Eagles news: The offseason begins, and there is much work to do

For Eagles, fool's gold in them there thrills - Inquirer

Give him some weapons and a solid line and what do you have? This season kept the answer a secret, and the problem is the next season might not be any more forthcoming. There are so many holes - defensive backfield, defensive line, offensive line, receivers, maybe running back - that the team doesn't have enough shovels to fill them all in one offseason.

"I'm going to wait to answer that because we've got an evaluation process these next couple of weeks to evaluate everything," Pederson said, asked what the team needs. "It's really hard to answer that right now."

Well, that's the right thing to say, at least until the players who play in those positions of need are able to pack up their lockers and get out of town, but some of them have to be back. Meanwhile, another year is gone and with it will be more than a few players who played out their last serviceable season with nothing to show for it.

After big game, Philadelphia Eagles' Zach Ertz doesn't mind discussing weak point - Penn Live

Sunday's season finale certainly stuck with the theme -- Ertz hauled in 13 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns Sunday to lead the Birds to a 27-13 victory over the Cowboys. He wound up grabbing 40 receptions over the final five games of the year after nabbing 38 in his first nine appearances.

But afterward, Ertz was just as candid about the criticism he's absorbed than the upswing of his production over the past month.

Specifically, the fourth-year tight end mentioned his desire to make more tacklers miss once he catches a pass.

"Yards after the catch is always something I can work on, something that hasn't come naturally to me in the past," Ertz said. "But I watch a lot of film to try and improve that aspect to my game. I think I took a step in the right direction in that regard these past couple of weeks."

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Cowboys game - Philly Voice

So who's the real MVP of this season? Carson Wentz? Jordan Hicks? Malcolm Jenkins? Brandon Graham?

Nope.

It's former Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who has an undying love for Bradford, and who convinced the Vikings to trade for him, which resulted in the Eagles stealing away the Vikes' first-round pick.

Carson Wentz finishes strong, Eagles look to future - Associated Press

"His progression from start to today is night and day," coach Doug Pederson said. "He's an exciting player to watch and to coach. To do the things that he's done is amazing and really looking forward to the offseason and building for next year."

Wentz threw a pair of TD passes on Sunday to lead the Eagles to a 27-13 win over the NFC East champion Cowboys in the regular-season finale. The Eagles (7-9) ended with consecutive wins, including a 24-19 victory over the playoff-bound Giants on Dec. 22.

"The biggest thing is building momentum," Wentz said. "We are building something special. We truly believe that in that locker room. I'm excited for the future."

Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick, set a rookie record with 379 completions and became the first quarterback to start 16 games for the Eagles since Donovan McNabb in 2008. He helped the Eagles start 3-0 before a rough stretch filled with several ups and downs.

"We're going home so that's frustrating," Wentz said. "As a whole offense, we were never perfect. As the year goes on, I was learning. I was playing faster. All that experience was adding up. So I'm real excited for where we are headed."