On Sunday, the NFL's final four teams will compete in the two conference championship games to determine who will square off in the Super Bowl. As the Eagles prepare for a critical offseason, what are some of the lessons, the common threads among the final four teams? Super Bowl champion head coach Brian Billick explained the four things he has taken away from the remaining teams who survived the Divisional Round weekend.
Let's look at Billick's four items and see how they apply to the Eagles ...
1. Defense Still Matters - "With the explosion of offense that is today's NFL, it would be easy to discount the importance of playing great defense. ... Well, this final foursome begs to differ," Billick wrote.
The Eagles, first and foremost, have to finalize the defensive coaching staff with an opening at the cornerbacks coach spot. The Eagles won their final four games of the 2011 season thanks in large part to the turnaround on defense. The Eagles did not allow an opponent to score 20 points in any of those games. In fact, they were mere seconds from a shutout in Dallas on Christmas Eve. Before the four-game streak, the Eagles ranked 17th in total defense and finished the season eighth.
The defense has a good foundation in place with a pass rush that was tied for the league lead in sacks with 50 this past season. No other NFL team can boast the depth at cornerback that the Eagles have with three Pro Bowl players on the roster. There is still room for improvement, but with no starters set to become free agents or players recovering from major injuries; the Eagles will look to carry the momentum from the final four games and get off to a fast start in 2012.
2. Still, You Better Have A QB - "It is clear you need a presence at quarterback to be in a conference championship game, and you will likely need to get him in the first round of the NFL Draft," Billick wrote, noting that New England's Tom Brady (a sixth-round pick) will forever be the exception.
The Eagles have their franchise quarterback in Michael Vick, who will look to bounce back from an up-and-down 2011 season. This will be Vick's first full offseason as the starting quarterback of the Eagles. Last year, Vick didn't have the benefit of the offseason team activities or around-the-clock access to coaches and film because of the lockout. Vick promised at the end of the 2011 season that things will be different in 2012. He added that he already has a plan to get his teammates together in the offseason. If Vick can return to his 2010 Pro Bowl form (more importantly, reduce the turnovers), the Eagles will be in the mix.
And, for the record, Vick was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft.
3. Better Yet, You Need A Playmaking Tight End - "Other than a quarterback, the other offensive weapon you must have is a playmaking tight end, or two. The importance of this was on full display in Saints-49ers, particularly during the dramatic finish," Billick explained.
It should be noted that the offense flourished when Brent Celek was allowed to be more involved in pass routes instead of blocking. In the first six games of the season, Celek had 13 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles were 2-4. In the final 10 games, he had 49 catches for 696 yards and four touchdowns. The Eagles were 6-4 in those games.
In what was a prolific year for NFL tight ends, Celek led all tight ends with an average of 8.1 yards after the catch per reception. He was third in total yards after the catch with 500, trailing only New England's duo of Rob Gronkowski (668) and Aaron Hernandez (534).
Celek finished tied for first on the team with five receiving touchdowns, was second on the team with 62 catches and third with 811 receiving yards.
A potential X-factor in the Eagles offense in 2012 is the development of second tight end Clay Harbor. He is someone who is athletic enough that the Eagles have lined up split wide as a receiver at times in 2011. He has 21 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons. Harbor didn't have the benefit of the offseason with the coaches to develop from year one to year two. Let's see what Harbor can do with the typical NFL offseason.
4. And A Good Skipper's Always Necessary - "Based on the final four, (a head coach) had better be a guy who can manage the whole team, not just coordinate one phase of the game. None of the four remaining head coaches call plays for the offense or defense, allowing them to manage the team as a whole," Billick stated.
Andy Reid is the winningest head coach in Eagles history and one of the winningest head coaches in NFL history, period. To Billick's point, Reid's specialty is the offensive side of the ball, but offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg calls the plays.
When Chairman/CEO Jeffrey Lurie addressed the media following the season, he assessed Reid and came to the conclusion that he is the best man to be the head coach of the Eagles in 2012. Reid had made the playoffs three straight years prior to 2011. Reid has never missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Reid is set to enter as the longest tenured head coach in the NFL and the fourth-longest tenured coach among the four major professional sports in the United States.
Looking at similar characteristics of the four remaining NFL playoff teams, the Eagles have all of the necessary ingredients. It's just a matter of mixing them together to make a postseason run in 2012.
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