Unbiased Prediction of the 2016 Eagles Season

Image courtesy of eaglesaddict.com and Philadelphiaeagles.com

      We all know that after last season the Philadelphia Eagles have had one of the most drastic turnovers a team could have in recent NFL history.  Chip Kelly goes from being named GM (General Manager) last January in his 3rd season as the Head Coach to getting fired less than a calendar year later.  Former GM Howie Roseman, who was exiled from his GM role when Chip took over in that slot, resurfaced to his prior position and made plenty of moves to cement his role in the organization.  Such moves included trading away under performing "Chip guys", signing home-grown talent to long extensions(as well as bring back QB Sam Bradford to an expensive 1-year deal with a 2nd year team option, in which he will be trying to showcase his average talent for other teams), making quiet but solid splashes for the future of this team in Free Agency, and moving up in two trades from the 13th overall selection in this years NFL Draft to 2nd overall and taking a little known gunslinger from North Dakota St. University in Carson Wentz who the future of this team will be heavily relied on.  Despite all of the positive strides this team took in washing away the sins of Chip this season to me doesn't look as promising because the team is in a Sudo-rebuild/be competitive mode and to me it has to be all or nothing in the NFL.  Now let's take a quick glance week-by-week to see how I predict this season for the Birdgang will turn out...

• Week 1 (1:00 PM Sunday 09/11/2016 Cleveland Browns @ EAGLES)   RGIII looks to reestablish himself as an efficient NFL QB with a new team after sitting out all of last year as Redskins coach Jay Gruden chose to start Kirk Cousins over him in a surprise move.  RGIII has a lot to prove with a pair of fresh legs under him.  Watch out for Cleveland's 2nd year RB Duke Johnson to try and become an X factor in this game with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.  That being said, the Eagles defense under new DC Jim Schwartz will be hungry and take no mercy on Cleveland's newly assembled offense.  With no surprise the Browns defense has not improved IMO and I believe despite the Eagles offense potentially starting out a little shaky, Doug Pederson's dink and dunk west coast offense will be able to take advantage and bust out a couple of game changing plays.  Bradford will be able to pull it together with a decent looking stat line.  In an ugly one I predict both sides of the ball for the Birds will make key plays in the end  as the Eagles win 21-17 to start the season at 1-0.

•  Week 2 (8:30 PM Monday Night Football 09/19/2016 EAGLES @ Chicago Bears)  Seems like we say it around the NFL every year, which I bet has to start to get utterly annoying in Chicago, but QB Jay Cutler has a lot to prove as well as WR Alshon Jeffrey who is playing this season on the franchise tag.  As much as the Eagles offense will be frustrating at times in this one (and many others) they will be be able to move the ball against a sub-par Bears Defense.  I'm predicting Ryan Mathews to have a 100+ yard game in this one with a TD.  Bradford is able to control the game and does enough on his end with the help of Mathews, while the defense looks solid with the exception of a big Jeffrey catch here and there the Eagles pull out another close one in a surprise victory in Chicago on MNF.  Eagles move on to a surprising 2-0.

• Week 3 (4:25 PM Sunday 09/25/2016 Pittsburgh Steelers @ EAGLES)  The Eagles come into this game with a short week disadvantage, but also have Steelers star RB Le'veon Bell serving the last of his 3-Game suspension from the NFL, so this helps to somewhat negate the short week.  In the end, unfortunately, this will not matter because Pittsburgh star WR Antonio Brown should be able to wreak havoc exposing our Eagles Corner backs.  The Steelers defense is not one of the leagues best but the offense will not show up and will be stifled throughout the afternoon.  Pittsburgh wins this one easily with a 10+ win, bringing the Eagles back to Earth with a 2-1 record going into the bye.

• Week 4 (BYE WEEK) Good timing for injuries stemming from the preseason and the first couple of regular season games.  Though detrimental for a team trying to compete for the post-season even though I do not believe this team is post-season bound.

• Week 5 (1:00 PM Sunday 10/09/2016 EAGLES @ Detroit Lions)  The Lions over the past 2 years have lost both the heart and soul of both sides of the ball with the departure of Defensive lineman Ndamakung Suh last year and the early retirement of star WR Calvin "Megatron" Johnson this past off-season.  The Lions went out and brought in a solid #2 WR in Marvin Jones from Cincinnati, who I believe will have a decent year, but he can not replace Megatron in that offense along with the fact the running game in Detroit is lackadaisical, the Eagles Defense will have a field day on QB Matthew Stafford.  Sam Bradford will have a field day with his two best friends on the team, TE Zac Ertz and WR Jordan Matthews.  The Eagles coming off the bye win another one in Detroit and improve to 3-1 but the winning ways come to a stop here.

• Week 6 (1:00 PM Sunday 10/16/2016 EAGLES @ Washington Redskins)  Another Skins game where you go into it believing the Eagles can pull out a win, but just like the last time the Eagles went to Washington this game will be very, very frustrating.  Desean takes another one to the house since his best games are against his former team and Garcon is solid nabbing many 3rd down drive extending receptions.  Bradford and the offense are not able to get it together  and the Eagles fall disappointingly in a close one bringing their record to 3-2.

• Week 7 (1:00 PM Sunday 10/23 Minnesota Vikings @ EAGLES)  The Vikings were going into this season looking great with a star RB in Adrien Peterson in his prime, a young and growing receiving core, and a strong defense, but then 3rd-year up and coming QB Teddy Bridgewater just went down this week with an apparently gruesome season-ending knee injury and it changes the outlook on this team.  When I first predicted this game I had this as a Lock of a loss, but now with the Bridgewater injury it changes things completely and throws it up in the air.  The above mentioned bright spots on this team will still be good, the question is do the Vikings go after a proven veteran QB to replace Bridgewater because right now back up QB Shaun Hill has only started 10 game in a long career.  I do believe the Vikings make a play for a more veteran QB and if so they are able to shut down the Eagles on both side of the ball bringing their record back to .500 with a loss.  The Eagles now sit at 3-3.

• Week 8 (8:30 PM SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBAL 10/30/2016 EAGLES @Dallas  Cockroaches...I mean Dallas Cowboys)  It only took the preseason for Cowboys QB Tony Romo to get hurt, breaking a bone in his back, keeping him on the shelf for 6-10 weeks.  I originally said if all of Romo, WR Dez Bryant, and rookie RB Ezekiel Elliot are healthy then the Ealges need to look out, even with the Eagles defense as good as it can be, this is a loaded offense both with a great line and play makers.  Romo could return to this game but if not 4th round rookie QB Dak Prescott will be at the helm for the Cowboys and he could still be able to manage this game.  Eagles offense has a good night against the Cowboys terrible suspension/injury ridden defense but it is not enough to pull out a win in Big D.  Eagles fall below .500 with a record of 3-4 for the first time this season and never return  to the middle.

•  Week 9 (1:00 PM Sunday 11/06/2016 EAGLES @ New York Giants)  This year the Giants are a Boom-or-Bust team both on offense and defense.  On offense Eli Manning is an experienced QB with talent all around him except for the O-Line.  On defense, New York spent a lot of money in Free Agency on upper-echelon players, but if we know anything from spending money it can come back to bite you and be a disaster.  Odell Beckham Jr. lights up our Corner Backs with 2 TD receptions for the Giants and their defense is able to make it work against our average offense dropping the Eagles in the loss column with their record falling to 3-5.

• Week 10 (1:00 PM Sunday 11/13/2016 Atlanta Falcons @ EAGLES)  The Eagles return home to face a sub-par Falcons defense where Sam Bradford and the offense can have themselves a good game, but the Falcons have a QB in Matt Ryan with a lot to prove and a slew of stealthy weapons on offense including RB Devonta Freeman and WR Julio Jones.  Ryan and Jones had their way in last years opener against the Eagles and both will cause havoc in the Eagles defensive secondary again as the birds now fall to 3-6 in a blowout inside of a stretch of games that would be hard for a very competitive team to conquer.  By the way it doesn't get much easier going forward.

• Week 11 (4:25 PM Sunday 11/20/2016 EAGLES @ Seattle Seahawks)  I hate to be the bearer of bad news and I do not wish this but I think Seattle's ferocious Defense gets after Bradford early knocking him out of the game, which brings in career backup QB Chase Daniel in to be fed to the wolves.  Even though Seattle is more known for their stingy defense, in which they will absolutely dominate the Eagles offense, QB Russell Wilson will make plays with his arm and his feet to take down a competitive but tired Eagles defense.  Seattle wins easily in a route to continue the Eagles slide to 3-7 on the season.

• Week 12 (8:30 PM MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 11/28/2016 Green Bay Packers @ EAGLES)  Things don't get much easier for the birds here.  They do come home from the West Coast but it is against QB Aaron Rodgers and another great offense with two players looking for bounce back years in WR Jordy Nelson coming off of injury and RB Eddie Lacy shedding some weight to become more productive again.  Chase Daniel again is not able to prove he can be a starting NFL caliber QB, which most of us did not believe to begin with being he is the placeholder between Bradford and Wentz, and is not able to do anything on offense.  As I mentioned before with Green Bay's offense they are able to light it up on this Eagles Defense stealing a win from the Eagles at home even though we all know the Eagles lose this game 9.5 times out of 10.  The team has now essentially eliminated themselves from playoff contention at this point falling to 3-8.

• Week 13 (1:00 PM Sunday 12/04/2016 EAGLES @ Cincinnati Bengals)  To me this is the last game of a terrifying stretch that this team will have to endure.  Cincinnati's defense is still dominant, QB Andy Dalton, like many QB's in this league, still has a lot to prove with terrific WR A.J. Green.  Again another star WR will wreak havoc on this defense because the Eagles still need a star corner.  Chase Daniel is again bad in a bad loss putting the Eagles at 3-9.

• Week 14 (1:00 PM Sunday 12/11/2016 Washington Redskins @ EAGLES)  Here is where the future of this team takes an upward spike.  Head Coach Doug Pederson finally believes rookie QB Carson Wentz is ready for his first start and NFL action against an average Redskins defense.  This game is not nearly as frustrating as the one earlier in the season, mainly because this fan base will be as patient and understanding as possible with Carson as the city would love to see him grown and be the leader of the future.  Wentz is not phased by the speed of the game as he take chances early for better or for worse (yes a marriage reference because in Philly sports when we become invested that is how we look at it).      The defense is solid as Washington is starting to decline as they are not a playoff team this year, while Wentz along with the play of the defense gets this city excited in a nice 7 point win to bring a W and take the Eagles to 4-9.   

• Week 15 (1:00 PM Sunday 12/18/2016 EAGLES @ Baltimore Ravens)  Flacco coming off of a season-ending injury last year with a lack of weapons on offense and defense spells a poor year IMO for the Ravens.  The Eagles take advantage of Ravens missed opportunities on both sides of the ball.  Both offense and defense play will and Wentz shows improvement from the week before which is still very encouraging.  Eagles raise their record to 5-9 going into their last two games of the season.

•  Week 16 (8:25 PM THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 12/22/2016 New York Giants @ EAGLES)  Giants are still battling with the Cowboys (whom the birds play the following week in the finale) for the NFC East Division title, so they come out competitive firing on all cylinders.  Eagles don't look bad on both sides of the ball, it is just more stifling play because the Giants want the game more as they come out for the win.  Eagles nice little losing streak ends at 2 falling again to 5-10 on the season going into New Year's Day.

• Week 17 (1:00 PM Sunday (New Year's Day) 01/01/17 Dallas Cowboys @ EAGLES)  I hate to say it but the Cowboys just edge out the Giants for the NFC East title so this game is essentially nothing more than a preseason game, but one to help Carson and this young squad build confidence for the future.  Dallas will be resting a majority of starters especially in the brutually cold confines of Lincoln Financial Field in January.  The Eagles end the season with a "clunker" of a win to bring their record to a disappointing yet hopeful 6-10.

 Final NFC East Division Standings

Dallas Cockroaches 10-6 (Winner)

New York Giants 9-7

Washington Redskins 7-9

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 6-10

 Please Feel free to comment or reply to me via the comment section below, Facebook at Marc Tomasini, Twitter @PhillySportsSrc, or Instagram @PhillySportsSrc.  Looking forward to the feedback.  Although not the most optimistic...GO BIRDS!