This is my first Eagles column posted on the High Phive Blog.
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| Photo credit: Philly.com |
Monday night did not work out on several levels for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles went into their second preseason game of the 2012 season with the goal of giving their starters a good two to three quarters of action against the New England Patriots.
Coach Andy Reid wanted to see his starters get some quality time against the Patriots because of how the NFL preseason schedule was laid out.
But that plan fell apart before the game even started.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick announced about two hours before the game that he would not play the majority of his 2012 starters, meaning the Eagles’ first team offense and defense would be up against a lesser opponent — or so they thought.
The Patriots rolled out to an 11-0 lead thanks to poor defense, poor discipline and yet another Michael Vick injury.
Even though the game ended in a 27-17 win, the Eagles’ second victory of the preseason, it just wasn’t pretty defensively.
Despite all the aforementioned negatives, the Eagles were able to get backup QB Nick Foles some quality work with the No. 1 offense.
The 2012 third-round pick out of Arizona led the Eagles on four scoring drives, including three touchdowns. The 6-foot-5 rookie nearly had another touchdown right before the half; however, he tried to squeeze a pass in between defenders to Jeremy Maclin, who would have caught it in the end zone, but the pass was picked off.
Foles finished 18-for-28 for 217 yards and two TDs — both to tight end Clay Harbor, who had six catches for 30 yards. His only major mistake was the interception.
“He was very poised,” said wideout DeSean Jackson, who caught a 40-yard pass from Foles in the third quarter and finished with four catches for 82 yards. “I’m just excited to play with him. He’s always throwing it up deep. He’s got a big frame, big body and a big arm to go with it, and he knows the offense. He’s doing a great job.”
Jackson’s assessment is right on. It has been a rather impressive preseason for Foles considering he is a rookie.
It’s a different story for Vick. His preseason has been … well, what preseason? He’s barely touched the football.
On the fifth dropback of the game Monday, Vick was hit squarely in the chest and went right to the locker room for X-Rays — they came back negative. This comes a week after Vick hurt his thumb on his fourth dropback of the first preseason game and did not return.
Vick likely won’t see much action against Cleveland on Friday — Reid plans to be very vanilla against the Browns because the Eagles open the regular season with Cleveland — and starters typically do not play in the fourth game, so that leaves very little time for him to play.
And that may be a good thing because Vick has been extremely fragile. Then again, having dropped back to pass just nine times, Reid might be forced to play Vick a little longer than he’d like against Cleveland — if he’s healthy.
If not, we’ll get to see more of Foles, who played three full quarters Monday. Foles certainly hasn’t done enough to steal Vick’s starting job — not yet — but if Vick goes down for any amount of time during the regular season, there is no a glimmer of hope that the season isn’t over. Mike Kafka, the original No. 2 QB on the depth chart, did not provide that type of hope.
One thing is for sure: It definitely will be interesting to hear the sports radio chatter about Vick and Foles over the next four days.
Third Down Defensive Woes Continue
There was a lot made of the Eagles’ first preseason game against the Steelers as the first-team defense struggled to get off the field on third downs, whether it was giving up long conversions or penalties resulting in first downs.
Monday provided much of the same.
The Patriots were 7-of-11 on third downs in the first half, including a long 13-play, 80-yard drive that featured five third-down conversions. On the drive, the Eagles had an interception and a sack nullified by penalties, and the Pats converted on third-and-5, third-and-9 and third-and-goal from the 7.
The Eagles gave up a third-and-13 two drives later to make it even worse.
Reid was clearly frustrated with the defense and even got in a shouting match with Cullen Jenkins on the sideline. There’s no information yet on what it was about, but DeMeco Ryans said Reid was upset with the defensive mistakes.
“He was getting on us for having penalties,” Ryans said on the sideline to ESPN. “He’s teaching us to be smart.”
And smarter is what the defense has to be. They were playing well on first and second down, with rookie Mychal Kendricks having a great showing, but when third down came around, it all fell apart.
This will certainly be something that Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo will have to fix. It was a problem in his first season as the defensive coordinator in 2011, and it continues to be a problem in the early going of 2012. The hot seat will get even warmer for Castillo if the problem carries over to the regular season.
Left Tackle Battle
King Dunlap looked pretty good in the first half and he became an even more vital part of the offensive line when Foles entered the game as Dunlap was now blocking the QBs blindside.
Dunlap also opened some decent holes for LeSean McCoy, who ran for a TD on the Eagles first scoring drive. McCoy finished with seven carries for 30 yards.
Demetress Bell got a chance to block for Foles on the first drive of the third quarter and held his ground against the Patriots second-team defense. He was beat on the first play of the drive, but Foles had a quick release to Jeremy Maclin on the right sideline, so it didn’t hurt the Eagles on that play.
Without having seen the game a second time, I’d say that Dunlap had the better showing and looks to be locking up the starting job.
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