NFL Odds: Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles had high hopes for last year's season, but the fell short of everyone's expectations. Can Michael Vick remain healthy and lead this team to the Super Bowl? Let's see what the NFL odds makers have to say about this team.

 

 

The Dream Team will have another season to try and prove their worth, and according to the sportsbooks, they have an excellent chance to win it all. It all starts in Week 1, as the Eagles will travel to Cleveland to face off against the Browns. The NFL odds opened in favor of the Eagles at -8, but some very early betting has bumped it up to -9 in favor of the road Eagles. One has to be careful before blindly laying the points with Philly. Even though on paper they are far superior, the Eagles were only 2-2 SU against the AFC last season. They are 3-0 against the Browns in their last three meetings, so I guess at this point, the Eagles are the play.

My Pick: Eagles -9

 

 

The Eagles have some of the most pressure of any team on themselves and their head coach, Andy Reid this season. Philly had a very bad season last year considering how many new players they brought in. Even with the Jason Peters injury, Philadelphia is restocking and readying themselves for another season.

I know this is Philadelphia, and I know that Andy Reid’s job is on the line virtually every season. If you ask 10 different Eagles fans about Reid, you’ll likely get ten different opinions.

However, this season is a bit different, as Reid is taking over the day-to-day operations of the Eagles. He has the control he has always wanted, but will have more pressure on him than ever before. Not only does he have a great team around him, it’s all on him if they fail.

The hierarchy is still in place in Philadelphia, as they will still have a team president. However, Reid has basically become the co-general manager with Howie Roseman. It will be beautiful if they’re successful, and very ugly if they aren’t.

 

 

The biggest news in Eagles world over the last few weeks was the contract extension given the LeSean McCoy. McCoy was one of the best runners in the league last season, and now he will be in an Eagles uniform through 2017. The contract is reportedly worth a total of $45 million, with $20.765 million guaranteed. Not good news for other teams trying to retain running backs.

Either way, he and Michael Vick will both have to have excellent seasons together if the Eagles want to win in the NFC this season. As I’ve stated before, the NFC will be very good this season, and the NFC East isn’t getting easier.

The news isn’t all good in Philly, as the loss of Jason Peters is still looming. The latest news on Peters is that he could lose a lot of money from his deal because of his injury. It’s all up to the Eagles, but if they feel like he hurt himself unnecessarily, they could take back some money due to the new CBA.

 

 

Chances are the Eagles will improve upon last season’s 8-8 finish, having bolstered an already great team through the draft. The Eagles got the best defensive tackle available when they drafted Fletcher Cox from Mississippi State with the 12^th overall pick. This guy is a monster. He weighs 300 pounds, runs a 4.79 40 and had the best 3-cone drill time of any defensive tackle in the combine. He will be a run-stopper for this team and will demand double teams in the future. 

Four of the Eagles first five picks were on defense, so it is easy to see where their priorities were before the draft. This team was top ten in almost every offensive category; imagine if Michael Vick had been healthy for the entire season. Even with all the talent on defense, they were still only middle of the pack in that department. With all these draft picks on defense, you can bet they will be a good defensive team. 

Outside their own division, the Eagles play the AFC North and the NFC South this season. The AFC North might prove to be harsh, but the NFC South won’t be nearly as tough on account of the Saints’ problems with the league.  Plus, I think the NFC East in general will be down. The ‘Skins are still rebuilding while I think the Giants and Cowboys will be down. I think we are going to see the Eagles come out fired up this season, and they are my pick to win the division.

 

Philadelphia Eagles NFL odds to win Super Bowl XLVII: 12/1

Year two of the “Dream Team,” will be focused on and looked forward to just as much as last season. The Eagles really failed to meet expectations last season, so Philadelphia will be looking to prove all their doubters wrong and win the NFC East. If they can't, you can bet that there will be hell to pay in the city of brotherly love.

Let’s take a look at some of the offseason news surrounding this team and see where they are headed going into workouts. 

Free agent/trade news 

Here is a list of the free agents that the Eagles have brought in, and retained from last season.

Antonio Dixon DT

King Dunlap OT

DeSean Jackson WR (franchised)

Derek Landri DT

Evan Mathis OG

Demeco Ryans LB

Compared to some of the other teams in the league, the Eagles have had somewhat of a quiet offseason. Considering all the money they spent last season, it isn’t that surprising. However they did have some concerns that needed to be dealt with. Franchising DeSean Jackson was able to end some debate, but a few concerns still need to be addressed in the NFL Draft.

OL Jason Peters ruptured his Achilles during the offseason, so that left a big gap that needed to be filled. About two weeks ago, the Eagles signed Demetress Bell to start in his place.

Other then that, there are two unanswered questions surrounding the Eagles camp. First off, there is a rumor that the Eagles might want to move up in this year’s draft, and are eyeing the number 4 overall pick, but I’ll get into that in the next section.

The second piece of breaking news is the team is shopping CB Asante Samuel. With the big payday that Nnamdi Asomugha got last offseason, and the team bringing in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, it is not surprising. I think they are just poking his name out there to see if anything catches their eye. I don’t think they are aggressively shopping one of their best corners. Although, if the Browns want him in exchange for the 4^th pick, you can bet he’ll be on the move.

Draft Buzz

With the draft just over a week away, every passing day becomes more stressful for NFL GMs and player personnel employees. As I mentioned above, just a few days ago, it was reported that the Eagles were just one of the teams in discussions with the Browns about moving up to #4. The Eagles currently hold the 15^th pick in the first round, and have two picks in the second round; their own and Arizona’s from the Kevin Kolb trade. 

They obviously don’t need a quarterback, so the issue of who is the best non-quarterback in the draft for Philadelphia. Considering their depth at wide receiver, I doubt they go after Justin Blackmon. However, Alabama’s RB Trent Richardson could be in the fold. Ronnie Brown has yet to be resigned, and if the Eagles were to give up their 15^th pick and one or both of their second rounders, I could see them snagging Richardson as a back up/ change of pace back to LeSean McCoy.

The Eagles currently have nine picks in the draft, so they have some room to throw the names like Samuel and their picks on the table, and see if either the Vikings (currently 3^rd overall) or the Browns take a bite.