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It is well known what the strengths and weaknesses have been for the Philadelphia Eagles over the past three years under head coach Chip Kelly. The team’s biggest strength has been the offense while defense has been what has really held the Eagles back.
Under Kelly, the Birds have ranked in the top five in offense in back-to-back years for the first time since 1996-97. The former Oregon head coach has lead his current team to the No. 2 and No. 5 ranked offenses respectively, despite having quarterback issues in both seasons.
In the same years however, the Eagles have ranked 28th and 29th in total defense. That major gap between the success of the offense and defense is a big reason why they aren’t one of the top teams in the NFC. With Kelly, it is almost a guarantee that the offense is going to score at least 20 points a game, with a better defense, the Eagles could become elite.
In order to do that, the Eagles would have to make some changes, and they did exactly that in the offseason. Cornerback has been a big problem on defense, therefore the team saw both Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams out the door. In turn, Kelly went out and signed the second best cornerback in the “Legion of Boom” of the Seattle Seahawks in Byron Maxwell. The team also drafted Eric Rowe in the second round.
The Williams experiment never really did work out in Philadelphia and Fletcher never should have been starting in the first place. Having physical cornerbacks has proven to give offenses struggles in the NFL, i.e. Darrelle Revis, Aqib Talib, and Richard Sherman.
While Maxwell and Rowe may not be Revis or Sherman, they are physical cornerbacks who give wide receivers fits. It is one reason why the biggest upset of 2014 happened when the St. Louis Rams dominated the Denver Broncos.
Both Maxwell and Rowe in replacement of Williams and Fletcher will be a big improvement to a secondary that has struggled mightily. The new duo will be exactly what the Eagles need to defend receivers like Odell Beckham Jr., Dez Bryant. and DeSean Jackson over the next couple of years.
The Eagles have obviously improved the aspect of their defense that needed it the most. However, in the NFL it starts up front, and luckily the Eagles have one of the best front sevens in the NFL.
Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan, and Cedric Thornton make up one of the best 3-4 defensive line trios in the NFL behind maybe the New York Jets. Cox is on his way to becoming a perennial Pro Bowler, while Logan and Thornton are the run stuffers that every 3-4 defense needs to be successful.
Behind those three are DeMeco Ryans, Kiko Alonso, Connor Barwin, and Brandon Graham, and it does not get better than that. Barwin and Graham combined for 20 sacks last season, the third most of any 3-4 outside linebacker duo in the NFL. The duo were also one of the best in pass coverage as they ranked seventh in lowest completion percentage allowed.
On the inside the Birds have Alonso and Ryans. In his rookie year Alonso was the PFWA rookie of the year and was third in the league in tackles. He will be coming off of a torn ACL, but with the insurance of Mychal Kendricks, the Eagles will be able to ease him in. Ryans on the other hand has been solid ever since he arrived in Philadelphia.
Ryans was fourth best in pass coverage allowing just 61 percent of passes in which he was targeted to be caught and allowed just 13 receptions. Alonso is a bit of an unknown at this point, but Kendricks was third in sacks among inside linebackers last season and was also third in quarterback hurries.
The Eagles have the talent and good depth in order to be a top ten defense, the only two questions are whether or not they will be able to live up to that potential and whether or not defensive coordinator Billy Davis will be able to take them there. They have questions at safety, but with better cornerback play, it should pay big dividends.
The main point here is that the Eagles are no longer a one-sided team. They have talent on both sides of the ball. If this defense can live up to the hype, the Eagles could be back in the playoffs in 2015.
