2012 Philadelphia Eagles Preview

2012 Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are ready to fly in 2012. Technically, they were ready to fly in 2011, but ended up falling flat on their faces. Their struggles last year were well documented; the expectations were sky-high but Philly started out 4-8 before winning their last four games to finish at 8-8. However, that record was nowhere near what the self-proclaimed “dream team” was looking for last year. This was a team with Super Bowl aspirations, a team loaded with talent everywhere you look. They fell way short last year, but this time around the Eagles are looking to redeem themselves, and accomplish what they thought they could do last season. The 2012 Philadelphia Eagles are fast, tough, and strong, and have all the ingredients of a championship team. However, they have one fatal flaw that could definitely bite them in the ass: a quarterback who has a knack for getting injured. Michael Vick is an explosive talent, able to throw the ball around the field and also run by entire defenses when he scrambles. He is arguably the most exciting player in football, but he is frail, and rarely plays through all sixteen games of the season. If the Philadelphia Eagles want to sit atop the NFL, they need to count on Vick being on the field, which is a dicy game to play.

Offense

If there is one word that describes the Philadelphia offense, it would be speed. The skill position players on this team can absolutely fly. Michael Vick, obviously, is the main playmaker since he has the ball in his hands on every play. Then there is LeSean “Shady” McCoy, who is also small and fast, but is incredible elusive and can change directions on a dime. He had his best season last year with 20 total touchdowns. That will be very difficult to duplicate, but McCoy should be in for another huge season. After all, who is going to crowd the box and let Vick and the passing game go to work? Because on the outside, they have weapons who are equally as scary. These are the wide receivers, Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson. Maclin is the more complete of the pair, but Jackson is the speedster of the duo, and is good for at least one deep shot per game. This offense is very scary, and if they live up to their potential, then good luck sleeping, defensive coordinators. What’s the best way to beat this team? Put Vick on his back.

Defense

The Eagles defense is probably just as good as its offense. They have two monsters rushing the passer at defensive end, Trent Cole and Jason Babin. They’ll probably combine for around 30 sacks this season between them. Even though Philadelphia traded away Asante Samuel, they still have two very good corners in the secondary, Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The one problem that this unit had last year with their run defense, and their lack of a quality middle linebacker. They have that now, with the signing of former Texan DeMeco Ryans. In the draft, they also addressed their defense by selecting lineman Fletcher Cox, and linebacker Mychal Kendricks. This group should be a top ten defense at the very least.

Schedule

The Eagles should be in for a big year this year but there’s no such thing as a sure thing when you play in the NFL, and certainly not when you play in the ultra-competitive NFC East. Philadelphia plays a challenging schedule, and you have to assume that Michael Vick will not be able to play all 16 games. One thing that you can count on is that the Eagles will play with a lot of emotion and heart for their head coach Andy Reid, who lost a son this offseason, and is also potentially is on the hot seat if he has another disappointing season with this team. Let’s see how they will navigate this schedule.

Week 1: W at CLE

Week 2: L vs BAL

Week 3: L at ARI

Week 4: W vs NYG

Week 5: L at PIT

Week 6: W vs DET

Week 7: Bye

Week 8: W vs ATL

Week 9: W at NO

Week 10: W vs DAL

Week 11: L at WAS

Week 12: W vs CAR
Week 13: L at DAL

Week 14: W at TB

Week 15: W vs CIN

Week 16: L vs WAS

Week 17: L at NYG

By my estimation, that would be a 9-7 record for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012. They play a lot of tough teams and you can’t win them all, but they will win some quality games against conference opponents, such as those against DET, ATL, NO, and CAR. Like I said in the Giants preview, I think that both the G-Men and the Eagles will be 9-6 heading into that Week 17 matchup in the Meadowlands. Whoever wins will win the division. And I have the defending champs coming out on top at home. However, 9-7 does not mean I have the Eagles out of the playoffs. The NFC is extremely competitive but they might be able to sneak into a wild card spot this year. After all, if they win the aforementioned games against other NFC teams, then they will have a lot of tiebreaker advantages. But only time will tell. After my bold prediction, I’ll take a look at the Washington Redskins, and how they will do in year one under Robert Griffin the Third.

Bold Prediction: The Eagles will have the #1 D/ST in fantasy.