So....who is the backup running back?

The Eagles have one of the best running backs in the league in Lesean McCoy but who is behind him? Last year Ronnie Brown backed him up but this year on the depth chart the running backs who could possibly back up Shady is seventh round pick Bryce Brown, undrafted free agent out of Washington Chris Polk, and second year Eagle Dion Lewis. My take is that you will see come week 1 Dion Lewis as backup then I think its a toss up between Bryce Brown and Chris Polk. My thing with Brown is that with the college switching and all of that he never really played a whole lot of football. He showed some stints of talent with Tennessee but did not see much of anything in Kansas State. Chris Polk was one of the top running backs in college but a bad injury took him out of the draft, the Eagles got a steal in Polk as many teams wanted him but he chose Philly so hopefully he can show some good stuff at training camp and the preseason. Dion Lewis did not have a lot of playing time last year having only 23 attempts 102 yards and a single touchdown so he is in most people's eyes a unproven running back. Dion Lewis is not the guaranteed second back, I would not be surprised if  Polk (If Healthy) gets the nod now Bryce Brown is still a question mark for me I don't know what to expect out of him but we will see come training camp time. Now another question is how many running backs will Reid even keep on the 52 man roster, last year he had 3 this year he might be tempted to keep 4 but not likely. Final thought is that Reid will have a tough decision with a lot of great young talent that one he might have to let go but we shall see.

Which Eagles to avoid and pursue in your fantasy draft.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a bunch of guys that could start for your fantasy team but in this article I am going to tell you about the right ones to choose and which to avoid. Lets start off with the quarterback.

Michael Vick (Pursue): Vick if healthy is one of the best QBs you could ask for in fantasy, with his amazing mobility and rocket arm you are getting the best of both worlds with him. My only worry with him is obliviously his health, he has only finished a full season once in his career and it was with the Atlanta Falcons. So if you want Vick I would recommend having a backup plan waiting right behind him like a Matt Ryan or Jay Cutler who will be sitting in the draft for a while in my opinion. Bottom line is he can be the best QB in fantasy if he stays healthy make sure you have backup for this guy if you decide to choose him which I recommend in the earliest round would be the third.

Desean Jackson (Avoid): Jackson is now payed so on a non fantasy stand point he will have a bounce back year but how much of one? Jackson has to share the ball on his own team with fellow WR Jeremy Maclin, TE Brent Celek who had a pretty solid year receiving last year, QB Michael Vick running the ball and then arguably the best RB in the game Lesean (Shady) McCoy. If you look at Desean's stats over the past couple years they have been pretty consistent but when you look at what other guys will be available at the time you decide to choose him before he is gone there will be guys like Colston, AJ Green, and even Jeremy Maclin I would choose over him. Jackson also led the team in drops last year so you dont want butter fingers on your team. Bottom line is that a lot of other wide receivers should be chosen over him but he would be a good Flex player (RB/WR on a fantasy roster).

Jeremy Maclin (Pursue): Maclin has some issues that are the same as Deseans that the ball will be spread on that team to a lot of other players but with Maclin you get a more complete WR. With Maclin having a strange illness last year which affected his season he still had better numbers then Jackson last year leading the team in receptions. He is almost as fast as Desean and in my opinion has better hands. Bottom Line is Maclin will have a bounce back year with being fully healthy and should be at best your #2 WR.

Lesean McCoy (Pursue): McCoy is an obvious top 5 pick in the first round, he had 20 total touchdowns last year which led all running backs and 1,309 rushing yards. McCoy's ability to run and catch makes him one of the best players in fantasy. Look for McCoy to have a similar very productive season this year and dont hesitate to pick this guy over in my opinion all running backs except for Arian Foster which is as well a debatable subject.

Brent Celek (Avoid): Celek had a bounce back year last season having 300 more receiving yards last season then he did the season previous and had 20 more receptions than the previous year with 62 and he had to complement that 5 touchdowns. Celek has shown he is as well able to stay on the field all 16 games as he has not missed a single game in his career. I would take Celek in the late rounds as a starter if you want to bulk up all of your other predictions first but if not he is a very solid backup for your team.

Eagles Defense (Pursue): The Eagles defense is a obvious pick to be your starting defense with one of the best d-lines in the leauge naming notable Jason Babin who had 18 sacks last season and Trent Cole who had 11 also having one of the best corner back pears in Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique-Rogers Cromartie which is a shut down duo. The team will have its shares of turnovers and sacks will be a ordinary thing with Babin and Cole roaming around. Again easy pick here and they will be available in the later rounds.

The Philadelphia Eagles will have a boat load of players that you can draft for your fantasy team I hope these pointers will help you decide which ones to select.

           

Backup QB Battle.

  As of right now the Eagles have 4 QB s on the roster Michael Vick, Mike Kafka, Trent Edwards, and Nick Foles (Third round pick out of Arizona State). Likely the Eagles will keep 3 QB s come week one so lets go over the positives and negatives of each backup QB.

Trent Edwards

Positives: When Edwards was a Buffalo Bill he started off pretty productive taking the Bills to a 4-0 start in 2008 but after a concussion against Arizona he never seemed the same. He has good accuracy and is mobile enough if the line breaks down.

Negatives: Trent Edwards has had a couple injury's and has since leaving the Bills been a journeyman going to the Jaguars then the Raiders after Oakland he didn't even play last season. Another flaw in Edwards is that he sometimes passes on the deep throws and differs to the short passes to the RB. 

Mike Kafka

Positives: Kafka has been under the Eagle's system going on now 3 seasons and seems to improve every year. Last year he got his first taste of regular season football against the Falcons in week two almost winning the game for the Eagles after he threw a perfect ball to Jeremy Maclin who then dropped the ball. He threw some nice passes in that game including a deep pass to Maclin. Overall I would be comfortable having Kafka come in if Vick goes down.

Negatives: Kafka struggled in his second game against the Giants in week three throwing 2 picks in only a couple throws, so he has some decision making issues that he should be able to fix this season.

Nick Foles

Positives: Foles has set all the passing records in Arizona State, which earned him being selected in the third round by the Eagles. He has a rocket arm and is a great pocket passer and under Andy Reid's offense Reid will find ways to make Foles excel in this offense. With depth at the WR position if he was ever to get in a game he will have all the pieces around him to succeed. 

Negatives: Reid is used to mobile quarterbacks so it will take some adjusting for him to fit Foles into the system. He also is not very accurate with his throwing so he has some work to do come training camp.

Prediction: This is what I think the QB depth chart will look like come the start of the regular season.

1. Michael Vick

2.Mike Kafka

3.Nick Foles 

As for Trent Edwards I would not let Kafka go Edwards missed all of last years and has a lot of flaws in his game.

What to expect in the starting lineup come Eagles Training Camp time

The Eagles will get ready in a few weeks to go to Leigh and start Training Camp and there are still some questions at certain positions starter wise. At QB and RB you know who the starters are as well as the O-Line but if you look at a interesting spot at WR Riley Cooper will battle with Marvin Mcnutt who was a WR out of Illinois for the 4th spot. The Eagles like what they stole in Marvin Mcnutt with his great size and good hands will help in the red zone the most. Moving on to the defensive side of the ball the D-Line looks like Cole,Jenkins,Babin but then Patterson will battle with Cox for that DT spot and if you look at what Patterson did last year was pretty impressive after having a minor seizure in training camp he was 5th on the team in tackles plus 2.5 sacks and 5 tackles for losses so I would say he has the starting spot so that Fletcher Cox can slowly move into the spot with this year contributing in certain times hes out there. LB looks like right now MLB Demeco Ryans then WILL Brian Rolle who played great last year and then at SAM 2nd round pick Mychael Kendricks but don't count out Jamar Chaney who was the starting SAM until Casey Matthews was moved out of MLB and Chaney went their. Chaney will battle with Brian Rolle to me but still dont see him starting come Week 1. CB looks pretty rapped up with DRC and Nnamdi as the two outsides but then in the slot its a battle with 4th round pick out of Georgia Brandon Boykins who did great in the slot at Georgia and Joselio Hanson a long time Eagle slot who has done a good job their. Then saftey is interesting with Nate Allen at the first spot then its a battle with Kurt Coleman and Jaiquawm Jarret who was a second round pick last year out of Temple. I see Coleman winning that one he had a great season last year with 4 INTs and was second in the team with 96 tackles only behind Jamar Chaney. Training Camp will have its share of battles, surprises, and excitement should be a good one.

What we saw from OTAs

The Eagles kicked off the beginning of OTAs today with some interesting lineups and some nice action packed practice. For QB obliviously Vick was starter, Kafka took second string reps and I didnt see a lot of Foles but some Edwards.Vick looked good and threw some accurate throws including an amazing connection between him and Maclin. The offense was what was expected WR and RB wise Bell took the first team reps on the line. Now going to defense the Eagles had Ryans at MLB Rolle at WILL and rookie LB Kendricks at the Sam so that is the first team for now. I think it will be that starting line up come week 1 but maybe Chaney could battle for the WILL and dont count out 2nd year Casey Matthews at that spot but with how well Rolle played last year I think this is how it will be. Cant wait to pack on the pads and see some Eagles football!

4th and 5th WR Spot?

The Eagles have Jackson, Maclin, and Avant locked in at 1 2 and 3 but there is that uncertainty at 4 and 5 most people think that those spots will go to Cooper and Mcnutt and I agree but which in which and would the Eagles keep 6 WRS which they usually dont. I think the 6th round pick Mcnutt wins the 4th spot since he was a steal and has great size and hands so could help in the redzone offense. Cooper has been in the system for the past couple years but never has really shown anything flashy but he also has great size and hands but dont see him getting on the field a lot if Mcnutt does do great but Cooper will not just roll over he will compete heavily for that 4th spot.Then there is guys like Chad Hall who has been on the Eagles practice squad for 2 seasons but made his way on the roster both years during the season. I really like this kid he shows great versatallity and his TD vs the Redskins last year was monsterous. If you want a Welker I would have this kid on my team but Reid doesnt keep 6 WRS so I see him on the practice squad again but when injurys happen he should get on the roster again and perform pretty well. Mcnutt really interests me though I have not heard of him until the Eagles did draft him but now looking at him he shows a lot more than Cooper. Great Route Running, Great Hands, not flashy speed but his size makes up for that so hes everything Cooper is and better. If Cooper doesnt stand out this year then I see him going bye bye and Mcnutt penciled in and maybe bring in someone else at #5.....Just a thought.         

Polk vs Brown

The Eagles selected Bryce Brown RB from Kansas State a former #1 recruit in high school. They then signed undrafted FA Chris Polk RB from Washington who a lot of people had going in the high rounds. They will battle for the 3rd...or Second RB spot behind McCoy and possibly Dion Lewis. My take is if Bryce Brown wins the job then he will be the third I just think with his lack of playing football because of all the college changes that it will affect him in the long run and just dont see him more valuable then Lewis. Polk if make the roster and stays healthy should be a defenite #2 the reason for him being undrafted was because of his Shoulder Injury he had before the draft. I dont really like Brown but love Polk he could be a huge piece of the running game if he can beat out Brown.....and Greg Cooper.