{"id":4598,"date":"2013-11-23T14:22:14","date_gmt":"2013-11-23T18:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4598"},"modified":"2013-11-25T15:06:00","modified_gmt":"2013-11-25T19:06:00","slug":"todays-top-twelve-2013-eagles-mvps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4598","title":{"rendered":"Today’s Top Twelve: 2013 Eagles MVPs"},"content":{"rendered":"

YOUR First-Place Philadelphia Eagles…that has a nice ring to it.\u00a0 It’s not exactly something that sounds weird or uncommon considering we’re really\u00a0only two years removed from a decade-plus era of division dominance, but from the sheer depth of those two long years, it certainly is a beautiful phrase.\u00a0 As most of you know, I actually tend not to overreact.\u00a0 I believe football – and its 16-game season – is just one huge “sample size issue,” so I usually come off as an overoptimistic\u00a0ray of sunshine during the seemingly darkest days and a sobering bath of cold water during the seemingly brightest of days.\u00a0 And, while the Eagles commentary on the site has been non-existent, this year has been no different.\u00a0 I was preaching “cold water” patience after the Washington game when the world declared Chip Kelly’s offense nothing short of “revolutionary.”\u00a0 But, I was preaching “ray of sunshine” patience after the Broncos annihilated a team that looked completely lost with a coach that all-of-a-sudden looked overmatched.\u00a0 Patience.\u00a0 That is what we needed in both instances.\u00a0 Well, after the beating the Redskins on Sunday and entering the bye on a 3-game winning streak, I am ready to actually agree with the commonly-held belief that our Eagles are in the driver’s seat in the NFC Least.\u00a0 And, while it probably will only result in a 9-7 division title and a home dog status in the playoffs when San Fran or Carolina come to town, this is progress<\/em>.\u00a0 And, progress is what we needed so desperately after the last half-decade of the Reid Era were littered with quick fixes, free agency fool’s gold, and tricking ourselves into thinking that on-paper talent was more important that team chemistry, proper coaching selections, players that hunger<\/em> for victory, and (as Doogan as always refers to)\u00a0the SKILL<\/em> of staying healthy.\u00a0 And, as the great Bill Walsh always said – “you set base camp in the playoffs…then you climb the mountain.”\u00a0 Just get to the tournament.\u00a0 And, that is what the Eagles are in a great position to do over the next month and a half.\u00a0 In Chip We Trust!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, how did we get here?\u00a0 Well, below, in my humble opinion, are the 12 most important people to shape the 2013 Eagles resurgence.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Honorable Mentions:\u00a0 <\/strong>Mychal Kendricks<\/em><\/strong> (if the list went to 13, he would be #13 – he’s been great in his second year, I just personally want a little more consistency from a\u00a0strongside linebacker\u00a0but that will almost certainly come with experience – he’s a budding star); Riley Cooper <\/em><\/strong>(after looking like a guy who didn’t belong in the NFL for much of the season, he has exploded with Foles at the helm – it has to make one think about whether Foles’ development has been this good for Cooper or whether Cooper’s has been part of the reason for the Foles explosion…hmmmm); Brandon Boykin<\/em><\/strong> (he’s been terrific in the slot and even stepped up when he had to start); Benny Logan<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(has been such a revelation, that he made Isaac Sopouaga completely expendable – which, in and of itself, was a good thing – and has really blossomed,\u00a0helping to make this 2013 draft class look like it could be really special);\u00a0Colt Anderson<\/em><\/strong> (there is a rare Eagles post when I don’t mention Mr. Anderson –\u00a0he hasn’t\u00a0seemed to make quite the difference that he has in years’ past, but you would still be hard-pressed to find\u00a0a\u00a0person on this planet that covers kicks and punts better than\u00a0my boy, Colt); Donnie Jones<\/em><\/strong> (we probably all forgot how nice it is to actually have a good punter)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

12). Cedric Thornton<\/strong> – A defensive lineman with only 1 sack is among the dozen most valuable players on a first-place team?\u00a0 And, selected over\u00a0a linebacker pushing 70 tackles through 11 games?\u00a0 Well, I think so.\u00a0 I think Thornton’s development has been absolutely crucial to the strides that this defense has made.\u00a0 He has played the run exceptionally well and is rushing the passer so well that teams seem to start sliding protection in his direction, which has opened up things for the edge rushers.\u00a0 Thornton has shown the potential to be a real star in this league and may even get some Pro Bowl consideration from those in the know.\u00a0<\/p>\n

11). Cary Williams<\/strong> – Now, I was “offline” during the whole training camp fiasco, so I never got to chime in on Cary Williams and the ordeal with the sconces (or whatever the hell that word is), but let’s just say that the summation of my thoughts were – “Wow, this is being way overblown.”\u00a0 Now, I don’t fully blame the media – who certainly has a history of blowing things way out of proportion because I think Cary’s refusal to just shut the hell up certainly aided the overdramatization of it all.\u00a0 But, really, what were we really fired up about?\u00a0 Seriously.\u00a0 I think Williams’ addition – not necessarily on the field because he has proven to\u00a0be not much more than an average cornerback – has been team-changing.\u00a0 We suffered through two years of a defense led by a polite, mild-mannered offensive line coach-turned coordinator who was abused by a foul-mouthed, cranky defensive line coach.\u00a0 On the field, we were subject to a cornerback who was as overly cerebral as he was overly paid and a defensive end who pretended to be “cultured” all the while emulating the crankiness of his position coach clearly to the detriment of the defense, as a whole.\u00a0 And, “cerebral” and “cultured” may be great at dinner parties, but those traits don’t exactly win football games.\u00a0 Now,\u00a0I am not at all insinuating that Cary Williams isn’t intelligent (far from it, actually) nor am I implying that he isn’t cultured (hell, he taught me what a sconce is – though, I’m still not sure I’m even spelling it right), but what I am explicitly saying is that Cary Williams brought with him the F-YOU attitude that this defense has lacked since the great Brian Dawkins left for the Rocky Mountains.\u00a0\u00a0This F-YOU attitude has pervaded throughout the defense and now they play with anger.\u00a0 Again, Williams has been\u00a0little\u00a0more than a mediocre cornerback in his play (which, has sadly been quite the upgrade from last year), but I don’t think I’m overstating the effect a guy like that can have on a young group – especially when he wears a Super Bowl ring on his finger (and loves <\/em>to talk about that…among other things).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Most Valuable Mediocre Cornerback in the League<\/p><\/div>\n

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10). Connor Barwin<\/strong> – If you were to judge Barwin’s impact from just the past couple of games, he would actually probably be a good bit higher on this list.\u00a0 But, I want to take the whole season into account, and Barwin took a little time getting established on this defense.\u00a0 But, since he found his way, he has been a man on a mission.\u00a0 I wouldn’t be surprised to see more dominant games ahead for the guy who rides his bike to work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Wait, there are eight Eagles more valuable than the greatest QB of all-time?!?<\/p><\/div>\n

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9). Nick Foles<\/strong> – What?!?!?\u00a0 The NFL’s leader in passer rating is only the 9th most valuable guy on his own team?\u00a0 Yes, he is.\u00a0 I’m not trying to sell him short here.\u00a0 I’m just saying that Foles has only started 5 of 11 games this year, and one of those was arguably the worst game ever played by an NFL quarterback.\u00a0 All that said, the 4 games (plus most of the first Giants game) that Foles has been out there have been legendary.\u00a0 And, there is no doubt that the reason that the Eagles are now the legit favorites to win the division is squarely because of the stuff Foles has done.\u00a0 But, I just have to give deference to some of the other guys who actually have played more than half of the team’s games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

8). Jason Peters<\/strong> – Jason Peters has been considered – by many actual “experts” – the best tackle in football, when healthy.\u00a0 And, while he hasn’t completely returned to his pre-injury form this year, he has come around as of late and is playing his best football of the year right now.\u00a0 And, that is not surprising, considering he is still just barely a year removed from rupturing his Achilles tendon – TWICE.\u00a0 If Peters is what he is and isn’t going to return to his All-Pro form – which is entirely possible given his age and health history – then the Eagles still have a high-quality left tackle, who is tailor-made for this system.\u00a0 If Peters is actually still recovering and will only get healthier – which is also quite possible given the severity of his injury – then we might not\u00a0yet totally realize just how incredible this offense could be.\u00a0 With the ever-improving rookie Johnson on one side, a returned-to-form Peters on the other, and a stellar interior (more on that coming up), the sky is the limit for this unit.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

(NOTE:\u00a0 I never played offensive line in the NFL – or on any level of football.\u00a0 I never coached or scouted or evaluated talent for a football team on any level.\u00a0 I don’t even know most of the techniques needed to become a good offensive lineman.\u00a0 But, line play is one of my favorite things to pay attention to, and while I don’t\u00a0really know anything<\/span> about what makes a good lineman, I like to think that I do, so humor me in these “evaulations,” as I like to think of them…)\u00a0<\/em><\/h6>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

7). Fletcher Cox<\/strong> – Similar to my feeling on Barwin, as stated above, I believe that just looking at this team over the past month or so, Cox may actually be at the top of this list.\u00a0 But, he was a bit inconsistent in the beginning of the year, which is completely understandable, considering he’s only in his second year in the league, and his first year in this brand-new system.\u00a0 It is incredibly encouraging (I am getting downright giddy about his potential) that every game for the past couple of weeks, Cox has put in the best game of his career.\u00a0 He keeps upping his play every time out – capped by this week’s utter domination of the Washington Professional Football Team, where he lived in the backfield.\u00a0 He saved what could have been a devastating collapse on that final play when he forced RG3-and-out (see what I did there?) to give away the final drive when Boykin fair caught the pass in the end zone for the game-winning interception.\u00a0 Coach Kelly said that “Boykin saved his butt,” but what he really meant – and everyone knows it – is that Cox saved his butt.\u00a0 While I am loving the offensive line, I am even more bullish about this defensive line, which is starting to be utterly dominant week in and week out, and there isn’t a guy over 25 among them.\u00a0 It is not unreasonable to think that Fletcher Cox might be the best player on the best D-line in football within a year or two.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

6). Evan Mathis<\/strong> – Evan Mathis has become an unknown star on\u00a0this team.\u00a0 Even in the dreadful seasons of 2011 and 2012, the one consistently bright spot on this team has been Mathis, who has – without any recognition – gone out and gotten the job done.\u00a0 He is big enough to protect the middle, strong enough to open holes for Shady (and, even more so, the inside-the-tackle running threat of Bryce Brown when he comes in to change it up), and, maybe most importantly, athletic enough to hit the second-level or pull, as this complex offense requires.\u00a0 Maybe\u00a0a bit of a head-scratcher as a Top-6 MVP on this team, but the interior of this line has been sensational all year (and, particularly during Foles’ ascension), and a lot of that credit belongs to Mathis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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He's everything I hate...and that's why I love him<\/p><\/div>\n

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5). DeSean Jackson<\/strong> – Cocky, quick-tempered, diva wide receivers are a dime a dozen in the NFL.\u00a0 And, many of them are nowhere near worth the trouble.\u00a0 But, we have one that is.\u00a0 This offense works because of DeSean Jackson.\u00a0 And, sometimes it works best when Jackson doesn’t even touch the ball (just don’t tell him that).\u00a0 He is so feared in the NFL, that every single defensive gameplan that the Eagles face\u00a0is tailored towards taking away the D-Jax home run.\u00a0 Safeties can’t cheat on the run.\u00a0 Corners can’t blitz.\u00a0 And, most importantly, the focus of a defense is always tested because one misstep could result 7 points.\u00a0\u00a0The overattention paid to Jackson\u00a0has opened up things for the emerging Riley Cooper,\u00a0and\u00a0more importantly, has allowed\u00a0Kelly and the staff\u00a0to design plays to find mismatches – particularly LeSean McCoy on a linebacker, which was perfectly exemplified Sunday when McCoy scored on the wheel route against his ill-equipped\u00a0defender – linebacker Ryan Kerrigan.\u00a0\u00a0If you’ve ever played a team sport, you know that Jackson is one of those guys that you love to have wearing your colors.\u00a0 There is something to be said for the guy on your team that just gets under the skin of opposing teams.\u00a0 Opposing teams expend a whole lot of energy hating DeSean, which, if it takes them off their game just a little bit, plays right into DeSean’s master plan and is a big part of his, let’s just call it, “charm.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

4). Jason Kelce<\/strong> – What is the definition of\u00a0the Most Valuable Player?\u00a0 Well, that debate runs hot at times (just ask any Mike Trout supporter), but to me, it’s pretty simple.\u00a0 A team’s MVP is the player who would have the most negative affect on a team’s success were they to no longer be a part of that team.\u00a0\u00a0Even with a clear definition, it is still an interesting debate because there is almost never a way to truly measure this – even qualitatively, let alone quantitatively (with all due respect to supporters of the grossly overrated baseball statistic of WAR).\u00a0 That being said, what happened last year after Jason Kelce was injured in the later part of the Eagles Week Two win over the soon-to-be Super Bowl Champion, Baltimore Ravens (that’s right, most people forget that 1 of the FOUR wins the Eagles had last year was over the World Champs)?\u00a0 Let me give a quick recap (VERY quick because everyone would probably just as soon forget it) – after beating the Ravens to go to 2-0, the Birds went to Arizona and laid an egg before coming back and limping through an improbable win over the Giants at the Linc.\u00a0 The Birds were 3-1 before the wheels fell off and they only won 1 of their final 12 games.\u00a0 There have been countless reasons cited as to what happened – everything from divided locker rooms to coaching staff infighting to flat-out bad players.\u00a0 But, the one thing that I have not really heard at all was the loss of the center.\u00a0 The NFL is littered with promising seasons derailed by an injury to a team’s center and the Birds not only lost a <\/em>center last year, but one of the best in the league.\u00a0 Now, I am not saying that the 2012 Eagles were a 12-4 team with a healthy Jason Kelce, but I think the 2013 Eagles could be a 10-6 team with a healthy Jason Kelce – and a playoff afterthought without him.\u00a0 That is pretty much exactly how I would define “valuable.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

3). DeMeco Ryans<\/strong> – I seriously debated putting Ryans #1 on this list – and how crazy would that have sounded 12 months ago?\u00a0 Now, I love DeMeco Ryans.\u00a0 I loved him in Houston, and I was elated when the Birds acquired Ryans from the Texans for, essentially,\u00a0a 4th-round pick.\u00a0 But, he was borderline bad<\/em> last year and, at times,\u00a0looked like he was all but done as an NFL player.\u00a0 Fast-forward to 2013 and he is, in my opinion, the far and away most important player on this surprisingly rejuvenated Eagles defense.\u00a0 He flies to the ball, rarely misses a tackle, and always seems to be in the right place and the right time.\u00a0 He has seems to be – despite being, by all accounts, a quiet, reserved guy – the unquestioned leader of this defense.\u00a0 And, as history shows,\u00a0the best defenses in the NFL are those led by the middle linebackers. \u00a0(Don’t agree?\u00a0 Why don’t you mention that to\u00a0Ray Lewis, Mike Singletary, or Jack Lambert…)\u00a0\u00a0And yet, there’s an\u00a0interesting twist in the backstory of\u00a0the\u00a0Great Ryans Renaissance\u00a0of 2013 – Ryans was only made expendable in Houston because (a) he did not look like the same player after rupturing his Achilles in 2010 and (b) he seemed like a poor fit for the Texans’ new 3-4 defense.\u00a0 Now, three years removed from probably the worst injury a linebacker could suffer (see the concerns laid out in a nice article here<\/a>, written a year ago – before Ryans’ resurgence), Ryans is somehow looking much like the stud who busted into the league in 2006 with over 150 tackles for the Texans.\u00a0 And, even more incredibly, he has been doing it for a team that plays a whole lot of the very 3-4 brand of defense for which Ryans was considered a total misfit.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Heart and Soul of the New-Look Eagles D<\/p><\/div>\n

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2). LeSean McCoy<\/strong> – Yes, this team’s surprising success has been on the backs of the unexpected defensive resurgence and the even-more-unexpected emergence of Nick Foles as the greatest quarterback the game has ever seen.\u00a0 But, while those two welcome developments may be the most surprising, the most important Eagle on the field this year comes as a surprise to no one.\u00a0 With all respect to that guy up in Minneapolis, Shady McCoy is quite possibly the best running back on the planet.\u00a0 And, he couldn’t be more perfect for the brilliant offensive mind of Chip Kelly.\u00a0 He hits the holes when they’re there and makes people miss in the backfield when they’re not.\u00a0 He is a terrific pass-catcher and a very underrated pass-blocker.\u00a0 He is the talent that makes this offense go and would be – if not for the stupid stats being put up in the Mile High City – a legitimate candidate for league MVP.\u00a0 He has been that good.\u00a0 My only complaint is that he needs to stop giving us heart attacks with these seemingly season-ending injuries that only keep him out a series or two.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

1). Chip Kelly<\/strong> – I can say it when it’s true – and it’s true more often than I would like to believe – I WAS WRONG.\u00a0 I was not a huge fan of the Chip Kelly hire.\u00a0 I wouldn’t say that I outright hated it because I was intrigued and saw the lure, but I really thought that this team needed an identity of toughness to pull itself from the wreckage left by the last regime that – while wildly successful – stayed too long and left behind a dumpster fire of poor drafts, jaded veterans, and a rabid, yet cynical\u00a0fanbase just waiting for a reason to believe.\u00a0 And, for some reason, 85-points-per-game in Eugene, Oregon, while intriguing, didn’t exactly scream “toughness” to me.\u00a0 But, man, was I wrong.\u00a0 I don’t think I could create even a fictional coach that would more be exactly what I would want in my head coach.\u00a0 He is highly involved in the analytics, but not afraid to go by his “gut.”\u00a0 He loves the high-powered, high-paced offensive schemes, but, still believes completely in running the football.\u00a0 He believes that football is won in the trenches by large men.\u00a0 He values efficiency and a minimization of errors without sacrificing explosive play.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He believes in his offensive system, but understands when it needs tweaking.\u00a0 He is not too stubborn to change his mind and admit where he was wrong, but he is also the unquestioned head man, who takes full accountability of everything under his purview.\u00a0He\u00a0recognizes the things on which he is not an expert and trusts the men he has chosen\u00a0to fill those gaps.\u00a0 He is solely focused on how to be the best – all the way down to how you eat and sleep – and leads this by example.\u00a0 And, most importantly, he only cares about one thing – winning.\u00a0 Time will tell if all of this adds up to the long-elusive Super Bowl title in Philadelphia, but if you couldn’t tell, I’m smitten.\u00a0 I’m a believer.\u00a0 And, I didn’t even want to be.\u00a0 But, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Eagles success this year\u00a0is more\u00a0of a result of\u00a0Chip Kelly than anyone else in the entire organization.\u00a0 And, I don’t think it’s really all that close…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

YOUR First-Place Philadelphia Eagles…that has a nice ring to it.\u00a0 It’s not exactly something that sounds weird or uncommon considering we’re really\u00a0only two years removed from a decade-plus era of division dominance, but from the sheer depth of those two … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1412,1414,1411,1410,1324,1418,1416,1407,674,1417,4,1409,1337,1408,668,581,1415,1331,1413],"class_list":["post-4598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl","tag-benny-logan","tag-brandon-boykin","tag-cary-williams","tag-cedric-thornton","tag-chip-kelly","tag-colt-anderson","tag-connor-barwin","tag-demeco-ryans","tag-desean-jackson","tag-donnie-jones","tag-eagles","tag-evan-mathis","tag-fletcher-cox","tag-jason-kelce","tag-jason-peters","tag-lesean-mccoy","tag-mychal-kendricks","tag-nick-foles","tag-riley-cooper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4598"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4606,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598\/revisions\/4606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}