Eagles guard Evan Mathis was named to his first ever All Pro team. Photo by Andy Lewis/ contrastphotography.com

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and offensive linemen Jason Peters and Evan Mathis were named to the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday.

It was McCoy’s first selection to the All-Pro team.

McCoy led the NFL in rushing with 1,607 yards and yards from scrimmage with 2,146, setting Eagles records in both categories. Peters made the team for the fourth time since joining the Eagles in 2008. Mathis made the team for the first time.

McCoy and Peters were named to the NFL’s Pro Bowl game last week, Mathis, signed as a free agent in 2011, was not selected but is listed as a second alternate.

Peters had made the team three years in a row from 2009-11 before missing all of last season because of two surgeries on his Achilles.

It’s the first time the Eagles had three offensive All-Pro players since 1979, when running back Wilbert Montgomery, wide receiver Harold Carmichael and tackle Stan Walters made it.
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The Eagles are back in the playoffs for the first time since January 9, 2011 when they lost in the Wild Card round to the Green Bay Packers 21-16.

The Eagles (10-6) have lost three straight playoff games but hope to end the streak Saturday night when they host the New Orleans Saints (11-5) in the Wild Card round once again.

The winner moves on the road to play the Carolina Panthers in the Divisional round the following weekend.

One of the reasons the Eagles have turned a 4-12 team into an NFC East championship is the play of its defense including the reinvention of Pro Bowl defensive end Trent Cole.

When rookie coach Chip Kelly asked him to move from the line to outside linebacker, a lot of people had reservations about the idea including Cole.

“It’s natural (to be skeptical),” Cole said at his locker this week about what he initially thought of Kelly’s ‘Sports Science.’ “That’s naturally what a person does, he’s going to be skeptical at first. That’s just the way it is. But the thing is..they’re here. You can’t hide from it. Either you’re in or not. We’re here together. We’re going to make this thing work. Everybody’s got to buy in and go with the flow. You are not going to see results off the bat. It takes time.”

Cole said he knew he had to have patience and see if the change in conditioning for his new position would work.

“I can only speak for myself,” Cole said.” Coming from a defensive end to outside linebacker, it was hard. I’m used to running forward. I’m not used to dropping backwards and running down receivers down field. It was pretty hard at first. I had to get the endurance, that’s what I did …I just kept at it. I changed the way I prepped in the offseason and when I got to camp, the coaches had me doing different things to make sure I got up on my speed. It’s a whole other speed.”

Cole said he is as excited as ever to be in an Eagles uniform going into the playoffs.

“It’s going to be great,” said Cole, who led the team with eight sacks this season. “That’s the thing with Philly…when big things like this happen in Philly it’s like …the best. It’s exciting. You can feel the excitement around the city. Everyone knows we have something special. We have a special team.”
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The team sent out a press release about how they took care of the field at Lincoln Financial field during the recent snow storm. Here is some of the information.

“The Eagles estimate they will remove between 2-3 million pounds of snow from the stadium complex today, which includes the seating areas, the concourse, the plaza areas and adjacent parking lots. See below for quotes from Jason Miller (Eagles VP of Facility Operations) and Tony Leonard (Eagles Director of Grounds).”

Q & A with Jason Miller, Vice President of Facility Operations

What is the process of clearing the field and the stadium of all the snow?
“We bring approximately 600 workers in today to remove the snow from all the stands, including the field. We started clearing the stands at about 7:30 am. Hopefully by midnight tonight we’ ll be done. If not we’ll be here later finishing it up. We’re clearing all the stairs, the ramps, the seats, the inner bowl, the field, the plazas, the parking lots. Everything we have control over. It’s a big, valiant effort with the city also and with PennDOT.”

When did the process start of cleaning out the stands?
“I started at about 6:00 am and we started checking people in at about 7:30. That process went very smoothly. It took about an hour to get just over 400 employees out there removing snow.”

Have you gotten this down to a science yet?
“This isn’t our first one. We’ve been doing this since 2003. All the way back to the NFC Championship game in 2004. So we’ve definitely fine-tuned it and made it a little better. Hopefully I’ll get home to sleep in my bed tonight.”

How do you get the snow out of the seating bowl?
“We use the black chutes and we shovel the snow into the chutes. The chutes bring the snow down to the field. The mechanical equipment, the front-end loaders, they pick it up, take it out and dump it in the parking lot. From there, they take it from the parking lot and put it in the dump trucks. The city and the Navy Yard work with us. We take it and dump it on the old airport in the Navy Yard.”

Where do you find the 400 workers?
“We work with a contractor, American Winter Services, and we also reached out to some of the local unions, too.”

Are the workers on their own or do you help them with equipment and to stay warm?
“There are a couple different processes. We check the people when they come in and we also supply them with a winter hat, winter gloves, hand warmers, foot warmers, and any PPE equipment also.”

More Notes:
Landmarks for Eagles owner: Since Jeffrey Lurie’s first year owning the team in 1995, the Eagles have earned 12 playoff appearances and won seven division titles. During that span only three teams have more playoff appearances (including just one NFC team): Indianapolis (15), New England (14), and Green Bay (14). Just four teams (one NFC team) have more division titles: New England (13), Green Bay (10), Indianapolis (9), and Pittsburgh (9).
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QB Nick Foles finished the regular season as the NFL’s leader in passer rating (119.2), becoming the first Eagle to do so since Tommy Thompson in 1948 and 1949. Foles finished with the third-best QB rating for a season in NFL history (Aaron Rodgers – 122.5 in 2011, Peyton Manning – 121.1 in 2004) … Foles threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys for a 124.4 rating, marking his ninth game this season with a passer rating over 100, which
tied Donovan McNabb’s franchise record set in 2004 … For the season, Foles threw 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions. In doing so, he posted the best TD/INT ratio in NFL history and became the only quarterback to throw over 20 touchdowns and fewer than two interceptions. He also joined Tom Brady (36 TDs, 4 INTs in 2010) as the only quarterbacks to throw over 25 touchdowns and fewer than five interceptions … With two interceptions in 317
attempts this season, Foles’ 0.63% interception percentage ranks as the third-lowest in NFL history … His 27 touchdown passes tied for the fifth-highest single-season total in Eagles history … Foles is currently the franchise’s all-time leader in QB rating (101.0) and completion percentage (62.5). He also set the single-season franchise mark in completion percentage (64.0).
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Photo by Jesse Simmers / contrastphotography.com

RB LeSean McCoy finished the season as the NFL’s leader in rushing yards (1,607) and scrimmage yards (2,146 yards), while setting the team record in both categories … It marks the first time an Eagle led the league in both categories since Stave Van Buren in 1947. McCoy is also the first Eagle to lead the league in rushing since Van Buren 1949 and to lead the league in
scrimmage yards since Brian Westbrook in 2007 … The previous Eagles records were held by Wilbert Montgomery (1,512 rushing yards in 1979) and Brian Westbrook (2,104 yards from scrimmage in 2007) … McCoy also led the league in rushing attempts (324) and total touches (362) … With 131 yards against Dallas, McCoy tallied his seventh 100-yard game of the season, tying for second-most in a season … The Eagles are now 16-3 in McCoy’s 19 career 100-yard
games, which rank tied with Steve Van Buren for the third-most in franchise history.
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With 1,332 receiving yards in 2013, WR DeSean Jackson finished the season with the second- highest total in team history behind Mike Quick’s 1,409 yards in 1983. His 82 receptions this season ranked fourth and were the most by an Eagles wide receiver since Irving Fryar had 86 in 1997.
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LB Mychal Kendricks forced a fumble and registered his third interception of the season against Dallas. He became just the third player in team history to have at least four sacks and three interceptions in a season, joining William Thomas (1996) and Seth Joyner (1991 and 1992). He is also one of just four players to do so in 2013 (Lavonte David, Karlos Dansby, Daryl Smith) … Kendricks forced a fumble which was recovered by CB Bradley Fletcher on Dallas’ opening drive, marking DeMarco Murray’s first lost fumble of the season and the 11th straight game the Eagles did not allow opening-drive points.
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CB Brandon Boykin intercepted Kyle Orton in the final minutes to ice the game, marking his sixth interception of the season, which tied for the second-highest total in the NFL behind Richard Sherman (8) … After totaling just eight INTs in 2012, the Eagles picked off 19 passes this season, including 17 over the last 12 games.
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Bird Seed: The Eagles offensive line started all 16 games together this season, their first time doing so since 2006 … The Eagles snapped a streak of nine consecutive red zone possessions with a touchdown … With 98 plays of 20-plus yards in 2013, the Eagles had the most such plays in a single season since the stat started being recorded by Stats Inc. in 1995. They surpassed the previous record of 96 by the 2001 St. Louis Rams … Foles and McCoy became the first duo in NFL history to lead the league in quarterback rating and rushing yards
… TE Brent Celek caught three passes for 71 yards and his sixth TD of the season. With 312 career receptions, he moved past Bobby Walston for eighth on the team’s all-time list list … Jason Avant (297) surpassed Calvin Williams for 11th on the team’s all-time receptions list … RB Bryce Brown finished the season with touchdown runs in back-to-back games.
Predictions for Wild Card weekend
Al Thompson
NFC
Eagles 35, Saints 31
Packers 17, 49ers 13
AFC
Chiefs 21, Colts 17
Bengals 38, Chargers 35

Rock Hoffman

NFC

Saints 31 Eagles 30

49ers 21 Packers 16

AFC

Chiefs 24 Colts 16

Bengals 16 Chargers 14

Brian Baldinger