Tag Archives: Philadelphia Eagles

Super Bowl LVII Predictions

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By Sam Morris

Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he volunteers in the strategic communications department at BGSU at various sporting events and he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.

February 11, 2023

Super Bowl Overview

After my undefeated first round and a 3-1 second round, the conference championship games did not go as I expected as the Niners and Bengals both lost. The Eagles absolutely crushed San Francisco 31-7. The Niners’ offense slowed to a halt, losing both Brock Purdy and 4th string QB Josh Johnson to injury, and leaving them with no healthy QB’s available to play. However, this doesn’t take away from the amazing job that Philly’s offense did against the number one defense in the league. Although the Chiefs also pulled off the win, it was not without controversy as there were a few flags against Cincinnati late in the game that Bengals fans thought had cost them their chance to win. However, the Bengals had plenty of opportunities to put the game away beforehand and couldn’t get the job done. With all the upsets and crazy storylines in these 2022-2023 playoffs, the Super Bowl features the two overall one seeds and there is no consensus favorite amongst the media. Below I is my final breakdown of the playoffs with my prediction of the winner of Super Bowl 57.

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (16-3) (AFC)    VS.     1. Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) (NFC)

                                   (Sunday, February 12th, 2023)

Breakdown: Super Bowl 57 has many interesting storylines to look for including the fact that this is the first Super Bowl where brothers (Jason and Travis Kelce) will be playing against each other. Being played in State Farm Stadium, one thing we know for sure about Super Bowl 57 is that there will be a lot of State Farm advertisements. Besides this, the Super Bowl outcome is anything but predictable. The Chiefs and Eagles overall have had the best seasons in their respective conferences, each amassing impressive 16-3 records to reach the Super Bowl. Because each of these teams has very few weaknesses, the Eagles are favored by just 1.5 points as of Saturday afternoon, making this the 4th shortest odds in any Super Bowl, according to CBS. These short odd are well-deserved, in my opinion, because of how close statistically these teams are to each other. On defense, the Eagles rank 1st (70) and the Chiefs rank 2nd (55) in sacks. Because these defenses are so similar and each quarterback has the ability to scramble, this game will be decided by which offense can put together consistently effective drives against the opposing powerhouse defenses.

In terms of offensive skill positions, the Eagles have a much better running game than the Chiefs behind Hurts, Sanders, Gainwell, and Scott. In fact, historically, the Eagles’ rushing game has the most rushing touchdowns in NFL History dating back to 1920, with 38 in total between the regular and postseason. However, I think the Chiefs’ explosive passing attack is better than Philadelphia’s with the chemistry and experience between the Mahomes-Kelce connection that can only be rivaled by Brady and Gronk. Adding Kadarius Toney has also been a sneaky signing because of his speed and ability to catch deep-ball fades consistently. The depth of JuJu Smith-Schuster and MVS (Marcus Valdez-Scantling) to the passing game also gives Mahomes quality second and third options to Kelce that I don’t think Devonta Smith and Quez Watkins match with the Eagles.

Although Mahomes is still working through the injury he suffered against Jacksonville, I believe the MVP’s talent and wealth of experience at such a young age will give him an overall advantage over Hurts in managing the atmosphere and pressure of the Super Bowl. Overall, it seems like Mahomes feels like he has something to prove against Hurts as Mahomes beat him for the MVP and has been consistently compared to him all year long. Mahomes also realizes that a second Super Bowl could put him in elite company among quarterbacks and help to solidify his ultimate legacy. To execute their game plan, the Chiefs need to score early and put pressure on the Eagles to throw the football, which is what the high-powered Chiefs offense is built to do. Although the Eagles are every bit as talented and deserving as the Chiefs to win the big game, I believe Mahomes and Andy Reid will execute their passing game plan against this dominant defense to win Super Bowl 57, giving Kansas City its 3rd Super Bowl victory in franchise history,   

Prediction: Chiefs (28)  Eagles (27)

Trouble in Philly: Sam Bradford Wants Out

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by Brendan Ripley-Barasch

The City of Philadelphia has had a tough go with their professional sports teams in recent years. Most notably, the Eagles have consistently under performed despite having elite talent like LeSean McCoy, Demarco Murray and DeSean Jackson at some point over the past four years. The Phillies have quickly plummeted to the bottom of the MLB and how could we forget the 76ers who have been one of the worst teams in NBA history for the past few seasons. The struggles continued when Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford reportedly requested a trade early Monday morning.

                                                                           Image via http://www.philly.com

The former number one overall draft pick is most likely seeking a trade because of the move his current team made a few days ago. Last Thursday the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to send the no. 8, no. 77, and no. 100 picks in this year’s draft along with a first-round pick in 2017 and 2018 second-round pick to the Cleveland Browns to receive the second overall pick in this year’s draft as well as a 2017 fourth-round pick. After the trade was officially completed, Eagles representatives announced that they planned on taking a QB with the second overall pick. It is interesting that Philly decided to trade away so many picks just so they could draft another signal-caller with the second selection. It is only interesting because this past off-season the team signed Bradford to a two-year deal which included $22 million in guaranteed money while also signing former Kansas City quarterback Chase Daniel to a three-year contract where he is guaranteed $12 million.

It is obvious that the Eagles are trying to solidify what is widely seen as the most important position in football and the trade shows just how desperate they were in doing so. Bradford is upset with the move and he has every right to, why would he tolerate being seen as a stop-gap player?

Earlier in the week, reports were that even after the trade, Sam did not wish to be traded and wanted to prove to the organization that he was “the guy.” But now the complete opposite is being said, the next couple days will prove which report is correct. For now we’re going to pretend that Bradford actually does want to be traded. There are a few teams who are in the market for an experienced quarterback. To name a few, the Denver Broncosand San Francisco 49ers.  With the departure of both Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler, Denver is in dire need of a player who can lead the team. In San Francisco’s case, the organization has not shown the most trust in Colin Kaepernick and might be interested in making a deal.

Even with his reported request for a trade, Eagles management is supporting Bradford. Executive Vice President of Football Operations Howie Roseman was quoted as saying, “to reiterate our support for Sam Bradford and go back to our statements last week — that Sam is our starting quarterback.” This statement shows that the team is trying to downplay the drama surrounding their quarterback situation, and they are saying the right things.

Even if the former Oklahoma Sooner did request a trade, the media has no room to criticize him. Just like any other player, Bradford wants respect. And if the team does actually use the 2nd pick on a QB, which will most likely be Carson Wentz, why is it wrong for them to plan for the future? The organization is attempting to change the approach they have had the past few seasons, instead of trying to win now, they are figuring out how to win in the future and that means they must have a quarterback who can do that. It would not be the worst idea to take Wentz and let him sit for a couple of seasons allowing him to adjust to a pro style NFL offense. But even if Wentz isn’t thrown into the fire his rookie year, he still has a lot of pressure on him. Philadelphia sacrificed a lot to get this pick and they are counting on Wentz or any other QB they get to make it worth it.

The 2016 NFL Draft will be held in Chicago on April 28th and Eagles faithful as well as media will be waiting patiently to see what their team does. If Philly sticks to their plan and takes a QB, it will take a couple seasons to see who got the best of the trade because now the Cleveland Browns are seen as the clear winners and that is a first.

 

 

Welcome to Oregon East

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By Kaleb Page

March 16, 2015

Chip Kelly is the mad scientist. The man who crafted an offensive barrage at Oregon that to this day is still taking flight. His genius at the highest level of college football gained the recognition of those in the NFL, and in 2013 the Philadelphia Eagles came after him (eventually landing him).

Well it has only been two seasons in ‘the city of brotherly love,’ and right now there could be an interesting question to ask the Eagles faithful.

Feeling some buyer’s remorse?

How could a coach who went back to back seasons with a 10-6 record get the feeling of being ousted by his own fan base? As they say it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and only seconds to ruin it. Well, I guess the same could be said about perceive coaching knowledge or even grasp of what makes a great team.

You could say it all started with the head scratching move to trade one of the top running backs in the league (LeSean McCoy) for a young talented linebacker named Kiko Alonso. Now the interesting thing about this is how Alonso once was an Oregon Duck. The roster now consists of seven former Ducks who played under Kelly at Oregon.

While allegiance is a good quality in some aspects, it can be a problem when it comes at the expense of talent in a bottom line league like the NFL. If you don’t pay attention you could be packing your bags fairly soon.

Oh but wait there’s more!

Tuesday, when free agency officially began in the NFL, a move was made by Kelly that was the pièce de résistance on the head scratching display.

Kelly put in the trade with the St. Louis for Sam Bradford. Who are they giving up in return for Bradford? None other than their starting quarterback Nick Foles.

Foles in 2013 had an amazing year at quarterback, throwing for 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions. That year was a pleasant surprise as Foles was a mid-round selection by the team in 2012 and didn’t have high expectations coming out of Arizona. While Foles battled with injuries just like Bradford, Foles had much more success that showed promise for more seasons like the one in 2013.

Trading for a quarterback that in his five-year career has had multiple knee surgeries and only a record of 18-30-1 as a starter, while giving up on a young prospect that has real promise; definitely is a head scratching move put on by Kelly.

Whether you look on ESPN, Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, etc. there are plenty that are sharing the sentiment of: Does this guy know what he’s doing?

Even Stephen A. Smith going as far to say racism played a factor in these moves by Kelly to get rid of guys like Trent Cole, Jeremy Maclin, Cary Williams and LeSean McCoy. All of which are black athletes that were not signed back with the team. Essentially marked as not fitting the scheme or direction just like when the team released Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson in previous years. Something Smith finds quite suspect.

While I won’t go that extreme as Mr. Smith to say Kelly is being racist, I will say that Kelly better know what he is doing with these questionable moves. As I said before in this post, the NFL is a bottom line league and if Kelly isn’t careful this whole image of a genius can be tarnished. It could very well lead to Kelly seeing his way out of the league.

I guess only time will tell if these moves are good and will actually make for a successful Eagles squad in 2015.

As for now hang in there Eagles fans, it could be much worse.

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