Well the Eagles have concluded their preseason schedule with a 1-3 record. As I said in prior posts, the preseason scores & records really mean nothing, but you can pick up on some things good and bad that then translate to the regular season.
For instance, last year you could tell instantly in the preseason that DeSean Jackson was a real talent and when the regular season started he kept up the great play. On the other side, I think of two years ago when the return game showed that there were issues in the preseason and sure enough a few misplayed punts cost them against the Packers in the first game and Reno Mahe found himself employed by an NFL team the next week.
So what do I take from this preseason. To be honest, I have a confession - I only watched the first two games. Those of you who know me personally are aware that I started a new job and my online training took up most of the third game. I did see the last two minutes in order to see David Akers kick the game winning field goal. As for the fourth game, I watched a little but hardly any of the starters played and the Phillies v Giants game became much more intriguing as there was a great pitching duel between Pedro Martinez and Tim Lincicum (one the Phillies won I might add). Once I got watching a baseball game that had a playoff atmosphere, a meaningless preseason football game became even more boring.
So from what I did see, I liked a lot from what I saw from rookie running back LeSean McCoy. I think he'll be a great back up to Westbrook and is his obvious eventual successor. Donovan showed me he is ready to be a Pro-Bowl caliber quarterback, if he has time. That brings me to one of my biggest concerns - the health and continuity of the offensive line. I am hoping that their lack of playing time was a result of an abundance of caution from the coaching staff that they didn't want them to get more banged up. But the lack of depth at those positions is startling.
My other major concern is leadership on defense. I still think that the loss of coach Jim Johnson, free safety Brian Dawkins and linebacker Stewart Bradley will have huge implications in this area. I specifically think of the play against the Colts in game 2 where they gave up a deep ball where the defense clearly was not communicating. Initially, the commentator Darryl “Moose” Johnston totally got the play wrong. He criticized Eagles corner back Ellis Hobbs for not following with Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, but it seemed clear to me that the mistake was by the safeties and Johnston eventually recognized that. The Eagles always play that zone where the corners are responsible for the short routes while the safeties are there to protect the deep pass. Well the Colts ran two deep patterns and the safeties only concentrated on one of them. A player who is a leader on defense can recognize those situations pre-snap and call out adjustments. Dawkins and Trotter were great at it and Bradley had been the person who seemed to be following in those foot steps. If the Eagles get beat on a lot of big plays, I’ll be looking to see if it was because they got caught in an unfavorable coverage and no one called out an adjustment. That being said, they were going against a quarterback in Peyton Manning who is an expert at finding those kind of unfavorable conditions.
Well, I just checked the Eagles website and there was no big news on players released as of yet. I’ll be watching as tomorrow’s deadline approaches. I’d still be surprised if Reggie Brown makes this team and I think the only way the Michael Vick experiment continues is if the team parts ways with AJ Feeley. Since Vick isn’t available until week 3 according to the NFL Commissioner’s ruling, Feeley may still be with the team at the end of the weekend, but I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were him.
For instance, last year you could tell instantly in the preseason that DeSean Jackson was a real talent and when the regular season started he kept up the great play. On the other side, I think of two years ago when the return game showed that there were issues in the preseason and sure enough a few misplayed punts cost them against the Packers in the first game and Reno Mahe found himself employed by an NFL team the next week.
So what do I take from this preseason. To be honest, I have a confession - I only watched the first two games. Those of you who know me personally are aware that I started a new job and my online training took up most of the third game. I did see the last two minutes in order to see David Akers kick the game winning field goal. As for the fourth game, I watched a little but hardly any of the starters played and the Phillies v Giants game became much more intriguing as there was a great pitching duel between Pedro Martinez and Tim Lincicum (one the Phillies won I might add). Once I got watching a baseball game that had a playoff atmosphere, a meaningless preseason football game became even more boring.
So from what I did see, I liked a lot from what I saw from rookie running back LeSean McCoy. I think he'll be a great back up to Westbrook and is his obvious eventual successor. Donovan showed me he is ready to be a Pro-Bowl caliber quarterback, if he has time. That brings me to one of my biggest concerns - the health and continuity of the offensive line. I am hoping that their lack of playing time was a result of an abundance of caution from the coaching staff that they didn't want them to get more banged up. But the lack of depth at those positions is startling.
My other major concern is leadership on defense. I still think that the loss of coach Jim Johnson, free safety Brian Dawkins and linebacker Stewart Bradley will have huge implications in this area. I specifically think of the play against the Colts in game 2 where they gave up a deep ball where the defense clearly was not communicating. Initially, the commentator Darryl “Moose” Johnston totally got the play wrong. He criticized Eagles corner back Ellis Hobbs for not following with Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, but it seemed clear to me that the mistake was by the safeties and Johnston eventually recognized that. The Eagles always play that zone where the corners are responsible for the short routes while the safeties are there to protect the deep pass. Well the Colts ran two deep patterns and the safeties only concentrated on one of them. A player who is a leader on defense can recognize those situations pre-snap and call out adjustments. Dawkins and Trotter were great at it and Bradley had been the person who seemed to be following in those foot steps. If the Eagles get beat on a lot of big plays, I’ll be looking to see if it was because they got caught in an unfavorable coverage and no one called out an adjustment. That being said, they were going against a quarterback in Peyton Manning who is an expert at finding those kind of unfavorable conditions.
Well, I just checked the Eagles website and there was no big news on players released as of yet. I’ll be watching as tomorrow’s deadline approaches. I’d still be surprised if Reggie Brown makes this team and I think the only way the Michael Vick experiment continues is if the team parts ways with AJ Feeley. Since Vick isn’t available until week 3 according to the NFL Commissioner’s ruling, Feeley may still be with the team at the end of the weekend, but I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were him.
The highlights of the last game showed some promise for the 3 or 4th and short that the Eagles have trouble with. McCoy, Weaver, and and some Vick draw plays should help out with that. Could Samuel step up into a leadership role on defense? Did you post your prediction for the Eagles record this year? I'm saying 11-5, and going to the Superbowl against the Patriots
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