Offense
This is going to be fun! I'm actually very excited to write about a team that has a crazy genius running it! The 2014 Eagles will have very few things in common with the 2015 Eagles. One thing they do have in common for the most part is the O-line. The Eagles did lose Todd Herremans to the Colts, but the rest of their stellar O-line is intact. At left tackle, they have Jason Peters who is elite. He is ridiculously athletic for a 330 lb man, and he can go one on one with the best pass rushers in the game with ease. Right beside Peters, well would you look at that they have another elite O-lineman. Evan Mathis is a top notch guard, and even though there have been rumours that Chip Kelly wants him gone, as long as he's in Philly, then the Eagles have an elite guard. At center, they have... Wait for it... Another elite player. Jason Kelce is an absolute stud, and he might be the most valuable center in the NFL just based on Philly's offensive scheme and reliance on him. On the right side of the line, the Eagles have Allen Barbre at right guard, and Lane Johnson at right tackle. Lane Johnson had a good year last year and should look to build off of it in 2015. Allen Barbre was on injured reserve last season, but Eagles brass is very high on him and they don't believe he is a downgrade from Herremans at all. With a pretty stacked O-line, let's see how the new Eagles offense looks with it. At QB, the newly acquired Sam Bradford looks to establish himself as the face of the franchise. He has been riddled with injuries for the past couple years, but he looked really good during the portion of 2013 in which he played. If anyone is going to get all of Sam Bradford it's Chip Kelly, so I'm expecting a pretty big year out of him provided he stays healthy. At tight end, the Eagles have Zach Ertz and Brent Celek. Both of those TE's are good players, and compliment each other really well as Ertz is more of a threat in the passing game and Celek is a good blocker. At wide receiver, the depth chart is a little thin for what should be a pretty explosive passing attack. Nelson Agholor should be their immediate number one receiver, as he is definitely the most talented receiver on the roster. Opposite him will probably be Riley Cooper or Miles Austin. Both of those players are underwhelming, but should at least be solid veteran presences for a young team. In the slot, Jordan Matthews is looking to build off of a promising first year. As little depth as the Eagles have at WR, they make up for it at running back. They stole the rushing leader away from Dallas, as DeMarco Murray will now don the green and silver jersey. The general consensus is that Murray only put up good numbers because of that O-line, and while the Dallas line did help, that's wrong. Murray had 998 yards after contact last season. Jamaal Charles had 35 more total rushing yards last season than Murray had... AFTER CONTACT!!! That is absolutely ridiculous, and as much as people want to credit the 'Boys offensive line, Murray is also one hell of a back. Behind Murray, Kelly also signed Ryan Mathews. He is a great back in his own right, and combined with the returning Darren Sproles, they could easily be the best backfield in football. The loss of LeSean McCoy does hurt, but these players were smart signings in a depressed running back market, and Murray actually fits this type of offense better than McCoy so expect big results. With Mark Sanchez and Nick Foles at quarterback last season, Chip Kelly put up 29.6 points per game. That was third best in the NFL, and less then one point away from being the best offense. Chip Kelly seems crazy sometimes, but he gets incredible results. This could be the best offense in the NFL next year, but to be safe, I'm going to expect a top 5 finish out of this team.
Defense
Defensively, this team has seemingly improved leaps and bounds. The additions of Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and Eric Rowe should all be immediate upgrades in a big way. On the defensive line, the Eagles have talent and depth. Fletcher Cox is an incredible young talent, and he is a top five 3-4 DE in the NFL already. Beside him, Bennie Logan is a very solid nose tackle, and is a good penetrator at the nose tackle position. Another spot over, Cedric Thornton is coming off of a really good year as left defensive end. As added depth, the Eagles might have the best backup DE in Vinny Curry. The Eagles have a pretty strong defensive line, but the strength of this defense is in their linebackers. The inside linebackers for this team are awesome. They traded LeSean McCoy for one of the most exciting ILB's to watch in football, in Kiko Alonso. He missed all of 2014, but if he develops off of his rookie season in 2013, then it won't be long before he is a top 3 inside linebacker in the NFL. Mychal Kendricks, another player Chip Kelly attempted to trade, is another great, young ILB, and he is coming off of a very good season and will look to build off of that. DeMeco Ryans is the veteran, and although he struggled a bit last season, he is still a very good player and should bounce back. On top of those three players, the Eagles drafted Jordan Hicks in the third round, and he should be a solid player for them too. On the edge, the Eagles smartly resigned Brando Graham to a 4 year/$26 million deal, which I think will end up being a bargain. He should see more snaps this season, and he is such a good pass rusher that the numbers will catch up with him eventually. Opposite him, Connor Barwin is coming off of a monster season in which he had 14.5 sacks. He probably won't put up those numbers again, but he should have another good season in him, especially with more help on defense in 2015. The Eagles also have added depth in Marcus Smith II, who was their 2014 first round pick. He had very scarce playing time last season, but he is still a very talented player and could be a factor this year. Philadelphia is strolling out a shiny, brand new secondary. Well, at least a couple of the cornerbacks are. Philly shelled out some serious money to bring in Byron Maxwell to fill the void of a number one cornerback. They may have overpaid just a tad, but the CB market was very inflated and his presence helps the rest of the defense too. Maxwell had a great year with Seattle as their number 2 CB last season, and showed enough to make me believe he can be a solid number 1 guy. Opposite him, Philly drafted Eric Rowe in the second round. He should slot in nicely, and even though he's a rookie, he's very long and lanky, and could be a good starter early on in his career. In the slot, the Eagles may have the best slot CB in Brandon Boykin. He is quick, has terrific ball instincts, and even though he is small, he plays big. At safety, Philly has Malcolm Jenkins who is coming off of a solid season and Earl Wolff. Both players aren't too flashy, but they aren't bad by any means. This defense has a chance to make big strides. They were in the bottom third of the league in points allowed per game last year, and they have a shot at a top 10 finish in 2015. That might be high, and I'm predicting a finish closer to the middle of the pack, but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. They retained their best free agent defender from last season, and they also added two huge impact players in Maxwell and Alonso. I didn't expect this defense to have this much depth and talent, but it's hard to bet against at this point in the offseason. I still think their secondary isn't overly strong, the addition of Maxwell helps so much, but they definitely won't blow anybody away with it. Still, a league average defense can do wonders with a Chip Kelly offense, and the pure talent leads me to believe that this is a better than league average defense.
Chip Kelly you crazy SOB how do you do it? Just through the process of writing this article, and really looking over the roster he has put together, makes me more of a believer in the 2015 Eagles. I still don't think they are in the tier of the NFC elite teams, as the Packers and Seahawks are still more reliable at this point, but there is talent across the board. The reason why I have trepidation about this team is because of Sam Bradford. I have no doubt that he can still be a good NFL QB, but I don't know if he can stay healthy. He's missed most of the last two seasons, and I just can't bank on him being 100% healthy. The Eagles did resign Mark Sanchez, and he has actually had success in this offense, so they at least have a backup plan. That being said, if Bradford stays healthy, this can be an explosive offense to go along with an opportunistic defense. That is always a scary combination, and it's scarier with Chip Kelly heading the ship. Oh, and they also signed Tim Tebow. It's not really relevant as he won't have a big enough impact (if any) on the offense, but it's hilarious and Chip Kelly is awesome.
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