QB

Kevin Kolb

(+) Philly got rid of a possible Hall-of-Fame QB to give him a shot… and Andy Reid seems to know what he’s doing
(+) Two starts in 2009 – 391 and 327 yards passed, 4 total TDs
(+) Hunts boars with a Bowie Knife in the offseason
(+) Fastest skill-position players we can remember – DJax, JMac, BCek, LeMaC, and JVant!!!
(–) Kolb has put up just 4 TDs versus 7 INTs over his career
(–) Huge shoes to fill taking over for McNabb and has some very young players around him; lots of pressure
(–) Completely unproven, only started 2 games in his career

Mike Vick

(+) He could find himself driving a decent offense if Kolb falls on his face, which really isn't totally improbable
(–) He'll have to stay out of jail if he is to find the field this year

RB

LeSean McCoy

(+) McCoy might just be the fastest back in the league not named Chris Johnson
(+) His potential has us thinking Brian Westbrook 2.0
(+) He has every intangible to become an elite PPR running back
(–) LeSean had every chance to prove himself with Westbrook out last year… and failed miserably
(–) He’s an extremely young player who came out of college too early after his sophomore year.  Can’t really blame the guy though… Dave Wannstedt was his coach
(–) Due to his size, McCoy will undoubtedly relinquish goal-line carries to Mike Bell

Mike Bell

(+) LeSean McCoy and personal health are the biggest factors standing between him and 1,000 yards with 8 TDs
(+) McCoy looks alright, but Mike Bell could see some significant action if McCoy and the Eagles struggle
(–) The likely scenario is that McCoy gets more than the lion’s share of carries with Bell being a short-yardage/change-of-pace back
(–) Knee injuries have been a concern with Mike Bell, including missing 3 games last season in a limited roll
(–) The Philadelphia offense has some new faces that need to step up big time or this team could find themselves bottoming out quickly in a very competitive division

WR

DeSean Jackson

(+) Fastest, most elusive wide receiver in the NFL - Jerry Rice himself said he’s never seen anything like him
(+) Plays in a West Coast, pass-happy offense that has a relatively easy schedule against the pass this year
(+) Double the length of a football field and we’d be talking about the most 150+ yard TDs in NFL history instead of the most 50+ yard TDs
(–) He could possibly walk through a forest and get swarmed by army ants
(–) Will be playing for a QB who has thrown more INTs than TDs in his career
(–) Jackson will have to compete with Maclin, Avant, Celek, and McCoy for targets
(–) Too small to win any battles for the ball or break any tackles

Jeremy Maclin

(+) Speed, size, route-running, work-ethic and offensive system… all the fixin’s to become a household name
(+) With DJax lined up on the other side, he’s more of the “possession receiver” in this offense – awesome for PPR
(+) Andy Reid knows talent… he’ll do what it takes to get the ball in Maclin’s hands
(+) Should have been a top-10 pick in the 2009 draft (ended up 19th).  Nice call Al Davis! (Darrius Heyward-Bey – 7th overall)
(–) Kevin Kolb’s career stats:  12 games, 2 starts, 4 TDs, 7 INTs, 885 yards passing
(–) The Eagles have a lot of unknowns with Westbrook gone, McNabb gone, Kolb at QB, and LeSean McCoy starting

TE

Brent Celek

(+) In the two games Kolb started last year, he and Celek hooked up for exactly 8 catches and 104 yards in each game… one with a TD, the other without
(+) Tight ends tend to be the safety valve for young, inexperienced QBs like Kolb
(+) Celek is one of the best red-zone targets for tight ends in the league
(+) Brent fits right in by being a fast tight end on the fastest team in the league
(–) Still, Celek is an unknown with just one good year under his belt
(–) He also might be asked to block a bit more with LeSean McCoy in the backfield

-  Eagles entered the 2009 season with an explosive offense and had many people picking them to go
         to the Superbowl and potentially win it
-  Defense struggled after the loss of DC Jim Johnson one of the most prolific blitz callers in recent history
-  Hit a down point in a tough division in the middle of the season and fell out of the playoff hunt
-  Got hot at the end of the season becoming a trendy pick to win the Superbowl at the end
-  Scored 429 points while allowing 337 points

2009 Total Points Rank:         2nd (139 tot pts)
2009 Average/Game Rank:   2nd (8.7 pts/gm)

FR=Fumbles Recoverd, PA=Points Allowed, FP Rank=Fantasy Points Rank, FP/G=Fantasy Points per Game

2010 Team Defense Outlook

Trent Cole rules and not many people know it.  He forced two fumbles last season and rolled out the QB 12.5 times en route to his second year with that many sacks and matching ProBowl berths.  He is a big reason why this team is a pillar of consistency in the sacks department over the past three years, and they ranked tied for 3^rd last year.  All these sacks finally lead to some nice turnovers last year as well.  They pulled in 38 which also put them at 3^rd in the league.  Grab em!

-  Drafted Brandon Graham to add to the pass rush
-  Mikell was the leading tackler with 91
-  Trent Cole led the team in sacks with 12.5
-  Team had a total of 44 sacks
-  Asante Samuel was again a ballhawk grabbing 9 interceptions
-  Had a total of 25 ints. Also forced 15 fumbles. 40 total turnovers forced

Team PYRO is hyper about Offensive Lines!  Understanding who will be blocking for the players on your roster is vital to your teams Fantasy success.  We take many factors into account when we rank these units, including weight, height, starts together as a unit, starts per year played, rushing average, sacks allowed, draft position, contract situation, pro bowl/all pro honors, Adjusted Line Yardage (ALY) and Adjusted Sack Rate (stats found at the link below).  O-Line Rank is one more piece of the puzzle that directs us towards delivering you a Fantasy Football Championship. 

The fantasy lifeblood of the players sitting on your roster boils down to one EXTREMELY important stat.  Drum Roll please……………………………  ATTEMPTS!!!!  Ahhhh, there, we said it.  Before you can make a play, you gotta have the pill in your hands.  It’s pretty simple really, in the immortal words of the maligned Keyshawn Johnson… “Just give me the damn ball”.  There is no “I” in the word “team”, but don’t fool yourself, it’s in the word rotisserie twice. 

For the QB, it’s Pass Attempts, for the RB, it’s Carries, and for the WR and TE, it’s Targets.  If you look at the players in the league who are amassing large quantities of points, they are the ones who are seeing the rock come their way the most often.  Sure, you have to be good enough to do something with the p-skin when you get it, but never forget, you can’t make a play until you have the pill in your hands. 

The PYRO Offensive scheme charts aim to deliver you perhaps the most important information you could attain before and after draft day; Will my player get the chances they need to put out or will they be shut out?  It really boils down to what the offensive game plan on Sunday is.  These charts should provide some perspective on which teams are going to live by land and which are going to live by air. 

By Air

-  Kevin Kolb will enter the season as the starter ending a ten year go with McNabb at the helm
-  Desean Jackson had a sensational sophomore with 1,156 yards and 9 TDs
-  Brent Celek stepped up and became a top 10 talent at TE with 971 yards and 8 TDs
-  Jeremy Maclin had a solid rookie season with 773 yards and 4 TDs
-  The question now is can Kolb come in and distribute the ball to the talent at the skill positions

By Land

-  Westbrook was injured and now LeSean McCoy will become the full time starter
-  During McCoy’s playing time he compiled 637 rushing yards and 4 TDs
-  Vick should also get more looks in the wildcat formation
-  Major question… how will Mike Bell fit into the equation

RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number you see is Red Zone Touches (a pass attempt, a carry, or a target inside the 20 yard line).  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

% of Teams RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number is the players percentage of touches cut out against the total number of the Teams Red Zone plays called.  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.  So, if Thomas Jones received a touch in 45 percent of the Jets Red Zone calls last year, and Knowshon Moreno received a touch in 38 percent of all the Broncos plays last year, Jones would be ranked higher at his position than Moreno would be.

RZ TD Success Rate (Position Rank) = The first number is the percentage of which an individual player was able to score a TD against his total number of touches.   The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

Why Should I look at this Chart?

We couldn’t possibly take up a whole minute of your valuable fantasy football research time babbling about the importance of Attempts for your team and then leave out Red Zone Tendencies.

Yep, same drill with these charts, only a lot more important if scoring TD’s is what you’re leagues about.  The PYRO Red Zone Tendencies chart delivers a touchdown focused microcosm of the Offensive Scheme section.

To score a TD, your player needs a touch (pass att, carry, or target), and when they get a touch inside the 20, great things can happen for your Fantasy teams total points line.

It’s really easy, touches are King and converting a touch in the red is Fantasy Gold.

PYRO 2010 Eagle Leaders in the Red Zone...

1. Brent Celek
2. LeSean McCoy
3. Jeremy Maclin
4. Mike Bell
5. DeSean Jackson

Grade* = Team PYRO took this number directly from NFL.COM - not a number devised here by us, you know, your friends who don’t sleep?  In other words, proceed with caution knowing the source, but we thought it was at least a worthy effort and could help you gauge just how solid the teams draft was.  We hope it helps, we think it will. 

Philly went with a heavy Defensive Foundational Build draft.  The coaching staff is loving Kafka.  Normally we’d say stay away from any 3^rd string QB, and we’re still saying that cause we like what we see in Kolb and Vick as a backup, but it’s not totally improbable that Kafka gets in this season with unproven Kolb and the Crime Dog Vick ahead of him.  But really, unless you're in a very deep league, he won't justify a roster spot.  

TE Harbor should pin down the Tight End 2 slot for Philly, but he won’t put a Fantasy dent in this season.

Team PYRO considers our Strength of Schedule data an essential part of building you a Fantasy Championship.  This data is integral in helping us rank our players each year.  So far, so good.  We go to GREAT lengths to deliver you this PYRO nugget and we know nobody else in the industry is putting forth this type of effort, which puts you at a great advantage if you have been using us as your fantasy football research outlet.  Our SoS considers three factors when determining rankings for schedules for the upcoming year:

1) 75% weight is applied to the strength of defense from the previous season.  This is determined by fantasy points given up (run and pass).  Easy right? Here's where Team Pyro goes deep: before we get to that number, we factor in the quality of teams that these defenses had to face (essentially, a strength-of-schedule for the prior season). 

 
2) 20% weight is applied to Free-Agent, Trade, and Injury Returns that will help or hurt the team for the current year.  We rank each players impact to their former team (2008), sum it all up, and then rank each team accordingly.

3) 5% weight is applied to the NFL drafts incoming rookie impact.  It's a challenge to successfully gauge a rookie's effectiveness (too many Jamarcus Russells out there) which is why we valued it so low.  Some teams not only drafted highly touted defensemen this year, but will be immediately filling deficient positions from '09 with rookies, and usually, anything is an upgrade when you are starting a rookie.

Chart Key =

Ranking:  1=easiest  32=toughest

QB's, WR's, and TE's

(INDY) Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark have the EASIEST passing schedule in 2010

(BALT) Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin, and Todd Heap have the HARDEST passing schedule in 2010

RB's

(SF) Frank Gore has the EASIEST rushing schedule in 2010

(MIA) Ronnie Brown has the HARDEST rushing schedule in 2010 

May 4, 2010

Signed G Greg Isdaner to a three-year contract.

April 29, 2010

Signed QB Kevin Kolb to a one-year contract extension.

April 27, 2010

Agreed to terms with DT Charles Alexander, WR Blue Cooper, G Zipp Duncan, QB Joey Elliott, OT Austin Howard, WR Kevin Jurovich, OT Jeraill McCuller, CB Josh Morris, CB David Pender, WR Pat Simonds and FB Chris Zardas.

April 19, 2010

Traded a 2010 fifth-round draft pick to Denver, who will send TE Tony Scheffler and a 2010 seventh-round draft pick to Detroit, who will send LB Ernie Sims to the Eagles.

April 15, 2010

Re-signed G Max Jean-Gilles to a one-year contract.

April 4, 2010

Traded QB Donovan McNabb to Washington for a 2010 second-round draft pick and a 2011 third- or fourth-round draft pick.

April 3, 2010

Traded CB Sheldon Brown and LB Chris Gocong to Cleveland for LB Alex Hall and 2010 fourth- and fifth-round draft picks.

March 31, 2010

Signed LB Omar Gaither to a one-year contract.

March 30, 2010

Re-signed CB Ellis Hobbs and LB Chris Gocong to one-year contracts.

March 22, 2010

Signed LB Akeem Jordan to a one-year tender offer.

March 18, 2010

Signed DE Darryl Tapp to a three-year contract. Released DE Darren Howard and WR Kevin Curtis.

March 17, 2010

Released G Shawn Andrews.

March 12, 2010

Signed WR Hank Baskett to a one-year contract.

March 11, 2010

Signed WR Chad Hall to a three-year contract.

March 10, 2010

Agreed to terms with DB Marlin Jackson on a two-year contract.

March 8, 2010

Agreed to terms with WR Jason Avant on a five-year contract.

March 5, 2010

Agreed to terms with FB Leonard Weaver on a three-year contract. Rreleased LB Will Witherspoon.

February 23, 2010

Released RB Brian Westbrook.

February 4, 2010

Named Phil Savage player personnel consultant.

February 3, 2010

Named Dick Jauron senior assistant/defensive backs coach.

February 3, 2010

Signed P Durant Brooks to a two-year contract.

January 29, 2010      

Promoted Howie Roseman to general manager.

January 27, 2010      

Named Barry Rubin head strength and conditioning coach and Ken Croner assistant strength and conditioning coach.

January 14, 2010

Fired special teams coach Ted Daisher. Named Bobby April special teams coordinator.