At the end of the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles season, it was clear that—while the team was good—they were still not of the same caliber as the elite teams in the NFC. The following statements were beyond dispute:
- The offense wasn’t good enough to beat the elite defenses: Seattle, Arizona, San Francisco, etc.
- The defense wasn’t stout enough to shut down elite offenses: Green Bay, Dallas,
After an offseason of overhaul, how do the Eagles compare to their 2015 opponents? Which offenses this season will get over on the Eagles’ (presumably) improved defense? Which defenses will stymie Chip Kelly’s offense: with new pieces at running back, offensive line, wide receiver and, potentially, quarterback? We started two weeks ago with a look at the the NFC South. We continued last week with a glance at the cheaters & cowards in…Brady, McCoy & Co…the AFC East. Before we finish next week with a look at the NFC East (and my official game-by-game prediction), we will take a brief look at the “other games” on the schedule this season: Thanksgiving Day football at Detroit & home on December 20th hosting the Cardinals.
Detroit Lions (Away)
Call this “The Curse of Tim Allen.” Ever since Home Improvement went off the air in 1998, the Detroit Lions—regularly featured on the show as being Tim’s NFL team of choice—has won a total of 88 games. That is an average of just 5.5 wins per season. Their Thanksgiving Day record, over those 15 seasons, is just 4-11. Somewhere, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor weeps…
If there was one thing the Lions did particularly well in 2014, it was stop the run. With Ndomakung Suh manning the interior defensive line, the Lions were rated the third best team in the NFL at stopping the ground game, per ProFootball Focus. In addition, they were ferocious—if not criminally aggressive—in rushing the passer. This year, they are going to have a harder time excelling in those spots. Suh is gone. Nick Fairly, though overrated, is gone as well. The Lions attempted to spell those losses by trading for Haloti Ngata and signing free agent Tyrunn Walker. I’m not convinced those two equal the destructive force that Suh presented but they ought to be enough to provide a challenge for any NFL offensive line. The secondary provided average coverage downfield last season and didn’t do anything drastic this offseason to address that need.
On offense, it is still the Calvin Johnson & Friends show. Reggie Bush took San Francisco’s gold and will hope to revitalize his career in the state that saw him win a Heisman trophy. Joique Bell Theo Riddick will get the bulk of the carries but look for second-round pick Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska) to push for significant carries early. Matt Stafford will rely on Calvin Johnson & Golden Tate to get through the season. The offense will be more potent if Eric Ebron can take a step forward in his sophomore season. NFL games are hard to win on the road and can be especially tough in special games: a la Thanksgiving in Detroit. If the Eagles were able to handle that road-game pressure in Dallas last year, they should pull out a win in Detroit in 2015.
Arizona Cardinals (Home)
This game has more story lines than a Rod Tidwell-based screenplay. Bruce Arians has been Chip Kelly’s larges critic within the NFL head coaching brotherhood since both entered the club in 2013. On numerous occasions, he has called out this offense—and though it, the head coach—for being “too college” to succeed in professional football. The Cardinals & Eagles have faced off in each of the two seasons since Kelly & Arians took their respective helms. In 2013, the Eagles won a close game in Philadelphia. Last year, the Cardinals returned the hospitality: beating the Eagles in the waning moments of a week 8 game in Phoenix.
The Cardinals had a busy offseason. On offense, they extended lifelong Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald for 2 years. They exercised the fifth-year option on WR Michael Floyd but released WR Tedd Ginn Jr. They bolstered the offensive line with the addition of guard Mike Iupati. These changes, however, probably aren’t major enough to bolster an offense that was, according to PFF, the third-worst in the NFL overall. Specifically, they didn’t throw the ball or block well enough. The additions of Iupati & first-round OT D.J. Humphries will help in the trenches. The only thing that will help the passing game is a healthy Carson Palmer. The hope is that a healthy Andre Ellington & rookie David Johnson will run the ball well enough to provide ground-cover for Palmer as he returns from a re-torn ACL.
On defense, the Cardinals released Darnell Dockett but signed LBs Sean Witherspoon & Lamar Woodley. In addition, they bolstered their depth at NT by signing Corey Peters and drafting Markus Golden, out of Missouri, in the second round. This is a unit that, if you believe advanced metrics or stats like “Total Defense”, didn’t blow anybody away last year. What they do well is win the turnover battle. In 2014, the defense compiled 25 takeaways balanced against an offense that—even without Palmer—committed just 17 turnovers. That is a sign of solid coaching. It is also something Chip Kelly has tried to stress in Philadelphia & one of the reasons he brought in Bradford: who, in his career, has thrown an interception on just 2.2% of his passes. This is going to be a close game, either way, and it will come down to which injury prone quarterback is least injury & mistake prone in week 15.
Prediction time: 2-0 (one win based on talent…one on vengeance).
