ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

2015 NFL Season Preview- Philadelphia Eagles

Updated on August 1, 2015

2014 Review

Philadelphia finished two games above .500, but still missed the playoffs.

The offense had a league worst 36 turnovers after a year of having only 19 with 21 of those turnovers being interceptions. After having the third lowest interception percentage in 2013, quarterback Nick Foles had 10 interceptions through eight games before going down with a broken collarbone. He was replaced by Mark Sanchez who threw 11 interceptions over nine games. Injuries to the offensive line and adjustments by defenses to Philadelphia's zone blocking scheme had an impact on running back LeSean McCoy's production but he still rushed for over 1,300 yards. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin came back from a career threatening ACL injury to have the best year of his career. Tight end Zach Ertz struggled early on but still managed 58 receptions including 24 on third down. Four of the starting five offensive lineman missed a significant amount of time throughout the year.

The starting defensive linemen are products of 4-3 schemes, but have turned into one of the best 3-4 lines in the league. Inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans tore his Achilles midway through the season and the defense really suffered because of it. Outside linebacker Connor Barwin was a mule of a linebacker and led the team with 14.5 sacks. Other than safety Malcolm Jenkins, the secondary was a mess giving up the second most passing yards in the league.

The rookie class had some success stories but also had one big failure. Linebacker Malcolm Smith was unproductive playing only 74 snaps and failed to register a tackle. Wide receiver Jordan Matthews was the team's most productive red zone target and had 58 receptions for eight touchdowns. Wide receiver Josh Huff was explosive and physical in the return game.

Eagles 2014 Rankings

Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Opponent Passing Yards
Opponent Rushing Yards
Total Offense
Total Defense
272.2 ypg
124.5 ypg
264.9 ypg
110.7 ypg
396.8 ypg
375.6 ypg
NFL Rank- 6th
NFL Rank- 9th
NFL Rank- 31st
NFL Rank- 15th
NFL Rank- 5th
NFL Rank- 28th

2015 Offseason

After the team finished 10-6, the team made general manager Bowie Roseman their vice president of football operations. The team also gave head coach Chip Kelly the additional title of general manager. This move will give Kelly more control of the players he wants to bring in to the organization.

Notable Additions- QB Sam Bradford, QB Tim Tebow, RB Ryan Matthews, RB DeMarco Murray, WR Miles Austin, ILB Kiko Alonso, ILB Brad Jones, CB Byron Maxwell, SS Walter Thurmond

Notable Departures- QB Nick Foles, RB LeSean McCoy, RB Chris Polk, WR Jeremy Maclin, WR Brad Smith, G Evan Mathis, G Todd Herremans, OLB Trent Cole, ILB Casey Matthews, CB Bradley Fletcher, CB Cary Williams, CB Brandon Boykin, S Nate Allen

Eagles 2014 Highlights

Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
Nelson Agholor, WR, USC

2015 NFL Draft

Philadelphia held the 20th overall pick and had many positions to address. Primarily at quarterback, cornerback, and safety.

The team traded Nick Foles to St. Louis for an injury prone Sam Bradford and neither Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley, or Tim Tebow seem to be the answer. Many expected Chip Kelly to make a big trade and draft his former college quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher are gone and the pass defense gave up more big plays through the air than any team in the league. The defense needs more depth at the cornerback spot.

Malcolm Jenkins was a free agency gem but Nate Allen was a liability in coverage. He's no longer with the Eagles and they need his replacement.

Philadelphia decided to replace Jeremy Maclin and draft USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor with the 20th overall pick. Agholor has a lean, athletic frame, good agility, and fast acceleration just like former Trojans Marquise Lee and Robert Woods. He was criticized for avoiding contact which might not make him suitable for the slot position.

The team also notably drafted Utah cornerback Eric Rowe in the second round. Rowe has the ideal cornerback frame for the pro game but his hitch in his progression will likely force him to move to safety.

Nelson Agholor Highlights

What to Expect

Chip Kelly is going to do things his way and that could ultimately cost him at the pro level.

Sam Bradford is coming off back to back ACL injuries, we've seen the plateau of Mark Sanchez's play, and Tim Tebow isn't a conventional quarterback. Ryan Matthews has an injury history and DeMarco Murray might be the product of a strong offensive line. Jordan Matthews will get a majority of the targets with Riley Cooper being the number two receiver. The offensive line lost two key pieces inside which will affect the team's zone blocking ability.

The defensive line should continue to grow and become more dominant. The team lost Trent Cole and it is unknown if Malcolm Smith can match his production. Byron Maxwell played opposite the best cornerback in the league while he was in Seattle, so it will be interesting to see how he looks as the number one cornerback on a team.

None of the quarterbacks look to be the ideal fit for Chip Kelly's fast paced offense. With no quarterback, losing key pieces, and teams starting to figure out how to stop the offense, it will be hard to picture Philadelphia in the postseason.

Best record they can hope for: 8-8

Eagles 2015 Season

How will the Eagles fair this season?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)