|
The 2006 Philadelphia Eagles season ended in the Eagles finishing 10–6, reclaiming the NFC East, and winning a playoff game at home. The season ended in a Divisional Round playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints, but was seen as a success in the face of the adversity of losing starting quarterback Donovan McNabb to injury in Week 11. The Eagles had been to the playoffs from 2000 to 2004, but in 2005, the team was torn apart by injuries and the Terrell Owens saga and finished 6–10 a year after appearing in Super Bowl XXXIX. Retooled and refocused in 2006, the Eagles won four of their first five games, but they underwent a mid-season downturn that left them 5–6 and without McNabb. Backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped in and running back Brian Westbrook stepped up as the season turned around for Philadelphia. The team came back from the dead in late-November to win their last five regular season games, surprisingly winning the NFC East division title after a three-game December road sweep of all of its division rivals. They beat the New York Giants 23–20 in a home playoff game before finally losing to the Saints. McNabb started the season with MVP-caliber numbers before his November injury, while Garcia was efficient, running the "West Coast offense" perfectly and completing eleven touchdown passes with only two interceptions. Westbrook became the focal point of the team's offense after the loss of McNabb, and responded by rushing for 1,217 yards and racking up 699 receiving yards. Trade acquisition Donte Stallworth combined with second-year wideout Reggie Brown to catch 15 touchdown passes and amass 1,541 receiving yards. Meanwhile, the offensive line was a quiet strength of the team, featuring emerging star Shawn Andrews and a group that started all 16 games together. The offense managed to morph from a quick-strike team under McNabb to a methodical balanced attack under Garcia while finishing No. 2 in yards in the league. The defense was much improved from the previous season. The early season pass rush was savage, and the team appeared to be on the way to a sacks record, but a season-ending injury to Jevon Kearse and attrition weakened the defensive line. During the team's mid-season slump, the run defense was porous, but an elevation in play, spearheaded by defensive leader and All-Pro Brian Dawkins, helped the team turnaround. Trent Cole had eight of the team's 40 sacks and Lito Sheppard and his six interceptions made the Pro Bowl. The defense snagged 19 picks, and returned four of them for touchdowns. ==Offseason== In the 2006 NFL Draft, the Eagles used their first pick on Florida State defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley. Then they used their next pick (acquired from the Tennessee Titans) on Southern California offensive tackle Winston Justice. The rest of their picks included California Polytechnic State defensive end Chris Gocong, Georgia guard Max Jean-Gilles, Michigan wide receiver Jason Avant, Colorado wide receiver Jeremy Bloom, Tennessee linebacker Omar Gaither, and Southern California defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey. When the team met for training camp in the summer, they looked to erase the bad taste left by the disastrous 2005 season. Quarterback Donovan McNabb, returning from his sports hernia injury of the previous season, declared that he believed the team to be capable of reaching the Super Bowl. However, most of the national sports media picked the Eagles to finish last in a highly competitive NFC East. Correll Buckhalter returned after two years on injured reserve and the team added depth to the offensive and defensive lines. At the end of training camp, the Eagles cut two long-standing players from the team. They let maligned wide receiver Todd Pinkston go, due to his lingering Achilles tendon injury from the previous season. The team also released backup quarterback Koy Detmer, with former Pro Bowler Jeff Garcia and former Eagle A.J. Feeley becoming the team's new backups. There was criticism based around the Eagles' failure to adequately replace departed wide receiver Terrell Owens. However, with about a week left until the regular season began, the Eagles made a trade to get Donté Stallworth from the New Orleans Saints for linebacker Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2007. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2006 Philadelphia Eagles season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|