FACTORS - Is Philadelphia Ready to Make a Super Bowl Run?

I have to be extremely honest to start off this article. First and foremost, I have been an Eagle's fan for a long time. The birth of my Eagle's fandom began when I was a little tyke, watching Donovan McNabb rolling with Brian Westbrook, Terrell Owens and that strong defense led by Brian Dawkins and Jeremiah Trotter. It was Andy Reid leading Philadelphia in the prime of their tenures together, and it was the glory days of the Eagles. They went 13-3 that season, going to the Super Bowl before being knocked out of the way of a Championship by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Now I have become such an analyst of the game that generally my fandoms mean nothing to me as I want to provide clear cut analysis without any biasness. My team wins, alright it's a good day. My team looses, alright that's fine too. It could be worse. It doesn't bother me one way or another that the Eagles are doing poorly or well.

Not this season.

This looks to be the return of the Philadelphia Eagles. After a hard fought victory last night over the red hot Carolina Panthers, the Eagles really impressed me as a collective team. Wow. I haven't felt this fandom energy since McNabb came back from that injury in '05. They look like that 2004 team with explosiveness and depth. This could be it for the Eagles!

Now all fandom put aside. The facts are simple. Philadelphia is 5-1, and there are four key factors to this team succeeding right now at the high level it's playing at.

FACTOR ONE - The Scheme

     Head Coach Doug Pederson comes from a long line of successors of Andy Reid's offensive coordinators that features pre-established names such as Brad Childress and Marty Mornhinweg. Very rarely does a younger coach get a chance with
 a man like Reid to be an offensive coordinator. Pederson played quarterback for Reid when Donovan McNabb was a rookie. He's a football smart guy, and Reid knew it.

     He gave him his first NFL coaching shot in 2009 when Peterson was coaching High School Football. “I'll tell you when I really saw it—his second stint at Green Bay,” Reid said of the moment he knew Pederson would make a great coach one day. “I watched (Brett) Favre come off the field and he went right to Doug. At that moment, I go, 'You know what? This guy. He can do this. He can be a coach.’”

     Pederson has adopted many of the tendencies that his mentor uses, modeling his offense in Philadelphia very much like Reid's in Kansas City. Pederson believes in ball control, spreading the field and attacking defenses with a flurry of formations and sets, lulling you to commit to stopping his runs and short passes before pulling the trigger and attacking them with the big play. The scheme is flawless, and even Reid had trouble defending against it in Philadelphia's one loss in week two.

FACTOR TWO - Carson Wentz & The Passing Game

      Wentz is blooming and becoming an NFL star more and more with every game he plays. Passing already for 1584 yards through 6 games (264 yards per game) and 13 TD's despite being sacked 16 times, Wentz looks like a seasoned pro throwing the ball around with ease and using all of his weapons on the field. He has a 99.6 passer rating at this point of the season.

     Zach Ertz is his favorite target, and Ertz is not disappointing. Catching 30 of his 53 targets, both team highs, Ertz has scored 4 TD's, two last night against the Panthers, and has come up big when the team has needed him. Nelson Agholor has been downright explosive, using his speed and burst to get free for big plays. Alshon Jeffrey, Torrey Smith and Mack Hollins are all getting involved. It's exciting stuff!

FACTOR THREE - No Matter Who is Running Back, They're Running The Football

     Injuries have derailed Darren Sproles' season, and Wendell Smallwood has caught the bug as well, but the Eagles are still running the football. Using mostly LeGarrette Blount, the Patriot Running Back who scored 17 TD's last season, accompanied by Corey Clement and Kenjon Barner, the Eagles are still running the football and getting chunk plays no matter who is taking the handoff.

     Through six games, the Eagles have run for 794 yards, 6 plays of 20 yards or more, and 3 touchdowns. But best of all, no running back has fumbled over their 150 carries. They are a tough team to stop because of the weapons that they have in the passing game and even with all of those weapons, Philadelphia still loves to run the football, execute plays and eat up the clock while they have it.

FACTOR FOUR - The Defensive Line

     It certainly helps to own one of the best defensive lines in football, and it's something that Pederson started building as soon as he arrived. The Eagles signed Fletcher Cox to a huge long term deal shortly after the hiring of Pederson, as well as Vinny Curry. But having a late bloomer like Brandon Graham playing at a high level, Timmy Jernigan from Baltimore playing solid, and a newcomer with Reggie White potential in Derek Barnett (who broke White's Tennessee career sack record) the line is loaded with explosive pass rushers who constantly break down the pocket. And we saw that last night, as they kept the pressure coming and forced Newton into throwing 3 interceptions.

SO CAN THEY DO IT? 

     Not so fast, as ESPN's College Football Analyst Lee Corso likes to say. They have a weakness in their secondary, and that's just lack of experience. All the cornerbacks are young, and the safeties are mediocre, and we have seen them get burned more then once this season when the defensive line failed to get pressure on the quarterback.

     The next question mark is who have they played? They almost lost to a winless Giants team, the Redskins are quite inconsistent, and the Panthers are still a question mark after a very slow start to the season. The Chargers one win is over that winless Giants team. Arizona is a full field mess with the age and injuries they have already. How are the Eagles going to hold up against the Redskins in round two next week? Or Denver in November? At Seattle on a Sunday Night in December? Dallas two rounds? Oakland on Christmas Day? If the Eagles can pass these tests one by one, they have a shot to go deep into the playoffs. If not, well... I guess they are still a season away.