Defensive Problems will Kill the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010

The Philadelphia Eagles have a young, talented offense. That offense consists of quarterback Kevin Kolb, wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, tight end Brent Celek, and tailback LeSean McCoy. All of them are 25 and under.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Eagles' offense will be good. However, it isn't the offense I'm worried about.

The Eagles defense is nowhere near where it was a few years ago. Granted, they have stand-out players such as cornerback Asante Samuel, defensive end Trent Cole, and newly-acquired linebacker Ernie Sims, but that isn't enough. The secondary is suspect. As of now, the free safety position is up for grabs.

The Birds won't get anywhere with this defense. It is as simple as that. The Eagles will be decent, but with a bad defense, they will not be able to compete with the rest of the NFC East.

The offense could honestly put up 25-30 points a game, but that doesn't help when your linebackers can't cover the worst of tight ends and your pro bowl cornerback tackles like my three-year-old nephew. Also, losing Sheldon Brown after a career-year doesn't help.

The Eagles did make some steps to attempt to solve these problems. They drafted OLB/DE Brandon Graham and safety Nate Allen. I'm not sold on Brandon Graham, but Allen seems like a very solid safety who should be able to compete for the starting job. But two rookies can't save a defense.

Don't forget that, like last year, the Eagles have no leader on defense. The heart and soul of the Eagles is now long gone and enjoying Denver. No one stepped up last year. Will anyone step up this year? I doubt it.

The Eagles have a good offense in place. It is this heartless, soulless defense that will kill them. It is time to shift the draft/free agent focus on defense. The next few years will be defensive rebuilding years for the birds.

As for 2010, don't expect anything better than an 8-8 record.