2014 Philadelphia Predictions
It was a season of change in Philadelphia last year with a new head coach at the helm for the first time since 1999. Chip Kelly moved to ranks of the NFL after a very successful stint at the University of Oregon and quickly put his unique stamp on this team.
2013 Record: 10-6
ATS: 8-7-1
Eagles Odds to win the NFC East: +140
Eagles Odds to win the NFC Conference: +1400
Eagles Odds to win Super Bowl XLIX: +2800
The result was a 10-6 record that was good enough to secure the Eagles first NFC East title since 2009. The big question coming into Kelly’s second season is can his team take the next step towards bigger and better things in 2014.
Let’s take a look at the numbers
While the fickle Philly fans had to be thrilled with last year’s 10-win effort after they watched their team stumble to a 4-12 record in Andy Reid’s final season as head coach, the biggest takeaway from last season has to be the emergence of Nick Foles as the teams new starting quarterback.
Taking over in Week 5 for an injured Michael Vick, the second-year vet went on to throw for 2,891 yards while completing 64 percent of his 317 attempts. The most impressive stat was his 27 touchdown passes verse just two interceptions.
The Eagles also got a huge performance from running back LeSean McCoy, who led the NFL in rushing with 1,607 yards. He also added another 539 yards in the passing game with 52 receptions making him one of the top all-purpose players in the league.
Philadelphia’s offense finished the 2013 regular season ranked first in the league in rushing, second in total yards and its 27.6 points per game was the fourth-highest total in the NFL.
The defense made some big strides in 2013 as well after finishing the previous season ranked near the bottom of the NFL in a number of categories. It was ranked 10th in the league against the run, but the secondary had its issues stopping the pass by allowing an average of 289.8 yards a game.
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The biggest strength of this unit was its ability to generate turnovers with a +14 ratio that was tied for third-best in the NFL.
This was a dramatic improvement from the year before when the team’s ratio was the second-worst in the league.
Philadelphia was fairly quiet this offseason when it came to free agency as its top priority was resigning wide receivers’ Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin. For a variety of reasons Kelly decided to part ways with Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson and has to hope that second-round draft pick Jordan Matthews can quickly step-up and fill the void.
The Eagles selected linebacker Marcus Smith in the first round of this year’s draft to add some punch to a pass rush that struggled to get to the quarterback last year.
Eagles Betting Outlook
The Oddsmakers like the Eagles’ chances to repeat as NFC East Champs and so do I. Of the four teams in this division, they appear to have the best balance and the upside on Foles developing into one of the top quarterbacks in the league in Kelly’s up-tempo offense remains high.
Philadelphia’s projected win total has been set at nine with the moneyline slightly favoring the OVER at -125. I would take that bet with another 10-6 record that should be more than enough to win this division.
With training camps next up for the NFL betting offseason Cappers Picks NFL Football handicappers have been hard at work putting out the team by team Football Predictions and NFL Season Previews for those of us who can’t wait.
Bet on the Super Bowl XLIX winner, plus 2014/15 Conference and Divisional winners today.
