Accentuate the positives as 2015 Eagles carry on…

My favorite Connor Barwin play is the one where he does a delayed blitz thing and just rumbles through or around the side of a confused offensive line.

The rest of the league might be more prepared for that move in 2015.  Barwin has caught the attention of opposing coaches and his peers in a big way.

For the first time Barwin has been selected to the NFL Players Top 100 list. He is the second Eagle to be named to the list at this point, joining running back Darren Sproles, who came in at No. 81.

Barwin led the NFC in sacks with a career-high 14.5 in 2014. No linebacker in Eagles history ever had as many sacks in a single season. Barwin was also the first linebacker to be named to the Pro Bowl since Jeremiah Trotter in the 2005 season.

“He’s really flexible, athletic and strong and that allows him to maneuver around offensive linemen and blockers,” said Washington outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan.

This is the kind of news that’s fun to print about the Eagles.  As you may have noticed I have been dealing in some negative speculation recently, not so much predicting failure in some of Chip Kelly’s works in progress but just wondering what adjustments can be made if things don’t go to plan.

Looking around the NFC East you can find some positive outlooks for the Birds.

ESPN NFL Insider KC Joyner offers four reasons that the Eagles – not the Cowboys – are NFC East favorites:

1. Sam Bradford is a vast improvement at quarterback. [Joyner points to Bradford’s “Bad Decision Rate” as one of the lowest in the league .]

2. Eagles have makings of NFL’s best rushing attack.

3. Eagles pass defense should be much improved.

4. Dallas will not be able to lean on their own rushing game as much this season.

Joyner isn’t the only analyst who likes the Eagles’ chances in 2015:

• Sabin: Why everyone seems to be picking the Eagles over the Cowboys in the NFC East

Bob Sturm provides a little bit of a counterpoint, but it’s really not too negative against the Eagles, more of a heads-up to keep our EYE on the prize:

• Bob Sturm: Cowboys prohibitive favorite in an NFC East that likely won’t produce two playoff teams

In Thursday’s OTI column at PE.com, Dave Spadaro interviews O-Line coach Jeff Stoutland , who says he’s not worried at all about filling the guard positions with talent which will get the job done—even if Evan Mathis does not remain on the team this year:

“I feel like we have two left tackles that are playing with our team, in Lane (Johnson, right tackle) and JP (Jason Peters). I mean that sincerely. And obviously (Jason) Kelce is the conductor of the whole band. He does an awesome job at what he does. He’s got a lot of respect from our team, the players here. You can ask any of them. He gets tremendous respect from the players for what he’s all about. The other player I really think is underrated is Allen Barbre. He is a really good player. We have a lot of confidence in him and his abilities.”

“I feel good about the guard situation. We’ve got a lot of good players around here,” Stoutland said. “Right now it’s a mission to find the right person, the right people, to play those positions. There’s no depth chart right now. Right now we’re trying to find the right mix, so every day it’s a different person in there, getting a look at him on film and just evaluating the critical factors as they are in there.”

If you could project a depth chart at right guard? It’s Matt Tobin and then Andrew Gardner and Stoutland professes major confidence in both.

So how’s that for a major dose of positivity? And I didn’t once mention Sam Bradford’s health issues…

As Abe Linc first reported here yesterday, the Eagles have announced their Training Camp schedule:

TC will begin on Sunday, August 2 at the NovaCare Complex. For the third consecutive year, the majority of the training camp practices will be held at the NovaCare Complex and will be open to a limited number of Eagles season ticket members randomly selected from every section of the stadium.

This year’s training camp also features two open practices at Lincoln Financial Field on Tuesday, August 4 and Sunday, August 9. The two open practices will be free of charge and will not require a ticket for entry. Seating at Lincoln Financial Field will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Training camp ends on Friday, August 21.

Prior to the preseason game vs. Baltimore on Saturday, August 22, the Eagles and Ravens will conduct joint practices at the NovaCare Complex. Exact days and times for all the practice sessions will be announced at a later date. The Eagles open up their preseason schedule on Sunday, August 16 with a match-up against the Indianapolis Colts. The Eagles are not scheduled to practice on Wednesday, August 5, Monday, August 10, and Monday, August 17.