Eagles Secondary A Major Concern

     Friday night told us a lot about the Eagles. Offensively they look as strong if not stronger than last season. Zach Ertz seems to have taken his game to another level this year. Showing off his strong hands in the end zone where Foles hit Ertz on a comeback route for a touchdown. Although the offense seems to be progressing, the defense still seems to be struggling to defend the pass game. Carry Williams had the highlight of the game intercepting Tom Brady and taking it all the way for a 77 yard touchdown. Williams had been in the headlines the entire week because of his comments about the Patriots being "Cheaters". The first team defense had its ups and downs, a lot of yards given up like last year, but when opportunities struck to turn the tide of the game, the defense always seems to be able to grab that. When the opposing offense gets things going though, the defense looks catastrophic. Curtis Marsh and Roc Carmichael got a lot of reps with the first team due to injuries to Brandon Boykin and Nolan Carroll. They did little to comfort the Eagles that there is depth in the secondary. Marsh struggled to stay with the receivers after press coverage, he was way to grabby and had very sloppy technique. Carmichael has been a disappointment  this preseason after having a strong few games starting last year when Bradley Fletcher was injured. He just seems to lack the athleticism to say with some of the receivers. The Eagles need Nolan Carroll more than we know. If there is more than one injury to the corners, the Eagles will most likely have to go to a player that isn't on the team now, that is of course if rookie Jaylen Watkins doesn't continue to progress and surprise some people this season. 

     Jaylen Watkins did not play against the Patriots due to a injury he suffered at practice. His first game against the Bears Watkins recorded his first interception after getting beat by a 72 yard touchdown. He showed great poise and confidence after what was just a beat down of a play for Watkins. He has shown improvement within each practice and has gained the respect of veterans such as Carry Williams and Brandon Boykin. 

Point is I have all the confidence in this defense which has a lot of upside, but all realistic fans know there is still a long way to go and it starts in the secondary. Watkins and Boykin are the building blocks to the future starters where Carry Williams and Fletcher may just be stops in the road. 

    

Eagles Roundup: Bears Recap/Patriots Joint Practices

The Eagles started their first live action of football last Friday night when they took on the Chicago Bears at Solider Field and suffered a loss 34-28. Now their were some really good things from the starting defense.....as for the offense it was a little bit different to start it off. Nick Foles struggled early, throwing two interceptions after forcing passes to Ifeanyi Momah and Brent Celek. Momah looked good catching a pass for 12 yards with the first team, Brent Celek also was involved heavily in the offense. If there is any recollection of the type of formations Chip Kelly is going to run, you didn't get any idea. Mostly the first team offense was running triple receivers and a single tight end. Sproles and McCoy did not go out on the field at the same time. The offense has already seemed to start its rebound today when they had a great practice against the Patriots. Nick Foles was sharp on 7 on 7's including a spectacular throw to Maclin who beat Revis over top for the touchdown. Dave Spadaro of PhiladelphiaEagles.com said on twitter how well the defense looked compared to last year when the Eagles joined up with New England for practice  #Eagles defense far better vs Pats this summer. No comparison to 2013 summer.

Back to the Bears game, the defense came out flying against Jay Cutler and the first team. After a big stop on third down, Bears kicker Robbie Gould attempted a kick that was blocked by Damion Square! So turnovers to start it off for the defense was something I loved to see. Now I don't need to recap exactly what happened all game but the defense looked better than the offense. Which isn't what you may have expected. Mark Sanchez looked sharp also leading two drives to touchdowns courtesy of Matthew Tucker in the red zone. Sanchez looked comfortable in the pocket and had precision on his throws including a impressive deep pass to tight end Zach Ertz. Some of the standouts against the Bears were rookies Marcus Smith and Jaylen Watkins. Smith played the JACK linebacker role and excelled in it getting to the quarterback twice and almost intercepting a pass he batted down from Jordan Palmer. He looked very comfortable in the scheme and signs point to the Eagles having a really deep linebacker core.  Jaylen Watkins is a guy I am very intrigued with. Drafted in the fourth round this year out of Flordia playing both safety and corner in college, the Eagles were excited about getting him, well his first NFL game is what you can call a bit of a roller coaster. After getting beat badly on a 70 yard touchdown pass where Watkins failed to wrap up the receiver on press coverage. Watkins instead of getting discouraged got right back to it and intercepted a pass that really showed how great of an athlete he is. This is very early for me to say something like this, but I truly believe Watkins is going to turn out to be a very good defensive player and Billy Davis is going to use him a lot in nickel packages. The rookie receivers had what it seemed to be unexpected performances for both Josh Huff and Jordan Matthews, only it wasn't the way you thought it would have been.

Josh Huff comes out of the end zone, breaks a couple tackles, quickly hits a whole, stiff arms Robbie Gould.....gone touchdown! First time the Eagles had a return touchdown in what feels like an eternity. Huff showed a explosive next step and did what recent return men of the Eagles couldn't do, and that is finish. Jordan Matthews was a disappointment in his first every NFL action. Dropping passes isn't something that is familiar with Matthews. Well he dropped two against Chicago and could have caught another. He did have 4 receptions which shows that the Eagles are getting him involved in the offense. Its just that total, he racked up a measly 14 yards. The great thing about this is that it is just the preseason. So nothing needs to be blown out of proportion, but we know it will. The only thing I am a little concerned about is what I saw from how Nick Foles through those interceptions. Although Foles only had two interceptions last year, he was sacked a lot due to not throwing the football away or to a player. Well that was something Chip Kelly said he wanted to correct. Well if you look at it here in this picture,  he is clearly throwing the football, forcing a pass as he is hit. This is something Foles said he can correct and is why he is optimistic for this weeks match up. 

The Eagles will be tested Friday night when they take on the Patriots and Tom Brady. Hopefully Nick Foles will rebound as well as some of the receivers that didn't play to their best last week. 

Who To Watch vs Bears

Finally it has arrived! Eagles football is among us in the form of the first week of the preseason. Lets talk about some of the players to keep a close eye on not only in the starting lineup, but for those second half players battling for a spot not only on the Eagles, but in the entire NFL.

5 Players to watch on O:

1. Allen Barbre RT: With Lane Johnson suspended for the first four weeks of the NFL season, Barbre will have to fill in at right tackle and play some tough pass rushing teams. In a few starts last year at left tackle Allen Barbre really impressed. With all the athleticism at the O-line that made the offense so dynamic last year, will it be the same without Johnson?

2. Jordan Matthews WR: The second round pick has more pressure than any other rookie. With Cooper and possibly Maclin not playing tonight, expect to see Matthews get a lot of reps with Nick Foles and the first team. Lets see how Foles and Matthews chemistry is coming along from camp. If he can excel on the outside, maybe the Eagles can be more flexible putting Maclin, Ertz, Sproles, and others in the slot if they have more options on the outside.


3. Ifeanyi Momah WR: The 6'7 phenom has come along way from last year at camp. His routes are much more crisp, and hes finally using that size to his advantage. With probably only 5 receivers being kept, and we can assume Maclin, Cooper, Matthews, and Huff are all locks, there is one spot for Momah, Benn, Smith, and a few others. Can Momah earn a spot through the preseason? We will find out tonight.

4. Darren Sproles RB: Of course we have to see how Chip Kelly uses Sproles. Will he be on the field with McCoy? Is he going to be used more in the slot or at RB? Honestly probably both and more. Kelly is going to use Sproles and McCoy a lot of different ways because he can! McCoy can line up at receiver too if Sproles runs a better route at RB. One play to keep an eye out for is a double screen to both backs.....this is going to be fun.

5. Mark Sanchez QB: Sanchez has not played since Week 3 of last year's preseason. In the heat of a QB competition, can Sanchez hold off second year Matt Barkley? So far at camp Sanchez has been impressive and has really made a connection with rookie Jordan Matthews. Lets see how Sanchez runs this no huddle offense. Limit the turnovers and he should win this backup job and the Eagles should be comfortable with him at the #2 gig.

5 Players to Watch on D:

1. Marcus Smith III: The first round pick has everyone talking. A complete 3-4 outside linebacker with incredible speed and athleticism. What has the Eagles even more excited is he has been only playing defense for a few years. Billy Davis has told the media that Smith has been lining up at the JACK position on defense which is where Connor Barwin starts. Does that mean Barwin will come off on pass rushing situations to let Cole and Smith hunt? I doubt it, expect to see a rotation entirely between the 3. Most of the time though you will see Cole and Barwin. During pass rushing situations you will probably see all three on the field.

2. Nolan Carroll II: Carroll has looked solid in camp so far. He has shown that he can do many things that Bradley Fletcher can't do with his athleticism. If Carroll locks down his assignments tonight including getting some looks against Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, you may just see Carroll knock out Fletcher for the other outside corner job.

3. Earl Wolff: The secondary is the only spot on defense that is in a competition for starting spots. Other than Malcom Jenkins at safety, and Brandon Boykin in the slot, nobodies spot is safe. Earl Wolff is coming into his second year and looked good when in last year. He will be in a full out battle with Nate Allen for the other safety job. If Wolff can show some signs of improvement and being able to make plays on the ball that Nate Allen really didn't do last year, Wolff may have a chance to beat out the solid veteran in #29.

4. Beau Allen: The rookie nose tackle has made some noise at training camp so far. Allen is a strong, low centered player that can help out a lot in run stopping. Bennie Logan is the starter now at NT, but if Allen impresses during the preseason, the Eagles may go to the more traditional NT.

5. Jaylen Watkins: This pick of a player to watch is mostly because of how interested I am in Watkins. A athletic specimen that has shown that he can play both corner and safety is something Chip Kelly will love on defense. The more Watkins has played during camp, the more comfortable he has been according to fellow corner Brandon Boykin. Watkins makes this secondary one of the deepest spots on the roster.

As for the return men, expect to see Darren Sproles and Brad Smith on punt return duties, I don't expect Sproles who is so talented at returning to not be used. On kickoffs Nolan Carroll has looked good at camp with his speed, he and either Brad Smith or Sproles will get kickoff duties as well. The Eagles have a lot of options on returns including Josh Huff and Brandon Boykin as well so we will see where the Eagles go in that aspect.