Eagles right tackle Winston Justice is having major trouble trying to block number one draft pick Brandon Graham.¬† The rookie pass rusher is quick off the ball and he can beat a blocker outside or use his power to push the blocker back into the quarterback’s lap.¬† Graham seems to get near the quarterback on each and every play.
I also like the way he is quick with his hands to prevent an offensive tackle from getting his paws on him.  His ability to rush the passer is good news to everybody.
Justice also had some problems staying onside when Kolb used a sharp snap count.¬† Two times in a row, Justice jumped offsides, so Andy Reid took him out for the next play and had backup tackle King Dunlap take his place.¬† Dunlap didn’t jump offsides, but after the play Justice went back in to his starting tackle job.
Let’s state the obvious, the Eagles aren’t the same team without DeSean Jackson in the line up.¬† He scared all the safeties into backing up which gives Brent Celek, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant more room to operate.
The Eagles should start working out split end Maclin at the flanker position rather than having Avant backup Jackson at the spot.  Avant can be the third guy in line but the passing offense should revolve around Maclin, if Jackson is out with injury.
Anybody can see that Maclin has taken another step as a wide out and is good enough to carry a passing game, which would give the Eagles enough playmaking ability to win for a while without Jackson.
Avant and Kolb are going to be a busy duo on third and four, five or six yards.¬† Avant is very difficult to cover inside and Kolb has the ability to get the ball to him time after time.¬† Kolb’s intermediate ball is very catchable and Avant finds a way to bring it down.
Kolb was picked off yesterday by cornerback Joselio Hanson, who had rolled up short in the flat and for some reason Kolb didn’t see him.¬† He hit him in the chest with the throw.
Kelley Washington is a big physical receiver who will be battling to be the team’s number five wide out spot. Washington doesn’t have any problem letting people know that his strongest asset is playing special teams.¬† He’s supposed to be a monster of a special teams player.¬† Somebody tell Hank Baskett that he’s in major trouble.
Add the Washington signing to the Tracy White signing and you can see that Howie Roseman and Andy Reid are intent on having an effective special teams this year.
The Eagles defense won the battle against the Eagles offense in blitz period.  Kolb had a number of his passes knocked to the ground.  Ernie Sims came in on a blitz and running back Eldra Buckley was looking the wrong way, so he never saw him.  Kolb would have been knocked out if it was a live drill.
Trevor Laws made an appearance yesterday when exploded into the backfield on a “live” drill and hit running back J.J. Arrington, who fumbled the ball.¬† It was the first play I’ve seen Laws make all training camp.
The Eagles go “bootleg crazy” when Michel Vick is behind center.¬† They’ve been making it a habit of bootlegging him to his left, but they also have him running bootlegs to his right.¬† Vick has his speed back.¬† Cornerback Joselio Hanson was rushing from the backside and he was in position to run down Vick but that didn’t happen because Vick turned on the jets and took off.
In the afternoon practice, number one pick Graham showed his speed when he nearly caught Vick who was taking off on another bootleg.  When Vick misses a throw, he misses a throw very badly.
They put Vick in there for a trick play yesterday and he rolled out to his left and the pass intended for Hank Baskett was picked off by middle linebacker Omar Gaither.  Gaither did a great job of trailing Baskett all the way across the field and picked the ball off near the sideline.
Good stuff G. Good to see Maclin stepping his game up to another level.
Quick question G. Now when you say Vick has his speed back do you mean Atlanta Falcons Vick or are you just saying he’s faster than last year? Because if he has that Atlanta Falcons Vick speed he is going to be a real problem!
Good Stuff G…This is what we know…….Kolb is not ready…can you imagine dallas 3 4 blitz off the corner against justice without an elusive QB? He’ll get the ball out quick but there’s not a story I read on this guy yet that didn’t include another interception. The ball out quick could result in pick 6’s against a relentless blitz. Spears and Ware…along with that beast in the middle of Dallas D line…We still don’t know what will happen in the center of our O Line..Have we ever went into a season with so many unanswered questions. Think about Spears and Ware bearing down on Kolb who have the elusiveness of William Penn at the top of city hall. Think about Justice doing no Justice against a relentless Dallas Blitz…That’s the barometer I’m using since they kicked the snot out of our beloved Eagles not once but twice in a row. Is this team better than the one that walked off the field at the end of last year?….I really think the FO get totally exposed this year…And the kicker will be when the Deadskins is moving in the playoffs while the FO is spinning the fact that Kolb showed some good things while he’s also showed areas he can improve on…hyping us after another disappointing mess of a season. Remember when the Vikings went deep in the playoffs with our franchise QB that we claimed was finished while we were sitting home after the media hyped Hoying debacle? Just reminding you all…Levity is needed.
Songs, you make a good point, albeit obvious, that kolb will most likely have his biggest struggles versus effective blitzes. I can name 3 other qbs who have shown time and time again the same flaw – romo, e. manning, and donny mac. Can you argue against that fact? Ok then. Have the eagles likely upgraded the pass rush and blitzers? I say yes. Do they have a t sure handed te, quality possesion reciever, pass catching rb, pass catching fb? Do those things help w/ qiuck passes v. the blitz? My main point is that if you think kolb will lose games because of the blitz, you cannot then make a strong argument that the other nfc teams will be better…
Keep 5…. I saw Vick too and dude is fast. A lot faster than last year. Not sure about ATL because I don’t know what he looked like in person from back then but his speed at the QB position will be a problem for any team. Especially if they roll him out and you got Jackson on a deep post and Maclin doing whatever. The speed on the field with Vick would be ridiculous.
schill, come get in the league
Who was the last “elusive” qb to win the Super Bowl? Beating a blitz is about backs doing pick-ups, hot reads, draws, traps, fade patterns and accuracy. How mobile is Drew Brees? He does a decent job against blitzes, P. Manning too, and he is a cigar store statue. Running around in the backfield means the passer is not looking down the field at coverages and recievers. By the time he takes off running, the ball should already be gone. Elusive quarterbacks are overrated, guys who read coverages and throw accurately win games and championships. See also Brady, even the bum across the state. Plus, a solid running game does more to inhibit pass rush than anything else. If your best attack against a blitz is your qb running around, you are already beat.
Excellent points AS,
Run first, scrambling type QB’s are for College and the Candien Football League, not in the NFL
If you can’t read coveraged quickly and know where your check-downs are and quickly and accurately get rid of the ball to the proper receiver/read,Then you will not be successful in todays NFL as a QB
(M VIck has never shown to have this ability on a consistent basis)
Scorp, what’s the buy in again?
Run first? What NFL team are you talking about here? Remember when Duce complained about Reid’s tendency to abandon the run? Every runningback after Duce have siad the same.
Don’t hand me the run first approach with this team as an answer.
I never said run first, nobody did. This team is never going to be a run first team, it is not how the roster is set, it is not the philosophy here. But defeating blitzes is about scheme, playcalling and stand in the pocket passing, not elusive quarterback play. You may not like the playcalling, but that is on Andy, and that is not what this thread is about, it has warped into mobile quarterbacks. Elusive qbacks do not win in the NFL, period, it cannot even be debated. Steve Young was the closest thing to one, but his passing was always more important than his running ability. Randall was my favorite player to watch, but he still could not get it done in the playoffs, Buddy made sure of that with his lack of offensive focus.
What’s the “Truth” look like.. anyone know…
Sounds way too much like the “Answer” which we all know how that turned out… good grief..