First Half Thoughts (Eagles v Jets)

Offense:
- A.J. is slingin' the rock! AND holding onto is WAY TOO LONG! Taking hits AND fumbling...DANG fella...He must think he's got the 1st-string O-line in there...Where's that internal clock that tells a QB to get rid of the ball?
- Tony Hunt looks like a keeper. I know its all second-string, but he looks sharp and powerful.
- WR Avant had a helluva catch down the sideline (31 yard gain on 3rd and 25)
- The red contact lenses (worn by a few Eagles players) may cut down on the glare, but they are creepy.
- Kolb enters the game early...seems like Kolb's early series are a little rough. He seemed to find his groove in the 2nd quarter. His dad is a HOOT.

Defense:
Didn't get much work in the 1st quarter. Seems like the game-clock just ain't stoppin' (Good).
The Q HITS! OK Quintin Mikell can hit....anyone else like to see him replace Considine???? I can see the threads forming already (ed. note: yup they're there already).
Juqua Thomas is for real. I talked about him being a key guy to re-sign this off-season. It certainly looks like a good move now. I also love the fact that even though he signed a decent extension, he's hasn't slowed down. No "fat wallet" syndrome that seems to affect some guys when they get their first big signing bonus.


Special Teams:
- Hmmm, punting competition aside...Is place-holding going to decide the Eagles punter?the Eagles have flubbed two 46-yd FG attempts so far. The first was a poor snap - and Rocca couldn't save the hold....
The second was a good snap - hold got down - and Akers missed the kick. Hmmm, I wonder what the replay will show? Were the laces forward? YES...dang it.
Eagles finally convert a FG! With the pressure on, Rocca got the snap down and spun.
You know the Eagles got the chance to try that 3rd FG because a TD was called back. I think that's the only time I've ever been happy to see 7 points converted into 3....
- Punt coverage sucked on the first punt....WTF? Are our ST going to suck again this year? They've gone from a strength that helped propel us to the Super Bowl in 2004 (2005 is awash) to a base-line average group with notable deficiencies in 2006. This 2007 group isn't all the impressive either. What the fuck is wrong?
- Kickoff coverage sucked too.

Final Preseason Game is Almost Here

And you can bet I'll be up and watching it. I was about to do a roster prediction article, but honestly, tomorrow's game is going to determine those last few slots. Its a final chance for guys like Nate Ilaoa, Rashad Barksdale, Nick Graham, Marcus Paschal and Jeremy Clark to catch the coaches' eye and stake a claim to a roster spot.

There's also plenty of question remaining about how many the Eagles might keep at certain position. Last year we had 10 linemen for each side of the ball. That seems a bit exorbitant this year because we have a long-snapper, Jon Dorenbos, who will serve as an emergency TE (like Mike Bartrum use to)....But I will tell you this - The Eagles damn sure will be carrying 3 TEs this year. Brent Celek looks like the real deal (and this game against the Jets turn that warm fuzzy into hot passion) - so L.J., Celek and Schobel are going to be on the team. (Sorry Lee Vickers, its the practice squad for you).

Well anyway, while most pundits will bemoan the fact that this game is completely worthless and I'm sure some articles will question why owners "get away" with charging full price to see a bunch of scrubs play...however, those writers aren't battling for jobs. I'd say at least 45 roster positions are solidified - I mean absolute no doubters, but who are the 6 linebackers going to be? Do we carry 8 or 9 DBs, if so who are 8 & 9? 4 backs or 5? 5 means Ilaoa has a great shot, 4 means he a practice squad guy.

How many wide receivers? Curtis, Brown, Avant, Baskett and ??? I'd say Lewis and Bloom but who knows....We're all about to see the final curtain call. Enjoy it, for what its worth - a glimpse at some of the role-players who could be asked to step-up contribute at some point this season. (you never know)

Eagles-Steelers - 2nd Half Impressions

Bloom took the second-half K.O. and looked tentative. As Madden said after remarking about Bloom's toe injury: He looked like a guy that shouldn't have been out there.

Offense:
Kolb led a good opening drive. Until someone jumped offsides on 2nd and 7. That opening up the floodgates for 2nd and 3rd and long and Steelers poured the pressure on. Settled for a 44-yard FG by David Akers after having the ball on about the Steelers 20....again, penalties kill a chance to score more. DAMMIT.
- Kolb's second drive ends at mid-field on a QB sneak....I guess my only thought on that one. Its preseason - sneaks SHOULD WORK, but these are the Eagles 2s going against the Steelers first team D, and Kolb isn't going to be the starter, but Tony Hunt COULD see some game action this year. Why not see what Hunt's got in a key situation like that? I mean 3rd down and the FB runs it, 4th down - QB sneak....seems like it was good opportunity
- Kolb engineers a great scoring drive, hooking up with 4th string TE Lee Vickers about a dozen times and ending with a good TD toss. Score 20-13 Pitt
- Kolb is engineering another great drive. Oh fuck....goddamn rookie WR fumbles the ball and it goes the other way for a TD...what the frig....So long Zac Collie....
The good news - Kolb looked pretty damn good. He made the throws he needed to make. Hell me made BETTER throws than one might expect from a rookie. He didn't get much assistance. He got some....they dialed up a LOT of different rookie/2nd year WRs during his drives. I mean Gasperson, Collie, J.J. Outlaw, Jamison, Vickers, Bloom all got their shot. None were impressive. Certainly no one made the sort of OOO or AAH play that made you consider that the guy might be potential replacement for WR like Greg Lewis (who is probably our 5th string possession guy right now).


Defense:
Ole defense to start the second half...whew...they didn't do much and while they didn't give up points after Charlie Batch's initial quick TD drive, that's not really all that indicative of success or progress. Following that: Second half D was unspectacular - no one got injured which was good. They did their jobs and got the ball back for Kolb and the Offense. If the young wideouts hadn't fucked up, Kolb might've engineered an entertaining (though ultimately meaningless) 4th quarter comeback.

Summation: Andy Reid did his usual preseason routine - complete vanilla. He got McNabb some work and then let Kolb strut his stuff. No work tonight for A.J. - though I imagine he'll see extensive action on Thursday night. And perhaps that's the key. The Eagles have a very quick turn around to their next game, so perhaps AR figured to keep him fresh because he'll probably play the first half in just a few days.
All-in-all, no complaints because the Eagles appear to escaped unscathed, injury-wise.

Now THAT is what I wanted to see

Just about everything went exactly as I hoped this evening/morning:

- McNabb looked great. Simply great. He showed some mobility, getting out there on some roll-outs, stepping around in the pocket. More importantly - he had excellent chemistry with his wideouts - hooking up with Kevin Curtis right off the bat, and connecting with both Celek and Schobel for look passes with the TEs
- The team played with atty-tood. The first team D absolutely dominated the Panthers. Delhomme looked lost out there as the Birds first-team held them to 3-and-outs to start the games. Hell, the Panthers didn't move the ball at all until the Birds put in the subs at the end of the first half. Then Delhomme engineered a FG 2-minute drill against the likes of Joselio Hanson, Nick Graham and Marcus Paschal....oops
- Hello LITO! Nice set-up, with pressure on the right, and Lito playing the hot-read...INT for a TD! Good to see Sheppard is back and ready to rock.
- Celek continues to impress. This guy could wind up being a real contributor....at least he looks like it after two weeks - which is very odd (and impressive) for a rookie....
- Barksdale - sort of disappeared for little while (to be fair - there weren't many opportunities) but then came up with a big INT....Rashad is making his case for a roster spot - without a doubt. The announcers are calling #31 a heck of a lot more than they are C.J. Gaddis' name (the man drafted one round higher)
- Rocca rocked it once again. 50 yd AVERAGE????? A great pooch punt....Watch out Dirk (fairness: He punted REAL well too, this is an intense competition)
- Bunkley and the rest of the D-Line - wow, now THAT is more like it...pressure against Delhomme, no points surrendered, very few yards allowed. They played strong, and it allowed the D to get its feet under it and hold the Panthers down.

What to Look For from the Eagles-Panthers Game - Tonight

After starting the preseason with dull thud in Baltimore, the Eagles look to rebound on a short turn-around. They play the Carolina Panthers tonight (Friday night) and you know what? They need to show some life.

They do NOT need to win (though that would be nice), but I'd like to see they come out with a little bit of fire - especially the first team players and even more so the defensive starters. I mean no letting the Panthers just convert 3rd down after down. Force a 3rd and long and STOP THEM! Nothing is more fucking frustrating that watching the Eagles D play decent on 1st and 2nd down and then fail to hold on 3rd....

What else do I want to see? Let me tell you:
- Fewer mistakes. I know all the stuff about working out the kinks in the preseason, but fuck, the Birds had more kinks in their game than the red-light district in Hamburg for crying out loud. Let's play like we know what the hell we're doing, ok fellas?
- I want to see the O-line come out with a bit of attitude. The Ravens ran over, around and through those mofos on Monday night. A.J. barely had time to look downfield before some dude was in his face. Fuck that shit.
- What makes it even more important the O-line get its shit in order is that Donovan returns tonight.
- I love McNabb's quote about whether or not getting hit will get him reacquainted with football "I don't need anybody to hit me to wake me up and get me going," McNabb said. "I've been playing for eight years. I didn't need anybody to hit me when I came out with a sports hernia and I definitely don't need anybody to hit me now and let me know I'm playing football again." HA!
- I am looking to see some offensive execution/chemistry between McNabb and WRs Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis. I think it would be a good sign for the O if he can hook up with them early and engineer a good drive.
- I am looking to see how Will James responds. He talked a big game in the offseason about being a starter and challenging Sheldon Brown for the job. Then get out and gets pwned by Steve McNair on the first drive of the game. Oopsie....Whatchagonnado man? The Birds are going to be depending on James to provide some quality play.
- Speaking of CBs - I don't need to see Lito if he's not ready....Let him rest and give him some plays in game 3 if need be.
- TE Brent Celek. Homeslice whupped some serious ass in his first-ever game in a pro uniform. Can he repeat? I think he'll start with the "1s" meaning a likely opportunity to show he's in sync with Donovan.
- Sav Rocca. While I would rather not see the Eagles punt quite so often, I gotta admit - his leg could be a real weapon this season. Put on a consistent display mate and we'll soon be saying goodbye to Dirk and g'day to Sav!
- Jeremy Bloom - again, show us what you got man. I liked game 1. Let us all know its not a fluke.
- Trot and TKO - ok Spikes, time to get hyped and show the Eagles phaithful our collective faith that the LB corps is going to be improved has merit. Gocong played well in game 1, lets see you and Trot pick it up and knock some dudes on their asses.

What else am I going to looking for? Christ, everything folks....
- How about David Akers finding a comfort zone with his new snapper/holder crew. I'd be real frickin' happy if I got that feeling.
The most important part - NO INJURIES!

Breaking Down the Game

There is not much positive to report from Eagles-Ravens game. The O-line did not look cohesive, and seemed consistently confused by the Ravens 3-4 rush-scheme. Missed assignments galore made the running game, uh, well blah, at best....

One thing I don't care about: the final score (which is why I am writing this as the 3rd quarter progresses). Winning these games is not that important. Its more important to get a sense over the next few weeks about how these guys are coming together. It IS a little bit of wake-up call to see the team fumble about, but you know what....it seems that way every year...the Eagles are never really that impressive in the preseason.

So what DID I like?
- Brent Celek. The rookie TE made some plays and looked very solid and "un-rookielike". 4 catches for 59 yards in the 4th qtr.
- Sav Rocca. Holy crap. That man can knock the livin' shit out of the ball. Standing at the back of his own endzone, he launched one to the Ravens 30 (credited with 65 yards)....knocking two around at 56 and 65 yards??? 50 yard average??? Look out Dirk - Sav is making his bid to take your job. He also got blasted by a Ravens LB on that big punt....the best part of that: new color man Ike Reese went ballistic! He still feels a part of the team. I really enjoyed his enthusiasm and fervor for the Birds. Good choice to replace "the man" Ron Jaworski, who is working with the MNF crew now.
- Kevin Kolb. The rookie played well. He looked calm and collected, even if the dudes around him didn't play so well. Lots of pressure on him, some drops, but he handled himself well.
- Chris Gocong. Not much happened for the Birds defensively. But I was pleased from what I saw of Gocong.

What didn't I like?
- Ryan Moats getting injured. The young man was battling for a roster spot, and while I thought he'd have a tough time making the final 53, I never want to see that happen. Spuds reports a fractured ankle...dammit. I railed against Moats for being stupid last year, but I'd so much rather the man get a fair chance to redeem himself...doesn't look like that is going to happen until next year.
- Man the 3rd and 4th stringers couldn't hold onto the ball, so much for a potential comeback.
- First string D looked bad. McNair had plenty of time to pass and picked on Will James like a redheaded step-child. Even Jevon Kearse admitted as much in his sideline interview with Spuds. But again - it was the first preseason game. Its a cause for concern, but let's not go ringing alarm bells just yet.
- Akers missing an early 43-yard FG...yes it was a bad snap, but the holder did get it down and spun....He needs to hit those....plain and simple.

Overall, the game was bit of head-scratcher....its rather obvious that the Eagles didn't have any preparation packages for the Ravens scheme, because they looked befuddled by the Ravens defensive scheme. Its still WAY TOO EARLY to be ringing alarm bells. Give the team a chance to recoup, figure out what went wrong, and I'll see you Friday...