Eagles Insiders

Bradley should be on top of Eagles' list now

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Maybe they really wanted a college coach like Chip Kelly or Brian Kelly or Bill O'Brien. Maybe not.

But now that it looks like the Philadelphia Eagles will not be going in that direction, a candidate who at the very least could turn their defense completely around is Gus Bradley.

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary with wildcard weekend in the books

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Obituaries this week:

When it was revealed that Christian Ponder would not play last Saturday against the Packers in the Vikings' first playoff game and that he would be relieved by Joe Webb, there was almost a feeling of, "Hey, the Vikings might actually be better off with Webb."  Webb, as Eagles fans will remember, was the guy that quarterbacked the "nothing-to-play-for" Vikings to a win against the Eagles on Tuesday Night Foootball in Week 16 of the 2010 season. Since that game, the Eagles have gone 12-23.

Meanwhile, Ponder had been struggling down the stretch, as he had actually thrown for fewer passing yards (1192) than teammate Adrian Peterson had in rushing yards (1322), something that is unheard of in today's modern NFL.

It started off well enough for the Vikes, as they ran the ball on their first 8 plays, including 2 carries for 22 yards by Webb.  But at some point they were going to have to pass.  The first opportunity came on the Vikings' first drive on 3rd and 7 inside the Packers' red zone, a play in Webb awkwardly jumped forward in the pocket, then jumped backward while throwing the ball into the dirt.  Ugly.  The Vikes kicked a FG.

It was on the 2nd drive that Webb did this:

Reid finally speaks, says nothing anyway

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After 14 years, we have all come to expect what former Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid gave us yesterday: nothing.

Highlights and lowlights from the 2012 Eagles rookie class: Defense edition

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As we noted last week, the 2012 Eagle rookies combined for a total of 3,898 total snaps on offense and defense (special teams excluded). Those snap counts are broken down by player to the right. Those 3,898 snaps ranked 3rd in the NFL. Last week we looked at the highlights and lowlights of each of the rookies listed to the right, beginning with the offense. Today, we'll look at the defense:

Fletcher Cox highlight: It would be easy to point to the Bengals game in which Cox picked up 1.5 sacks, which helped him earn a share of the team lead in that category this season (with 5.5, sadly). But I think some of Cox's better moments came this season when he was swallowing up double teams, allowing other guys to make plays. Brian Solomon of NBC Philadelphia broke down Cox's performance against the Ravens earlier this season, in which the Ravens gave Cox all sorts of attention, and he made plays anyway.

Fletcher Cox lowlight: He got kicked out of a game for punching somebody.

2013 outlook: Cox was arguably the Eagles' best defender last season.  The sky is the limit.

Mychal Kendricks highlight: On 4th and 2 in the 4th quarter against the Ravens, Kendricks broke up a pass intended for Ray Rice, sealing the victory.

Mychal Kendricks lowlight: On 3rd and 6 against the Redskins, Kendricks completely lost contain on Robert Griffin III, allowing the rookie QB to pick up a first down on a drive that would eventually lead to a TD.  Here's Kendricks circled in yellow.  At this point on the play, RG3 is 15 yards from the first down marker. Kendricks, at a minimum, needs to force RG3 back to the inside:

But he aggressively charges upfield, as RG3 makes his cut to the outside:

Highlights and lowlights from the 2012 Eagles rookie class: Offense edition

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The 2012 Philadelphia Eagles will always be remembered first and foremost for being the disastrous last year of Andy Reid's tenure, a season that spiraled completely out of control, and was all but dead by Thanksgiving. However, there's a chance it could also eventually be known as one of the better rookie classes in the franchise's history.

The 2012 Eagle rookies combined for a total of 3,898 total snaps on offense and defense (special teams excluded). Those snap counts are broken down by player to the right. Those 3,898 snaps ranked 3rd in the NFL, behind just the Browns, who had a staggering 6,509 snaps from their rookies, and the Andrew Luck led Colts, who accumulated 4,131.

Some of the Eagles' rookies were likely to see significant action the day they were drafted, like 1st round pick DT Fletcher Cox, 2nd round pick LB Mychal Kendricks, and 4th round pick CB Brandon Boykin. Others received their opportunities when some starters got injured, like 3rd round pick QB Nick Foles, 5th round pick OT Dennis Kelly, and 7th round pick RB Bryce Brown.

A look back at the highlights and lowlights of each of the rookies listed to the right, beginning with the offense:

Nick Foles highlight: With 7:21 left in the 4th quarter against Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers' Doug Martin ran for a TD, making the score 21-10. Foles led two impressive TD drives, including a last second TD strike to Jeremy Maclin for the win. It would be Reid's last win as the Eagles head coach and snapped an 8 games losing streak. We broke down Foles' pocket presence after that game.

Nick Foles lowlight: In the Eagles' loss to the Redskins in Landover, Foles got his first NFL start. The Redskins blitzed him all afternoon, and Foles ended his day 21 of 46 for 200 yards, 0 TD and 2 INTs in a 31-6 blowout.

2013 outlook: That's the biggest personnel question facing whoever the Eagles' brass chooses to hire in their head coaching search. There are no Andrew Lucks or RG3's in this upcoming draft, so Foles may very well be given every opportunity to win the Eagles' starting QB job in 2013.

Madness has descended on NFL

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The Arizona Cardinals are hiring Andy Reid. No, make that the Kansas City Chiefs. But not until he interviews with Arizona and San Diego.

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary with Week 17 in the books

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Obituaries this week:

Who are the most disappointing teams in the NFC?

The Eagles and Lions are certainly at the top of that list all by themselves, but when you look around at the rest of the NFC, an argument could be made that the Giants would be next in line.  Here's how bad the Giants' defense was in 2012:

• 31st in total defense (yards)
• 30th in 3rd down percentage
• 28th in pass defense
• 25th in rush defense
• 4th most pass plays of 20+ yards allowed
• 2nd most pass plays of 40+ yards allowed
• 31st in yards per pass attempt
• 22nd in sacks
• 28th in yards per carry allowed

The Giants have a very important offseason ahead of them. They have 27 free agents, 21 of whom are unrestricted, including LT Will Beatty, S Kenny Phillips, and DE Osi Umenyiora:

Film breakdown: The Eagles' defensive coaching staff can't be gone soon enough

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Two seasons ago, in the first matchup between the Giants and Eagles, Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride used Ernie Sims' over-aggressiveness against him.  He ran play action to Brandon Jacobs to the left, with two receivers dragging from the left side across to the right. After the fake, Eli Manning would roll right bringing the entire defense with him, then throw all the way back across the field to a wide open Jacobs on a wheel route, running 5 yards ahead of Sims for an easy pitch and catch for a big gain.  Excellent play call and great execution. The Giants got themselves 1st and G from the 5, and scored on the next play. 

Here's that play from two years ago:

 

Fast forward to Week 3 of 2011.  Since that wheel route play had worked so well in 2010, Gilbride came back to it again.  If you'll notice, Casey Matthews pretty much has the identical reaction that Sims had the year before, and the Giants burned the Eagles for an easy 40 yard TD. 

Same exact play:

Monday Morning Quarterback: All signs point to Foles

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Nick Foles' whirlwind rookie season ended with the young quarterback being dazed in a game for which he didn't even dress.

The Eagles will pick somewhere between 3rd and 8th in the 2013 NFL draft

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With one game to go, let's take one last look at where the Eagles might be drafting this offseason, before it becomes official at around 7:30 PM on Sunday.

Order	Team	Record	Strength of schedule
1	Chiefs	2-13	0.508
2	Jaguars	2-13	0.538
3	Raiders	4-11	0.467
4	Eagles	4-11	0.508
5	Lions	4-11	0.571
6	Bills	5-10	0.488
7	Browns	5-10	0.5
8	Titans	5-10	0.513
9	Cardinals	5-10	0.563