Eagles Win!!!

Losers no more. The Eagles finally put aside decades of misery by beating the Jets, 10-9. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but I’m sure it will be talked about for generations to come. Where were you when Joe Callahan and Matt Jones pulled off the Miracle at The Linc?

Too much? Okay.

It was good to see the Eagles score a TD and win the game, but the real value of this game was seeing fringe players fight for their football lives. I don’t know that anyone secured a job for sure, but some players helped themselves.

CB Chandon Sullivan played like he wants a roster spot. He covered well, even picking off a pass. He was aggressive in coverage. Sullivan tackled well and was active on defense. I can see Jim Schwartz really liking this young corner. The Eagles could go heavy at CB and keep him on the roster or put him on the practice squad. I’d be shocked if he was completely let go.

Jeremy Reaves played his best game by far. He was aggressive in coverage, attacking the ball on several plays. He had 5 solo tackles and seemed to be around the ball all night long. Reaves missed one tackle on a run up the middle, but he generally seemed to wrap-up. I wish he would have played the ball better. Rather than going for picks, he was trying to break up passes. I do give him a lot of credit for seeing the ball and attacking. That’s what you want from a deep safety. Reaves may have played his way onto the practice squad, if he wasn’t already there.

Steven Means had 3 sacks and was dominant. You wonder if some team that needs pass rushers will see his preseason tape and trade for him. The Eagles are deep at DE so Means isn’t likely to play much. He’s still valuable to the team, but I’m sure they would be willing to part with him for the right offer. You can’t keep everybody forever.

DeAndre Carter did have a bad drop, but was 2-37 and looked good. He didn’t play much, if at all, in the 2nd half. That has to be a sign the Eagles are seriously thinking about keeping him.

Matt Jones has been terrible in the preseason, but finally got going. He was 9-54  on the ground and ate up yards late in the game. He was 4-24 as a receiver, including the game-winner. I don’t think Jones is going to get serious consideration for a spot, but it was good to see him show that he still has some talent.

Jordan Mailata played well. He just played the most football of his life so there were ups and downs, but you still can’t help but be blown away by his potential.

Elijah Qualls played his best game since…the 2017 preseason finale against the Jets. Won’t be enough to put him on the team, though.

WR Tim Wilson had a nice game. He showed good hands and body control.

P Cameron Johnston averaged 55 yards per punt and had one pinned deep. He had another punt barely go into the end zone. He’s gotten a lot better in the past few weeks.

Let’s talk about some guys who weren’t at their best.

I was excited to see Josh Adams get a lot of touches. He didn’t impress. He finished 13-27 on the ground. Beyond the numbers, he just didn’t look impressive. Adams ran hard between the tackles, but didn’t have any juice. There was no burst. Didn’t make guys miss. Put him on the practice squad and get him ready for 2019.

Donnel Pumphrey did have some good moments, but didn’t really stand out. He was 3-39 as a receiver, mainly catching dump-off throws late in the 1st half. He showed a bit of speed and burst, but didn’t blow you away. At the same time, Pumphrey sat a lot of the 2nd half. That’s a sign the Eagles didn’t want to risk him getting hurt. Is that because he’s bound for the practice squad or they feared having to work out an injury settlement if he did get banged up? I’m guessing PS.

TE Billy Brown was 5-31, but dropped a couple of passes and failed to stand out. He needed a really good game.

Neither Joe Ostman nor Danny Ezechukwu did much to standout. Ostman made a couple of plays, but was unblocked on those.

Joe Callahan looked like a good #4 QB. He showed you that he’s got some talent, but also is erratic.

Christian Hackenberg was interesting. He ran 5 times for 66 yards. I don’t know if he ran for 66 yards in his whole PSU career. Hack looked pretty good on the move. He was 7-16-69 as a passer. That sounds awful, but his receivers didn’t help matters. Carter dropped an easy 3rd down pass. Brown dropped a pass that would have gone for 20 or more yards. Hackenberg did some good things. Davis cut off a route for no reason and that led to an INT.

But…and there’s always a but with him…Hackenberg made too many mistakes, physical and mental. He threw several passes too high. The biggest issue for me was that Hackenberg didn’t play smart. He let the clock run out in the 1st half by running for meaningless yards. He fumbled when running with the ball. He didn’t always make good reads or decisions.

Hackenberg remains physically gifted, but he needs a ton of work and I don’t know if his issues are fixable.

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