NFL Football Now

My thoughts on the Eagles preseason debut

August 12, 2011 at 9:08 am Leave a comment

Eagles 13 – Ravens 6

• The Eagles new defensive linemen and coach got off to a tremendous start last night.  Constantly forced pressure and breaking down the pocket.  It was probably a combination of good play by them and poor play by Baltimore whose OL was definitely weak at the end of last year.  Tapp was on fire.
• Vick looked sharp, confident as he hit four different WRs en route to throwing a TD to forgotten TE Celek.
• Ronnie Brown looked like more than a backup, but it’s preseason.  He looked proficient in  short yardage, he’s a hard inside runner who could take 3rd down and some goal-line carries from McCoy. Made something out of nothing more than once.
• As you know, Jason Avant has been the Eagles top WR in camp.  It’s quite possible because of this he could have a real strong start to the season.  Not the biggest but some of the best hands in the league.
• Riley Cooper + Chad Hall were both impressive.  Cooper continued his rapport with Vick by hauling a 40 yard catch on their first drive.  Meanwhile, Hall locked up a roster spot in my eye, after showing more toughness and control around the ball.
• Harris and Watkins saw extended time to get cohesion, which is no doubt a good thing.  The quality of the starters and the depth have been upgraded significantly.
• The linebackers need work.  Must develop better play recognition skills.  Burnt by Rice on simple pattern.  Physical is there, need to put the mental there.
• The belly of the D will continue to be a question but they did fairly well to quiet down Ray Rice in the running game
• Secondary had a strong showing.  Not only do Nnamdi and DRC make the Eagles DBs elite again but it improves the unit accross the board. Jai Jarrett did a nice job playing CF to get a INT and Jarrad Page might’ve sown up his spot with a sick pick while Marlin Jackson sat out.
• I think the rest of the league regrets letting the Eagles sign VY
• Kakfa was solid after throwing an INT in the beginning.
• Dion Lewis looked full healthy and like the Lewis of old.  Impressive.
• Alex Henery had some nice kick-offs and did well to convert his FGs.  More surprissing, but not really, was how well Chas Henry punted.  Double upgrade again.

Entry filed under: NFL. Tags: 2011, american football, NFL, nfl preseason, philadelphia, philadelphia eagles, philly, preseason.