By Luke Cilli (Reporter ‘25)
We Bleed Green
Every Sunday we are glued to our TVs with excitement and anticipation for our beloved Birds. We plan our meals around them. We paint our houses and cars kelly green. We wear jerseys with names like White, Brown, Dawk, and Smith. We even tattoo their logo on our bodies with undying loyalty. There is not a city out there that loves its football team more than we do. In the past though, I’ve sometimes wondered if they love us as much as we love them. Well, I have good news for you. They do! I reached out to the Eagles brass and told them about all the Birds’ fans at Friends’ Central. Then asked if I could attend a press conference with Coach Sirianni, and a live practice, to report back to the FCS fansbase. And they said yes! All this tells me they care about every single fan from Fishtown to Delco. I was able to get an inside look at the organization in order to bring you this ‘23-’24 Season Outlook. That said, if we are going to look forward, we first have to look back.
Look Back
Last season our Eagles pulled off what seemed to be the impossible: they made it all the way to Super Bowl LVII. After winning the NFC East with an astonishing 14 wins, Gang Green exceeded all expectations. The talking heads on ESPN had our Birds losing the division to the guys with the stars on their helmets (I don’t like to say their name out loud). The oddsmakers in Vegas set the Eagles chances of making the Super Bowl at 50/1. 50/1! Well, they overcame all the doubters and were a James-Bradberry-holding call away from winning the Super Bowl. After proving themselves last year, people are more hype than ever about the Eagles who have the best odds of any NFC team to win Super Bowl LVIII. It’s Super Bowl or bust!
Coaching Change
This was an offseason of change for the Birds’ coaching staff and roster. In the NFL, when you’re successful, you have to expect that other teams are going to try to take what’s yours. The Eagles lost both offensive coordinator Shane Stiechen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to head coaching gigs for the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, respectively. Our new defensive coordinator, Sean Desai, was previously the head defensive coach for the Seattle Seahawks. He put together an elite defense in Seattle that ranked top ten in sacks, forced fumbles, and takeaways. New offensive coordinator Brian Johnson is entering his third season with the Birds, serving the previous two seasons as the quarterback’s coach. He is the one responsible for developing Jalen Hurts into the player he is today. His knowledge of our quarterback’s mindset and skill set makes him the perfect candidate for the job.
Player Changes
Other NFL teams were also eager to raid the cupboard of key players on both sides of the ball. The defense may feel the departure of starting linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. Tackle Javon Hardgrave will now bolster the San Francisco 49ers defense, who will be the main competition for the Birds in the NFC. Miles Sanders, who carried the load in the ground game, headed south to the Carolina Panthers, signing the biggest multi-year contract for an RB this offseason. And the Birds lost safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps, leaving the back end of the defense vulnerable to the deep ball down field.
Player Additions and Key Signings
Once again, our golden boy, GM Howie Roseman, came to the rescue. Howie essentially “won the draft!” He went out and got two Georgia Bulldogs off the National Championship team in the first round, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. Both players have been standouts on the defensive unit at training camp this offseason, each earning a starting spot on the team and garnering validation from vets. Roseman then traded with Detroit for D’Andre Swift, who is an absolute beast. Swift should get the majority of carries this season. He’s shifty, makes great decisions behind the line, and has a lightning burst of speed once he hits the gap. But clearly, our biggest move of the entire offseason was the resigning of QB1 Jalen Hurts. Hurts signed a five-year extension worth $255 Million, locking down our franchise quarterback and ensuring that he is here to stay as the leader of the Birds for the foreseeable future.
Press Conference and Practice Analysis
As I stepped into the Eagles media tent at training camp for the Sirianni press conference, the entire place was electric with reporters buzzing and cameras clicking. It was a proud moment for FOCUS to be among media outlets like ESPN and NBC Sports. My goal was to hang onto every word from Coach Sirianni and bring it back to the fans here at FCS. I noticed that the coach spent an unusually large amount of time talking about one player: Reid Blankenship. He was incredibly complimentary of the young safety and his improvement this offseason. After being moved up to the official roster from the practice squad last year, he has been an outstanding defensive presence for the Eagles in camp. Based on Sirianni’s comments, look for Blankenship to be a centerpiece in this defense.
I then made my way down to the training surface to observe the Eagles go against the Colts in a live, joint practice. On this hot August day, I parked myself about ten yards off of the Eagles’ offensive first-unit who were practicing the Red Zone packages against the Colts defensive starters. The Eagles were dominant inside the 20. They have so many options that the Colts just had no way of stopping them. This year the media is talking a lot about the Eagles’ wide receivers AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, but it seems that people have forgotten this team still has Dallas Goedert who is a top-ten tight end in the NFL. It looked like the Colts had forgotten about him too, as he was making several incredible catches over the middle in the Red Zone. Having those three guys picking the ball out of the air and Deandre Swift running off the ground will make it very hard for defenses to compete with us this season.
Upcoming Schedule
This season’s schedule is loaded with critical games. The Eagles will get their chance at the Kansas City Chiefs on November 20 for Monday Night Football in a Super Bowl LVII rematch. The very next week they will play a loaded Buffalo Bills team led by QB Josh Allen. Right after that they’ll get the San Francisco 49ers, who they beat in the NFC championship game. This three-week gauntlet will be one of the toughest stretches of the season. On December 10th they will match up against their rivals from Dallas, a.k.a. “America’s Team,” on Sunday Night Football. And on Christmas Day, it’s Philly versus the Giants and Daniel Jones. Every single one of these games will be must-see TV!
Closing Thoughts
Coaching changes. Roster changes. Red Zone packages. And QB1 locked in for the next 5 years. Buckle up! We are set for a very entertaining stretch of football this year. It’s going to be a roller coaster, so break out the green face paint and order up some Chickie’s & Pete’s. And know that we have a team who loves us as much as we love them. It’s only fitting that Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love. Fly Eagles Fly. E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!
(Please note that this article was written well in advance of publication, when the information was still new or current.)
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