Coming off of a close and bitter defeat by the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs in Superbowl 57, the Philadelphia Eagles look to lick their wounds and maintain their status as the powerhouse of the NFC. However, being on the top of a league that’s volatile and unpredictable is difficult. And more times than not, most teams tend to take several steps backward instead of leaping forward when making the big game.
Whether it is cap space issues, retirements, or off-field drama, there are a lot of factors that can deteriorate a championship team and close its Superbowl window. The Eagles look to avoid these setbacks by not only implementing a culture that emphasizes health, leadership, and work ethic but also preparing themselves for the future so that when the veterans retire, a new generation of talented players can match or exceed the value of production that their mentors have dealt to this team.
Availability is the Best Ability
Eagles Landon Dickerson – Associated Press
Coming into the 2021 season, the Eagles were the poster child of a franchise that never lived up to their full potential due to the amount of season-ending injuries that was dealt to their starters. This was a common occurrence starting back in 2017 when the Eagles won the Superbowl despite the number of injuries that the players incurred throughout the season.
While the team was fortunate to have understudies that were good enough to get the job done, the same could not be said in 2019 and 2020 where it felt like just about everyone on offense was on IR for some period during the season. It got so bad in 2020 that the Eagles were close to achieving a shameful feat that nobody wants to match, having a different O-line Combination almost every week. Having 14 combinations in 16 games.
While injuries weren’t the biggest and only reason why the Eagles went 22-25-1 in three years after winning the Superbowl, the fact that it was such a common occurrence made people realize that it was more than just freak accidents and bad positioning when getting tackled. When Nick Sirianni was hired and changed the medical staff, the health of the Eagles saw a massive improvement.
Only 14 players were on IR at any given point of the season, with only three of them being starters. The same number was also recorded in 2022 along with no first-stringers suffering any type of season-ending injury. A majority of key players who were able to stay on the field are a big reason why the Eagles did as well as they did.
Work Ethic and Leadership Bringing the Team Together
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (1) and WR A.J. Brown (11) –
When news outlets and the Eagles praised nothing but Jalen Hurts’ leadership ability and determination instead of what makes him a good player, I was sort of skeptical. Why are they praising his mental attributes instead of his quarterback skills? This skepticism turned into understanding when I realized that his work ethic and drive to make himself and his team better are what make him a good quarterback.
How good you are at throwing the football and reading the defense are amongst the most important skills to know when you are an NFL quarterback. But one day when something doesn’t go your way or you have a bad performance, or the team morale is down, you shouldn’t dwell on it, nor should you look for someone to blame.
You should accept responsibility, find out what you did wrong, and look to improve from it. This mindset and relentless drive to get better were just one of the many reasons why he was given such a wealthy extension this offseason.
The Kings of the Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles DE Brandon Graham (55), RT Lane Johnson (65), GM Howie Roseman, DT Fletcher Cox, and C Jason Kelce (62)
A new generation of Eagles is upon us. Greats such as Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelce, and Brandon Graham are entering that period of their careers where the decision to retire comes closer to reality with each passing minute.
The names I mentioned were a few of the biggest contributors in the previous Superbowl season. As leaders, they are also in the category of Eagles that are expected to mentor the upcoming projects that were drafted to replace them when they eventually retire.
Jason Kelce has been mulling over retirement for quite some time now, he even had to be persuaded by the head coach with the help of a few kegs of beer just to return last year. Run-stopping legend Fletcher Cox and Superbowl hero Brandon Graham are also contemplating retirement. Realizing that their best players could be entering their last year in the league, Howie Roseman made it a top priority to draft their replacements.
The Heirs of the Philadelphia Eagles
The first to be drafted was Jordan Davis, 13th overall in the 2022 draft, a giant, athletically gifted nose tackle who specializes in clogging up running lanes to replace Fletcher Cox. Next was Cam Jurgens, who was drafted 51st overall in the same year as Davis and was seen as the third-best center in the draft. The last two in the project bubble are defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rushing linebacker Nolan Smith, who is projected to replace the departing Javon Hargrave and 34-year-old Brandon Graham, respectively.
Conclusion
The future is bright for the reigning NFC champs. While we will be looking at a new defense both schematically and physically with our previous DC leaving along with five of their starters, the offense looks to pick up right where they left off with an in-house promotion who contributed to the play schemes, losing only two starters.
History tells us that the Eagles won’t make the Superbowl again for a while because the 16 quarterbacks who lost in their debut Superbowl have never returned. Apart from Joe Burrow and the Bengals, I believe Jalen Hurts, and the Eagles are in the best position to break this trend. They have the players, they have the coaches, and they have the determination to succeed. All they need to do is fight for it.
