2011 Season Preview: Philadelphia Eagles

2010 Record: 10-6

2010 Rankings:

Total Offense - 2

Passing Offense - 9

Rushing Offense - 5

Scoring Offense - 5

Total Defense - 12

Pass Defense - 14

Rush Defense - 15

Scoring Defense - 22

Offense

The Eagles had one of the best offenses in the league last year and return all of the key players to their offense. They added some depth with the addition of RB Ronnie Brown who will back up Shady McCoy. Philly traded away backup QB Kevin Kolb to Arizona for CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and brought in Vince Young from Tennessee to be Vick's backup. Young is nowhere near as good a quarterback as Vick is, and with Vick's tendency to tuck and run, there's a good chance Young will see the field this season. The Eagles offense should be explosive with DeSean Jackson on the outside and LeSean McCoy in the backfield. The one concern is WR Jeremy Maclin's health as he has battled through illness in the offseason.

Defense

The Eagles went out and spent a boatload of cash in free agency to improve their defense, bringing in CB Nnamdi Asomugha, DE Jason Babin, and DT Cullen Jenkins. In addition to that, CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was added to the secondary that gave up 31 passing TDs last season, 3rd most in the league. The additions to the secondary should help, but from watching the Eagles last week against the Steelers, the Steelers gashed their front seven with the run. They can have all the CBs in the world but it won't do them any good if they can't stop teams from running against them.

Intangibles

The so-called "Dream Team" has a lot of holes, but that is the nature of the Salary Cap NFL. Their offense is explosive, but their defense can be susceptible to the run. They don't have a great group of linebackers, and this could spell trouble for them. The Eagles are relying on Michael Vick to stay healthy for the whole season behind a questionable offensive line. Vick is going to take some shots and do people in Philly really think Vince Young can lead this team to the playoffs if Vick goes down? This will be a good team and they will contend for a playoff spot, but they are far from perfect.

If the Eagles were a Beer, they would be:

Magic Hat #9

This is a good beer that has almost become over-hyped. It's a fruit-flavored ale with tastes of apricot, which isn't what you'd traditionally think would be good in a beer. As a micro-brew, it has it's high points, but it has become so trendy a choice that it reached that "over-saturation" stage and now is talked up to a level that it shouldn't be at.