The Eagles Season Five Games In as They Sit at 3-

The Philadelphia Eagles are going into week 6 with a 3-2 record. This is the record that I predicted them to have after the 5^th week of the season. However, I thought one of those 2 losses would have come from the hands of the New York Giants and not the Arizona Cardinals. Needless to say, at 3 wins and 2 losses, they have a huge game this week against a struggling Detroit Lions football team who are coming off a bye week. When a team comes out to play after their bye week, they are usually hungry. I expect the Lions to be a very hungry team this coming week. Detroit was expected by most to have a very successful season. That has not been the case so far, as things have not gone as planned for the Lions. Earlier in the year I predicted the Eagles to beat the Lions by a solid 10 points. Right now I am sticking with my pick and believe the Eagles will win this next game, but it may be closer than I foreseen.

The Eagles offense has yet to find its rhythm. Listening to Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano today while at work, they were discussing how the Birds offense is ranked 31^st out of the 32 teams in the NFL. If those numbers are correct, then Andy Reid needs to re-evaluate his offensive scheme. I am seeing more consistency in Michael Vicks passing game the last two weeks. He is making better decisions in terms of check downs and passing into double coverage.

The offense’s main problem is turnovers. I know it is cliché to say turnovers win and lose games, but they really do. Vick is having such a hard time holding onto the ball. Week after week, he fumbles the ball and loses his team three to seven points on a drive they worked hard on. I want to see the Eagles hand the ball off to LeSean McCoy 25-30 times a game, regardless of whether it is working or not early on in the game. Andy Reid still gives up on the run too early. Running the ball in the first half will tire out the opponent’s defensive-line and in the 2^nd half of the game, McCoy will bust loose for a big run, opening up the deep ball with play-action passing.

The defense has really stepped up its game from last season and is turning out to be the back bone of this team. It’s nice to see what real Linebackers can do for the Eagles. It worked well for the city to the west of Philadelphia for the past 10 years; it’s about time the Eagles decided to get some of their own. DeMeco Ryans is playing very well and the rookie, Mychal Kendricks, looks to have a very promising future in the NFL. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is playing a much more prominent role this season. Moving him from the slot to the outside was a move that needed to be made. Nnamdi Asomugha is catching heat form a lot of fans and media. He hasn’t quite performed to the expectations that most had hoped for. Maybe the bar was set too high, but either way he is still a very solid corner and with more man coverage, we should see him succeed.

The line is playing well against the run, clogging the holes and not allowing many big runs. The sacks haven’t come yet, but this year most teams are really concentrating on stopping Trent Cole and Jason Babin. Quarterbacks are getting the ball out of their hand faster, and now it is up to the backs to make something happen. I would like to see them rush DeMeco Ryans some more or maybe a safety, switch it up a bit. Other than that, this years Eagles defense is very strong.

So those are some of my thoughts so far into this season. They are exactly where I thought they would be in terms of record. I expected the offense to be putting up more points and the defense to be letting up more, however, whatever gets them a win at the end of the game is fine by me.