Eagles Land 7 on ESPN's NFC East All-Decade Team
I’d be remiss if I did not make mention of the list ESPN put out last week regarding the top players of the past decade in the NFC East.
Jason Peters was the top vote-getter for the Eagles. The left tackle carved out a Hall of Fame resume during 11 seasons in Philly but is now a free agent.
Peters wants to play again. Though he is 28, he has tweeted out videos of his workouts and he looks raring to go. He wants to return to the Eagles, but second-year player Andre Dillard has taken his job – for now.
The Eagles had seven players named to the all-decade team by ESPN, which turned to its NFL Nation of reporters to nominate players in each division, and the reporters who covered each division voted.
The Dallas Cowboys led the list with 10 players.
While the Cowboys had a comparable record to the Eagles’ during the decade of 2010-19, their playoff record was abysmal at 2-3. Dallas’ overall record in the decade was 86-74.
Also, the Cowboys had four 8-8 records in the last 10 years, the very definition of mediocrity for nearly half the decade.
Philly, meanwhile, went 87-73 with a 4-4 postseason record and a Super Bowl title. Six times the Eagles had a winning record in that span while the Cowboys had four.
Voting is a subjective business, I get it, but it still seems a bit lopsided that Dallas had 10 to Philly’s seven.
Joining Peters on the NFC East decade team from the Eagles were running back LeSean McCoy, guard Brandon Brooks, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, free safety Malcolm Jenkins, and kick/punt returner Darren Sproles.
Some players such as Rodgers-Cromartie counted for more than one team and DRC played for the Giants, Eagles, and Redskins in the past decade.
I suppose you could build a case at center Jason Kelce being on the team ahead of Travis Frederick and DeSean Jackson ahead of Dez Bryant at receiver or more likely Odell Beckham, Jr.
Kelce has had a longer career than Frederick and, while there are no stats to stack side by side for centers, it would be tough to side with one over the other, so Frederick is a fair pick.
While Bryant had 72 catches, Jackson has 55 and counting. Jackson is also the king of the big play, with an NFL-record 24 touchdowns of 60-plus yards, one more than Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, and Jackson’s 31 touchdowns of 50-plus yards is five away from tying Rice and two ahead of Hall of Famer Randy Moss.
As for Beckham, well, he’s a terrific receiver but his numbers don’t yet match up to either Bryan or Jackson.
The Washington Redskins had four players on the decade team, and the low number was well deserved. Washington was a dreadful 62-97 and 0-2 in the playoffs. It had only two winning records.
The New York Giants placed six on the decade team, despite a 70-90 regular-season record. New York won the Super Bowl and was a gaudy 4-1 in the playoffs, though they haven’t reached the postseason since 2016.
OFFENSE
QB: Eli Manning
RB: LeSean McCoy
RB: Ezekiel Elliott
WR: Odell Beckham, Jr
WR: Dez Bryant
T: Jason Peters
T: Tyron Smith
G: Brandon Brooks
G: Zack Martin
C: Travis Frederick
TE: Jason Witten
DEFENSE
DE: DeMarcus Lawrence
DE: Jason Pierre-Paul
DT: Fletcher Cox
DT: Justin Tuck
LB: Sean Lee
LB: DeMarcus Ware
LB: Ryan Kerrigan
CB: DeAngelo Hall
CB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Eagles, Giants, Redskins
FS: Malcolm Jenkins
SS: Landon Collins
SPECIAL TEAMS
KR/PR: Darren Sproles
K: Dan Bailey
P: Tress Way
