially susceptible (Smith and Manningham are good, but that good?), the Cowboys have the three-headed running back monster of Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. Despite injuries to Barber and Jones, the 'Boys should be in the division race all season long.

The Redskins appear to be the exception to the strength of the NFC East this year, with just about the worst 1-2 start anyone could imagine.  After failing to score a touchdown against the Rams in a 9-7 home win, the 'Skins headed to Detroit to hand the Lions their first win in 20 tries. 

Head coach Jim Zorn, who was hired for his offensive prowess, has not gotten QB Jason Campbell, RB Clinton Portis and the rest of the Redskin offense chugging yet. A few more weeks like last week and D.C. fans could be calling for Zorn's head.

So where do the Eagles stand?

Going into their bye week 2-1 was all they could have hoped for, given the injuries suffered in the preseason and early in the season.  No one could have imagined how toxically bad Jake Delhomme would be, but the loss to the Saints was nearly unavoidable when McNabb went down.

The Eagles start the "second half" of their season with three cupcakes: Tampa Bay at home in Week Five, a trip to Oakland in Week Six and their first division game at Washington in Week Seven. For a team that went Super Bowl dreamin' in the preseason, the next two (if not three) are absolute must-win games. 

The schedule gets considerably more difficult after the Redskins game. That game kicks off three straight weeks of NFC East bloodbaths for the Eagles, as they welcome the NY Giants and Dallas Cowboys to Lincoln Financial Field in the beginning of November in back-to-back games. 

The Eagles then head to San Diego and Chicago, before returning home to play Washington. After Washington, two more tough road games against Atlanta and the New York Giants, before their final two-game homestand: a Week 15 clash with the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers and a Week 16 showdown against Denver (can you say Brian Dawkins' homecoming) and their final regular season game, a trip to the Cowboys' new $1.1 billion stadium.

As you can see, after the Redskins' Week Seven game, the Eagles officially have zero "gimme" games on their schedule, making winning these next three that much more important. If the Eagles head into their date with the Giants at 5-1, they've got a shot at making some noise later in the season.

But McNabb and Westbrook need to get healthy, or the Eagles' playoff dreams may be grounded this year after Week 17.