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The 2015 NFL season is almost here which means NFL Power Rankings are back, and with the return of power rankings comes the return of the weekly power rankings compilation.
Here is a round-up of how various Internet media outlets have ranked the Philadelphia Eagles. Let's start by revisiting mine.
Bleeding Green Nation
5) Philadelphia Eagles - After an offseason of crazy changes, the Eagles look like they can be a legitimate contender. The Birds aren't without weaknesses or concerns, but there are plenty of reasons to be encouraged. The offense looks to be improved with the addition of Sam Bradford and a revamped running game. The defense was already stout and now the secondary could be fixed. The Eagles dominated preseason like no team in recent history, outscoring their opponents by 83-17 in the first half. Chip Kelly's Eagles might finally make the leap from "good" to "great" this year.
SB Nation (Danny Kelly)
6) It's too early to anoint the Eagles, but I find myself very high on Chip Kelly's crew in 2015. We've all overreacted to preseason play at one time or another -- but a healthy Sam Bradford could be a major boon for Philadelphia. It doesn't hurt that they replaced LeSean McCoy with two high quality backs in DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews. Of course, there's a reason I put Philly in the "big question marks" category, because Sam Bradford and "health" haven't been synonymous thus far. So much relies, as usual, on Bradford not getting himself hurt.
ESPN
9) The Eagles have three running backs who have notched 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a season before, but all eyes will be on QB Sam Bradford as he makes his return.
NFL.com
10) Philadelphia moves on up, based on the play of Sam Bradford. But let's tap the brakes on going any higher. Building the offense around Bradford, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews is still a risky proposition. Zach Ertz hasn't been healthy. And this is a new-look offensive line, with Evan Mathis gone. So while the Eagles can perch atop the NFC East, saying it's likely to happen is another deal at this stage of the game.
CBS (Prisco)
13) They will be a good team, but I think they just miss out on the playoffs. Sam Bradford did look sharp in his preseason work.
CBS (Kirwan)
11) Chip Kelly really turned this roster upside down and put himself under the microscope. He waited two years to figure out how to build an NFL roster and I think he's on to something. This is a team I could see moving up the Power Rankings by mid-September.
Yahoo!
12) It's probably not the best long-term plan to project anything you see in the preseason to the regular season. But nobody looked better in the preseason than the Eagles. It's hard to ignore that.
FOX Sports
9) Sam Bradford might just be the perfect fit for Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme when you factor in his ability to make anticipation throws with uncanny accuracy. The defense still has question marks, particularly at nickel cornerback, but the offense could be elite.
10) After a wild and crazy off-season, no one quite knows what to predict in Philadelphia's future, although the consensus seems to be: brilliant success or catastrophic failure, with no in between.
OddsShark
11) N/A
Analysis
The rankings range from as high as 5 to as low as 13. 9 was the most common ranking. 9.6 is the average ranking. Some of these rankings are lower than I would expect, especially considering how good the Eagles looked in the preseason. Yeah, preseason doesn't count, but still ... the Eagles dominated, and power rankings are all about style points.
The Eagles will have a good chance to move up this rankings depending how they perform in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. A blowout on the win to start the season could earn them favorable attention. Meanwhile, a loss will have everyone questioning Chip Kelly's master plan.