The 10 Most Important Players On the 2012 Philadelphia Eagles, #7: Todd Herremans

Heading into the 2012 season, the Philadelphia Eagles are expected to be one of the top teams in the NFL.

Forget about the embarrassment of the 2011 season. This team can’t possibly be as bad again.

Each player had a full offseason to work with his position coach. There were no holdouts. Multiple stars received offseason contract extensions. There are no free agent acquisitions looking for a one-year stint to improve their career. Even the incompetent defensive coordinator has had an offseason–his first, actually–to learn the x’s and o’s of coaching an NFL defense.

The biggest positive for the Eagles might be the incredible amount of depth. On paper, this will be a 53-man roster that ranks as good as any team in the league.

The purpose of this upcoming series is to rank the 10 most important players to the 2012 Eagles. These players were chosen for a number of reasons. Obviously they are all talented starters. But it’s also worth looking at the backups. If this player goes down for the year in week three, who will step up and perform?

As all of my lists go, this one will begin at the bottom and work its way to the top. Click here to see my number 10 player and my number nine player and number eight player.

7. Todd Herremans

Heading into the 2011 season, the Eagles needed to make some major improvements on their offensive line. Jason Peters was a rock at left tackle and Todd Herremans was exceptional at left guard, but center Jamaal Jackson was aging and injury-prone, right guards Max Jean-Gilles and Nick Cole were among the worst combination in the league, and right tackle Winston Justice had been benched in the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Eagles fixed their problems at center by drafting Jason Kelce, who became a starter despite his sixth round selection, and Danny Watkins, who struggled as a rookie but should breakout in 2012.

But heading into the season, right tackle was a major problem. Former Denver Broncos star Ryan Harris had been signed to fill the void left by Justice, but Harris simply couldn’t stay healthy in training camp and was cut before the beginning of the season.

Winston Justice wasn’t healthy either, and King Dunlap was better suited as a backup, not a starter. That left the Eagles with a void on Michael Vick’s blind side, and nobody to step in.

A fan’s Twitter request actually solved the right tackle problem, as Herremans, a former tackle, began taking reps with the first team at right tackle.

Veteran Evan Mathis took the starting job at left guard. Although he had been added to the Eagles as veteran insurance at guard, he brought with him a pretty impressive resume, as he had not allowed a sack over his previous three seasons, which consisted of 825 plays (roughly 13 or 14 full games).

Herremans played all 16 games at right tackle in 2011. He had his ups and downs, such as the first Washington Redskins game where he turned in a +5.1 rating, according to PFF, and the Seattle Seahawks game, where he turned in a -5.7 rating.

For the season, he ranked 26th among 74 qualifying tackles. That’s extremely impressive for a seven-year veteran who had never before played a single snap at right tackle.

However, he did allow nine quarterback hits, two shy of the most by a tackle. He also allowed 37 hurries, sixth most among tackles. By comparison, Jason Peters allowed one hit and 17 hurries (in 14 games).

Herremans gets a pass for his struggles in pass blocking because it was his first season playing right tackle. I don’t even know if I would say that he struggled. He still rated as an above-average tackle overall.

But I have higher expectations this season now that he has a year of experience protecting Vick’s blind side. He needs to be better. He’s the most important offensive lineman on the team, with Jason Peters out and a big question mark at left tackle.

I would be surprised if Mathis was as dominant as last season, although I do still think he will have a good season. I expect Kelce and Watkins to improve. But I have expectations for Herremans to become a star again.

This article was written by Bryn Swartz, the top writer for the Philadelphia Eagles and a featured NFL columnist on Rant Sports. Bryn has written more than 1000 articles in less than two years as a member of Rant Sports. His blog, Eagles Central, was named the 2010 Ballhyped Sports Blog of the Year. To read a portfolio of Bryn’s best work, click here.