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5 Things the Philadelphia Eagles Must Do Well in 2016

By John Sarianides

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 19: The Philadelphia Eagles announce their new head coach Doug Pederson on January 19, 2016 at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 19: The Philadelphia Eagles announce their new head coach Doug Pederson on January 19, 2016 at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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It’s a new era in Philadelphia with former Eagles quarterback Doug Pederson taking over for the deposed Chip Kelly. The change was needed after the tumultuous three-year tenure of Kelly.

The Eagles are starting over again. Order has been restored in Philadelphia with Howie Roseman returning to his familiar role of general manager and a former Andy Reid assistant in Doug Pederson taking over as head coach.

The Chip Kelly experiment was a failure and the Eagles are hitting the reset button after Kelly’s short but tumultuous three year tenure in the City of Brotherly Love.

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Pederson is changing everything, from the way the Eagles train and prepare to the way they play. Gone is the uptempo, no huddle offense. It has been replaced by a multiple West Coast offense.

The Eagles are also changing their philosophy on defense. Pederson hired former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz to bring his attacking style 4-3 defense with him from Buffalo, which was his last NFL stop (2014).

The Eagles will have a different look in 2016 but they must do these five things if they want to be successful.

1. Protect the Quarterback: The Eagles offensive line was terrible last season and that’s putting it mildly. They need to play better this season. Believe it or not, huddling should help this unit because they won’t be as tired or as worn down as they usually are. Eagles quarterbacks were sacked 37 times last season. The Eagles must be better in pass protection because Sam Bradford took a beating last season.

Aug 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) reacts with running back Ryan Mathews (24) after his touchdown run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) reacts with running back Ryan Mathews (24) after his touchdown run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Emphasize the Dropback Passing Game: So much of Chip Kelly’s passing game was predicated on play action and moving the pocket for the quarterback. With the implementation of the West Coast, the Eagles will utilize a more traditional passing attack and that should benefit them offensively.

3. Defend the Pass: The Eagles were 28th against the pass last season giving up 267.1 yards per game. The secondary will need to play much better if the Eagles want to improve defensively. They cannot give up as many big plays this season as they did last season otherwise the team as a whole will struggle because they’ll be playing from behind so much.

4. Play Better Defensively: The Eagles need to play better defensively. They were awful last season. They finished 30th in the league in total defense surrendering over 400 yards of total per game. They gave up on average 26.9 points per game. Schwartz will turn things around but he can’t play the game. The players need to perform better.

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5. Coaching: Let’s face it. The Eagles were predictable on offense and they didn’t adjust well on defense. Both of those things need to change if the Eagles are going to turn things. Simply running the midzone, throwing play action passes and running RPOs (Run, Pass Options)  on offense isn’t enough. Relying on the blitz hurt the Eagles defensively last season. The Eagles need to better coached on both sides of the ball or else they’ll continue to struggle.

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