4-0, Baby !!!!!
Posted: August 30th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 47 Comments »Woooooooooooo!!! Eagles go undefeated in the preseason. Super Bowl, here we come.
We beat a crappy Jets team. We beat a crappy Browns team. Our starters beat the Pats backups. Our scrubs got the best of the Steelers scrubs. That = 4-0. Fun, but meaningless.
Here are my quick thoughts on the Jets game and the roster.
* Trent Edwards has been terrific in the preseason. The one thing you have to focus on is this…what did he show you that would translate to a real game? Could what he did in the PS work in the regular season? Was he throwing the ball into tight windows? Were the passes downfield? How would he adjust to the speed of the game? And so on. I’ll watch this closely when I re-watch the game, but I have my doubts.
* Chris Polk had a terrific game and may have played his way onto the roster. I thought he looked faster than previous games. Still was tough and physical.
* Jaiquawn Jarrett is a new guy. He played his best game of the preseason. Legitimately good. Had a couple of physical tackles early. Later on helped stuff a 3rd/1 play for no gain. Looked good in coverage. Showed up on STs. He is playing smart football. He looks confident. Tonight he was aggressive and showed some of his potential as a physical player. He will make the team.
* Brian Rolle was up and down. He looked terrific at times. He blew up a couple of runs. He appeared to get lost in coverage a couple of times. Got better there as the game went along. Didn’t win back his job, but I cannot see him getting cut. Rolle isn’t great to be sure, but he was a functional starter last year. He can play run defense.
* That leads me to Keenan Clayton. For the love of god, someone please turn this guy into a SS. He is not meant to be a LB. Good STer. Can hit and tackle in space. I have waited for him to be more physical for 3 summers. Hasn’t happened yet. Good player, but would be a disaster as a starting LB.
* Demetress Bell must hate Eagles QBs, RBs. He certainly lets them get hit by his guys enough. He’s just a mess right now.
* Dennis Kelly played RT in the 1st half and LT in the 2nd half. Good game. Didn’t look lost at LT.
* DJ Jones played RT in the 2nd half. He did look lost. Struggled on that side. He has played well at LT.
* Emil Igwenagu played pretty well. Could be a PS candidate.
* Chase Ford had a good block on Brown’s TD run. Also 2-24 as a receiver.
* The DL was simply sensational. They had 6 sacks, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Jets QBs struggled all night due to pressure. They had to run quite a bit. It was great to see the DL get consistent pressure, despite no starters playing and little to no blitzing. They just attacked over and over and over.
* DE Monte Taylor really stood out to me. He had 1 sack, but was regularly disruptive. He is so tall and long, but is just a natural in the Wide-9. He takes 2 steps upfield and can already reach for the QB. I’m starting to get worried about cutting him and trying to get him on the practice squad. I don’t want to over-hype the guy, but 6-5 DEs that can turn and bend are tough to find. Eagles got very lucky with him.
* Vinny Curry had 2 sacks and looked good.
* Frank Trotter had 2 sacks, both of the hustle variety. He played a lot in the 1st half. Do the Eagles like him more than Ollie Ogbu?
* Ryan Rau had a very good game. He had 5 solo stops. Once again showed good instincts. Got to the ball quickly. Good tackler. Be careful with the hype. Rau might have played his way onto the PS, but I do not think he’s shown roster type ability.
* OJ Atogwe got hurt. I think he’s done. Only a hamstring injury, but the guy just can’t stay healthy.
* Phillip Thomas played pretty well, but didn’t make any plays. Wasn’t credited with any tackles. Gotta check the tape on him.
* Alex Henery missed a FG. Not sure why.
* I don’t know what to make of Chas Henry. Only averaged 33 yards per punt, but 3 were downed inside the 20. That generally means a short field.
* Oh yeah…Nick Foles. Did you think I forgot about him? 4-6-46. Only played a couple of drives because Demetress Bell was using a blocking optional style at LT tonight. Plus, Andy Reid felt it would be taunting the Jets to let them face Foles too much. This would be their first sighting of a real QB all summer.
http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/55824/PHI_Gamebook.pdf
Tommy, is Kafka Practice Squad eligible?
Not according to this thread: http://igglesblitz.com/practice-syndrome/
No.
Thanks Tommy. I’m assuming that the reason is too many “dressed games.” Is that correct?
Do games dressed as the Emergency QB count as “dressed”?
There is a tab at the top where Sam explains who is eligible, who isn’t and why. Yes, games active.
I was wondering if he (Kafka) can go on IR for the season?
I’d love to keep Polk, but where are you gonna go light then? CB? OL? WR? I can’t find room for four RBs on my roster prediction, sadly.
Trade Lewis to the Lions and go into the season with Shady, Brown, Polk and Havili
I’m not amped about the idea of seeing Lewis in silver and blue on October 14 vs our LB core on screen plays.
No reason to keep Kafka on IR. You want him on the roster or you’re ready to move on.
Not that Reid will do it but I personally would try to make do for a while and put Havili on PS in order to keep Polk. I realize Brown/Polk aren’t ready to run block but as little as they use FB, why not keep the close to bigtime talent safe. We know Brown can pass catch and Polk has always been a good receiving back.
I can’t see the Eagles only going with 5 WRs when one of them (Riley Cooper) is currently working out with rubber bands. That said, I don’t see another NFL WR in this group.
I’m not a fan of Chad Hall. He’s a 110% effort guy who doesn’t make many mistakes. He also has zero upside. Plus, retaining him might mean at some point Marty decides to put him in again at RB on 2nd and goal (see ’10 season tape). Of all the options available, he’s still probably the best one.
Marty Gilyard didn’t have a bad pre-season. Hell, he’d probably be #2 WR on the Dolphins at this point. I don’t think he earned a roster spot on the Eagles, though. There’s certainly better players at other positions than him.
At least both Hall and Gilyard are PS eligible, in case someone goes down permanently during the season. Maybe the Eagles trade for a 6th WR. There’s certainly value in both Tapp and Dixon. Dixon was supposed to play tonight but didn’t. Perhaps Howie has something in the works to fill the need at WR or Safety depth.
Eagles could go with 4 WRs for a game. All depends on where Cooper is in his rehab. If he’s a month away, you’re right. If he’ll just miss the opener, then there isn’t a reason to keep extra guys.
I know it may seem silly (especially at this juncture), but I think going with Henry over McBriar is a HUGE mistake. If the issue is holding, what do we make of Henery’s miss tonight? If McBriar has a leg problem, then it’s a different story–but I haven’t heard anyone mention that.
Was tonight’s missed FG affected by last week’s miss? Maybe. Henry and Henery worked well together last year. That’s crucial.
As for Henry’s punting…not real sure what to say. He had a good summer. McBriar kicked the ball better, but I don’t think Chas was so bad that you go into panic mode.
I was watching Edwards very closely tonight, looking for exactly what you were talking about above–what did he do that translates? Here’s what I saw: he makes good, solid reads on medium length and short passes–he finds the right guy, and he has a very short, quick arm motion that allows him to get a dart off quickly. He also hung in the pocket much better tonight. His best long throw was the one McNutt let drop outside his left shoulder on the sidelines–he put touch on that and had it exactly where it needed to be 35 yards downfield. He also hits swing receivers and crossing receivers in stride most of the time, which would allow the first stringers to record some RAC yards.
I do think he’s better than Kafka. Honestly, I think he’d give the Eagles’ 1s a better chance to win than Foles would right now, and I love Foles.
I lean to Edwards myself but I think they could lean to Kafka. I think if Edwards keeps the play in front of him, he’s fine. But he was really vulnerable to backside pressure in Buffalo and we haven’t seen him against much defensively. do you stay loyal to Kafka and hope no one picks Edwards up? Edwards is also tight with Foles though that is very minor.
Both Edwards and Kafka’s long balls tend to stay up in the air and even flutter at times. I think Edwards is slightly better as a QB right now.
T-Law:
RE: King Dunlap
I’ve heard it said many times that King ‘bends well for a big man’. I’m no pro-athlete, but when I’m physically worn out I’m less flexible.
With that idea in mind, what are the chances that King can maintain his performance through the wear and tear of the regular season? Can he deal with pass rush as effectively if he can’t quite bend as well late in the season?
Very interesting question. I hope the time off each week would negate the issue, but there’s no guarantee.
If Bell is playing this poorly and is this lost in learning the Mudd scheme, can he really be cut??? Without a viable backup option??? Please don’t tell me they have planned to “swing” Herramans out there either. If Bell is the type of player who’s like Marvel’s Gladiator (His confidence is the true key to his power), how can he even be trusted as the backup? It’s like he not trying to get better at all. This is a scarey situation.
Monte Taylor is really under the radar, did almost nothing in two years at Cincinnati, last year, 13g, 6-11, 4 sacks. Has good size and had a decent but not outstanding pro day, gets cut by Seattle in June. Where did he come from?
Trotter is more “reasonable,” while Poe was underachieving,
2011: 46-15, 5 sacks, 8 stuffs, 3 PD, 1FF
2010: 38-40, 0 sacks, 16.5 stuffs, 1 PD
Anytime you have 30 TFL in two seasons you know how to penetrate.
Monte Taylor bio below
http://legacy.philadelphiaeagles.com/eagles_files/html/taylor_1.html
Interesting bio and athletic background. Basketball player and track athlete in hs. I wonder if the team asked kelce about him. Curious as to why he did not get more PT. Not to over think this after 1 PS game but could this be a Terrell Davis sort of thing? Also, makes me wonder about the bearcat coaching even though they have quite a few NFL caliber players. Hmmmmmm!
Obviously six DEs is greedy, seven DEs is Crazy Cat Lady/ Heat Miser. But I like the idea of putting Curry in the rotation from Day One rather than putting him behind Tapp. In that case, trading/ cutting Tapp and keeping Taylor may make sense since it’s a developmental/ reserve spot. It depends what the team thinks about Taylor. Curry should rotate in, tho: he’s not there yet but he’s close enough to be disruptive in the keep throwing fastballs way.
One other reason to keep Edwards “I feel like I can help these guys (other quarterbacks).” Kafka is no doubt a smart guy, possible coach, but Edwards is plenty smart as we’ve seen this week and graduated from Stanford. He’s like a second QB coach with more experience than Kafka, who can be a good influence on Vick and Foles.
Speaking of which, I had noticed that last year all the QBs underperformed (Vick, Young, Kafka) after James Urban left the QB coach job for Cinci. But so far Foles and Edwards have made Doug Peterson look good.
Here are some of my thoughts/2 cents. LOL, I know this is very long but I think there are some good points and legitimate outside-the-box arguments to be made.
* I think the FO needs to think long and hard about who to keep between Kafka and Edwards…Listen, I like Kafka and I thought it was really promising to see him play the way he did last year vs. ATL and almost lead us to victory…That being said, has he ever really “shined” in the past preseasons like Edwards has this year? Yes, I realize that he’s been playing against 3rd+4th string talent in this preseason, but tonight he played against 2nd string players and played well…AND if I’m not mistaken, Kafka has played against 2nd, 3rd and 4th string defenses in his past preseasons, and has yet “shine”…
Kafka is 25 years old. Edwards is 28. Edwards was a much better prospect coming out of college, correct? Edwards has had NFL success. On a side note, didn’t Kafka throw 6 TDs and 7 INTs in the bowl game his SR year? That right there should tell you about his “ceiling”.
I like both QBs, and have nothing against both of ’em, but all I’m saying is that this should be a much harder decision than people think. I think the common belief between everyone is that no matter how good Edwards played, the job would still be given to Kafka.
* I’m sick of all these “could we IR (this player) and keep (this player) questions…The only player we should think about IRing and bring back later in the season is Colt Anderson. He tore his ACL very late in the season last year and I refuse to believe he can be the same ST demon early this season…Give him the first 2 months to continue to rehab and then THINK about activating him.
* Should we really get rid of Darryl Tapp? He’s somewhat of a leader, very vocal, and a great teammate…Not to mention that he’s a talented role player. I look at it this way…
Trent Cole (if I’m not mistaken) has missed some games in the past 2 seasons and always wears down at the end of the season.
Jason Babin is coming off a calf strain that could be easily re-aggravated. He’s also somewhat of a liability in run defense.
Phillip Hunt has been sensational this summer and finished strong last season but should we really count on him to be effective/stay healthy in his first season that he’ll play significant snaps? Same with Babin, he’s a liability in run defense. I know he’s bulked up some and improved in that category but you can’t ignore his 6’0 250ish frame.
Brandon Graham has also had a great summer and seems to be 100% healthy…But has yet to played a full NFL season.
Vinny Curry has had some flashes this preseason but is he ready to play a good amount of snaps in the rotation if someone gets hurt?
I think we need to keep Tapp. He’s solid in run defense, solid in pass rushing, Washburn loves him, and he’s a great for the team. They need to find a way to make it work.
* The more and more I think about it, it really doesn’t seem like such a stupid idea to keep Polk and cut Havili…Forget the weight scales…Polk looks just as big as Havili, and could contribute more than Havili could IMO. I know his lead blocking and shoulders are a huge liability but from what I’m seeing, his shoulders look GREAT. He’s been bull dozing and lowering that shoulder into millions of defenders and he doesn’t seem to have any issues yet. I know he’s not a polished lead blocker…But neither is Havili…Another thing that works in Polk’s favor is that he seems solid in pass pro and he’s a very physical player which is needed to play FB. If worst comes to worst, can’t we just move Harbor to FB for a game if Polk is struggling?
* Everyone is assuming we keep 5 WRs and it seems like those 5 guys are set in stone…DJax, Maclin, Avant, Cooper, and Johnson…
Marvin McNutt has no chance at making the roster. Hall seems very unlikely…But someone who has come on very strong of late is Gilyard…
Could Gilyard possibly take Cooper’s spot? It seems unlikely but I do think that it’s a legitimate argument whether or not Gilyard should make it over Cooper.
Cooper is a good ST player…Specifically in the Gunner role…Besides Kick and Punt returning, I don’t know how effective Gilyard is on ST. But I do know this…If Boykin does win starting Nickel job, do you want him returning kicks and risk getting injured? I know that’s part of the reason you draft a guy like him, because of his great returning abilities, but in this passing league, I’m not so sure I would want to risk him getting injured on ST…Nickel corners are starters in this league as far as I’m concerned.
Gilyard is one year older that Cooper. Cooper is a bigger bodied WR. Gilyard has decent size (only 2 inches shorter than Cooper) but has better overall WR talent…If we turn into the Dallas Cowboys and our WR corps becomes depleted, who would you rather get the starting nod? I think I’d rather have Gilyard even though Cooper showed that he could be a solid starter last year. Gilyard has speed and to my eye, has better intangibles than Cooper.
I think this should be a debate in the Eagles FO…
* Safeties…Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett, & Keenan Clayton should be our safeties. Let P. Thomas develop, I doubt he would get picked up off our PS and he hasn’t earned a job yet IMO.
Cut Atogwe…He was a stud for good portion of his career AND THAT’S THE ONLY REASON HE’S HERE TO BEGIN WITH. He’s been injured for the past couple of seasons and has gotten injured twice in this short stint with the Eagles.
So because Colt Anderson should wait to be activated to the roster, keep Clayton and play him there as a reserve and on ST. See what he can do at the position and if he can’t regain form at S, cut him for Colt Anderson later down the road.
* The linebackers should be set. Jordan, Ryans, Kendricks, Rolle, Chaney, & Matthews…Ryan Rau has impressed the crap outta me and the only reason why people want him over Casey is because Casey messed up as a starter…Casey was in a terrible situation last year from the get-go. Do people realize that he was not a top pick for us last year? You can’t expect a 3rd rounder to be a stud from the beginning. He had a lockout as a rookie, a new DC that was a new DC, and a LB coach who was new. New system, playing in a completely different scheme w the wide 9, and no LB talent around him…People seem to forget that he was playing very good in his nickel role late last season.
Ryan Rau was a player that the Eagles (probably thought) initially thought had not shot making the roster or PS, and with his recent play, he EARNED a PS spot not 53 man roster.
* My PS Predictions (More Like Who I Would Want) There’s 8 spots right?
Ryan Rau
Chase Ford
Marvin McNutt
Phillip Thomas
Emil Igwenagu
Monte Taylor
Frank Trotter
D.J. Jones
I would probably move on from Tapp, we are loaded and his contract is up though if they get rid of Dixon, maybe they hang onto Tapp. I’d go 10 on the DL. Jenkins, Cox could play some at DE if there were injuries. Ive been very happy with Hunt, Graham and Curry is fine as the 5th .
I would keep Polk over Havili (he goes to PS in that scenario probably) but I am skeptical they will do that.
I like Gilyard some but I’m not as high on him as some are,personally it all depends on Cooper, I have no idea if he is close to ready. I don’t think Gilyard has great speed and he is inconsistent adjusting but he is a solid player. my gut says one of Polk, Havili, Gilyard is the odd man out.
I actually think Rau has shown just as much as Matthews to date but Rau is definitely PS bound . It is basically Matthews vs Clayton for the 6th Lb spot. I think they are probably looking for a safety but who knows what they do. There are some things I like about Thomas he needs time and i put him on PS.
Very interesting post.
* Emil Igwenagu played pretty well. Could be a PS candidate.
He really put a helmet on a guy on Brown’s TD scamper. Kasplat!
“Let’s say the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year and Vick decides to retire so that he can focus on his career of selling shirts at Modell’s. Foles would be the starter. Kafka could be your backup. He’s young enough that he can still get better. Edwards is what he is. I was hoping he might get back to his 2008 level, but he just doesn’t deal with pressure well and I don’t think that will change.” – Tommy Lawlor
Haha, maybe Trent Edwards is a reader of IggleBlitz and decided to show you he can step up and make throws while under pressure! Lol, seriously though, he had a great performance tonight and took some good hits.
“We’re fine there.”
Tommy, lets say the Eagles go with 10 DLs, 5 of them DEs, could Trotter or Ogbu make it over Dixon? Both have outplayed him and seems like a much better fit
I’m not Tommy but I rather go with 6 DEs (given the quality of DEs we have) than with 5 DTs!
Unlike most of the Philly “experts” (Bowen and Domo come to my mind) I still don’t see the Eagles carrying 11 Dliner this year.
Hopefully the Eagles get something in return for Dixon, and if it’s only a cond. 6th round pick…!
I agree with what you’re saying about DEs. It would be a no brainer if we had run stuffing DTs and needed one gap shooters (like when we roll Graham or Tapp inside) then it would be easy to keep 4 DTs… sadly, the DTs we have are the gap shooters. I still believe the team needs at least one stout line holding type, who can also penetrate the line on passing downs.
Hate to be cheesy here and just agree with the Mod… but I really like Tommy’s idea of swapping Dixion to a 2 gap team for a real 1 gap DT. Heck, I would give a team Dixon and Tapp for a legit 1 gap NT.
Tommy
I honestly don’t understand your hatred of Trent Edwards. In my eyes he has shown more in 3 quarters of last night than Mike Kafka has ever shown in 2 years.
Edwards did deliver really nice passes even under heavy pressure right in his face. He seems to be a smart guy having a full grasp of the Eagles offense (confirmed by Howie Roseman on TV) who brings the necessary veteran leadership and experience the Eagles need at the QB backup position.
Though it’s “only” about the 3rd QB, it makes more sense to carry one prospect (Foles) and vet (Edwards) on the 53 man roster than having a second prospect (Kafka) with almost no upside.
Hatred? No hatred. I won’t be upset if they keep him over Kafka at all.
http://cheezburger.com/6529386752
Dear Tommy,
Please stop punching the janitor.
Signed,
Your Mom
xoxo
“Hatred” might have been a bit harsh. Though you came across like not liking Edwards at all to me. That’s all. 😉
An experienced veteran playing the second half of exhibition games, the equivalent of playing against the 3rd team defense in practice SHOULD look great. I mean vanilla defenses manned by scrubs, it’s practice for someone like that.
You’re comparing that to two series by Kafka against real players (note that Foles struggled his first two series in most games). MM will compare it to what he saw from Kafka in practice against the 1s and 2s.
To me, I don’t think Kafka should be looked at as a prospect anymore as the 3rd string QB. With Foles clearly beating Kafka out, Kafka, if he manages to make the team, is effectively dealing with one year contracts here with the Eagles, so long term value (which the term prospect implies) is not all that important. Next year, he will go into camp as the 3rd string QB with likely 0% chance of pushing anyone for a higher spot on the depth chart. On top of that, I would imagine that the Eagles will bring in either veteran competition for the 3rd spot or a late round pick prospect and see who wins the job for 3rd string. Thus to me, the question isn’t if you want the vet (Edwards) or the prospect (Kafka). It is, this year, who is more likely going to help you win a game if they are forced to play in a game. For me, I have not seen anything from Kafka that makes me comfortable with him playing in a meaningful game. Edwards is playing great against 3rd strings, so it isn’t as if he is a can’t miss option by any means, but I think he has shown way more ability compared to Kafka, and I would trust Edwards in a game before I would trust Kafka
I don’t expect a lot from a 3rd quarterback and either of these guys could get us through a game. The question to me is who they’d rather have hanging around because that’s what he’s most likely to be doing most of the time.
On tonight’s game: “Well we scored. That was good. Obviously that was a rough game.I think we had 4-yards in the second half. That was a little rough, I don’t know how many sacks they had, but it looked like they were going to get a record there” – Rex Ryan
lol… I missed from 9PM to the end of the game. Sounds like some guys I may never see again played real well.
[…] Iggles Blitz ” Blog Archive ” 4-0, Baby !!!!!Jaiquawn Jarrett is a new guy. He played his best game of the preseason. Legitimately good. Had a couple of physical tackles early. Later on helped stuff a 3rd/1 play for no gain. Looked good in coverage. Showed up on STs. He is playing smart football. He looks confident. Tonight he was aggressive and showed some of his potential as a physical player. He will make the team. […]
Re: Philip Thomas
I thought he had a special teams tackle on the 2nd half’s open kickoff. Could have been wrong.
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T-LAW:
Great call on Monte Taylor . . . . I kept saying, “who is that guy”?
He came off the edge quicker than Vince Curry. That might have been because the Jets RT was terrible.
But Taylor looked Wide-9 ready.
That said . . . I DON’T REMEMBER TAYLOR STANDING OUT IN PREVIOUS GAMES. T-LAW . . . THOUGHTS?
_______________
Taylor’s from UCinn. That school’s been mighty good to the Eagles lately and in the past.
Anyone remember Al Nelson? 3rd Rd Pick in 1965 from UCinn. Started at CB for nine years.
Still holds the record for the longest TD return of a missed FG by an Eagle at 102 yards. He was a great KR, too, with a career average of 26 YPR.
Has anyone considered the possibility of keeping 4 QBs?
Why?
Just kinda curious. Seems like most folks have either backed Kafka or Edwards. My thought is that they could possibly keep 4 on the roster especially if they want to keep Kafka, but don’t think he will be game ready for the 1st game.
In reality, I assume they will keep 3 and have in fact already made their decision about which QB will be cut.
I might keep 2 for now. Bit of a risk but I think at least one of those guys should still be available to put back on the roster if we need him.
I’m going to go with 4 QB. If they can’t make a trade for value, they’ll keep all of them. Everyone says Andy Reid loves QBs, with good reason. They win games!
I think they’ll go light at safety and keep Clayton too.