The statistics mean nothing to me. After all, it’s the just the second preseason game. Zero tackles for linebacker Ernie Sims. So what?!! 213 yards allowed in the first half. And??
The more important thing is what can be learned from what was probably the toughest test in a scrimmage against the Cincinnati Bengals (The 1st team won’t play nearly as much against the New York Jets in the preseason finale).
What did the coaches learn about their players? What did the players learn they need to work on? Who learned their chances of making the final cut are pretty slim?
I saw a lot of things in Friday’s game. Some were positive and I hope it continues. Some were negative and I hope they’re corrected.
• It’s well understood why Andy Reid is being cautious with bringing back Jamaal Jackson and Todd Herremans. The interior of this offensive line was horrendous, especially in the running game.
• Somebody tell me why the Eagles gave up three draft picks and a $60 million contract to Jason Peters again? Yes he made 3 Pro Bowls, but no team can afford to have its anchor of the O-line lead them in penalties.
• Did anyone else have visions of L.J. Smith when Jeremy Maclin fumbled trying to get extra yardage? Come on dude!!! Even with your hand fully extended you were a yard shy of the first down. You’re better than that!!
• The team loves him, but I’m not a big fan of Akeem Jordan. He’s good for depth and special teams, but not the starter they have him out to be.
• Isn’t it good to have Stewart Bradley back!?? He definitely is a key to this defense’s success.
• Even after earning a Pro Bowl appearance last year, I don’t think Quintin Mikell is as good he’s made out to be. He produces when he’s surrounded by other talent but he’s far from a difference maker.
• The two biggest plays made against the Eagles so far have been against Joselio Hanson. Yes, it was a perfectly thrown ball to Terrell Owens but why do teams make a point to go deep in his direction? Something to ponder there…..
• How are we ever going to find out who the “real McCoy” is if he doesn’t get adequate blocking? I can’t say whether he looks improved yet or not.
• Back to Maclin. If he’s going to be a star receiver, he has to learn to be aware of where the first down marker is. The play on which he injured his shoulder had a lot to do with him being a yard short.
• Quintin Demps never ceases to amaze me. How to you illegally touch someone on a fair catch and STILL allow them to gain a chunk of yardage??
• What’s going on with J.J. Arrington? I didn’t see him on the field at all.
• The performance Michael Vick displayed against the Bengals (against their second unit mind you…) enhanced the importance of keeping Kevin Kolb healthy.
• If the offensive line becomes stabilized (and that’s a huge IF), Kevin Kolb could put up Pro Bowl numbers. He’s gotta stop throwing off the back of his foot though.
• Brandon Graham should be the starting left defensive end by week 4. He’s getting better and better.
• Look forward to DeSean Jackson returning punts again. They don’t have any other options.
• The safety I wanted all along, Nate Allen, got flat out ran over. I hope he learned from it. That said, I’m quite comfortable with his coverage skills. That double move has been used a lot against the Eagles the past few years.
• Keenan Clayton is going to be one of those players who just keeps earning more time as the season goes on.
I refuse to get discouraged by preseason play. The 2007 New England Patriots were 2-2 in their preseason play. I’m not making any predictions, but I’m not denying the possibilities either.
This offensive line has to come together and the mental mistakes have to stop. With an opponent as bad as the Kansas City Chiefs, the Eagles can focus on lining up their formations the right way and proper execution.
With the first cuts coming after this following weekend, we’ll see who steps their game up.
GO EAGLES!!!
Lesson 1: Find the LOS and line the F up on it…
Good stuff Haran,
I would not fall asleep on the KC Cheifs who has amassesd a lot of young talent the last few Drafts. Now with a little stability with their coaching staff and FO, I look for them to be a much more competitive
team than of the last few seasons..But If the Eagles 1st Offense doesn’t score 14-17 points in 1 half of play against them, then I would be concerned and this Eagle offense may end up being a dud this year…
Paul – you think preseason means stuff for theseason? Really?
schill, to a certain extent i said yes. although i do agree with your thought process. I think everyone, incluidng coaches/fo would like to see them sustain a drive and put points on the board early bc that is indicative of how well these guys are meshing together. youre correct we do have time before the regular season and access to a much more expandable playbook. i think paul is more concerned with playmakers making plays than anything else.
I watched the Mcnabb game against the ravens on tvchannel.com and he looked pretty bad. Washington WR’s cant get open. Its a lot like Jay Cutler in Chicago.
right on the money with saying pre-season is to find out about players and what you need to work on – I would rather play a scrimmage and get beat 52-0 and find out all that was wrong, then kill a team 52-0 and think everything was perfect – during the entire 11 years, have any eagle teams done well in the pre-season? 30 of the players out there against the bengals won’t be on the team in two weeks…
As for the line up – despite what Tony Siragusi or the rest of the announcers say – it has nothing to do with the Umpire being moved, its the LJ and HL that call that penalty – The rule is the head must be forward of the centers belt, the problem is when they place their feet and lean over, their head is forward of the belt, then as the snap count starts the tackles are standing up (or looking up), but its a minor correction and this type of penalty is the exact reason you play pre season games.. clealry multiple O lineman were having the same problem, so either 1) the HL or LJ was being VERY picky (the curious note would be if the same official was calling it each time because several O Lineman got called and the HL is on the visitors side and the LJ is on the Home team side so dependind on the quarter it may have been the same official) or the coach taught the players wrong – but it is fixable
Speculating on the eagles this year is dumb. They’re not gonna win a superbowl or even get to the superbowl. Im more interested in my fantasy league than the eagles right now. Everyone needs to get fired except Desean Jackson. This includes Fat Andy and all the sloppy cheerleaders.
I agree with you about Mikell. He is not a difference maker. He sucked last year and who knows this year. He has to prove that he can be a difference maker when he’s playing next to someone not named Dawkins and you don’t have Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown as the corners holding it down. With the way out corners jump routes (Hobbs and Samuel) and get burnt (Hanson), Mikell will be in for a long year.
I hate Peters. All that money for nothing.
Demps should be cut now.
Does Ernie Sims have any tackles. We all know he has some in camp. Camp doesn’t matter.
To Schiller,
Pre-season is a mind-set and it really depends what type of team you have..
A veteran team with lots of leadership and a Starting roster that is pretty well set, then no, I the games would not be all the meanigful..(like last years Squad where very few positons or even roster spots were up for grabs.. This year sit’s a different deal with the Eagles after shedding many veteran plays and having some real open competition for roster spots.. The Eagles are now the 4th Youngest team in the NFL with an average age of around 25.5 Years old..with all the draft picks and new players on board this season, I think these Pre-Season games are more meaningful and especailly when you change the Starting QB after following the face of the Franchise for the last 10 + years..
This was not a typical off-season,draft,ota,or summer camp in my opinion and for the next 3-5 years of productive winning football is being formed right in these 3-4 months and the sense of urgency should continue right thru the Pre-Season, are wins and losses important, I would say no, but you have to find a rhythm, gain confidence and build up trust with each other and your coaches adn the Eagles are simply a work in progress right now. a lot of questions remain as far as I am concerned
whose the back-up RB, TE , who is playing Center, what if Stacey Andrews doesn’t improve…
On the Defense, who are back-ups at Safety,CB and LB positions, who is going to handle the Kick-off return duties… -3 weeks left and not a lot of clear cut choices that I see as of yet for these same questions from 3-4 months ago…
Im not too concerned with the O-line just yet. Remember the start of last year Green Bays tackles couldnt stop anybody to save their life. From week 6-16 they were one of the high flying passing teams in the league. Time will tell.
It’s funny that preseason is so meaningless but that players are evaluated during preseason to determine if they make the roster. I watched many preseason games and the first teams weren’t ut there to make the team. They were out there to measure their progress against other first teams. Conclusions can be drawn about the play of the offense defense and special teams from these competitions and it was clear that both lines were outplayed by the Bengals and that kick coverage was poor. This is the only live game time before the regular season. As to our left tackle he had a slew of penalities last season during the season. Excuses are for loosers. He is overweight and slow and not in the best shape he can be in.
dont know if you guys saw but on profootballtalk they have an all-pro prediction and J Peters made it. means nothing but for some reason outside of this city he has a lot of respect.
he may get respect around the nfl birds dont lol
He gets respect because the interior of the line is so bad it takes the spotlight off him and Justice. Also, much of it has to do with is past seasons and the fact there aren’t that many dominant LTs in the NFC.
Paulman hit the nail right on the head. Preseason in terms of wins and losses doesn’t mean anything but with this young team, new QB and many spots open for competition, the preseason is important. It’s important that this young group establishes themselves not. This is not a veteran team that has played together for the last 4-5 years and can just turn it on when the regular season starts. They need to show that they are ready to play now together. Does throwing a TD or drivng your team all the way down the field in the preseason mean a lot to Favre, Manning, Brees or Brady? Nope. But it does for this young offense and young QB. This team has a lot to prove.
Fortunately, they play the Chiefs next.
Unfortunately, they play the Chief next.
They may look good against a garbage first team in KC so people will think the “kinks” are worked out especially since they won’t play that much against the Jets. The offense needs to put up some points this game and man handle the Chief. But beating up on the Chiefs will mean nothing if the “kinks” aren’t really worked out.
We will see week 1 when Aaron Rodgers rolls into town with his offensive juggernaut.
i agree with the chiefs thing scorp
chiefs r the reason kolbs the starter now lmao
i predict 21 pts 1st qtr 12 for 15 240 yards 2tds 1 rushing lol he is great vs chiefs got him a starting qb job
holla at me when saints or ravens come to town we know what he does vs those guys too