Thoughts on Eagles Preseason Game #1

It's the time of year when we get to watch meaningless football games and overanalyze them. Don't get me wrong – there is quite a bit we can learn from how a team performs in the preseason and I love to do it, but most teams are playing with a dumbed down playbook and of course, the third and fourth string are playing a large percentage of the game. So the fact the Eagles beat the Steelers on Thursday night only means that our third and fourth string are better than their third and fourth string.

Of course, this doesn't stop me from still sharing my thoughts with what I saw from Thursday night’s game. In many ways, I feel like I'm a broken record because some of the things I was going to say were the same things that I said after last year's preseason game against the Steelers. For that post, click here. I was going to talk about the Eagles’ inability to get off the field on defense because they have a hard time stopping the run and I was going to talk about the fact that the touchdown the Eagles first-team surrendered was due to the fact that they were still having the cornerbacks play off the receivers in zone coverage even when the Steelers were that close to the end zone.

With those things in mind, let's look at the defense. Last year the weakness on the Eagles defense was quite simple – the middle was very susceptible. They tried several different players at middle linebacker and their safeties played less than stellar. This resulted in a lot of teams running up the middle and throwing the ball to their tight ends and running backs. As a result, the Eagles decided to address middle linebacker in the off-season by trading for DeMeco Ryans from the Houston Texans. In 2010, DeMeco suffered a knee injury and even though he played the full 2011 season, the injury showed in his stats. However, if DeMeco is able to come back and have a healthy season, then the Eagles should be much improved at the middle linebacker position. Putting that together with the fact that the young safeties they had will be more experienced, the defense should be improved over last year.

So why did they still struggle on Thursday night? The first thing that should be acknowledged is that they did not have either of their starting defensive ends playing. Both Trent Cole and Jason Babin were out with injuries, but something tells me that if it had been a regular-season game, they would have been playing. So not having their star defensive ends certainly played into some other their troubles. But there were three things stood out to me that could become a problem (or rather, are still problems). First, their tackling was abysmal – a common problem they had last year. Second, the personal foul penalty that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie took was completely inexcusable. I know he's a physical defender and likes contact, but he needs to know that you can't leave your feet especially to hit a quarterback. And this brings me to my third, ongoing complaint regarding the Eagles defense. They let Asante Samuel go, which means they now have two cornerbacks who thrive in a system where they are able to be physical in a press, man-to-man coverage. While I saw more man-to-man coverage, the Eagles still have a tendency to go into that soft zone coverage where the cornerbacks are playing 5-10 yards off the receivers. This is clearly what they were doing when Nnamdi Asomugha gave up the touchdown in the second quarter. I think the unintended consequence of having two cornerbacks who thrive on being physical yet playing a style of defense where you ask them to do the opposite is that these cornerbacks will then look for other outlets for their physicality, including foolish hits like the one that Rodgers-Cromartie laid on Byron Leftwich. Also, I really like Nnamdi Asomugha, but he looks confused when he's asked to play in that zone defense. Defensive Coordinator Juan Castillo needs to recognize this and use a zone defense very sparingly. I scream this at the games all the time, so I'll do it here as well, “PLAY MAN-TO-MAN!”

One final thought regarding Thursday night’s game: the quarterbacks. I was glad to hear that Michael Vick had a negative x-ray and seems to be okay. While I'm still not completely sold on him as a franchise quarterback, I do acknowledge that he gives them the best chance to win. Unfortunately, we need to take a realistic look at past history and recognize that his playing style usually results in him losing time due to injury. Therefore, the Eagles need to make sure that a suitable backup can come in and replace him without completely ruining their chance to still win games. After Thursday night, I have serious doubts that Mike Kafka will be able to get that done. The little bit I have seen from him over the years has left me less than impressed and the interception he threw Thursday night was horrible. Throwing a screen pass blindly is absolutely ridiculous and usually results in exactly what happened – a defensive lineman running the other way with football. I recognize that Nick Foles and Trent Edwards were playing against inferior competition, but I'd like to see both of them get a chance going against the second string. Nick Foles showed me a lot with his performance and I think he has the potential to be a quarterback that Andy Reid can bring along as he has done with many other young quarterbacks. Additionally, Trent Edwards has experience starting in this league and I think should be given the opportunity to be the backup in the event that Michael Vick goes out with an injury. Like I said, I'd love to see both Foles and Edwards get some time with the second string and if they can produce, I think the ideal situation would be to have Vick backed up by Edwards and Foles as your third string rookie who learns the system. It's my prediction that Kafka doesn't last and finds himself the odd man out at the end of the preseason – or at least, that's my hope.

Those are my thoughts for now – I'll try and check in again before the regular-season starts. Go Eagles!!!!!

Reaction to Thursday Night

Well the Eagles got their hats handed to them Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers and in typical Philadelphia fashion, the fan base is going crazy like Chicken Little screaming that the sky is falling. Before we overreact however, let’s remember a few things. First, it’s only a preseason game where teams are using a dumbed down playbook. As long as the team finishes the game without major injuries, I consider it a victory. Second, this is a team with a lot of new players on defense and they have a new defensive coordinator, so some growing pains are to be expected until all the players learn their roles and what is expected of them in the new system. Finally, a national embarrassment should cause them to realize that this is no “dream team” yet and that any accolades need to be earned. Based on Michael Vick’s “humble pie” comment after the game, I’m hoping that is the case.

All that being said, there are some real concerns I have coming out of Thursday night. They are, as follows:

1. Defense Against the Run: The whole Eagles team is built with a simple game plan. Get a lead & keep it. Their big play ability on offense is designed to get a quick lead. The defense’s strengths are in pass coverage and rushing the passer, so it will be hard for other teams to play catch up once the Eagles get a lead. Of course, this has one major flaw – what if they don’t get a lead and are playing catch up themselves. As has been the case throughout the Andy Reid era, our defense is fast but small. This makes us vulnerable to teams, like the Steelers, that will commit themselves to the run and just pound away at our smaller defense. The Steelers showed the league Thursday night how to beat the Eagles with this kind of approach. With the eventual return of DT Mike Patterson and the hopeful maturing of MLB Casey Matthews, I think the Eagles will improve in this area, but this has always been a weakness under Andy Reid and I see nothing that will change this.

2. “Soft” Corners: With the addition of cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, I was hopeful that the Eagles were going to get away from the soft zone coverage they have played in the past. Under a new defensive coordinator, I had hoped Juan Castillo was going to implement a system that used these two players’ strengths, which is press, man-to-man coverage. Both of these cornerbacks are physical players who like to jam wide receivers on the line of scrimmage. What did I see on Thursday night? Too often I saw the same old defense that has driven me crazy all these years – they were playing 5-10 yards off the line of scrimmage in that soft zone the Eagles always play. It’s a style that works well for a player like Asante Samuel, who likes to read and react, but for two cornerbacks who like and thrive on contact, it’s the proverbial square pegs in round holes. I’ll give them a partial pass as they only got these new players a few weeks ago thanks to the drawn out labor dispute and they are also still trying to figure out how to use all three Pro-Bowl caliber corners in one system. But if the regular season starts and they still have these two guys consistently playing 5-10 yards off the receivers, then I might just lose it.

3. Michael Vick’s Ability to Read Defenses: Let me start this by saying that I have not been the biggest fan of Michael Vick as a quarterback. Even before the dog fighting incident happened and he was with the Atlanta Falcons, I had thought he was one of the most overrated players in the league. That being said, I think he made some real strides forward as a quarterback under Andy Reid’s tutelage. However, at the end of last season, defenses started bringing more pressure against him and started making him make quicker decisions in the pocket. We saw more of the same Thursday night. The interceptions he threw were clearly the result of him thinking the coverage was one thing when it was something else. Apparently, Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg have been working with Vick during training camp on his pre-snap reads and recognizing blitzes. They had said that he was getting better at this. We did not see that Thursday night. There is still a chance he could improve, but I think at some point, you have to realize that a player has gotten as good as he is going to get in a certain area. Don’t get me wrong – Michael Vick is an electric player with huge big play ability, but I still have my reservations about Vick’s ability to read a defense and when you get into the post season against better teams, they will force him to make good reads and beat them in the pocket. Hopefully, he’ll prove me wrong.

4. Offensive Line Struggles: Not helping Michael Vick is the fact that the offensive line has not done a good job of giving him time. They used their first round draft pick on right guard, Danny Watkins, but the right tackle position has also been a problem. Their first two options at RT were Winston Justice and King Dunlap, but they can’t stay healthy and everyone else they have tried there has struggled to put it mildly. Now they’ve signed Reggie Wells to play out there, but he was a player they had before but who couldn’t get on the field when they had struggles on the O-line last year. So you have a rookie and a question mark on the right side of the line. Considering that Michael Vick is left handed and these two positions are protecting his blind side, this is a major cause for concern. Additionally, I just read where they are going to start giving rookie center Jason Kelce snaps with the first team unit. So you could have an offensive line with two starting rookies. It may turn out that Watkins and Kelce end up being great players and an anchor on the offensive line for the next ten years, but for now, I’m less than thrilled that we might have two starting rookies on the offensive line.

Once again, it’s only preseason, but come this Thursday against the Browns, these are the four things I’m going to be watching to see if there is improvement. If there isn’t, I might start doing the Chicken Little dance with the rest of the Philly fan base.

Eagles-Packers Game

Well, I'm riding on the train down to the Eagles game & I thought I'd post my thoughts on today's game. First of all, I'll start by saying that after yesterday's games where both Superbowl teams went down, it just goes to show that you really never no what is going to happen in the NFL. That being said, I'll give it a shot anyway.

Of course, the Eagles opened the season against the Packers with a loss that saw Kevin Kolb get knocked out & the Michael Vick era start, but that game can't really factor into this analysis as these teams have changed a lot since then. I've heard & read a lot about the offense of both teams & how they are both explosive, but that is not what I'm looking at. I think the offenses are both pretty equal, but it's the defense that will make the difference. Unfortunately, I think the advantage there goes to the Packers. They have a great pass rush & can generate pressure without needing to blitz - something that the Eagles can't do.

So what can the Eagles do to counter that advantage. I can think of three things that could lead to an Eagles win:

1. RUN THE BALL: The one area that the Eagles do have an advantage on offense is in the running game as the Packers really don't have one. It will help neutralize the Packers pass rush & will make them less predictable.

2. SPECIAL TEAMS: This is the one phase of the game where the Eagles could have an advantage. The Packers don't really have a good return game & 1 or 2 big plays made by the Eagles in special teams could make a big difference. Don't be surprised to see DeSean Jackson back there returning the occasional punt.

3. THE X-FACTOR: Meaning Michael Vick. If there is one thing we learned from both the Giants game & the Vikings game, it's this - as goes Michael Vick, so go the Eagles. He has shown that he alone can neutralize a team's pass rush with his ability to move & run if need be. Hopefully, the week off after the Vikings debacle allowed him to rest so he'll be 100% today.

My prediction: I just don't like how this game sets up & I have no confidence in Andy Reid sticking to a running game. I'm going to say: Packer 27, Eagles 20. However, like I said, in this league, who really knows.