Eagles Blog

Sheil Kapadia posted his list of things to watch in the Jags game. Here are a couple of interesting points.

1. Vick, tempo and the first-team offense

Over the past several weeks, we’ve debated just how much of his offense Chip Kelly is really unveiling during the preseason. I’m of the belief that when Week 1 rolls around, and the Eagles take the field against the Redskins, they’re going to be moving at a faster pace than we’ve seen so far.

If Saturday night is treated as a dress rehearsal, we could see Michael Vick and the first-team offense really push tempo for at least one drive. Against New England, the Eagles huddled and slowed it down with Vick. Last week, they went no-huddle and moved a little quicker. Look for the progression to continue against Jacksonville with the first-team offense expected to play at least the first half.

5. James Casey in the passing game

The “move” tight end caught 111 balls in one season at Rice. One of the reasons he chose the Eagles as a free agent was because he was looking forward to more opportunities as a receiver.

But in the first two preseason games, Casey has been targeted just twice, coming up with one catch for 7 yards. We’ll see if he gets a couple more chances against Jacksonville.

Les Bowen offer his list of things to watch.

* Danny Watkins: The 2011 first-round guard has had a decent camp, but he might have needed more than that, and missing last week’s game with a concussion definitely was a setback. Savvy journeyman Allen Barbre seems to have supplanted Watkins as the top offensive-line reserve, and if Dennis Kelly hadn’t undergone back surgery, Watkins might not even be second in line behind the starters.

That’s an absurd position for a recent first-rounder.

Watkins’ linemates still tout his promise, talk of ground lost during the Howard Mudd regime that Watkins is fighting to reclaim, but Danny turns 29 in November. How much does he really love this game that he stumbled into at age 22? What sacrifices is he willing to make to become the guy the Eagles thought they drafted? Has the time for Watkins to figure it out passed?

Jeff McLane has his thoughts.

Can Nate Allen hold onto the starting safety job?

He seems to be the leader by default. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis said that Allen performed better against the Panthers than he did in the opener against the Patriots. He may not have had any major mistakes, but it wasn’t as if he was around the ball like counterpart Patrick Chung. It’s difficult to see Allen being pushed by any other safety. Kenny Phillips was brought in to be that guy, but he can’t seem to get on the field. He’s questionable for Saturday with a quadriceps injury. Rookie Earl Wolff may be ready sometime during the season, but he isn’t quite there yet. Kurt Coleman can be reliable, but he’s limited. David Sims has hardly made a dent.

The Eagles would like to see Allen come out against the Jaguars and put his stamp on the job, but he may end up being just the last man standing.

How will Nick Foles respond?

Foles will drift into the background now that Vick has been named the starter. The worst thing he could do on Saturday would be to come out and lay an egg. Foles will work mostly with the second unit, but Kelly would love to see his backup quarterback maintain the level he played at through camp and the first two games. There may not be a soul around the NFL that believes Vick will survive all 16 games without injury. Foles has had to come off the bench before. He needs to maintain a starter’s mentality. Kelly said he’d like to get rookie quarterback Matt Barkley some snaps, but “Nick needs a ton of work,” he added.

Good stuff from everyone.  And here is my game preview

Andy Benoit wrote an Eagles preview for MMQB.  I have some mixed feelings on the piece. He says some nice things about the team, but also takes some shots and has some odd comments.

The Eagles spent all offseason talking about a quarterback competition, but with this scheme’s heavy dose of read-option concepts (including on pass plays) and rolled pockets, the immobile Nick Foles simply can’t work.

Foles has run effectively in the preseason and the offense moved the ball with him at QB.

To answer this call, 38-year-old general manager Howie Roseman drafted Lane Johnson fourth overall.

Why mention Howie’s age? Comes across as a dig at Howie.

Also in the mix is veteran Felix Jones, whose raw downhill explosiveness in space could fit this system well.

When the heck was that written?

All the debate about the team’s decision to keep the athletic Cooper around has created the false notion that the fourth-year pro is something of a rising star. In reality, Cooper has averaged just 226 receiving yards per year in his career. He has the innate physical gifts to be a viable contributor, but there’s a reason he wasn’t considered for more than a No. 5 spot prior to all the injuries.

Who has tried to sell Cooper as a rising star? And how does Benoit know that Cooper was going to be behind Benn and Avant? Chip Kelly may have thought Cooper was going to be the #3 WR even back then. Cooper just happens to fit Kelly’s scheme well. A big part of that is his blocking, which is important in a run-based offense. That has nothing to do with being a star. Just a good fit.

The situation at safety is just as bad. Hard-hitting Patrick Chung has never been a mentally sharp pass defender. His running mate, Kenny Phillips, has scintillating talent but chronic knee problems.

Phillips hasn’t been a projected starter in his time in Philly. Again, when was this written? Benoit ripped on Nate Allen and the other Safeties. That’s fine. They are wide open to criticism.

Benoit is a good writer and football mind, but he just made some odd comments in the preview. This could simply be a case where in trying to cover all 32 teams he’s not an expert on any of them.

A site called GuySpeed posted some pics of the hottest Wives and Girlfriends of NFL players. Julie Dorenbos made the list. Sara Babin made the list. Brent Celek’s little brother Garrett had his lady friend make the list.

I kinda like Sara Babin. I didn’t know Jason was married to a hottie. Good for him. Lance Moore should also be a pretty happy guy.

Here’s a quick preview…

Why exactly did those ladies choose NFL players over bloggers? Clearly it wasn’t looks or money. Must have been for the free tickets to the games.

For years, the NFL work week has gone like this.

Monday – come in and review tape of Sunday’s game
Tuesday – off
Wednesday – practice
Thursday – practice
Friday – practice
Saturday – light walk-through
Sunday – game

That is going to change under Chip Kelly.

Monday – off
Tuesday – practice (and I assume game review)
Wednesday – practice
Thursday – practice
Friday – practice
Saturday – up-tempo walk-through…”run-through”
Sunday – game

The players publicly say this isn’t a big deal. They may feel the same way privately. Heck, they may like having Mondays totally off, so that their bodies can recover.

We all know Chip Kelly makes his decisions based on reasons. He’s got some logic behind this. We’ll see if it works.

Les Bowen got some good player reactions in this piece.

Jimmy Bama is taking a look at the other teams in the NFC East and offering up some question marks they have and/or reasons that they may be vulnerable. This time the Skins get the Bama treatment. I thought this was an interesting point.

2) Optimistic sports fans often operate under the fallacy that all their best players will continue to be awesome, when in many cases it’s far more likely that certain players will experience a dropoff in play. For the Eagles last year that was Jason Babin. Babin had a monster season in 2011, collecting 18 sacks. In 2012, he got more attention and was held to 5.5 sacks and played terrible run D in 11 games before he was cut.

One strong possibility in this regard stands out for the Redskins. Alfred Morris had an absolutely tremendous season in 2012, rushing for 1613 yards on 4.8 yards per carry and 13 TDs. I’m certainly not predicting a drop-off as drastic as Babin’s, especially since Morris is such a great fit for the Redskins’ offense. Opposing defenses have to protect against RG3 on the perimeter, leaving the vacated middle of their defense ripe for a sledgehammer like Morris. However, as teams around the NFL adjust to the read option, Morris could be a player who is negatively affected… and it’s not like Morris is some sort of special talent.

The obvious questions about the secondary also get covered.

You also get some artwork so make sure to check the piece out.

Former Eagles LT worked as a minority coaching intern with the team this summer. That led to him being hired as an offensive assistant.

As Geoff Mosher pointed out, Thomas worked with Michael Bamiro as the rookie prepared to have his Pro Day for NFL teams. Thomas did a good job with the young man and I’m sure that wasn’t lost on the Eagles, who signed Bamiro.

One thing Thomas loves to do is watch tape of defenders. Know your enemy, so to speak.

“I’m looking at steps, I’m looking at when they’re making their moves, I’m looking at which foot they have back, I’m looking at which moves they like to use,” Thomas said. “If they like to one-hand bull rush, if they like to do a swim move, when they’re gonna make their spin move, are they spinning inside or outside, what kind of different moves are they using to set up their stunts?

“It’s a whole lot of things that — because everybody gives something away — it’s just a matter of writing it down and seeing it and then making a catalogue for it.”

Head coach Chip Kelly raved about Thomas and his ability to see little things on tape.

“One thing about Tra, when you sit there and watch film with him, is just how much he’s studied tape on his own and what he’s learned about the game,” Kelly said. “I think he’s imparted that to a lot of young linemen we have.”

Congressman Runyan and Coach Thomas. 10 years ago, I sure didn’t see either of these titles being real.

Michael Vick talked about the need to be cautious and to play all-out…in the span of 2 minutes.

Jimmy Bama used these comments as an excuse to work on his photoshop skills.

A true artist.

The Eagles cut Mike Patterson early on in the offseason. He then signed with the Giants. Bob Glauber wrote a good piece on Patterson.

Once Mike Patterson regained consciousness in the ambulance, the first thing he wanted to do was rip out the intravenous tube from his arm. In a small fit of panic, he looked at Eagles assistant trainer Chris Peduzzi, who was sitting next to him on the way to Lehigh Valley Hospital.

“I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’ ” he recalled about that frightful day two years ago. “I was ready to take out the IV. I said to Chris, ‘We’ve got practice. I’ve got to get back on the field.’ I was ready to get back on the field right then and there.'”

That tough guy mentality is why you have to love Patterson. Some DTs (Darwin Walker) want to chase the QB, but aren’t so fond of taking on double teams. Patterson did the dirty work and he did it well.

I hope he’s able to play this year, whether for the Giants or someone else. Patterson isn’t a lock to make the team due a crowded field at DT. Some team will be lucky to have him, even as just a role player and good locker room presence.

In case you forgot, Chip Kelly made changes to the locker room. Players used to sit with their position groups. Kelly wanted to mix that up and have guys sit more randomly. I guess the hope is that it will build more overall camaraderie.

Jimmy Bama, the most beloved of hacks, took the time to map out who sits where. Here is the Eagles floor plan for the locker room.

By Mark Saltveit

Chip Kelly has talked over the years about the one statistic he cares about (besides points), one that’s not generally tracked: points after turnovers.

“It’s not about winning the turnover battle. It’s about what your response is after the turnover,” he told Sirius XM Football Playbook.

I decided to see how the Eagles are doing so far this year, using game summaries and an Excel spreadsheet.  The results are good and bad.

I counted the turnovers on downs in the second half of the New England game, though the Patriots garnered a total of 5 yards and no points from those two possessions combined.  I did not count the fumbled field goal snap against New England, which ended up in the Eagles yielding on downs, because there were only seven seconds left in the half so it wasn’t a real possession for comparison purposes.

The good news is, the Eagles have been very stingy with yards and points after turnovers.  Carolina scored a field goal after Chris Polk’s fumble, but the Eagles shut out the Patriots and Panthers on their four other turnovers. And those five turnovers have resulted in only 98 yards for opponents, with 72 of those coming on that one drive that finished with a field goal.

The bad news is that the Eagles have not forced a single turnover in two games, and they’ve given up five.  Their tight defense has made turnovers a near-draw anyway, but that’s not good enough.  Turnover margin and points after turnover was a major strength of Chip Kelly’s Ducks; perhaps you remember a kid named Casey Matthews stripping Cam Newton in the 2011 National Championship Game, and Oregon scoring a key touchdown (and two point conversion) that fueled their near-miss comeback.  These Eagles have a long way to go to approach that level.

Be sure to follow Mark on Twitter. He knows Chip Kelly better than Marlon Favorite knows flying.