I think the majority of the people out there would say offense, but I think it's the defense. As long as McNabb is healthy, this offense is going to be productive. We've been to NFC Championship games with worse talent than this.
But our entire defense is going to live or die with the defensive line, as shown last season. If we can't get pressure on the QB, then kiss an effective defense goodbye. We are heavily banking this defense on 3 guys who are all big questions marks. Kearse is one of them, who hasn't had even 8 sacks in a season since he's been here. Howard is another, who while talented, is coming off a poor season. Will he bounce back to his double digit sack self? The third is Bunkley. We drafted this guy to come in and be a DT cornerstone for years to come. Yes, he was dominant in college last season, but the fact is, he's a rookie. He could boom or bust just like any rookie can.
Plus if you want to go past the defensive line, we have pretty big question marks at LB as well. Shawn Barber has injury problems, Matt McCoy hasn't proven he can play yet, and Dhani Jones sucks. Even if Gocong beats him out, will he be able to be effective as a rookie?
Now, the secondary is one of our strongest positions on the team, but there are still minor questios. Can Lito and Michael Lewis bounce back after pretty bad seasons? I don't think there is any doubt they will, but it's a small question that should be in the back of everyone's mind.
To me, there are far more and bigger questions on defense this season than offense. The only two real questions on offense or whether Andy Reid will run the ball and whether Pinkston will be healthy. The defense is relying on a defensive line which has a lot of questions. I think everything will work out because I'm an optimist, but if it doesn't, this team could be in trouble.
Im not worried about the offense, as long as Reid calls running plays. Donovan always seems to make it work, lets just hope Reggie can step up the way we expect him to, L.J has a season he would have had last season, and Westbrook stays healthy.
Im way more worried about defense. Tons of questions everywhere. Can Kearse actually be productive? Will the DTs stay healthy, and will Bunkley help as much as we hope? Can Matt McCoy actually be a good starter? Im not really worried about that. I liked him at SDSU when not many people knew who he was. Can Lito and Lewis come back to form? I'd expect them to, but I wouldnt be surprised if neither of them went back to 04 form.
I'm just plain worried :paranoid
i sometimes get the sense that opposing offenses have this D figured out...in that they seem to pick up the blitz where as b4 it would seem like the flood gates would be open. thats why its more important than ever to get some pressure with the front 4 since the LB corps and 2ndary will have thier hands full.
The offense might take a while to adjust but eventually they'll come together. The D was downright pathetic last year. Way too many 1st drives going in for TDs and average players stretching our D for big gains. Really not sure what the deal was with that but it looked to me like they just got tired of being taken for granted.
biggest ? = mcnabb
Out of all the players on this team, he's the one that is not a question.
Defense.
They have to get after the QB. Without pressure they're done.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on July 16, 2006, 02:36:05 AM
Defense.
They have to get after the QB. Without pressure they're done.
Agreed. The offense was problematic last year but had a ton of injuries and issues. The defense was playing like shtein before many of the starters went out due to injury.
Neither. I think both sides of the ball will be solid.
Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on July 16, 2006, 02:36:05 AM
Defense.
They have to get after the QB. Without pressure they're done.
Yep.
Quote from: Jerome99RIP on July 16, 2006, 12:26:00 PM
Neither. I think both sides of the ball will be solid.
That's just a completely ridiculous response. Even the best teams have some sort of question mark as to the effectiveness of their offense and defense. Your response would indicate that the Eagles have absolutely no concerns or questions about any of the starters or backups and will easily go 19-0 and win the Super Bowl.
Calm down, Nancy.
I said solid, not spectacular, not great, not even very good.
If I had a gun to my head I'd say that the biggest concern for me would be the running game, so in that regard, I'll say offense by default.
You should hold a gun to your head at all times when posting.
Quote from: FFatPatt on July 16, 2006, 04:43:02 PM
You should hold a gun to your head at all times when posting.
Burn.
Quote from: ice grillin you on July 16, 2006, 12:01:37 AM
biggest ? = mcnabb
How do you figure? Are you still concerned about his weak pysche?
Quote from: ice grillin you on July 16, 2006, 12:01:37 AM
biggest ? = mcnabb
God, I hope so. If that's the case... I'll see you bitches in Miami.
Sielski (http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/256-07162006-684463.html) chimes in
QuoteThe testing of that theory — that removing Owens and banking on a healthy 2006 from their starters will right everything that was wrong — will begin this week, when the Eagles report to Lehigh University for training camp. If you are not filled with hope at the prospect of this theory's success, you are not alone.
Granted, there is validity to the Eagles' approach. They were hardly NFC also-rans before Owens arrived, and the serener atmosphere around the team now that he's gone should be of some benefit. From the moment Super Bowl XXXIX, Owens slowly grew into a tumor that had to be cut out, and surely the presences of McNabb, Westbrook, Sheppard and others for 16 games should lead to the Eagles' winning more than six games.
But how many more? Remember: No one — no one in Philadelphia, no one around the NFL, not even the Eagles themselves — would call an 8-8 or 9-7 season for this franchise a satisfying development. This team will be and still should be judged on the basis of a single criterion: Can it win a championship? And that is why you wonder. After all, it became clear early on that the Eagles weren't going to win the Super Bowl last season even if they kept Owens around, and you strain to find an off-season move of theirs that is assured of working. Some of their weaknesses, they have not addressed at all.
How much have the Eagles improved their pass rush, which was so lacking last season and which led to so many of their deficiencies on defense? Darren Howard's career history suggests he is an on-again, off-again performer, and though rookie Brodrick Bunkley may make the defensive line rotation deeper and better, better is not necessarily good enough.
Is Shawn Barber, who played three games last season for Kansas City, really the only veteran roster addition the Eagles needed at linebacker? Does it not seem that Reid and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson are asking too much of thirdround pick Chris Cocong to switch positions, master the team's scheme, and contribute right away? Can Matt McCoy, who couldn't make it onto the field as a linebacker as a rookie, grow into a productive starter? Is Dhani Jones really going to start at strong-side linebacker again, and if he does, will Johnny Bowtie make a tackle all by himself this year?
Where are the guarantees that Reggie Brown will develop into a No. 1 receiver, that Todd Pinkston can still stretch the field after tearing his Achilles tendon, that playing in a competently run offense and during a contract year is all Jabar Gaffney needs to thrive?
Where is the blocking tight end? Where is the big running back?
Fair questions, all, and this much is certain: Those four easy words — Terrell Owens is gone — don't answer any of them.
"We took a gamble," Heckert said, referring to the Eagles' collective belief that they could control Owens. "We knew it was a gamble. And we lost."
They're taking a different gamble now, but one just as risky.
So, if they lose again, who do they blame this time?
Quote from: Drunkmasterflex on July 16, 2006, 05:03:44 PM
Quote from: ice grillin you on July 16, 2006, 12:01:37 AM
biggest ? = mcnabb
How do you figure? Are you still concerned about his weak pysche?
Out of all the arguments I've heard about McNabb having a rough season, a "fragile psyche" is the dumbest of them all. If someone is sensitive, that has no relevance at all as to how they play on the field.
McNabb's feelings are hurt and suddenly he's going to go out and throw a lot of interceptions. :-D I sure hope that isn't why IGY is questioning McNabb. Those idiots on WIP said the same thing. Morons.
Unless there's something wrong with the dude physically, he's fine. His psyche has nothing to do with anything on the football field.
McNabb is not a question mark. You know what you're getting from him. Bad throws, few interceptions, playaction that fools nobody. If this line can keep him from getting banged up, that's what we're getting from him.
A blocking TE and a big back that they know can actually play would be nice, but with this year's offensive line that is no reason for not having a successful running game.
Quote from: General_Failure on July 16, 2006, 06:50:31 PM
McNabb is not a question mark. You know what you're getting from him. Bad throws, few interceptions, playaction that fools nobody. If this line can keep him from getting banged up, that's what we're getting from him.
A blocking TE and a big back that they know can actually play would be nice, but with this year's offensive line that is no reason for not having a successful running game.
The play action might fool someone if they actually run the ball.
Running the ball would only fool and confuse Westbrook.
Luckily we have Buck back, so the running game should be great. :D
Quote from: General_Failure on July 16, 2006, 09:08:11 PM
Luckily we have Buck back, so the running game should be great.
In spite of the fact that I recognize this as sarcasm, I'm virtually stabbing you right now.
McNabb is not a question mark. You know what you're getting from him. Bad throws, few interceptions, playaction that fools nobody
normally id say yes but after what happened last year and the way mcnabb has acted in response is cause for concern....and the more he talks about the whole mess (giving interviews on it is just stupid at this point) the more its being ingrained in him and the more criticism he takes the bigger the pressure on him to show he doesnt need TO...
one thing on his side is the built in excuse of having terrible wr's...so even if he has a bad year and they miss the playoffs it will be because they never give him weapons
but i agree with the people who said its all about how he performs once the season starts...lets hope he comes out in houston and has a great game...because he needs that more than anything in the world right now
Quote from: ice grillin you on July 17, 2006, 08:14:27 AM
McNabb is not a question mark. You know what you're getting from him. Bad throws, few interceptions, playaction that fools nobody
normally id say yes but after what happened last year and the way mcnabb has acted in response is cause for concern....and the more he talks about the whole mess (giving interviews on it is just stupid at this point) the more its being ingrained in him and the more criticism he takes the bigger the pressure on him to show he doesnt need TO...
WTF? Why? You know he is constantly being hounded about giving interviews, and if he didn't them you would say because he is a such a wuss and he didn't want to talk about it. McNabb is one of the least of my worries heading into the season, he has always proven to be resiliant throughout his career. My problem with McNabb is not about him being able to come back and play well, it is his stubborness.
I'd say its perfectly reasonable to question where McNabb's head is and it is a major concern.
Quote from: rjs246 on July 17, 2006, 09:17:28 AM
I'd say its perfectly reasonable to question where McNabb's head is and it is a major concern.
I just don't see it, he really has never given any reason for this to be a such a concern. Everybody seems to forget he played with a significant injury all season last year. Just him coming in "the best shape of his life" tell me where he is at mentally.
Lifting weights and receiving treatment in private is a whole lot different than playing football full speed, under the 'scope, doing interviews two-three times a week.
Quote from: rjs246 on July 17, 2006, 09:17:28 AM
I'd say its perfectly reasonable to question where McNabb's head is and it is a major concern.
Yep, and I don't think there's a QB in the NFL right now that it isn't true for. Brady, Manning, Roethlisberger included.
Quote from: MadMarchHare on July 17, 2006, 10:11:38 AM
Lifting weights and receiving treatment in private is a whole lot different than playing football full speed, under the 'scope, doing interviews two-three times a week.
Your absolutely right, but someone who is willing to work so hard after such a tumultuous season tells me he is in the right frame of mind.
Your absolutely right, but someone who is willing to work so hard after such a tumultuous season tells me he is in the right frame of mind.
i have no doubt he is in the right frame of mind right now (or at least he thinks he is)
where the problems might arise is when the season starts and he struggles...god forbid he comes out and plays bad in a loss to the texans...peope start calling for garcia...telling him how big a baby he was last year in the TO mess...that he cant play without TO...TO made him...ect...ect..ect..i dont think he can handle that...in fact i can see him sulking almost to the point where he subconciously wants to lose or not do his best to stick it to the fansand media who he percieves as having been against him since he was drafted...
It could be a sign he wants to prove his critics wrong.....or it could just be habit. He's been doing this kind of training for years, since he was a teenager, maybe before. Won't know the answer until September. He could really use a stiff defense this year.
Quote from: rjs246 on July 17, 2006, 09:17:28 AM
I'd say its perfectly reasonable to question where McNabb's head is and it is a major concern.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
"McNabb drops back, he throws it deeeeep...... and it's picked off. Looks like he just put a little too much on that ball."
"I disagree. It looks to me as if he was still thinking about that TO situation, thus causing the interception."
You are a numbskull. You've never been distracted by something that happened at home that you find it hard to concentrate at work? Christ.
It was a year ago.
The draft was 7 years ago and he still talks about that. Seven years = long time.
Quote from: rjs246 on July 17, 2006, 04:49:20 PM
The draft was 7 years ago and he still talks about that. Seven years = long time.
Because he's stil
asked about that. Tell me when he's brought it up just in conversation.
It's like saying that Philly fans haven't gotten over booing santa claus. It's because
other fans and the media still bring it up.
QuoteThat's what kills me. Now I'm fragile. Everything that I've been going through for the last eight years and now because one person said whatever I'm fragile? I'm fine. Really there's no way of answering the questions people have. Even if I go out and play well, somehow they're going to compare what he's done over there to what we've done over here. If we're playing well and they're not playing well, they're going to talk about him blowing up down there — "When he was with the Eagles." It's not going to stop. And I've told this to a lot of guys. Don't think that this is over. It's not over. Everything's fine and dandy now. Keep practicing through. Maybe during training camp, maybe during the season, something is going to come up. You can't ignore it because you get asked the questions. Everyone's going to be asked the questions. They're going to see it on TV. They'll hear about it. It doesn't bother me, I just keep doing what I'm doing, but I don't want them to feel like it's affecting me because they've heard it. Maybe I should just write a book of my own and put everything in there that's really happened (laughs).
From his interview with Reuben Frank.
Quote from: MadMarchHare on July 17, 2006, 05:49:44 PM
QuoteThat's what kills me. Now I'm fragile. Everything that I've been going through for the last eight years and now because one person said whatever I'm fragile? I'm fine. Really there's no way of answering the questions people have. Even if I go out and play well, somehow they're going to compare what he's done over there to what we've done over here. If we're playing well and they're not playing well, they're going to talk about him blowing up down there — "When he was with the Eagles." It's not going to stop. And I've told this to a lot of guys. Don't think that this is over. It's not over. Everything's fine and dandy now. Keep practicing through. Maybe during training camp, maybe during the season, something is going to come up. You can't ignore it because you get asked the questions. Everyone's going to be asked the questions. They're going to see it on TV. They'll hear about it. It doesn't bother me, I just keep doing what I'm doing, but I don't want them to feel like it's affecting me because they've heard it. Maybe I should just write a book of my own and put everything in there that's really happened (laughs).
From his interview with Reuben Frank.
He was asked about being fragile and responded. He has been through a lot in his tenure in Philly thus far, 3 years ago people were booing him and calling for AJ Feeley for god sake. It is scary I actually agree with Bunkley78 on this particular topic. Maybe McNabb isn't as mentally tough as I give him credit for, but for me he is close to the bottom of the list on concerns for me with this team.
PFT's Take on Da Birdz (http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm)
QuotePFT PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS: NO. 16
With 16 teams in the books, at least every division -- except one -- has had at least one team on our list of the bottom half of the NFL franchises. Most have had at least two.
To date, only the NFC East has been spared. And we think it's high time to add one of the division's quartet of teams.
After all, one of them is going to finish in last place. So at least one of them, no matter how strong the division is, won't make it to the postseason.
But which?
Eeny. Meany. Miney. . . .
Philly.
The Philadelphia Eagles.
The best news? Terrell Owens is gone. The worst news? Terrell Owens is gone.
Even though he was a complete and total turd, Owens gave the Eagles something they didn't have before he arrived, and don't have in his absence: A receiver who can get behind coverage so consistently that he draws at least two defenders virtually all of the time.
Of course, there are only a handful of such guys in the NFL. Randy Moss. T.O. Steve Smith. Sanata Moss. Chad Johnson. Torry Holt, maybe.
With Owens, the Eagles were the conference's class, even when he was a pain in the ass. Without him, the best they can hope for to be is the same team that lost three straight NFC title games.
But we're far from certain that the team can get back to where they were pre-T.O. The division is significantly better than it was when the Eagles ruled the roost, quarterback Donovan McNabb is coming off of an injury-plagued season, and the natives are getting pretty damned restless.
As to McNabb, there's a broader question. Can he get past the whole Owens thing? At times, McNabb has seemed abnormally obsessed with T.O., referring at one point to Owens' treatment of him as "black-on-black crime."
Owens has stoked the fires lately with new book, which dumps even more on McNabb. For example, Sal Paolantonio of ESPN recently addressed whether McNabb is the person who, according to the T.O. tome, killed a possible return by Owens after the feces hit the fan.
So how will McNabb respond to T.O.'s presence within the same division? Though surely McNabb will seem at ease as he offers up a humorous quote or two about the situation, only Donovan knows whether the extra tension resulting from Owens playing for the Cowboys will mess with the veteran quarterback's head, which according to T.O. is something that happens in big games.
Elsewhere on offense, the team isn't much different than it was in 2005. The biggest news is that the crappy backup quarterback (Mike McMahon) has been replaced by an equally crappy backup quarterback (Jeff Garcia). Competent but not spectacular, the Eagles' offense is capable of scoring enough points to win games, but won't blow anyone away.
The defense might actually be a little bit better than it was in 2005, thanks to to arrival of defensive end Darren Howard, a solid complement to Jevon Kearse. But the key will be the middle of the defensive line, and the team still hasn't found a replacement for Corey Simon. Whether rookie Brodrick Bunkley can make an impact as a rookie will go a long way toward determining the total quality of the squad.
So even though the Super Bowl window has slid shut, the Eagles might get back to the top of the conference before too long. Of the other three NFC East teams, our guess is that two of them will do a backslide within two years. The Eagles are the best suited of the bunch to continue to be competitive well into the future.
For now, though, the reality is that the other teams in the division are too good and too much happened to the team within the past year to permit a quick turnaround.
Next, the fantasy grades.
Quarterback: Donovan McNabb's only season with a passer rating higher than 86.0 was 2004, when it rocketed to 104.7. Coincidence? Or could it be that 2004 was the only year in which McNabb had a receiver like Owens on the field -- and didn't have a piece of intestine poking through the flesh in the vicinity of "Little D"? This year, we assume that everything, um, down there is in proper working order. But Owens is gone, and so is much of McNabb's mojo. He gets a C.
Running back: Brian Westbrook is overrated as a running back, but a solid all-around contributor. He racked up more than 1,200 combined rushing and receiving yards in 12 games last year, and nine touchdowns. We like what he brings to the table, but he's not a top-tier guy. He gets a B-.
Wide receiver: Reggie Brown will be counted on to fill the void as the team's No. 1 wideout. He'll get plenty of passes thrown his way. What he does with them remains to be seen. For now, he gets a B- for potential -- and because there really isn't anyone else on the team who can make much of a difference at the position.
Tight end: L.J. Smith quietly had a solid season in 2005, catching 61 passes for 682 yards. On a team devoid of high-end receivers, he might be a good second-tier tight end option. B-.
Defense: Ranked No. 23 statistically in 2005, the Philly defense wasn't as solid as it's been in the past. Let someone else draft them higher than they merit based on reputation.
Kicker: David Akers' production slid in 2005 due to injury and some uncharacteristic accuracy issues. Coupled with the loss of Owens on offense, we'd look elsewhere at this position.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Though surely McNabb will seem at ease as he offers up a humorous quote or two about the situation, only Donovan knows whether the extra tension resulting from Owens playing for the Cowboys will mess with the veteran quarterback's head, which according to T.O. is something that happens in big games.
the only way this could be more on point is if i had written it