Eagles-Patriots: What I’m Watching For

Quarterbacks

• I want to see how comfortable Michael Vick and Nick Foles look running an offense at a fast pace. Are they going to run things smoothly, or will we see some quick three-and-outs? The two quarterbacks need to run this offense quickly, but also effectively. They’ve got to make quick decisions, but they’ve also got to be good ones. Avoiding turnovers is essential.
• Matt Barkley should get plenty of time to show what he can do, and he should be able to have a good night working against New England’s third team.
• Do we really need to see Dennis Dixon or G.J. Kinne? Maybe Dixon for a series or two at the end of the fourth quarter, but I’d rather see the top three quarterbacks take all of the snaps.

Running Backs

• I only need to see one or two touches for LeSean McCoy. No reason to put the team’s best player at unnecessary risk.
• How will Bryce Brown look tonight? Has he been able to improve on his ball protection skills at all? The young Patriot defenders trying to make their team are surely going to be targeting Brown. If I was an undrafted rookie trying to make the New England defense, I’d be going after Brown, trying to force him into a fumble in order to better my chances of making the squad.
• Chris Polk has been having a strong training camp, will that carry over into the first game?

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

• Can any of the young wideouts step up and assert themselves as a candidate to make this team? Russell Shepard and Ifeanyi Momah probably have the best chance of the undrafted rookies to make the team, so they’ll certainly be worth keeping an eye on.
• I can’t wait to see how Zach Ertz looks in his first game as an Eagle.
• Clay Harbor has had a very good camp himself, and he’s going to need to make it difficult for the coaches to release him.
• How will newcomer James Casey be utilized?

Offensive Line

• Alan Barbre will get the start at left tackle in place of Jason Peters. Barbre, a former Packer, has been in the league for five years and he’s going to have a good chance to make this team, especially now that Dennis Kelly is out for the preseason. Let’s see how he holds up tonight.
• How far along is Lane Johnson? He gets his first real action tonight as well.
• Any chance that Danny Watkins has made some real strides, or has his talk of change and progress been nothing but hollow words?
• As a unit, how well will this group hold up in pass protection and how strong will they be in the run game?

Defensive Line

• Will Fletcher Cox and Cedric Thornton look good in their new roles as 3-4 defensive ends?
• I want to see Antonio Dixon get a long look as this team’s nose tackle. Dixon has the size to play the position.
• Will third-round pick Bennie Logan have any impact?
• Does Vinny Curry have a future with this team?

Linebackers

• How good will DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks work together on the inside of the new alignment?
• Will Trent Cole or Brandon Graham emerge as one of the team’s starting outside linebackers?
• Do holdovers like Jamar Chaney, Casey Matthews, and Phillip Hunt have any chance to make this team?
• How about Emmanuel Acho, who Billy Davis coached last year with the Browns?

Cornerbacks/Safeties

• Bradley Fletcher needs to give us a sign that he can succeed as a starting cornerback. If Fletcher fails, the Eagles are going to have some serious problems in their secondary, I don’t think they’ve got another legitimate starting corner on the roster.
• Can fifth-round pick Earl Wolff make a push for a starting position?

Special Teams

• I’d love to see a little life out of the kick and punt return games. The Eagles special teams have been so dreadful under Bobby April, it’ll be refreshing to see a new approach.

Final Thoughts

Speaking as someone who is not a fan of the Chip Kelly hire, I want the Eagles to show me just a little something tonight that gives me some kind of hope or optimism that maybe this is going to work out. Throughout the whole off-season and to this very moment, I’ve been mostly skeptical and cynical about the direction that the franchise has gone in since they hired the former Oregon coach and in general I just don’t have a good feeling about where this team is going to be this year and several years from now.

So now that a legitimate game situation has arrived, this is where the era really begins and I’d really like to see something positive to combat the doubts that I have about this head coach and his philosophies. That’s not to say that if everything looks awful tonight I’m never going to warm up to Kelly, but I’d just like to see a little something good tonight.

It doesn’t necessarily have to do with what the team accomplishes on the field. Kelly could impress me with how organized the team looks, and how he manages certain situations. For example, if the guy can get through a half without so much as burning a timeout in the painfully wasteful manner that we saw Andy Reid do throughout his tenure, then heck, I’d settle for that.

Any aspect, great or small, that is positive that the team can build off of, I’ll gladly take.