Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 12/29/2013. IT'S GAME DAY. Don't forget to follow the wonderful BGN writers on Twitter: Brandon Lee Gowton - @BrandonGowton Mike E. Kaye - @mike_e_kaye James Keane - @JeromesFriend Brent Cohen - @EaglesRewind Mark Saltveit - @taoish Josh Collacchi - @JoshCollacchi BGN Radio - @BGN_Radio Let's get to the links... NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 17 - JimmyK, Philly.com How balanced is the Eagles offense? If they can run for 71 yards and throw for 119 Sunday night, they'll be the first team since the 1998 49ers to run for 2500 yards and throw for 4000. What do you think of that, Phil Simms? Don’t Be Afraid of Greatness - Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz The Eagles played a great game on Sunday night when they destroyed the Bears, 54-11. In other times, I’d enjoy that game and understand that it was an anomaly. Things may be different under Chip Kelly. Kelly expects greatness. He pushes his teams to perform at the highest level. He’s not going to let good enough be good enough. And that’s a good thing. Spudcam: Amazing Arrival In Texas - PhiladelphiaEagles.com Nick Foles, Mychal Kendricks, and Trent Cole give a final preview of the match-up with Dallas, as the Eagles arrive in Texas to an uproarious crowd of Eagles fans. Win or lose Sunday, Chip Kelly a success this year with Eagles - Jeff McLane, Inquirer Leave it to Cary Williams to say what few players were willing to express three days before the winner-take-all season finale in Dallas: Win or lose Sunday against the Cowboys, the Eagles' 2013 season - Chip Kelly's first in the NFL - has been an unmitigated success. "I think about that every day, especially when I look at the [9-6] record and I look at what guys experienced last year winning only four games," Williams said. "I think this a huge turnaround. I think this is a positive season regardless of what happens this Sunday." Mosher's Mailbag: Is Orton prone to turnovers? - CSN Philly Orton has never really been considered a turnover magnet, and he’s played in some pass-happy offenses going back to his college career at Purdue. Orton has a career interception clip of 2.6 percent, the same as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Matt Schaub and Alex Smith. He threw 13 picks as a rookie -- starting 15 games for Chicago -- and hasn’t matched that since. From 2007-10, he started 46 games and was picked off 35 times on 1,584 attempts (or nine fewer times than Eli Manning has been in 15 games this season). In that same time frame, the only quarterback with fewer interceptions on at least 1,500 attempts is Tom Brady -- he's thrown one interception or fewer in 55 of his 61 career starts. Orton, however, is prone to fumbling. He had 12 his rookie season and has 32 in 74 career games. How The Eagles' "Predator" Defense Saved Philadelphia's Season - Regressing Most of the attention paid to this season's turnaround has Fun-adelphia Eagles' fast-paced, fast break offense. But Chip Kelly's scheme putting up points isn't exactly a surprise: LeSean McCoy is one of the best running backs this season, and Nick Foles has quarterbacked with shockingly few errors after usurping Michael Vick. The loss of Jeremy Maclin hurt, obviously, but even short a few hands, the Eagles were never really starved of offensive weapons. The more interesting part comes on the other side of the ball: In 10 of the Eagles' last 11 games—and we'll talk about that unexpected blowout loss to the Vikings later—the defense has allowed 21 points or fewer. This is the same team that gave up 93 138 points in its first four games of the season, and the front seven deserves a lot of credit; it's been revamped, with a few additions complementing the young leftovers from Reid's regime. How's it hitting its stride right now? Eagles Pro Bowl snubs, ranked - Andrew Kulp, The700Level With a 9-6 record, the second-ranked offense in the NFL, and a defense that’s held 10 of its last 11 opponents to 21 points or less, the Philadelphia Eagles managed to send just two players to the 2014 Pro Bowl. Running back LeSean McCoy and left tackle Jason Peters were beyond worthy candidates, but where’s everybody else? Beyond that, only three additional Eagles were even named first or second alternates to the Pro Bowl in the event of injuries or players backing out. That just seems like such a low number for a team that’s had such a fun and memorable season. It’s all wrong. So without further adieu, here are five players that should be in the Pro Bowl this year, and ranked for no real reason at all. More from Bleeding Green Nation Follow @BleedingGreen Follow @SBNationNFL Eagles Fans Are Ready For The Cowboys NFL Picks Against the Spread 2013: Week 17 Eagles vs. Cowboys 2013 Week 17 Flash Video: We Want Dallas Eagles vs. Cowboys 2013: Game time, TV schedule, online streaming and more How Good Is The Eagles' Offensive Nucleus? Former Eagles News: What happened to the players that were cut by Chip Kelly in 2013? Source: Continue reading...
