Eagles Wake-Up Call: Cox a ‘dominant force’

Daniel Jeremiah served a west coast scout for the Eagles from 2010-2012 before heading back to the media and accepting a position with NFL.com.

But he stopped by Lehigh recently and offered up a glowing review of Eagles first-round pick Fletcher Cox:

The first-rounder out of Mississippi State is not going to be a good NFL player — that would be selling his ability short. He is going to be a dominant force at defensive tackle. Cox has rare first-step quickness and his hands are very explosive against both the run and pass. He is going to create a pick-your-poison situation for opposing offensive lines; if they slide help to either of the Eagles’ talented defensive ends, Cox will be a very disruptive player on the inside.

Cox has Jim Washburn constantly in his ear during practices. There will certainly be a learning curve, but on specific plays, he’s shown the talents that made him a successful college player: the ability to create disruption in the backfield, and the ability to provide pressure up the middle.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah has some other interesting nuggets in his write-up, including his opinion that DeMeco Ryans “is very instinctive, but lacks the explosiveness and range of the elite players at his position.”

Click here for the full post.

WHAT YOU MISSED

T-Mac had an excellent piece on the Eagles’ “Nickel Nnam” package, which moves Nnamdi Asomugha inside and gets second-year cornerback Curtis Marsh on the field.

One NFL coach pegs the Eagles as the best team in the league.

What’s that? You’re not a fan of Birds 24/7 on Facebook? What’s the matter with you?! Give us a like right here!

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Andy Benoit of The New York Times and Football Outsiders offers up his Eagles season preview:

The real reason the Eagles underachieved was they never figured out how to properly piece their tremendous individual parts into a fine-turned machine. It had nothing to do with “attitude” or “focus” or “desire.” It had everything to do with strategy and execution. The offense relied too much on big plays and did not always feature enough of LeSean McCoy, even though he had become arguably the best all-around running back in the NFC. The defense was stale and ill-conceived, featuring the now infamous wide-nine looks that worked perfectly to highlight Philly’s weaknesses at linebacker. The star-studded secondary was incongruent, thanks to youth at safety and miscast players at cornerback (Nnamdi Asomugha in the slot!?). These are the things that lead to losing five games just on blown fourth-quarter leads alone.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com ranks the top receiving duos in the NFL. He’s got the Falcons’ Roddy White and Julio Jones at No. 1. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are No. 5.

“A little too similar in style for our taste,” writes Rosenthal.

COMING UP

Big day at Lehigh. In addition to the 8:15 walk-through and the 2:45 practice, owner Jeffrey Lurie will deliver his state of the team address at 1 p.m. We’re thinking one or two reporters might ask him about Andy Reid’s job status. Check back early and often for updates throughout the day.

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