AFC East Champs

The Eagles got the best of the Patriots last week and then got the best of the Jets this week. We’ll just assume they would do that to the Bills and Dolphins as well, right? Let’s crown the Eagles as AFC East Champs!

Training Camp is over. I certainly feel better about the team than I did on August 1. That may sound funny when they’ve been outscored 52-0 in the last six quarters of preseason play, but that happened with second and third-string players on the field. We didn’t get to see the starters in the joint practices, but all the reports talk of how good they looked, especially the Eagles DL.

Because we haven’t seen the team much this summer it is hard to get a feel for what their ceiling is. I think the struggles of the backup players means that staying healthy will be absolutely critical for this team to have a shot to be competitive. If this group does stay healthy, they can compete for the NFC East title. That tells us two things. First, the coaches have done a good job with these players. Second, the NFC East is still a weak division.

Rather than talking too much about the season, I want to focus on the progress of the team. I think that says a lot about the coaching staff. They’ve come in and done a great job of communicating, teaching and motivating. We’ll have to wait for the regular season to really know the results, but there has been enough for us to see and hear to see this team is headed in the right direction.

Just think about the LB position. Coming into the summer, it was seen as one of the weakest positional groups in the entire NFL. That’s changed in a big way. Eric Wilson had a good summer. He’s tackled well and has been an effective pass defender. Alex Singleton has looked terrific, flying all over the field and making a ton of tackles. His confidence is through the roof. T.J. Edwards has played well.

Davion Taylor did nothing as a rookie. The new staff came in an embraced him. Taylor got reps with the starters and showed outstanding speed and some playmaking ability. He got hurt so we don’t know when he’ll be back on the field, but the arrow is pointing up for him.

Jonathan Gannon believes in the SAM linebacker position as a specialty role. He gave Genard Avery, Joe Ostman and rookie Patrick Johnson a chance there. All three looked good at time. Ostman has since been cut. Avery is dealing with a minor injury, but looked good last week. He was regularly disruptive. I’m excited about Johnson’s potential. He’s athletic and versatile. I think he’s going to make the team and has a good future.

The reason for optimism with this staff and team is that we’re not just choosing one player or one position. Jake Elliott has been on a roll this summer. He struggled in 2020, but seems to be in a real groove. The Eagles 29-year old STs coach has pushed the right buttons.

The WR position has a ton of potential. Rookie DeVonta Smith looks like he is going to be a stud. Everyone is excited to see what he can do. Quez Watkins has had a terrific summer and will likely be starting this year. He was fast last year. Now he looks like a polished receiver who also has big time speed. Jalen Reagor has been up and down, but has played better recently. This group is young and explosive. It has been a long time since you could say that about Eagles receivers.

Josh Sweat has had a great camp and looks poised to have a big year.

Rookie Zech McPhearson has shown a lot of potential. The team has struggled to develop DBs for a while so it would be a great sign to see him become a good role player this year.

TEs Tyree Jackson and Jack Stoll have looked good. Jackson really got everyone’s attention before his injury.

Think about Zach Ertz. He was a mess last year, mentally and physically. He’s now dealing with new coaches and a new offense. It would be easy to imagine him struggling with the changes. Instead, he has embraced the situation and looks like his old self (with a slightly different hairdo).

New players, old players. Offensive players, defensive players. There seems to be real improvement all over the team. There are still serious roster holes that can’t be ignored. Depth is an issue. But there is actually a lot to be excited about and I sure didn’t feel that way a month ago.

There were a lot of questions about Nick Sirianni and his staff. There were a lot of questions about the Eagles roster. Some of the answers have been better than expected and that is a reason for hope.

*****

The preseason finale is tonight. It probably won’t be much fun to watch with second and third stringers playing the entire game.

I’ll be interested to see what they do with the OL. I hope to see Jack Driscoll playing RT. He’s been up and down at RG, where the team has cross-trained him. I would like Driscoll to get some game time at RT. He looked good there last year.

Nate Herbig has struggled at center. It will be interesting to see if he plays there tonight, and if so, how much.

I hope Andre Dillard plays LT. Everyone has talked about his struggles. It would be great to see him in a game to see if that brings out the best in him. Le’Raven Clark will make his Eagles debut and is in the mix to be the backup LT.

LBs JaCoby Stevens and Shaun Bradley have both looked good at times this summer. They could be battling for a roster spot tonight.

I hope the QB play is improved so that WRs like John Hightower, JJAW and Andre Patton get a chance to show us something.

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