What They’re Saying About the Eagles


Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles this week.

Russ Lande of the National Football Post has the Eagles taking Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel with the fourth pick:

The Eagles offensive line was a disaster after Jason Peters was injured before the season, so adding Joeckel could give them two quality offensive tackles in 2013 when Peters is back healthy.

The Eagles are 29th in ESPN.com’s power rankings. Writes Dan Graziano:

Their ugly loss to the Bengals was five days ago, so the memory is fading, but we remember enough to know the Eagles are among the league’s very worst teams. I don’t see how they could get to 32 from there, but I guess anything’s possible. I put them 29 and so did Clayton and Jamison. Sando has them 28, Ashley 30. Doesn’t make a lot of difference. You don’t usually hear too much complaining about this portion of the rankings.

Elliot Harrison of NFL.com has the Eagles 29th:

The Philadelphia Eagles put up a fight for a while last Thursday, with the front four showing signs of life. Bryce Brown was a disappointment, though, and it will be interesting to see what his role will be in 2013. Of course, much of that depends on the head coach. Don’t be getting all Chip Kelly’d out. These things certainly don’t always play out in the manner we anticipate, and my guess is someone nobody is expecting will wind up roaming the sidelines in Philadelphia. #Kotite. Kidding.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com assesses Nick Foles’ performance:

After three weeks of steady progress, Foles took a step back against Cincinnati. Philly’s fumblepalooza wasn’t his fault, but Foles did turn the ball over twice. His underthrown deep ball in the third quarter turned the game around. Foles has a strong arm; it just was simply a bad toss.

There were still positives in the game. Foles shows a nice ability to avoid pressure. Ultimately, the team only had 10 first downs and he averaged well under six yards-per-pass. I’ll be interested to see how he responds.

Brian Billick of FoxSports.com has the Eagles 27th:

Did Bryce Brown really lose another fumble?

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com has the Eagles 29th:

The excitement of a week ago was gone with that bad night against the Bengals. Now they can play spoiler against their division rivals.

Brian McIntyre of Yahoo Sports has the Eagles 29th:

Somehow, Michael Vick’s future with the Eagles is still an issue this week. Cleared medically to play following a Nov. 11 concussion, the Eagles will keep Vick in street clothes for the final two games of the season. The 32-year-old currently has $3 million of his $15.5 million base salary in 2013 guaranteed for injury only. “Skill and Cap” guarantees kick in two days after Super Bowl XLVII, but the Eagles can avoid those by releasing Vick before that date. No way do the Eagles risk that $3 million by exposing Vick to contact.

Adam Schein of NFL.com looks at nine teams in need of a quarterback, including the Eagles:

I think Michael Vick is done, and he should be. He can’t stay healthy, makes too much money and isn’t the same player he once was.

I didn’t love Nick Foles during the draft process. It will be fascinating to see who becomes the next coach of the Eagles, and what type of offense he’ll run. If Chip Kelly takes over, I don’t see Foles being the Week 1 starter in 2013.

Adam Rank of NFL.com has the Eagles as his fourth-worst team:

It’s easy to overlook the effort the Eagles put in on Thursday night, but it was one of their better performances of the season. The Eagles had a shaky second quarter, where they scored 13 points to take the lead. But nobody makes better second-half maladjustments than Andy Reid, who again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Nick Foles has thankfully shaken off his one good start to perform at a level befitting a team in the Eagles’ position.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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