Howard’s Point of View
After a 5-1 start to the season, the Eagles are tied atop the NFC East and tied for the NFL’s best record. After an impressive start to the season, many wonder if the Eagles have earned the right to be considered an elite team after nail-biting finishes and inconsistencies from the offense and defense.
Aside from the Colts who are 5-2, the rest of the Eagles wins have come to opponents with under .500 records. The Eagles have yet to truly be battle tested. However what gives fans hope is the fact that the Eagles are winning games but are not playing their bst football. Once the Birds get in sync, they will be very dangerous.
5-1 sounds pretty impressive but the way in which the Eagles are getting the job done has not been pretty. Nick Foles is second in the NFL in interceptions, and before LeSean McCoy’s big day against the Giants, he was not in the top 10 in rushing.
McCoy showed promise against the Giants rushing for 149 yards. He now has 422 yards rushing and is averaging 3.6 yards per carry after averaging 5.1 yards last season. But injuries to the offensive line have not helped his cause.
Foles has 10 touchdown passes on the year, which is a good sign at this point in the season. However he has seven interceptions after only throwing two interceptions last season. He us still young and new to the NFL but in order for the Eagles to have success he has to cut down on the turnovers.
The Eagles high-powered offense has not been consistent so far this season statistically and neither has the Eagles defense. Even after shutting out the Giants on Sunday night football the Eagles defense is giving up 22 points per game.
But with a bye-week to regroup and get healthy, the Eagles look to improve their ability on both sides of the ball. Darren Sproles has been a great addition for the Birds and they look to get him back healthy as he has proved to be one of the Eagles consistent weapons this season.
A week off for the team means an extra week for offensive linemen Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce to heal up and get closer to being able to play. The Eagles will need their roster to be at full strength considering the tough opponents left on their schedule.
Coming off of their bye-week the Eagles will be tested as they take on the 5-1 Arizona Cardinals who sit atop a competitive NFC West division. The Birds control their own destiny and look to separate themselves from the pretenders in the league to an elite football team.
Jason’s Point of View
A 5-1 start and at the top 10 spot in the NFL Power Rankings, the Eagles are still not a top of my big board. The Philadelphia Eagles are ranked as one of the top five teams in the NFL according to NFL.com. With the third ranked offense and the 24th ranked defense one may wonder how could this team be top 10 in the NFL.
The Eagles started out 5-1 as they entered into their bye week and are tied for first place in the NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys. With the 5-1 record the Eagles are also tied for best record in the NFL.
The Eagles to this point have only played two opponents with a record above .500, the Indianapolis Colts (5-2) in which the Eagles beat 30-27 and the San Francisco 49ers (4-3) which whom the Eagles lost to 21-26. The Eagles other four wins came at the hand of four teams with records below .500, Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6),
Washington Redskins (2-5) , St. Louis Rams (2-4) and New York Giants (3-4).
If you are an Eagles fan a 5-1 record sounds pretty good, because the last time the Eagles started 5-1 they went to the Super Bowl which was in 2004. Even though the Eagles are getting the job done by winning games, they are not doing so convincingly only winning games by a margin of eight points.
The Eagles have been putting points on the board as their the third highest scoring offense in the NFL. With the good thecomes bad even though the Eagles are putting up points, they are letting teams average 22 points per game against them which ties for 12th in the NFL.
The defensive troubles are not the only area of concern for the Birds, QB Nick Foles while being brilliant at points has also been terrible this year, Foles is tied for second in the NFL for interceptions with total of seven interceptions averaging a interception a game. Foles has thrown 10 touchdowns this year which ranks among the top quarterbacks, but his touchdown to interception ratio is awful almost having an interception for every touchdown thrown.
The Birds not only have concerns at the QB position but in the backfield and offensive line as well. Feature RB LeSean McCoy did not get off to the start he and Eagles fans hoped for. McCoy has 422 yards and only one touchdown on the season so far. McCoy ranks in the top 10 of running backs, whereas this time last season McCoy ranked as the number one running back in the league according to ESPN Fantasy stats.
While McCoy production has been lackluster, the Eagles have received great production out of backup RB Darren Sproles but he has been sidelined due to injury, McCoy will now have to play like he played last year to pick up the slack.
The Eagles are also struggling up front with their offensive line as, Center Jason Kelce and Guard Evan Mathis are both injured and have been sidelined for several weeks. The Eagles hope to are hoping to use their bye week to get players back and healthy.
The Eagles have not shown enough to be ranked as top five team in the NFL. By barely beating teams with losing records the Eagles are may be on the outside looking in of the top 10 NFL teams.
Coming off of their bye week the Eagles face the Arizona Cardinals who are 5-1 and are number one in the competitive NFC West division. Going up against a team that is above .500 and is an elite team this year, the Birds may be exposed as a flop of a team.
