LeSean McCoy

The Running Man: Wendell Smallwood Hopes to be the Eagles Next Star Back

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Wendell Smallwood

West Virginia running back Wendell Smallwood (4) during the Cactus Bowl NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Phoenix, Ariz. (Rick Scuteri via AP)

By Chris Murray

For the Philadelphia Sunday Sun and the Chris Murray Report

At this time last year, Philadelphia Eagles fans were salivating at the prospect of former Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, the league’s leading rusher at the time, leading the team to the Super Bowl Promised Land.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way.  Between a patchwork offensive line and an offensive scheme that didn’t play to his strengths,  Murray couldn’t duplicate what he did in Dallas. Throw in the fact that he really wasn’t happy with the Eagles and had no problem letting anyone, including team management, know it, he was ultimately traded.

While Murray’s departure leaves a pretty sizable hole for the Birds, it also gives a rare opportunity to the team’s fifth-round draft pick, former West Virginia star Wendell Smallwood to make some real noise, starting with this week’s Rookie Mini-Camp. If he plays his cards right, he could be the starting running back for the team.

Of course, running backs Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles might have something to say about that, but what bodes well for Smallwood is that he appears to be a good fit for head coach Doug Pederson’s West Coast offense.

Playing for a usually pass-happy West Virginia squad, Smallwood led the Big 12 in rushing, gaining 1,512 yards and scoring nine touchdowns. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry and ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Smallwood also caught 26 passes for 160 yards and has experience as a pass blocker.

“When you look at his numbers this year (2015) and you watch the tape, it’s like doubles all the time,” said Howie Roseman, Eagles vice-president of football operations. “Fifty-eight 10-plus yard runs and it’s play after play. He runs with a determination. You see the speed on tape and you see the speed in testing.”

Smallwood fits into Pederson’s offense the way Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles or former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook fit into Andy Reid’s version of the West Coast offense because of his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

But Smallwood comes into his first rookie camp with some minor baggage. In July 2014, he was arrested for allegedly trying to get a witness to change a story that implicated his friend in a robbery attempt.  No criminal charges were filed.

Smallwood also got noticed here in Philadelphia for some offensive statements he made about the city in 2011 on, you guessed it, Twitter. He has since apologized and deactivated his Twitter account.

Most of Smallwood’s first press conference with the Philly media was spent fielding questions about his past social media activities and his arrest. To his credit, he handled the onslaught well and said he was happy that Eagles picked him.

“This organization trusted and believed in me and had confidence in me to know that’s not the person I am,” Smallwood said. “I think the impression that I left with the Eagles was good enough to get me drafted.”

While the scrutiny is understandable on one level, they amount to youthful indiscretion and bad judgment. If folks got judged on the stupid things that they did and said they were 18 or 19 years old,  a lot of people wouldn’t have jobs.

Did it have anything to do with why he was a fifth round pick? Not really. Had Smallwood stayed for his senior year at West Virginia, he might have been a Heisman Trophy candidate or Doak Walker Award candidate as the nation’s best running back.

Smallwood said he’s going to come into the Eagles camp with something to prove in the way he did in his final year at West Virginia.

“I’ve always played with a chip on my shoulder since I started playing the game,” Smallwood said. “That’s because I wasn’t getting the respect that I deserved. Just wanting to work for everything and wanting to prove to people that I’m better than whoever put me against. I’m a competitor and I love to compete.  I approach the game that way and its paid off that way in getting me here.”

 

 

 

 

 

Chip Kelly Needs to Address How He Relates to His Players

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By Chris Murray
For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has been accused of racism and being a control freak who does not tolerate dissent. Photo by Webster Riddick.

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has been accused of racism and being a control freak who does not tolerate dissent. Photo by Webster Riddick.

PHILADELPHIA—By now you all have heard about Brandon Boykin’s remarks regarding Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly after he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth-round draft pick.

What raised eyebrows was a text sent by Boykin to Comcast Sports Net that said Kelly is “uncomfortable around men of our culture.”

It was originally interpreted as Kelly having a problem with African-American players and was viewed in the same was as similar accusations from former Eagles players LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and former assistant coach Tra Thomas.

A day later, Boykin clarified his remarks saying he wasn’t calling Kelly a racist, but that he has a hard time relating to players.

“He likes total control of everything, and he don’t like to be uncomfortable,” Boykin told Comcast Sports Net. “Players excel when you let them naturally be who they are, and in my experience that hasn’t been important to him, but you guys have heard this before me.”

A recent story by the Bleacher Reports’ Mike Freeman confirms what Boykin was saying about Kelly’s need to have total control over everything.

While Boykin shed further light on what he meant, the perception that Kelly has a problem with African-American players lingers on with more than a few African-Americans fans. On some level it’s understandable, especially from those fans who are still upset over the incident in which wide receiver Riley Cooper dropped a fair amount of N-Bombs at a Country Music concert.

As Black men, society often views us with suspicion, especially if we are seen as outspoken or show any form of anger. Even the most liberal of white people and among African Americans themselves, that perception exists.

That said, I don’t think that either Kelly or the Eagles as an organization are racists.

However, I do think that Kelly is trying to make the Eagles into his image from a football standpoint, and that has led to the clashes he’s had with veteran players. For example, two-time Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis, who is white, was let go after he started demanding more money.

As for the decision to trade Boykin, it was logical given Kelly’s mantra that says big people beat little people. As good as Boykin as a cornerback in nickel (five defensive backs) situation, he simply did not fit into what Kelly wanted for his defense. Boykin is listed at about 5-foot-9, maybe 5-8.

In the wake of these allegations from his former players, Kelly needs to have a sit-down with not only his Black players, but his entire team just to let them that he’s accessible. One of the complaints that Boykin made was that Kelly couldn’t relate to players outside of football.

Kelly said that he has an open-door policy with his players, but the workday is very structured during the offseason and during the season.

“You can come to talk to me whenever you want to come and talk to me,” Kelly said earlier this week. “But we also have a pretty structured day where guys are in meetings. I don’t just sit and walk around and say, let me go grab him and let’s sit down and have a coffee together. When they get here, they are doing stuff.”

At some point, Kelly is going to have to take a look at how he relates to players, who are grown men and not college kids whose scholarships you can yank if they don’t fit in with your program.

If the Eagles are winning on a consistent basis because of Kelly’s moves, all of this will be forgotten. But if wins don’t result from all of these moves, you’ll hear more noise about Kelly’s relationship with his players.
If that happens, Kelly will be the one having to find a new relationship.

South Philly Forty: Eagles Purge Continues with the Release of Evan Mathis

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Two-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Evan Mathis is free to negotiate with other teams after he was released by the Eagles.

Two-time Pro Bowl offensive guard Evan Mathis is free to negotiate with other teams after he was released by the Eagles.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

PHILADELPHIA—Just when you thought the drama at NovaCare had kind of subsided just a wee bit, the Eagles head coach Chip Kelly made another eye-raising move on Thursday by giving the heave-ho to two-time Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis.

While the team hasn’t made an official announcement just yet, Mathis himself made the announcement on Twitter: “Thanks for the memories Philly.”

I guess the first thing that should jump out at you in the midst of Kelly’s purge of the team’s best veteran players is that being outspoken or even looking like you’re a critic of this regime will get you fired. Since assuming command of the team’s football operations, Kelly has made it clear that while a player maybe good, no one is above being kicked to the curb.

You can’t say that move was about race or any of his moves including the trade of running back LeSean McCoy. Kelly has made it emphatically clear that this is his team, ride or die.

The Eagles have become the real-life version of the 1970s football movie, “North Dallas 40.” Kelly, who makes all the personnel decisions, has become B.A. Strothers, the demanding coach played by G.D Spradling, who likened a football team to a well-oiled machine. In one scene the coach in the film if one of those gears from that machine flies off on its own, he would pull it.

Kelly has definitely done that when anyone dared to be a critic of his football ideology. McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Cary Williams have all been shown the door in one way or the other.   The latest casualty of Kelly’s totalitarian rule is their malcontent Pro Bowl offensive lineman.

Mathis did not show up for the team’s “voluntary” organized team activities mainly because he dared to not be happy with his contract. He wanted more money and he wanted it guaranteed. The Eagles response to Mathis was stay home and don’t ya come back no more.

What makes this move even more painful for Mathis was that he was scheduled to make $5.5 million and $6 million next season. Despite his accomplishments on the field for the last couple years, some observers around the league are saying that it is highly doubtful that’s he going to make that kind of money at 33-years-old—he turns 34 in November.

Throughout the offseason, the Eagles had been looking to trade Mathis, but could find no takers. Given Kelly’s penchant for putting the kybosh on guys who don’t buy into the system, general managers around the league figured why give up a draft choice or a player to be named later when you can sign him as a free agent, possibly at a cheaper price.

The irony of this was that Mathis bought into Kelly’s holistic approach to the football which involves proper diet and nutrition along with getting plenty of sleep. I guess in Kelly’s mind Mathis wanting more money is a violation of a team that he wants to carve into his own image.

And so even with the departure of former head coach Andy Reid and former team president Joe Banner, the Birds are still the Logan’s Run of pro football where turning 30-something can be hazardous to your job security no matter how good you were the past couple of seasons.

Somewhere in the state of Ohio, Banner is smiling at Kelly’s handiwork.

Meanwhile, Allen Barbre, Matt Tobin and Andrew Gardner will be vying to replace Matthew. My caveat to Kelly is that if you’re going to cut guys they have to be better than the guy being let go.

Running back DeMarco Murray had better have the kind of season to make fans say, LeSean who? Quarterback Sam Bradford needs to stay healthy and be productive enough to make people forget Nick Foles. The Eagles defense with its young defensive backs needs to stop people.

In other words, the end-result of all the offseason moves had better translate into a division title and a run deep into the playoffs. If it doesn’t, Kelly will find out in no uncertain terms that he, too, is expendable as the players he’s cut or traded.

Will McCoy Trade Make Eagles Better?

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LeSean McCoy, the Eagles alll-time leading rusher, is now the newest member of the Buffalo Bills. Photo by Webster Riddick


By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

PHILADELPHIA—The first day of NFL free agency isn’t until next week (March 10), but the Philadelphia Eagles are already making a lot of noise as head coach Chip Kelly begins his tenure as the man in charge of the team’s personnel decisions.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Birds have traded LeSean “Shady” McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for inside linebacker and former University of Oregon star Kiko Alonso. The trade can’t be finalized until 4 p.m. E.T. next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, McCoy’s agent Drew Rosenhaus denied that the trade has taken place via Twitter.

“I just spoke with the Eagles organization and there is no trade for LeSean at this time,” he said. “There have been discussions but nothing has been finalized.”

Soon to be former Bills running back C.J. Spiller told the NFL Network the Bills called him to inform him that the team was acquiring McCoy and that it told him that his services were no longer needed in Buffalo.

A source close to McCoy told ESPN that 2013 NFL rushing leader is frustrated by the proposed trade and is  “not going to make it easy”—whatever that means.    

The trade was no doubt a cost cutting move for the Eagles because McCoy’s salary counted $11.95 million against the Birds 2015 cap. The Bills will have to pay McCoy, who is signed through 2017, $10.25 million this season.  

In addition to trading McCoy, the Eagles released longtime defensive end Trent Cole, who would have counted $11.6 million against the salary cap and veteran cornerback Cary Williams whose salary was a little over $ 8 million against the cap.

Now the Eagles have to find a replacement for a running back in McCoy who ran for 6,792 yards rushing and averaged 100.2 yards from scrimmage in six seasons playing for the Birds. Last season, he was third in the NFL in rushing with 1,319 yards.McCoy had the best year of his career in 2013 when he rushed for 1,607 yards while leading the league in rushing.

The question is will the Eagles go the free agent route for a running back where you have guys like DeMarco Murray and Adrian Peterson of the market or find a new running back in the upcoming NFL draft with players like University of Wisconsin star Melvin Gordon and University of Georgia running back Todd Gurley.

Since Kelly’s offense is predicated upon having a strong running game, he needs to replace McCoy’s versatility at that position quickly. That’s going to easier said than done. While everyone likes to say the NFL has become a passing league, you still need a difference maker at the running back position.  

The Eagles are expecting Alonso to be that tough enforcer in the middle and to play with the same level of intensity he did during his rookie with the Bills in 2013. He had 159 tackles and finished second in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.

Before the start of last season, Alonso tore his ACL and was done for the season.  Because of this and Alonso’s history of injuries, Birds fans are wondering if Alonzo will be the second coming of Ray Lewis, or someone that the Philadelphia 76ers would have wasted a draft pick on.

Alonso will need to be a difference maker immediately for a defense that couldn’t stop snitching. The Philadelphia Eagles defense ranked a mediocre 28th in yards allowed (31st against the pass).

On the surface, this trade, along with the release of two other veterans is a sign to fans that Kelly is also maneuvering to move up in the draft to get Heisman Trophy and University of Oregon standout Marcus Mariota, whom Kelly coached.

But if he were as smart as he thinks he is, Kelly would have used McCoy as a bargaining chip to move up instead of sending him as a birthday gift to new Bills coach Rex Ryan.

This also doesn’t do anything to solve the Eagles other problems. The team is looking to re-sign wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. The needs at the cornerback and safety positions are so obvious Stevie Wonder could see them.

Kelly’s bold moves will either make him look like the second coming of Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl or make him look like a colossal failure a la Nick Saban and other college coaches who couldn’t make it in the pros.

But in any case, the Eagles have already won the one competition they’ve scored high in since Jeffrey Lurie bought the team years ago.

They have, once again, won the Salary Cap Bowl.

Eagles Cash in Their Biggest Chip on Alonso

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New Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso will join a defense that ranked 28th in yards allowed. Photo by Buffalo Bills.com

New Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso will join a defense that ranked 28th in yards allowed. Photo by Buffalo Bills.com


By Barry Federovitch

For the Chris Murray Report


PHILADELPHIA–Are the Philadelphia Eagles threatening to become Oregon East? Or is there a method to Chip Kelly’s madness in what has begun to transpire this NFL offseason?

With rumors running rampant that the Birds will make every effort to trade up in the 2015 NFL Draft so that they might acquire former Duck Marcus Mariota, Kelly plucked another one of his star fledglings yesterday when in principle the team acquired linebacker Kiko Alonso from the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills’ bill for this Duck? One of the best running backs in the game, 26-year-old LeSean McCoy, the same Shady who led the NFL in rushing in 2013 with 1,607 yards and is the game’s third-leading rusher since he came into the league in 2009.

One of the game’s most durable backs (having missed only six games in six seasons), McCoy was the Eagles’ face of the franchise and will be difficult to replace, having amassed over 9,000 yards from scrimmage during that time.

Superficially, the move makes sense as NFL running backs tend to wear out faster than the tread on a decade-old tire. And by averaging only 4.2 yards per carry, matching his lowest average since his rookie year, maybe the Eagles are wise to get something in return for McCoy before his value shrinks to nothing, though his age is not a factor.

Add the savings on what is reported by the Philadelphia Daily News to be an $11.95 million salary cap number and the move looks savvy.

Alonso was a standout for Kelly at Oregon and second in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year race two seasons ago, making 159 tackles. When healthy, Alonso plays sideline to sideline and can play every linebacking position. For a defense that finished 28th overall last season (including 31st against the pass), he would seem to be a great acquisition.

But the operative words in the above assessment are ‘when healthy’ because Alonso’s resume in that area isn’t exactly sparkling of late.

Alonso’s rise to superstardom was cut short last summer when he tore his left ACL while working out back in Eugene. Seven months of rehab followed and while he is reportedly doing well, it remains to be seen if he will be as dominant as before the injury (which was his second major knee injury as he sat out all of 2010 rehabbing an injury sustained in the spring).

Just five weeks before last summer’s knee issue, Alonso was sidelined by a torn labrum. And while Alonso didn’t miss a game in 2013, he ‘’tweaked’’ his knee late in the season and played at less than 100 percent.

The dropoff wasn’t significant, but he recorded fewer tackles in the second half of the year and didn’t have a sack, forced fumble or interception in any of the team’s final seven games.

Does that sound like the type of player one would want to trade for LeSean McCoy?

Make no mistake that the Eagles need to get better defensively if they are to get back to the top of the NFC East, a division wide open as the Cowboys face running back issues and the Giants and Redskins hope to rebound from sorry seasons. A healthy Alonso, who in 2013 looked like one of the best young linebackers in the game, could be one of the pieces to get them there.

But the Eagles may just as easily be on a wild goose chase in opting for a player, who also has a history of being hypersensitive and carries some off-the-field baggage. In 2010, before he got injured, he was cited for DUI.

Then in May, 2011, he was arrested and charged with felony burglary, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. Alonso received two years’ probation and did 200 hours of community service while Kelly suspended him from the team.

Almost four years down the road, Alonso has done much to mature and move beyond his shady past. But he will have do a lot more to justify the trade of Shady, one of the best backs in Eagles’ history, in a move that carries just as much risk as possible reward.

 

Keeping Maclin, McCoy, Improving Secondary a Priority for Kelly

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By Chris Murray
For The Chris Murray Report and The Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly will lead the way in making personnel decisions for the Eagles. Photo by Webster Riddick.

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly will lead the way in making personnel decisions for the Eagles. Photo by Webster Riddick.

PHILADELPHIA—Now that Chip Kelly has assumed control of all the Eagles personnel decisions, the burden on him to win a championship has been increased exponentially.

Now the last time an Eagles head coach had that much control over the players he could bring in, do you remember the results?

Yes, it was four trips to the NFC title game including a Super Bowl appearance, a team that consistently stayed under the salary cap, a bizarre disregard for certain positions on defense and at the receiver position (except for one year with Terrell Owens) , a front-office power struggle, and a city without an NFL championship since 1960.

Under Andy Reid as head coach and head personnel guy, the Eagles were good, but were always a couple of pieces away from being a great team that could win a Super Bowl.

First and foremost, Kelly is going to have to find a general manager or player personnel guy that can find the players that he can trust that’s going to fit the profile he wants for his team.
It’s the NFL’s equivalent of a guy in charge of recruiting at the collegiate level; something Kelly has experience with during his days at Oregon.

Kelly will be in charge of the draft, trades and bringing in free agents while Howie Roseman, who was promoted to vice president for football operations, will responsible for signing the checks.

Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie hopes that Kelly and Roseman can be on one accord unlike Reid and former team vice president Joe Banner. If there were a Salary Cap Bowl the Eagles would have been the greatest of all-time. On the field, the Eagles were a very good team, but couldn’t get over that championship hump.

The first priority for Kelly as “the man” will be to re-sign free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and restructuring LeSean McCoy’s contract.

Since he is now in charge of personnel decisions, suffice it to say he will be involved in making sure those guys stay in Philly.

Kelly would like to accomplish what New England’s Bill Belichick has accomplished as the man in charge of personnel with three Super Bowls. Seattle’s Pete Carroll who also has say-so over the players he chooses, has the Lombardi trophy on his mantle as well.

Fans are hoping that Kelly, unlike his predecessor, will bring in guys who are going to make a real impact on the defensive side of the ball. In the draft and in free agency, defense should be a major priority.

Instead of bringing in projects like former Louisville linebacker Marcus Smith, Kelly needs to sign guys who are ready to make an impact now—whether it’s in the draft or free agency.

The Eagles need to get better in the secondary. Both cornerback Bradley Fletcher and Nate Allen are going to be free agents. I don’t think Kelly is going to move heaven and earth to get those guys back nor should he do so.

Not since Brian Dawkins or even Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown have the Eagles had a secondary that covered anybody and put a hard hit on an opposing receiver.

At the collegiate level , some of the highly –touted stars include Michigan State’s redshirt junior corner Trae Waynes who played a lot of press coverage in the Spartans highly-touted defense the last two seasons, especially playing alongside Darquez Dennard, who had a solid rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals.

NFLDraftScout.com rated Waynes the No 1 cornerback in the country and is expected to be taken in the first round. If he’s available, the Eagles should draft him.

Before his season-ending knee injury, Oregon’s Ifo Ekpr-Olomu was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. Ekpr-Olomu was so proficient as a cover corner that opposing quarterbacks rarely threw in his area. He had nine passes defended and two interceptions.

Because of the injury, Ekpr-Olomu’s stock will probably fall, but don’t be surprised if ends up with the Eagles because of Kelly’s affinity for former Oregon players.

Florida State has two good prospects at the cornerback P.J. Williams (74 tackles, one interception) and Ron Darby, who didn’t have an interception this last year, but the scouts seemed to like his speed at the cornerback position.

Top collegiate possibilities at the safety position are Alabama’s Landon Collins (6-0, 222) who has a reputation for being a heady, but physical safety, something the Eagles haven’t had in quite some time and Louisville’s Gerod Hollimon, a playmaking safety, something else the Birds haven’t had in a while.

In 2014, Hollimon had 14 interceptions by himself, more than the entire Eagles secondary this past season.

But if you don’t like the college guys, the 2015 free agent class in the secondary. The pickings at the safety position are slim. On some lists, New England’s Devin McCourty, who is considered a playmaker and has played at the cornerback position before switching to safety.  He had a huge interception in last Saturday’s playoff against Baltimore and allowed just one pass for 17 yards. He had 68 tackles and two interceptions during the regular season.

At the cornerback position, New England’s Darelle Revis is the top cornerback out there. Seattle’s Byron Maxwell, who had 39 tackles and two interceptions playing along side Richard Sherman, will be in the free agent market.  The question is will it be worth it for the birds to spend a lot of money for that position?

Kelly, Roseman and Lurie will all have to be on the same page—Easier said than done if you believe all the rumors of an apparent between Roseman and Kelly.

Eagles Believe They are Close to Being an Elite Team, but Face Challenges in 2015

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LeSean McCoy is open to have his contracted to keep him on the Eagles.. Photo by Webster Riddick.

LeSean McCoy is open to have his contract restructured to keep him on the Eagles.. Photo by Webster Riddick.

PHILADELPHIA—Despite having a 10-6 record that would have easily won a weak NFC South, the Eagles missed the playoffs and are left with the feeling of what could have been if they could have only gotten out of the way of themselves.

“We’re right there,” said running back Darren Sproles. “When you get to December, you have to win in December. Even with the turnovers we were right there.”

On offense, the Eagles committed a league-leading 36 turnovers-including a combined 27 by both Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez. Those self-imposed mistakes are among the reasons the Birds are home for the postsesason.

“Coming off last year, we knew we had a good team, we started off 9-3 and to lose the way we did at the end of the season is very uncharacteristic of us,” said tight end Zach Ertz. “Usually, we get stronger as the season progresses, but we can’t put any of the onus on anybody but on ourselves.”

While cleaning out their lockers Monday, several Eagles players said despite missing the playoffs in 2014, they are close to being one of the elite teams in the NFL.

“It’s encouraging because we got 10 wins and we really beat ourselves all year,” said safety Malcolm Jenkins. “But the thing yet to be corrected for next year is can we stop beating ourselves. …That’s one thing we’ve got to stop this offseason. Once we learn two things-If we can keep the ball in front of us on defense and not turn the ball over that much on offense, we can go from a 10-win team to an elite team.”

On the defensive end, you could make the argument that the Eagles front-seven had a pretty goodseason. The Birds were tied for second in the NFL in sacks with Connor Barwin leading the way with 14.5 sacks.

The downside to that was the Eagles were next to last in the league in passing yardage yielded. Opposing teams passed for 4,238 yards against a suspect secondary. In the three-game losing streak that took the Birds out of the playoff, they gave up too many big plays in the passing game.

“There were no breakdowns, it’s just matchups and not winning those matchups,” Jenkins said. “You’ve got receivers that are at the top of their game and at an elite level. It’s hard to win those matchups on every down. A lot of those times we’ve had help over the top. We can’t double team every play and so when they had those opportunities they took advantage of it and we didn’t win.”

The weakness in the Eagles defense was their secondary. In that critical three-game losing streak, the difference in the game came down to giving up big plays in the passing game.

Cornerback Bradley Fletcher, who gave up plays of 25 yards or more in losses to Washington and Dallas, will be a free agent and so will safety Nate Allen. Don’t look for the Eagles to go out of their way to bring those guys back.

On offense, it has been widely speculated the Eagles aren’t necessarily happy with Foles has a franchise quarterback even though he’s 14-4 as a starter under head coach Chip Kelly. Foles critics point to his 10 interceptions and his struggles during the eight games he played in before he broke his left collarbone.

There has also been talk the Eagles might draft another quarterback or somehow move up to get Oregon’s Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston.

As far as Foles is concerned, he said he’s the Eagles starting quarterback until Kelly or the organization tells him otherwise. Neither Kelly nor owner Jeffrey Lurie would say whether they were committed to him as the starter for next year.

“I expect to be the guy to lead them and win games,” Foles said. “It’s tough sitting on the sideline when you want to be out there. …It’s coming from my heart. That’s where I really expect to be and I’m going to work as hard as I can to be the best Nick Foles possible.”

The Eagles are also looking re-sign free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin,who had the best year of his career in 2014. He caught 85 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdown passes.

The Birds also have to figure out a way to keep running back LeSean McCoy, who is due to make $9.75 million. The team could save $7.55 million under the salary cap if they release McCoy, who said he was open to restructuring his contract.

Meanwhile, Kelly said he wants to keep both Maclin and McCoy because they are important to his offense, but he also knows that he has to take the business of the game into consideration.

“Yeah, I’m in charge of the roster in terms of who our 53 are so I have to weigh in on that,” Kelly said. “But I also know there are other factors, salary cap money and the numbers and all those other things.”

Bring on the Seahawks: Eagles Run All over Cowboys, Take Sole Possession of First in NFC East

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By Chris Murray
For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy had an easy day against the Dallas Cowboys. Photo by Webster Riddick.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy had an easy day against the Dallas Cowboys. Photo by Webster Riddick.

For all the talk of a new and improved Dallas Cowboys squad with the running of DeMarco Murray, the Philadelphia Eagles reminded Tony Romo and Co. that the Birds are still defending champions of the NFC East until someone knocks them off.

The way things looked in this game today, it could be awhile before someone takes the crown from them.

The Eagles dominated the Cowboys in every facet of the game in a 33-10 Thanksgiving Day rout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. The 9-3 Birds took sole possession of first place in the NFC East with the next Seattle Seahawks coming to Lincoln Financial Field in about 10 days.

Running back LeSean McCoy looked like the guy who led the NFL in rushing last season. He juked and blasted his way through a porous Dallas defense for 159 yards and one touchdown. McCoy’s 38-yard touchdown ended the competitive portion of the game by the end of third quarter. For the game, the Eagles rushed for 256 yards on the ground.

“I knew we were going to run the ball today, that was the game plan,” McCoy said. “We put it on the big guys up front and put it on their shoulders to give the backs some space to run. … I think as a team, as a unit we worked hard in the running game today. We kept pushing and kept pushing and some big ones broke out for us.”

McCoy and the other Eagles running backs were able to run through because of the offensive line of center Jason Kelce, left tackle Jason Peters, left guard Evan Mathis, right guard Andrew Gardner, and right tackle Lane Johnson dominated the Dallas front seven.

“I thought it was the best they’ve played this year,” said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. “We’ve had a lot of different lineups in there through the course of the season and two games with this group. I thought they did a really good job and they set the tone for the day for us.”

The Birds fast-paced offense jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and was never really threatened in this game at any point.
Quarterback Mark Sanchez managed the game well and finished the game with zero turnovers.He was an efficient 20-of-29 passing for 217 yards with one touchdown.

To be honest, Sanchez did a little more than just manage the game. He made plays when needed to play in the passing game, hitting Jordan Matthews for a 27-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.

“I think he’s getting more comfortable,” Kelly said. “He missed an entire year of football. There’s no substitution for playing. He played well in the preseason, but then sat until the Houston game.

“I think he’s starting to recognize the looks he’s getting, sometimes getting it to a second and third receiver, keeping things alive and we got him out of the pocket a few times. I thought he threw the ball on the run real well. …I thought he did a good job with decision-making.”

Sanchez didn’t look bad running a few a read-option plays as well. He gained 28 yards on seven carries and scored the game’s first touchdown on the Eagles first drive of the game.

Meanwhile, the Eagles defense simply shutdown Murray, the NFL’s leading rusher and held him to a season-low 73 yards rushing. They also roughed up Romo, sacking him four times and picking off two of his passes. They held him without a touchdown pass for the first time in 38 games.

The Birds held the Cowboys to 267 yards of total offense.

“We knew coming into the game, we had to get after them, hit ‘em hard, hit ‘em often as I said earlier in the week,” said defensive end Fletcher Cox, who had four tackle including two for a loss and one sack.

Things aren’t getting any easier for the Eagles when they come back because they have another tough game against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, who haven’t allowed a touchdown in their last two games.

It’s On Now: Eagles Push for the Playoffs Starts in Dallas

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By Chris Murray
For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Eagles back-up quarterback Mark Sanchez will lead the team's run to the playoffs. Photo by Webster Riddick.

Eagles back-up quarterback Mark Sanchez will lead the team’s run to the playoffs. Photo by Webster Riddick.

PHILADELPHIA—With five games left in the regular season, the Eagles (8-3) have arrived at the point of their season that will determine where they will be in January.

The Birds Thanksgiving Day tilt with the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium will be their first test of their run to the playoffs. The Eagles will face the Cowboys in two of their next three games with the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks sandwiched in between.

The Birds and  Cowboys come into Thursday’s game tied for first-place in the NFC East. Dallas (8-3) is coming off a huge come-from-behind road win over the New York Giants.

LeSean McCoy scores a second quarter touchdown with in the Eagles win over the Tennessee Titans. Photo by Webster Riddick.

LeSean McCoy scores a second quarter touchdown with in the Eagles win over the Tennessee Titans. Photo by Webster Riddick.

“We really have to go in this week focus really focused,” said running back LeSean McCoy, who gained 130 on 21 carries and one touchdown in Sunday’s win . “It’s a short week, it’s a big game, Thanksgiving is coming up and it’s a division game at that. So I think you add all those things up, it’s a must win type of game.”

After that gauntlet of tough games, the Eagles will close out the season with two road games against Washington (3-8) and the New York Giants (3-8). While those two teams aren’t necessarily setting the world on fire with their records, divisional matchups are never easy and never taken for granted.

Even though players and coaches like to tell you they are not looking beyond what’s in front of them, they also recognize that every game from this point forward will have some sort of postseason implication—whether it’s for a division title or a wildcard berth.

“Every week is a one-game season and we take it like that,” said Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins. “But really the games start to count a little bit more as you get to December and the end of November. Usually they have implications on the division and playoff positioning.

“If you don’t want to look at the big picture, you still take it week by week, your preparation from a physical and mental has to be ramped up as the season gets on. As your body gets weary, you have to fool yourselves and turn it up even more.”

The Birds managed to bounce back from a horrific loss to the Green Bay Packers by coming away with an easy  43-24 win over the Tennessee Titans Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

While it wasn’t necessarily an artistic masterpiece over an overmatched team, the Eagles will take a win to stay in first place after the way they were shellacked by the Packers last week at Lambeau Field.

“It was a buzz saw situation that we ran into, but we understood that this week that we couldn’t afford to lose this one,” said Eagles cornerback Cary Williams. “It was a bounce-back game and a must-win game for us.”

The Eagles playoff hopes will depend upon how well quarterback Mark Sanchez plays down the stretch. In the win over Tennessee, Sanchez 30-of-46 passes for 307 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

In his last three games as the Eagles starting quarterback, Sanchez has eight turnovers. With the Eagles season riding on his shoulders, Sanchez has to avoid mistakes if the Birds win the division. That was something he talked about after the win over the Titans.

“If you squander too many opportunities, you might miss out on the playoffs,” Sanchez said. “For anybody to be successful, we have to take care of the football. We can’t be on the wrong page and I can’t miss the ball down the field to Zach (Ertz).”

Running Game and Sanchez to Lead Eagles Charge in Season’s Second Half

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By Chris Murray
For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

Shady McCoy had a big game against the Houston Texans. He, along with Chris Polk and Darren Sproles, will be a key to the Birds push for the playoffs. Photo by Webster Riddick

Shady McCoy had a big game against the Houston Texans. He, along with Chris Polk and Darren Sproles, will be a key to the Birds push for the playoffs. Photo by Webster Riddick

PHILADELPHIA—Now that we know that Nick Foles is going to be on the shelf for six to eight weeks with a broken collarbone, Eagles running game and quarterback Mark Sanchez will have to carry the team’s drive to the playoffs in the second half of the season.

The Eagles (6-2) open the second-half of the season with a Monday Night contest against the Carolina Panthers.

In Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans, the Eagles ground attack, which has been inconsistent throughout the season, came up huge.

For starters, LeSean McCoy gained 117 yards on 23 carries. As a team, the Eagles amassed 190 yards on the ground including an additional 50 by back-up running back Chris Polk, who also scored a touchdown.

If there was an indication of how dominant the Birds ground game was last Sunday, it was late in the third quarter when the Birds drove 70 yards on four running plays to take a 24-14 lead they would never relinquish. They simply wore down Houston’s defense.

“Just got tired. I mean, we wore them down. That defense is a good defense,” said Eagles running back LeSean McCoy after Sunday’s win. “The special players that they have on that defense they kind of play off of just talent. We just played smash mouth. Just ran at them.”

The Eagles ran at the Texans with McCoy, Polk and the always-dangerous Darren Sproles, which gives them a three-headed monster from the running back position.

“(Chris) Polk is a whole different runner. He’s a pounder. He’s a get-up-in-there, power type of runner, plus he can hit the outside zone also, ” said Eagles left tackle Jason Peters. “(Darren) Sproles is so quick, he’s everything. Shady’s (LeSean McCoy) a dancer. You just have to wrap him up or he’ll break all the tackles. You get on a block, try to finish a block and you know something good is about to happen.”

Whether the Birds running game will be strong enough to carry to the postseason will depend upon whether or not Matt Tobin can successfully fill in for Todd Herremans, who is out for the season with a torn biceps injury.

“We’re winning. That means we’ve got depth. Bench has got to step in. When one goes down, the next goes up. We’ve got depth at the offensive line. You just keep rolling when someone goes down,”  Peters said after Sunday’s win over Houston.

The good news for the Birds is that Evan Mathis will be back in the Eagles starting lineup after missing most of the season with a sprained knee. Moving forward, the Eagles will have four of the five starters on the offensive line from last season.

Mark Sanchez will have the Eagles to the postseason with the injury to starting quarterback Nick Foles. Photo by CBS.com

Mark Sanchez will have the Eagles to the postseason with the injury to starting quarterback Nick Foles. Photo by CBS.com

With Foles out of the lineup a rejuvenated Sanchez will have a chance to show that he can still be a starting quarterback in the NFL whether it’s here with the Eagles or somewhere else. Sanchez had a solid preseason the Eagles. For him, the remainder of the season will be his audition reel.

“I feel comfortable with everything we’ve been doing. I’ve gotten plenty of reps in over OTAs and camps, stuff like that, so I’ll be ready to go,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “I’m thrilled about the opportunity, and I’m excited about moving forward with this team.”

Last Sunday against the Texans, Sanchez completed 15-of-22 passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Head coach Chip Kelly said he’s confident in Sanchez moving forward because of the way he played in the preseason and his day-to-day approach during the regular season.

“I feel great about Mark. We felt great about him all along,” Kelly said earlier this week. “One of the things we wanted to do — I always said we needed two quarterbacks and had a chance to get him in here. I thought he’s done a great job in our system. I thought he played outstanding in the preseason and showed no rust or anything when he got in there against Houston (Sunday).”