What They’re Saying About The Eagles

LeSean McCoy is back at it. In a teaser of an upcoming interview with GQ, which will evidently touch on being traded to Buffalo in the spring, McCoy spoke about head coach Chip Kelly and the trade that sent him to the Bills.

“That was crazy,” McCoy told the magazine. “I felt like I’d always be there.”

He had a few interesting quotes about Kelly and his new head coach, Rex Ryan, whose style McCoy seems to prefer.

“[Rex] lets you be a man,” McCoy said. “He won’t say, ‘Be in bed at ten o’clock,’ or check your sleep. He’s just like: Be professionals.”

McCoy also offered up his take on the Eagles’ replacement at running back, DeMarco Murray, who led the NFL in rushing yards last season by a sizable margin.

“I think Murray’s good,” McCoy said. “But I don’t see him as competition as far as the best backs. I like my game a lot.”

Here’s a roundup of what the rest of the local and national media are saying about the Eagles.

Jon Gruden thinks the NFL should be afraid of a healthy Sam Bradford, ESPN’s Phil Sheridan writes.

“Remember,” Gruden said last week in a conference call with reporters, “Sam is very comfortable in a no-huddle offense. I remember when he came in here, he was very comfortable in this uptempo, speed style of offense. And he looks at home in Chip Kelly’s system. At least in that Green Bay game — not many guys go 10-for-10 in Lambeau at any point.”

Bradford completed all 10 of his passes — three for touchdowns — in his final preseason appearance in Green Bay. That could be a preview for what’s to come as Bradford runs Kelly’s offense.

“If you get them open, and you give him protection, Bradford is a pinpoint passer,” Gruden said. “The question is can you get them open all the time, and can he stay healthy? Can you protect him as you have throughout the preseason?”

Grantland’s Bill Barnwell believes the Eagles are one of eight teams that could decline in 2015.

Bradford may very well perform at a high level once the regular season gets going, but I’d be skeptical that we learned very much about how he’ll do from that 15-pass stretch. For one, it’s 15 pass attempts. There’s also the reality that Philadelphia’s opponents have had the most success attacking Kelly’s offense by playing physical man coverage and daring his receivers to get open. Stopping the Eagles is far more complicated than that, but it’s a style of play that just doesn’t show up anywhere near as frequently during the preseason.

Meanwhile, a number of websites released their respective power rankings this week.

First up, NFL.com puts the Eagles at No. 10.

Philadelphia moves on up, based on the play of Sam Bradford. But let’s tap the brakes on going any higher. Building the offense around Bradford, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews is still a risky proposition. Zach Ertz hasn’t been healthy. And this is a new-look offensive line, with Evan Mathis gone. So while the Eagles can perch atop the NFC East, saying it’s likely to happen is another deal at this stage of the game.

CBS’s Pete Prisco ranks the Birds a bit lower at No. 13, behind the Giants, and believes they will miss the playoffs.

They will be a good team, but I think they just miss out on the playoffs. Sam Bradford did look sharp in his preseason work.

ESPN’s inaugural rankings of the season have the Eagles slotted at No. 9, based on Chip Kelly‘s offense.

The Eagles have three running backs who have notched 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a season before, but all eyes will be on QB Sam Bradford as he makes his return.

Fox Sports puts the Eagles at No. 9, in large part because of  Bradford.

Sam Bradford might just be the perfect fit for Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme when you factor in his ability to make anticipation throws with uncanny accuracy. The defense still has question marks, particularly at nickel cornerback, but the offense could be elite.

And Yahoo! Sports ranks the Eagles at No. 12, but is cautiously optimistic after Bradford’s impressive preseason.

It’s probably not the best long-term plan to project anything you see in the preseason to the regular season. But nobody looked better in the preseason than the Eagles. It’s hard to ignore that.