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Samsonite Make Your Case: Philly phears?

The Eagles bring a balanced team to Super Bowl LII, but which side of the ball is most concerning?

Philadelphia has been as consistent as any team in the league in 2017. The Eagles have won throughout the season despite losing top players such as Jason Peters, Darren Sproles, Jordan Hicks, Chris Maragos and several others. The most damaging of those losses was quarterback Carson Wentz, who was lost for the year with a torn ACL suffered in a December win in Los Angeles.

Coach Doug Pederson has done an amazing job of keeping things together throughout the season, posting a 13-3 record and advancing to the Super Bowl after a pair of home wins over Atlanta and Minnesota.

Now the Eagles head to Minnesota to take on the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. They have a productive offense (seventh in the league) and talented defense (fourth) and that balance has been a huge part of the team's success.

So, with a week to go and tons of hype to go before the big game, our Samsonite Make Your Case question of the week is: What are you most concerned about heading into Super Bowl LII, the Eagles offense or defense?

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PFW's Andy Hart says...

Defense

If Carson Wentz were still healthy and playing I might change my thoughts on this but since Nick Foles is at quarterback I'm much more concerned with the Philadelphia defense. 

The Eagles have a deep and talented front that they like to rotate — led by the dominant Fletcher Cox — and it has the ability to both stop the run and get after the passer. That pressure up front helps the coverage, which has improved since getting cornerback Ronald Darby back from injury midway through the season. Malcolm Jenkins is an experienced veteran who understands how to play in big games, and he's one of the few safeties in the league who might be able to at least slow down Rob Gronkowski. 

The Eagles are a sound football team but it's their defense that has me concerned the most heading into Super Bowl LII.
— AH

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PFW's Paul Perillo says...

Offense

I've been very impressed with Philadelphia all season, mostly because of the way Doug Pederson has been able to thrive despite losing several front line players to injury. That includes his MVP-candidate quarterback Carson Wentz, who went down with a torn ACL and yet the Eagles offense hasn't missed a beat. 

Philly has several options at the skilled positions with wideouts Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith and Nelson Agholor, tight ends Zach Ertz, Bent Celek and Trey Burton and a stable of running backs led by Jay Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount and Corey Clement. That's a lot of options for Nick Foles to choose from, and Pederson has shown the ability to game plan in a manner to make any or all of these players dangerous. 

The Eagles offense is underrated and is my top concern going against an inconsistent Patriots defense.
— PP

Now it's your turn to cast a vote in this week's Samsonite Make Your Case poll question.

[wysifield-embeddedpoll|eid="642561"|type="embeddedpoll"|view_mode="full"]

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