1/5/13
The 2012 season of the Philadelphia Eagles can be described
in one word; Deteriorating. Coming into this season, the Eagles had high hopes.
They retained their key free agents such as DeSean Jackson and Evan Mathis.
Jackson had a terrible 2011 because he held out of training camp due
to a contract dispute, and did not put in his best effort. He was distracted
and thinking too much about whether or not he will continue playing for the
Eagles. They also extended the contract of LeSean McCoy, who was one of the
NFL’s best running backs of 2011. This year the 2012 Eagles had one of their
best years in drafting players. They drafted defensive tackle Fletcher Cox,
linebacker Mychal Kendricks, defensive end Vinny Curry, quarterback Nick Foles,
cornerback Brandon Boykin, offensive lineman Dennis Kelly, wide receiver Marvin
McNutt, offensive lineman Brandon Washington, and running back Bryce Brown.
Eight of the nine players they drafted would see significant playing time this
season. The Eagles needed a linebacker for this season, and they acquired
DeMeco Ryans from the Houston Texans. He was a solid player for the Texans for
four years until changes in the defensive philosophy last year made him an
outcast on the Texans. Since the Eagles had too many cornerbacks on their team,
they traded away cornerback Asante Samuel to the Atlanta Falcons. The media put
high expectations on the Eagles. They expected the Eagles to win the NFC East
division, and to win 10 games. They put these expectations on the Eagles
because most of the team from last year was retained and could have a full
season to prepare and master their playbooks/schemes on offense and defense.
Last year, the Eagles had trouble with that on the defensive end because there
was a lockout and the defensive coaches were all new faces. The players had
trouble preparing for the defensive scheme because they had to learn quickly
and on the fly.
The Eagles left shorthanded after training camp when
injuries to their best offensive lineman, Jason Peters, was out for the season
with a ruptured Achilles tendon. The Eagles hastily signed Demetress Bell, who
was the best available offensive lineman in free agency. Ironically, both
Peters and Bell
were on the Buffalo Bills at the same point in their careers. Riley Cooper was
another casualty for the Eagles as he sat out the entire preseason plus the
first nine games of the regular season with a broken collarbone. Colt Anderson
started out on the Physically Unable to Perform list while recovering from a
torn ACL injury that he suffered last year. He missed the entire preseason and
the first game of the regular season.
Last but not least, Mike Patterson was on the Active/Non-Football
Illness list due to brain surgery. He sat out the entire preseason plus the
first seven games of the regular season.
The Eagles went 4-0 in the preseason, but there was
controversy at the quarterback position. Michael Vick barely played in the
preseason due to injuries. He injured his thumb in the first preseason game
against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and injured his ribs in the second preseason
game against the New England Patriots. Nick Foles, the quarterback they drafted
this year, not only outplayed Vick, but became a star in the preseason putting
up fantastic numbers proving that he could be a starter.
The Eagles started out strong compiling a 3-1 record in
their first four games of the regular season. They won three of their four
games by a total point margin of four points. The three wins came against the
Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Giants. They got blown out in
week three against the Arizona Cardinals. However, during that winning stretch,
the Eagles lost another key player on the offensive line, this time it was
Jason Kelce. Kelce tore his ACL in their second game against the Ravens. In
weeks five and six against the Steelers and the Detroit Lions, the Eagles blew
a pair of fourth quarter leads and they dropped to a 3-3 record. That was not a
good way to go into the bye week.
During the bye week, the Eagles fired Juan Castillo as
defensive coordinator and replaced him with secondary coach, Todd Bowles on an
interim basis. In Castillo’s tenure as defensive coordinator, the Eagles blew
six fourth quarter leads. The Bowles era started out dreadful losing their next
six games and allowing 32.5 points per game. During that six game losing
streak, the Eagles lost more key players to injuries. Todd Herremans, one of
the Eagles’ mainstays on the offensive line, dislocated his right foot in week
nine against the New Orleans Saints and was out for the rest of the season.
Michael Vick was sidelined with a concussion that he suffered in week 10
against the Dallas Cowboys. He was out for the next five games. In week 11
against the Washington Redskins, LeSean McCoy got concussed late in the game
when the score was already decided in the fourth quarter. He was out for the
next four games. DeSean Jackson was out for the rest of the season when he
fractured his ribs on week 12 against the Carolina Panthers.
Things started to get uglier for the Eagles when they caught
everyone off guard with the release of Jason Babin after their week 11 loss to
the Redskins. He led the team in sacks last year. Babin was known as a me-first
player and a one-trick-pony. He was known for getting sacks, and not helping
out in the other aspects on defense. Another thing that caught everyone off
guard was the firing of defensive line coach Jim Washburn after their week 13
loss against the Cowboys. He was insubordinate to the team and treated everyone
around him like crap. They replaced Washburn with former defensive line coach
Tommy Brasher on an interim basis. Brasher coached the Eagles’ defensive line
in his first stint from 1999-2005.
The Nick Foles era began when he made his starting debut on
week 11 against the Redskins. He played like a typical rookie in his first game
and played poorly. As the weeks went on, he improved his play game by game.
Unfortunately his time was cut short when he suffered a broken hand on week 16
against the Redskins. During his time as an Eagle, he won one game and lost
five. The one game he won was a come from behind win on week 14 against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The question now is did he do enough to prove to the Eagles
that he could be the starting quarterback in 2013?
Michael Vick played what could be his final game as a
Philadelphia Eagle on week 17 against the Giants. This could also be the final
game that Andy Reid coached for the Eagles. How would they both go out to
finish the season? They went out in the worst way anyone could go out; an
annihilating loss.
Now that the offseason is upon us, we ask these questions: Who
will replace Reid as coach? Will Michael Vick still be an Eagle in 2013 or will
they give the reigns to Nick Foles to be the starting quarterback? What are the
Eagles needs in free agency and the draft? We already know now that Reid was
fired by the Eagles and four days later was hired to coach the Kansas City
Chiefs. In my opinion, the Eagles need to acquire a few offensive linemen, a
tall wide receiver, a safety, a cornerback, a linebacker, and a defensive end.
We will have to see what the Eagles do this offseason to determine if things
can be turned around in 2013 to see if the pendulum can swing back to the
successful side of things.
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