Eagles at Pats – PS #2 Preview

I am not going to talk about the Super Bowl. That was back in February. This is August. Leave that in the past.

There is no reason to talk about Nick Foles seeing his first game action since being the Super Bowl MVP in the Eagles 41-33 victory over New England. So I won’t talk about that. Foles missed the opener so it will be good to see him in action. He won’t play much, but it will be good for him to knock off the rust and get ready for next week.

We don’t know who all is going to play. RB could be interesting. This could be a banged up position. If so that would mean a lot of reps for Wendell Smallwood. He’s in a real fight to make the team so a lot of reps could be a good thing for him. I’m hoping Josh Adams is able to play. He got my attention last week. I want to see more of him.

Dallas Goedert played really well in the opener. It will be interesting to see how he responds to all the praise (if he plays).

WR is going to be interesting. Lots of key guys will be out (including Super Bowl heroes Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor). Mike Wallace will probably make his Eagles debut. Shelton Gibson needs another strong performance to keep the coaches excited about him. I’d love to see the QBs get the ball to Greg Ward. Let’s see what he can do.

The backup OL needs to get better. It will be fun to see if Jordan Mailata can build off last week’s performance. For the first time ever, he’s got game tape to study and learn from. Isaac Seumalo is desperate to snap well. Rookie Matt Pryor was uneven. He needs a better showing this time out.

On the DL, I’ll still be focused mainly on the DTs. Rookie Bruce Hector should get mixed into the rotation earlier this week. He’s trying to win a roster spot and playing time. Azziz Shittu flashed last week. He needs to show he can be more consistent this time out. I’d love to see more from Destiny Vaeao.

I’m curious to see if Josh Sweat was able to study the tape and see his weaknesses. Dude has incredible potential, but needs a lot of work. There were times last week when it felt like he was playing too cautious, trying to avoid making a mistake. I hope the coaches are able to get him to cut it loose and really attack.

We’ll get another week of LB tape to study. Nate Gerry seems to be leading, but Kamu Grugier-Hill isn’t giving up without a fight. He had a good showing in the opener. Corey Nelson is very much on the hot seat and needs to get his butt in gear. He needs to really stand out. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Joe Walker.

Corey Graham should play and that would help the safety situation. Tre Sullivan was very mixed in the opener. He needs to cover better.

Will Avonte Maddox start in the slot? That will be fun to see. If he does, will Sidney Jones be the #2 slot or would they move De’Vante Bausby in there and let Jones play outside?

Cameron Johnston might have had his best day of practice this week. He must build off that.

Brandon Graham can’t sack Tom Brady like he did in the Super Bowl (41-33 Eagles win) so maybe Fletcher Cox will do that for him. Or Chris Long. Or Derek Barnett. Or maybe Michael Bennett, who wasn’t on the Eagles when they beat the Patriots back in February.

I do look forward to Lane Johnson being booed as much as possible. I almost hope he commits a penalty so the crowd can really let him have it. You might remember that Lane was very critical of the Patriots after the Eagles beat them in the Super Bowl.

Game #2 is always interesting. The first game can give you some bad results. Players are nervous about the first game of the year. Some guys are playing in their first ever NFL game. Some are debuting with their current team. There are a variety of reasons, but the bottom line is that the opener doesn’t always give you an accurate read on players.

That changes in Game #2. Nerves have faded. Players have been able to study game tape (don’t undersell how important that is). This is a huge opportunity for a lot of young players. They can make a strong push for a roster spot or they can start to see the writing on the wall.

Let’s hope everyone stays healthy.

And please don’t talk about the Super Bowl. That ancient history isn’t worth bringing up.

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