Eagles 2023 Expectations Are Reaching Unrealistic Levels
PHILADELPHIA -The level of expectations surrounding Philadelphia's favorite football team didn’t exactly need a boost. But venerable NFL writer Peter King decided to add a little rocket fuel to what might be the unrealistic standards many are placing on what admittedly shapes up as a very good Eagles team.
In his latest “Football Morning in America” column, King unveiled his self-described “too early” power rankings using seven different folksy descriptive categories to rank the league’s 32 teams.
Atop the list alone in the “Can’t find a weakness” tier was the reigning NFC champion Eagles. The team that beat Philadelphia back in February in Super Bowl LVII, the Kansas City Chiefs, was a step behind in the “They’ve got Super Bowl vibes” club.
Beyond the obvious (there has never been, nor will there ever be a team, without a weakness) it’s fair to point out that the Eagles have had a very good offseason, seamlessly moving from the halcyon pre-big money quarterback days to the post-cost effective world where the Eagles made Jalen Hurts the highest-paid player in the history of football for a few days.
Executive of the Year Howie Roseman found potential values in the clearance aisle of free agency (Rashaad Penny, Terrell Edmunds), got tremendous value in the draft with three different Georgia defenders (Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Kelee Ringo), and preyed on the over-leveraged Brad Holmes to snare D’Andre Swift for pennies on the dollar in the trade market.
The harsh reality, though, is that the Eagles are going to be dealing with tangible and intangible hurdles that almost guarantee what was a franchise-best 16-4 season (16-2 with Hurts under center) season isn't duplicated.
Among the most obvious problems are the loss of both coordinators in the days after the Super Bowl with offensive chief Shane Stecihen leaving for Indianapolis and defensive leader Jonathan Gannon getting the big chair in Arizona.
The assumption that replacements Brian Johnson and Sean Desai are going to simply take over what were the No. 3 offense and the second-ranked defense without any hiccups along the way seems specious.
Long-term, talented younger players like Carter, Penny, and/or Swift, Cam Jurgens, Nakobe Dean, and Sydney Brown may be more than capable replacements for high-level, free-agent exits Javon Hargrave, Miles Sanders, Isaac Seumalo, T.J. Edwards, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson in time.
All five of those players who left the NovaCare Complex, however, are coming off career years which helps us to identify the intangible.
Regression to the mean is a real thing in life never mind sports. The Eagles have been around since 1933 and have never had more success than they had in 2022-23. Assuming everything from health, player spikes, and coaching changes all align in a productive fashion flies in the face of logic.
The translation of “can’t find a weakness” in a realistic world would be “a really good upside.” From there, common sense tells you where there is an upside, there’s a downside and perhaps the floor is pretty high, like No. 10 of 32 teams, but it exists.
If you can’t find a weakness with the Eagles or any other NFL team, you’re simply not looking hard enough.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
