Previous Seasons
The Philadelphia Eagles are ever revolving be it player wise or personnel wise. The 2011 season will be no different as the coaching staff is shaken up. Fired are defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and DL Coach Rory Segrest. LB coach Bill Shuey’s contract was not renewed opening the door for OL coach Juan Castillo to take the Defensive Coordinator position while former Tennessee Titan takes over as defensive line coach. Howard Mudd has been hired to take over as the new offensive line coach.
In the upcoming draft, look for the Eagles to concentrate on the cornerback position, the defensive end position as well as look at the offensive tackle and safety position
Look for the Eagles to strive to get back into the playoffs and compete for the NFC East title.
The Philadelphia Eagles got two steps closer to the Super Bowl then the previous two seasons. After falling apart in the 4th quarter of a great NFC Championship game, the team looks to rebound and take one more step into Super Bowl stardom.
In the offseason, a series of veterans left the team for greener pastures to include FS Brian Dawkins, RB Correll Buckhalter, OT Tra Thomas, TE L.J. Smith, SS Sean Considine. WR Greg Lewis was also traded to New England for the 2010 7th round pick and the 2009 5th round pick. The team added OT Stacey Andrews, FB Leonard Weaver, OT Jason Peters, CB Ellis Hobbs and Sean Jones.
The Eagles had 8 draft picks and used six of them on offense to include 1st round pick (19th overall) Jeremy Maclin out of Missouri
In the first game of the preseason, the Eagles were defeated by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
On August 13, 2009, Head Coach Andy Reid and the Eagles signed troubled quarterback Michael Vick to a 2-year deal worth an undisclosed amount.
Donovan McNabb had predicted that he would lead his team to the Super Bowl for two consecutive years and both years the Eagles were knocked out of the playoffs. Although they did improve on the 2007 8-8 record, the team again underachieved. As a result, three key defensive players, LB Takeo Spikes, CB William James and DE Jevon Kearse left to sign with other teams. The team picked up aging veterans Asante Samuel and Dan Klecko as well as DE Chris Clemons, TE L.J. Smith and FB Luke Lawton. With considerable improvements in the Special Teams unit, the franchise thought they had the team rebuilt enough to take them to the Super Bowl.
The franchise came close to the Super Bowl but found them eliminated on the road in the NFC Championship game against the Arizona Cardinals. After Arizona took a 32-25 lead late in the 4th quarter, QB Donovan McNabb threw four straight incomplete passes, ending the team’s chances.
After losing in the divisional round to the New Orleans Saints 27-24 in the NFL Playoffs, the Eagles came into the 2007 season looking to improve on their last place NFC East record of 8-8. QB Jeff Garcia was released and AJ Feeley was signed to back up Donavan McNabb. Donte’ Stallworth was allowed to sign a deal with the New England Patriots. DT Darwin Walker was traded to the Buffalo Bills for Takeo Spikes and QB Kelly Holcomb. The draft fielded University of Houston QB Kevin Kolb.
The Eagles went 9-6-1 and managed to get past the Vikings in the Wild Card Game, the Giants in the Divisional Round but lost to the Arizona Cardinals in the conference Championships. In the aftermath a number of free agents left the team.
In the off-season, the Philadelphia Eagles had a number of problems that they had to deal with. Star receiver Terrell Owens came out in the media and blasted his teammate Donovan McNabb while he was trying to get a contract extension. The Eagles made it plain and clear that the franchise wouldn’t give him an extension. Owens then went on a slew of talk shows and launched his media tour. A few weeks later, he was sent home from practice and wasn’t allowed to come back until the next week. During that week, he made a very conspicuous visit to an Atlanta Falcons preseason football game. During that time Owens was also asking to be traded if he couldn’t get an extension in Philly.
Some of the moves the Eagles made in the off-season were some of the best and most questioned in the league. They picked up quarterback Mike McMahon to back up McNabb in case he goes down this year. McMahon is an incredible athlete with a very good arm. He got forced out of Detroit since the team invested so much in their highly touted draft pick from a few years back Joey Harrington. McMahon is said to have the same physical skills that McNabb has; the only thing he lacks is the way he executes on the field.
The biggest move the Eagles made wasn’t a pick-up, but rather a subtraction. The team shocked the football world when they straight cut defensive tackle Corey Simon. Simon is two years removed from being a Pro Bowl defensive tackle. The team will hurt some, but it will be the best for the team in the long run. The Eagles have a few up and coming defensive tackles that will create some havoc on NFL offensive lines.
In the draft the Eagles did what they always do; make a bunch of great picks that will help the team down the line. In the first round, they chose USC defensive tackle Mike Patterson who was part of a back-to-back National Championship team. He is one of the main reasons that Simon was so expendible to the Eagles. He’s got a big body that will take up a good amount of room in the trenches. He’s one of those big defensive lineman who are big, strong and fast and he also has a motor that never stops. He has been known to chase down a running back downfield, which is never an easy task for a big defensive lineman.
