Philadelphia Eagles 2010 Preview

The Philadelphia Eagles are a team at the center of NFC East controversy, maybe even league controversy. Former franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb was unceremoniously given the boot from Philly, in what I believe to be a selfish act by the franchise. Granted McNabb didn't deliver on the grand stage, which is what QB's of his caliber are graded on, but he still has a few more prime years left in him. To add insult to injury, McNabb lands in the same division with the rival Washington Redskins. Competitively speaking, I would look for McNabb to find away to have a career day against the Eagles.

Then there is the Michael Vick experiment. On the whole, it was good to see Vick out of trouble for the football calendar year. On the field, he showed glimpses of the talent that made him the NFL's most exciting player, as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Even in the playoff loss to Dallas, Vick threw a TD pass that looked like the old Vick was back. The experiment, however, did not go as planned, as McNabb felt the 2 QB system would get him out of rhythm. In my humble put up points opinion, the Eagles offense could have been more explosive than it already was if McNabb could have found away to buy in to this and make it work.

So where does that leave the 11-5 Eagles of last year this year...

Offense
With the departure of McNabb, the Eagles will turn to Kevin Kolb to lead the offense onto the gridiron. Kolb is steady quarterback, who filled in well when McNabb was hurt. I look for Kolb to manage games this season, getting into a West Coast offense feel, rather than stretching the field for big plays. I also see Vick playing more of a roll this season at QB, since he can use his athleticism to buy time for the occasional big play. I also see Vick having a pretty descent year rushing the ball if those big plays are going to happen.

The rumor mill says, the Eagles may go with the 3-back approach to the running game. Led by LeSean McCoy, the RB group will also feature Mike Bell, Charles Scott, Eldra Buckley and J.J. Arrington. Look for Arrington to maybe get some looks out of the backfield, Bell and Scott swapping short yardage duty, while McCoy carries the bulk of the load. I think McCoy's versatility will be the key for the Eagles this season, since it could open up the one thing the Eagles are above average at, play action passing.

Which brings us to the wide receiver group. The explosive DeSean Jackson leads the way for this group, who can, if given some open field, can score with anyone. The Cal product had 9 tds last season, 7 of the 50yd + variety, not to mention 2 punt return tds. Jermey Maclin came into his own during the season, so look for that duo to try and prove they are a WR tandem to be taken seriously. Someone, however, will have to be the reliable move the chains type of player. I see that being tight end Brent Celek, who hauled in a team leading 76 catches and 8 tds of his own. My biased opinion says rookie Riley Cooper may fill that role at some point as well (Go Gators).

I still think the Eagles offense has the potential to score big points, but it depends on if Kevin Kolb gets to play free and spread the field. If Kolb can't manage, let Vick try and recapture the athletic magic he used to have. Fans could be in for an offensive treat if that happens, I won't hold my breath though.

Defense
Philly's defense was ranked middle of the pack in pretty much every category as a team. Look for the secondary to be the catalyst if anything were to change this year. They have an elite CB in Asante Samuel, who had 9 interceptions last season. On the other side CB Sheldon Brown held his own with 5 interceptions of his own. With Brown now a Cleveland Brown, the battle for the other CB spot is heating up in camp. SS Quintin Mikell led the team with 90 tackles and DE Trent Cole led the team with 12.5 sacks. LB by committee will be the theme in the middle of the defense, and that's all I have to say about that.

Prediction
My vision of a Michael Vick resurrection of the Philly offense will probably not happen, simply because Kevin Kolb is not a bad QB at all. Look for the Eagles to compete in the division but ultimately fall into 3rd place, I'm going 9-7 for the regular season.

- @lostherod

Washington Redskins 2010 Preview

2009 was expected to be a big year for Washington Redskin football. So was every season from 2008 back to 1999, back when owner Daniel Snyder first bought the team. Under Snyder's helm, the once mighty, and still proud franchise has managed a less-than-mediocre 80-96 record, only three playoff appearances ('99, '05, and '07), and no playoff wins.

Safe to say, expectations are not being met.

The blueprint for "success" has usually been the same: spend big money on veteran free agent pro-bowlers, tout the usually high draft picks, put the head coach on the hot seat, and watch the wins happen. They're super at doing everything but that last part.

This season, things will be different, allegedly. New GM (Bruce Allen), new head coach (Mike Shanahan), and a new quarterback (Donovan McNabb). Allen was brought in to make sure Snyder didn't overspend on free agents. Shanahan was brought in because Jim Zorn was incompetent. McNabb was gift wrapped and shipped from Philadelphia, probably for this.

Hope springs eternal.

Offense

Shanahan is known for using a stable of running backs, dating back to his days with the Denver Broncos. The Redskins will give him plenty of options, having signed former Pro-Bowlers Larry Johnson and Willie Parker to team up with former Pro Bowler Clinton Portis in the backfield (So much for not over spending on free agents). McNabb will probably have his most solid passing options at tight end with Pro Bowler Chris Cooley and third year USC alum Fred Davis. Davis filled in admirably last season after Cooley was injured, catching 48 passes for 509 yards and 6 TDs.

Washington will be looking for either Devin Thomas (11) or Malcolm Kelly (12) to step up at wide receiver. Sanatana Moss has led the team in that category for the last five seasons, but at 31 has seen his yards per catch drop each year (from 17.7 in '05 to 12.9 in '09). Both Thomas and Kelly were second round picks with high expectations that neither have lived up to (3 career TDs combined). Jamal Brown and rookie Trent Williams were added to an offensive line will also need to improve greatly this season as well. The 2009 Redskins allowed 46 sacks, fifth worst in the NFL.

Defense

Believe it or not, the Redskin defense was actually pretty stout. Their $100 million man, Albert Haynesworth, didn't light the world on fire statistically, but his presence was felt on a defense that allowed only 4 yards per carry rushing, and sacked the quarterback 40 times. The main problem with the Redskin defense was overuse, and the inability to force turnovers (17 total, dead last in the league).

Haynesworth has made the news a lot this off-season due to contract holdouts and conditioning issues, but having him on the field would make this defense that much more formidable. MLB London Fletcher is coming off his first Pro Bowl season at the tender age of 34, but he's surrounded by young players entering their primes. Linebacker Brian Orakpo (23) made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season last year, defensive end Andre Carter (30) had 11 sacks, DeAngelo Hall (26) has resumed the form that at one time had him ranked as one of the top cornerbacks in the league. This is a very formidable group.

Prediction
10-6.

At the risk of sounding like an idiot, I believe they made the right moves this time, even if they seem to have done the same thing as every other off-season under Snyder. The Shanahan-McNabb combination > the Zorn-Jason Campbell combo. They could be just what the offense needs to score the extra TD a game that could've made last year's 4-12 team a potential playoff team. Their average point differential was 4 per game. This could be the year.

Just don't "expect" too much.