The Eagles get back to the field Thursday night against the Panthers in another test for this new offense and defense to continue their strong performance from last week....well the offense that is. The defense was a mess against 2012's best offense but with the new scheme and 6 new starters, it is a work in progress. The Quarterback battle is in full swing with Nick Foles getting the first crack this week. He and Michael Vick will play the entire first half which will help us see a bigger amount of plays for both. What I want to see from Foles is the same as last week, being able to manage the fast pace offense and get the ball into the play makers hands, plus run the ball when needed like last week with his 11 yard run. From Vick I want to see....well actually more from Chip Kelly using Vick in the offense he will use. Last week was a slower paced offense for Vick but he was terrific with 4/5 94 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Matt Barkley will play most of the second half which will help us see if he can be more consistent than last week. Wide receiver is a spot that intrigues me, Greg Salas, Ifeanyi Momah, and Russell Sheppard are all battling for the 5th and probable final spot on the roster with Salas winning round one with over 50 yards receiving, a touchdown and a highlight one handed catch. Momah was no where to be seen last week with two targets and no catches so if he wants to make a big step then this week he needs to be able to create separation and get the ball in the end zone with his rare size. For the offensive line it was a very strong performance and especially for fourth overall pick Lane Johnson who is now the father of a baby so congrats to the new baby Eagle on his baby of his own! Jason Peters will likely not play this week but backup Allen Barbe did a fine job last week, so he hopes to continue that with another strong performance against a tough Panthers defensive line that will be playing a lot of the first half according to Ron Rivers. Lesean McCoy will likely play in this game for a few drives but who I want to see at Running Back is more of Chris Polk who only finished with 8 yards last week but did start the game over Bryce Brown. He only had 3 carries in the game to Brown who had a touchdown and over 30 yards from the line of scrimmage. If Polk can't impress this week, Brown is going to run away with the backup job, as expected. For the defense all we Eagles fans want to see is better tackling. Brandon Graham and the new 3-4 outside line backers struggled to clog holes as well as NT Issac Sopoaga which could be the reason for all of the big runs. I want to see more of safety Earl Wolff and we will get to see that as he is starting alongside Patrick Chung who both had a strong performance last week. Kenny Phillips just can't stay healthy which is sad because of how much talent he has, he could be a big asset to this team if he stays healthy. Bradley Fletcher had a strong performance last week according to Chip Kelly but is not the main story of the secondary with Carry Williams coming back from a hamstring injury that has taken him out the entire off season. It will be fun to watch him cover another gritty player like Steve Smith in the first half with his press coverage ability. I want to see a lot more of Jake Knott, the un drafted rookie middle linebacker who will go against a tough Panthers run game. He and Emmanuel Acho were the bright spots at the linebacker position but I see only one getting on the roster, unless Jamar Chaney gets beat out which could happen if he plays as terrible as he did last week. Cam Newton is going to be yet another tough test for the Eagles new defense with his read option ability. If the defense can finish the tackles and keep their assignments, this could be a very solid defense.
Who to watch list:
Offense- QB Michael Vick, QB Nick Foles, QB Matt Barkley, QB Dennis Dixon, RB Chris Polk, WR Greg Salas, WR Ifeanyi Momah, TE James Casey, TE Clay Harbor
Defense- OLB Trent Cole, OLB Brandon Graham, NT Issac Sopoaga, DE Vinny Curry, LB Jake Knott, LB Jamar Chaney, Safey Earl Wolff, Corner Jordan Poyer
Predicted Score
Eagles 28-24 Panthers
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