PS #1 – NYJ 24, PHI 21

The Eagles preseason opener was a tale of two halves. The starters and primary backups led 14-3 at the half. The Jets were better in the second half, 21-7, and won the game 24-21. There was more good than bad for the Eagles so they should come out of this feeling pretty good.

Let’s go over a few things in regard to the preseason. The first game is the toughest to evaluate. Some players are rusty. Some are nervous. Backups play most of the game and that can lead to a lot of false-positives. You’ll see some guys play really well, only to never reach this level again. Other guys will struggle and then look much better the next week. I went back and re-read notes from last year. Jason Kelce was sloppy in the opener. He did kinda okay during the season.

Also, style is more important than results. We’re trying to see who can play at the NFL level. Going unblocked for a sack doesn’t tell us much. We need to see the skills and traits necessary to succeed in the NFL.

I’m not going to cover every player, just those who stood out to me, good or bad.

QB

Jalen Hurts only played the opening series. Got pressure on the first play so he rolled right and hit Watkins with a dime for a gain of 28. Smooth throw with good velocity. Threw on the move. Very good opening play. Got pressure on the next play and dumped the ball off to Sanders. That resulted in another first down. Hit Stoll over the middle on the next play. Quick read, easy throw for 6 yards. Hit Watkins over the middle on the next play. Another quick throw.

The next play was 3rd/5. Hurts had a pretty clean pocket, but bailed to his right. He couldn’t find anyone open so he tucked it and ran. Went out of bounds and took a big hit on a cheap shot. That did get the Eagles a first down. I didn’t like the decision to bail. He should have stayed in the pocket. I also didn’t like his decision to get everything he could on the run. Get out quickly in that instance. He saw the LB closing on him. It was a cheap shot, but don’t give him the chance to hit you there. Play it safe in the preseason opener. Your health is way more valuable than a yard or two. Hurts wasn’t hurt so it worked out. I just hope Hurts realizes how valuable he is and is more judicious in the future. There are times to fight for yards and there are times to just go out early and play it safe. I get that he expected the LB to pull up, but don’t give him the chance to hit you in August. Save that for when it matters.

The next play was a screen that got 9 yards. Good throw from Hurts let Sanders get going quickly. Well-executed. Hurts ran for a TD on the next play, but that was called back for a questionable hold on Mailata. That led to 2nd/12. Hurts stayed in the pocket and hit Goedert for a 22-yard TD. Good read, solid throw. Nothing special, but a good play.

Hurts mostly made good decisions. He was accurate. I liked the fact he used the whole field. It is critical that he do much better at working the middle of the field. I thought Hurts looked good mechanically. Very promising start to the season. Finished 6-6-80 with a TD.

Gardner Minshew had a solid showing. He’s been unimpressive in camp, but looked worlds different in a real game. Made good decisions, both in terms of passing and running. Got the ball out quickly and made good reads. 8-12-81 as a passer. Ran 3 times for 11 yards, including keeping the ball on an RPO on 4th down. No one expected him to keep that. Good slide and easy 1st down.

Reid Sinnett played the 2nd half. Looked like he might have been too amped up initially. Settled down and got better. Made a beautiful throw to Cain down the left sideline, but it was dropped. You can see why the coaches have interest in him. Looks the part of an NFL QB. Solid arm. Moves pretty well. Hit RB Kennedy Brooks for a short TD to give the Eagles the lead late in the game. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to win.

Reid Sinnett takes the @Eagles down the field and an 18-play drive ends in an TD and the lead ‼️ pic.twitter.com/1kA2o4tXxc

— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2022

RB

Miles Sanders was 2-20 as a receiver and looked good. No dancing, just got upfield. Caught the ball smoothly both times.

Jason Huntley got a huge chance to show what he can do. And I don’t think it was nearly enough. Was 16-48 on the ground. Numbers aside, the tape just wasn’t good. Showed some speed, but he’s hardly explosive in a game setting. The real issue for me is his lack of physicality. You don’t expect him to be Jordan Howard and knock guys back, but Huntley has no pop. Goes down too easily too much of the time. Had multiple chances to converty on 3rd/4th and short and really struggled. Must have a clean hole. Can’t get enough push to win at the point of contact. Best run came late in the 2nd Qtr. Went outside to the left for a gain of 8. Worst run was on 4th down late in the half. Needed half a yard for the first. Blocking wasn’t good, but that’s when you need the RB to be able to fight for the yard. Came up short.

4-39 as a receiver, one of them going for 24 yards. When Huntley is in space, he can be dangerous.

Kennedy Brooks played less than I expected. Showed potential. Patient runner with a bit of burst. Finished 7-26 on the ground. Best run went for 8 yards and was up the middle. Pile just kept moving. Had a good cutback on 3rd/5 run that went for 6 yards. Caught a short TD late. Doesn’t have long speed, but I’d like to see more of him the next two weeks.

WR

Quez Watkins was up and down. Made a good grab for 28 yards to open the game. Caught a short pass over the middle and then lost yards from the catch point. Can’t always outrun the D. Sometimes you need to just go upfield even though there are DBs there. Had a pass from Minshew go through his hands on 3rd down near scoring territory.

Zach Paschal caught a pass on 3rd/short on a drag route. Got upfield for the first. Open for TD on the next play but the ball was a bit late and the DB got a hand on the ball. Hauled in a pass for a gain of 32 yards. Finished 2-41. Good route runner. Smooth hands. Good size, physicality. You can see where he’ll be a valuable role player for this team.

Jalen Reagor was 3-26. Solid showing, but didn’t do anything special.

Devin Allen didn’t play much. If you predicted that his highlight would be making a tackle in punt coverage, let me know. I’d like you to pick some Lotto numbers for me.

TE

Dallas Goedert caught a 22-yard TD. Bounced off hit by safety and went over a pair of defenders for the score. Looked in midseason form.

Jack Stoll caught the only pass that came his way.

Noah Togiai had a solid game. 4-29 as a receiver. Caught the ball well. Had to adjust to one pass thrown behind him. Blocking was mixed. Poor block on run play to his side. Let the DE get outside and bounce the run deep/wide. Better on the move than in-line.

OL

• Starting OL was — Mailata – Opeta – Jurgens – Seumalo – Johnson
• Backup OL was — Dillard – Opeta – Jurgens – Anderson – Driscoll
• Third OL was — Sills – Anderson – Tom – Awosika – Driscoll
• Fourth OL was — Sills – Awosika – Tom – Dunkle – J Williams

Several false start penalties. That needs to get cleaned up.

Jurgens made his NFL debut and really impressed. He showed excellent athletic ability. His highlight was on a screen to Sanders. Jurgens flew upfield and engaged a defender. He sustained that block for almost 15 yards. Good block on Huntley’s TD. Helped double the DT and created a gap for Huntley to hit. Put a defender on the ground on a quick screen to Reagor. Always looking for someone to block. Very active. Poor block on 4th/1. Didn’t get his hands cleanly on the DT so didn’t get any push. Has some things to work on, but you can see outstanding potential.

Opeta got pushed back on opening play. That pressure forced Hurts to scramble. Sloppy on the next play as well. Didn’t get his hands on the rusher quickly enough and the guy pressured Hurts again. Needs to be better with his hands. Missed block on 4th/1. LB helped to stuff the run. Okay overall, but more sloppy than you would like.

Dillard was the backup LT. Had a good combo block on run. Showed good awareness in pass pro. Still doesn’t anchor as well as you’d like. He’s improved, but gets pushed back more than you want.

Jack Driscoll played RT and looked good early on. Got beaten by DE on one pass play, but Minshew ran for short gain. Struggled some in the 2nd half. Seemed to get worse as the game went on. Not sure if this was him being rusty or playing with the 3’s just brought out the worst in him.

Anderson had high pad level on 3rd down. Allowed DT to get under and then around him to pressure Minshew. Good seal block on Huntley’s TD. Got driven back several yards by DT on pass play. Beaten by spin move in the late 3rd and DT hit the QB. Looked better at RG. Better run blocker than pass protector.

Sills struggled at LT. That’s not a position he’s built to play. Not a natural edge protector. Did show the ability to pull. Comes off the ball well on run plays. Would like to see him playing OG. Interesting potential.

Awosika saw time at RG and LG. Not a good showing. He impressed me last year, but didn’t build on that on Friday night. Got pushed back on some plays. Beaten by quick DT in pass pro. Didn’t stand out on plays where he got in space.

Dunkle played RG. Got some push in the run game. Poor footwork in pass pro. Also sloppy with his hands.

Tom played C and saw a lot of action. Pretty good movement skills.

DE

Josh Sweat played RDE. Got held on 3rd down rush and still hit the QB. Just missed a sack.

Brandon Graham came in on the fourth play and took over at LDE. Drove the TE backward, shed him and stuffed RB for a loss.

Tarron Jackson played DE and SAM. Had chance for sack on bootleg play. Shed the RT and went for QB, but let him get outside and escape. Poor angle on that. Went straight for him instead of playing it outside-in to contain him. Blew up a run play by beating a TE with an inside move. Looped to the inside on third down and got pressure on QB. Forced a poor throw and incompletion. Had a chance for a sack in the mid-2nd, but went for the RB on play-action instead of the QB. Still got pressure. Did show good awareness on a play where he was left alone. Stopped his rush and got into the passing lane. Able to deflect a quick pass and force a punt.

DT

Milton Williams had a solid showing.  Quick. Athletic. Active. Stout on some plays. Used hands well. Ate up double team with good leverage to blow up a running play. Got under the LG and stood him up, which forced RB to cut back. Was then tackled for no gain. Got blown off the ball by a double team on a later run.

Jordan Davis played well. First highlight came in the first quarter. Drove the C back and put him on the ground. Then chased the QB outside and back up the field. Good motor and some speed on that play. Had another play where he pushed the C back and then shed him. RB cut the other direction. Backside OG tried to block him on run and Davis shed that and helped to blow up the play. Ate up 3 blockers on one play. Disruptive. Impressive debut.

i dunno but maybe the jets were a little concerned about jordan davis pic.twitter.com/bdLjkJ4DxT

— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 13, 2022

https://twitter.com/NFLRookieWatxh/status/1558243893338144770

Marlon Tuipulotu played his best game as an Eagle. Make sure you have that in context. He’s come a long way from last summer, when he really struggled. Tui looked athletic. Used his hands well. Got some push on pass plays. Chased QB out in space, but not athletic enough to get close. Got pushed off the ball on 3rd/1. Need him to be more stout than that. Showed good effort in chasing plays.

Kobe Smith had a solid showing. Played with good leverage. Good motor. Had a gift TFL when QB fell down and all Smith had to do was touch him. Got on the field in the 2nd Qtr so the coaches have him ahead of bigger names like Wilson and Wren. Stuffed a run in the 3rd. Anchored vs blocker and got to RB.

Marvin Wilson had some good moments. Showed the ability to shed blocks and be disruptive vs the run. Didn’t show much as a pass rusher.

LB

Kyzir White had a good game. Stuffed a RB for minimal gain on the first play. OL totally missed the block and White kept his eyes on the runner. Easy stop. Made a big play when he read the QB’s eyes and went underneath a WR to pick off a short throw. Returned it inside the 25. That’s the kind of play you want to see from LBs.

T.J. Edwards got a solid hit on Graham’s TFL. Edwards was unblocked and flew upfield to hit the RB after Graham had secured him.

Nakobe Dean had a good debut. Sees it and goes and gets it. Physical. Tackled RB on 3rd/short run. RB got the first, but nothing more. Tackled RB on next play for no gain after the guy got away from Davis. Dean’s highlight moment came in the mid-2nd. Read a play correctly and attacked a pulling blocker, knocking him into the RB, who was tripped up for minimal gain. Didn’t come away with a great feel for his athleticism. Was more downhill than out in space. Finished with 5 tackles.

Patrick Johnson had a good game. Played SAM and DE. Good awareness on boot and forced QB to throw to short receiver. Set the edge well on multiple plays. Good motor. Beat the RT and got some pressure on red zone pass play. QB had to get rid of the ball. Beat the RT late in the half with a good dip move and got good pressure on the QB. Johnson hasn’t been talked about much this summer. Good showing for him and helps his case to be the backup SAM.

Davion Taylor did some good things in coverage, vs TEs and RBs. Still moves as well as ever.

Shaun Bradley got a stuff on his first play. Missed tackle of TE after catch. TE almost converted on third down because of that.

Kyron Johnson was a bit quiet. Played DE and LB. He looked good in coverage on a pass play to a TE. The pass was completed, but Johnson was in good position. Has good movement skills. Natual athlete. Needs to develop positional skills. Was hoping to see more from him.

S

K’Von Wallace didn’t stand out live, but was better on review. Active. Hustled to get to the ball. Got off blocks and showed good awareness.

Andre Chachere was in on 4 tackles. Didn’t do anything to stand out.

Reed Blankenship had a good game. Led the team with 7 tackles. Played fast. Attacked the ball and tackled well. Didn’t get much of a feel for his cover skills.

CB

The starting CBs didn’t play much.

Josh Jobe was the LCB with the #2 defense. Made a good tackle of WR on his first play. Pressed WR on 3rd down. Beaten to the inside and gave up first. Did make a solid tackle. Had chance to get RB for a loss on 3rd/1, but couldn’t make the tackle. Good effort, poor results. Give RB credit for making him miss. Gave up several completions, but tackled well and limited YAC.

Zech McPhearson did some good things. Made a good open-field tackle of a RB in the early 2nd Qtr. Physical coverage on Mims on a sideline throw that went out of bounds.

Josiah Scott was the backup slot. Shot inside to get RB for short gain. No hesitation and made a good tackle.

Tay Gowan had some good plays in coverage. He’s physical and he will compete.

Josh Blackwell was the #3 slot. Good game for him. Had 4 tackles. Blew up a WR screen with a good wrap-up tackle. Active game.

STs

Jake Elliott was 3 for 3 on PATs.

Arryn Siposs got off a 59 yard bomb. Had 2 punts downed inside the 20. Solid showing for him.

Blocking unit for early PATs:  Stoll – Dillard – Driscoll – Awosika – Lovato – Seumalo – Opeta – Mailata – Togiai. This can give you a hint as to which backups are being looked at among the OL and TEs.

Britain Covey didn’t stand out as a returner. He wasn’t deep enough on the first punt so he had to go backward to make the catch. Did get away from first defender, but limited return. Great effort. Caught the ball smoothly on all his returns. Did have a 25-yard KOR.

Huntley had a 43-yard KOR. Showed good speed in the open field. Tackled by the kicker, but was a legit, quality tackle.

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