Thoughts From Eagles-Titans

Offense

• Before Nate Sudfeld went down with his wrist injury, I thought he showed a lot of positives. Sudfeld looked like he was capable of making any throw, showed nice touch on his homerun ball to Marken Michel, and also displayed some good mobility. It’s a shame that his valuable development time in the preseason has been cut short.
• Man, what in the world did the Eagles see in Clayton Thorson? I understand he’s a developmental prospect, but when he’s incapable of hitting Donnel Pumphrey wide open in the flat, you really wonder what the Eagles were thinking spending a fifth round pick on this guy.
• For perspective, the fifth-round has netted the Eagles a lot of useful players over the years. Trent Cole came to the Eagles in the fifth-round. More recently, Big V was a fifth-round pick. The Birds really could have done better here, especially with the team being in a win-now mode, they didn’t need a fifth-round project quarterback.
• Andre Dillard looked tremendous in his NFL debut. He wasn’t challenged at all by anyone the Titans threw at him. Good early returns for the future left tackle.
• Jordan Mailata on the other hand did not impress. I think its fair to wonder if his roster spot might be in danger. Can the team afford to stash him as a developmental guy two years in a row if he isn’t making the jumps that they need him to?
• Dallas Goedert days ago claimed to be the fourth best tight end in the league, and he sure looked the part on Thursday.
• Josh Adams showed why the Eagles went away from him in the playoffs last year, killing a two-minute drill with a fumble before the half. He’s on his last three weeks as an Eagle.
• Marken Michel’s touchdown catch was an impressive play, but to make this roster he’s got to show more. I think it’ll be tough for the Eagles to keep six receivers, and I still believe the team will keep Mack Hollins despite his injury woes.

Defense

• Daeshon Hall was the guy that flashed the most to me tonight. He seemed to generate constant pressure, and even got in on a sack.
• Josh Sweat got a couple pressures of his own. I wasn’t blown away by Sweat, but I thought he had a respectable showing overall.
• Treyvon Hester and Hassan Ridgeway both had some strong moments. Could the Eagles keep five defensive tackles?
• L.J. Fort showed some impressive speed, and you can see why the team went and gave him a multi-year deal in free agency.
• I’m not sure why Nate Gerry is such a favorite of the coaching staff. Smart guy, sure, but the physical talent just doesn’t seem to be there.

Final Thoughts

The Eagles had such a luxury in Nick Foles as their backup quarterback for the last two years.

In Foles, you had a guy that could step in at a moment’s notice and keep the team at a level where they could still contend. There aren’t really words to justify how much Foles meant to this team over the last two years.

Now, the backup quarterback position is a concern.

While Sudfeld isn’t down for the season, he’s likely unavailable for at least a couple of weeks to start the season.

Ideally, Carson Wentz will simply stay healthy, and Sudfeld missing a few games won’t even be an issue.

But the idea of the Eagles being one snap away from Cody Kessler is a troubling thought.

For the next week, there’s going to be a lot of painful talk about who the Eagles could/should sign until Sudfeld returns. And the reality is, the team will probably just stand pat with what they’ve got.

At this point, you’re not going to bring a big-name guy in off the streets and ask him to hold a job for about a month and a half. If Sudfeld’s injury was a season-ender, it’s a much different conversation, but right now this is bunch of racket about what could amount to two weeks of Kessler serving as Wentz’s top backup.

Even in a worst case scenario where Kessler was forced into action in one of those two games, win or lose, it would be early enough in the season that a loss wouldn’t doom the team’s prospects.

Let’s just take a deep breath, relax, and brace ourselves for three more weeks of Kessler/Thorson-heavy preseason football.