PHI 27, CLE 10

Posted: August 25th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 31 Comments »

Sorry for the long silence.  An Eagles friend had a party last night for his wife’s birthday.  I anticipated going over for a couple of hours.  Turned into 6 hours.  Missed the game completely.  I got caught up in talking to a bunch of cool Philly fans.  Among the names that were brought up in long discussions:  Doug Scovil, Caldwell Jones, Jim Eisenreich.  That should tell you the depth of the Philly sports talk that was going on.  Great stuff.

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I got home late and watched the 1st half of the game.  I woke up this morning and took in the 2nd half.

I came away pretty happy with what I saw.  There was still some sloppiness that must go away, but it was clear that the Eagles were a much better team than the Browns.  The NFL Network used the Browns version of the telecast (always go with the home team).  Listening to Bernie Kosar was pretty depressing.  He was looking at the Eagles and basically saying “why can’t we be like them?”.

The DL was great.  Derek Freaking Landri (DFL) was a disruptive force all night long.  Wonder if the Browns regret not talking to him during free agency?  Cedric Thornon had another good game.  I’m going to say something here, but keep it in context…there are times when I see a bit of Leon Lett in him.  Guy from small school.  Big frame.  Athletic.  Raw, but really talented.  If he becomes half of what Lett was, we’ll be very lucky.  Ollie Ogbu really impressed me.  He was very good in the 2nd half.

Brandon Graham was in on a couple of sacks.  He was disruptive off the edge.  I thought his burst looked good.  So why the hell are Eagles fans talking about cutting him?  What am I missing?  Why on Earth would you consider cutting a guy who just turned 24 and has the potential to be a good DE?  Is this just blowback because he has yet to look like a Top 15 pick?  Crazy.  Brandon is having a good summer and I’m very encouraged by what I’ve seen.

Dennis Kelly started at RT and had a good game.  He played his best football of the summer.  Still needs work, but showed definite progress.  King Dunlap was King Dunlap.  Just a solid guy.  Demetress Bell was a mess on a regular basis.  I am very discouraged from what I’ve seen out of him.  The talent is there.  We know from watching him in the past.  The mental side of things is not working.  He’s thinking too much and not playing with any confidence.

Nick Foles was pretty good.  12-19-146, with 2 TDs, 1 INT.  We can definitively say that underthrowing deep balls is an issue.  That’s what happened on the pick.  Also happened in the opener on 2 plays.  That can be worked on.  The good news is that he continues to look like a veteran.  He’s poised in the pocket.  Moves when he needs to, but doesn’t panic when he’s on the move.  Led us to a couple of RZ scores.  Easily the best rookie QB I’ve ever seen play for the Eagles.  If the Browns offered Brandon Weeden for him straight up, would you take the deal?  I wouldn’t.  Foles looks like the real deal.  He’s the Derek Landri of rookie QBs.

Damaris Johnson had a huge bounce back game.  2 catches for 58 yards.  Almost made a spectacular TD catch.  Just couldn’t get the second foot in.  Averaged 14.5 per PR, including one that went for 30 yards.  No drops/muffs/bobbles on passes or punts.  I was really impressed when he ran by Sheldon Brown on a play up the field.  Damaris is a 4.5 guy.  Didn’t think he’d be running by many CBs, even though Sheldon has never been a burner.

Brett Brackett played his best game, catching 3 passes for 34 yards and a TD.  His blocking still isn’t good.  It isn’t functional either.  If we had a 60-man roster, he’d stay.  With just 53, I think you have to put him on the practice squad.

Keenan Clayton continues to drive me nuts.  He had a blocked punt.  He covered very well.  He had a run come at him and was too buy playing patty-cake with the OL to get involved with the tackle.  He had a shot to tackle a RB in space over the middle on a pass play and hit the guy instead.  The RB bounced off it and ran for a 1st down.  Clayton looks like a good NFL player at times, but like a reject at others.

Mychal Kendricks wasn’t spectacular, but still impressed me.

Brandon Boykin had his best game.  Was in on a couple of tackles.  Covered well.  Broke up 1 pass.  Looked like might have gotten a 2nd one as well.  Looked fast and active.

Phillip Thomas had his best game.  He got to play a lot and responded very well.  Credited with 3 tackles and 1 PD.  Blitzed off the edge and forced an incompletion.  Covered well.  Flew around the field at full speed.  The finale will be hugely important to his future.

Jaiquawn Jarrett had another solid game.  Only in on a couple of tackles, but he was assignment sound.  He was in the right spots at the right times.  Covered well.  That was the biggest question on him coming out of Temple.  Could he cover?  JaiJar has impressed in the last 2 games.  I still don’t know that he’s going to make the team, but he’s at least shown the coaches that he can play.  After the PIT game, the question was whether the Earth should cut him.  Put him on the next mission to Mars.  Now he’s legitimately back in the roster hunt.  Glad he pulled his head out of his butt and got in gear.  JaiJar needs to go give Demetress Bell a pep talk.

Cliff Harris picked off a tipped pass.  That’s what he does.  Playmaker.

Brandon Washington played RG in the 4th Qtr.  Need to check him out.  Looked okay, but rusty as you would imagine.

The Eagles are flat out loaded with talent.  If the coaches can get the team to eliminate mistakes, this bunch could be an outstanding team this year.

_

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Scott-Buchanan/1557343118 Scott Buchanan

    In Foles we trust..

  • http://twitter.com/Kevin__Cahill Kevin Cahill

    Is Foles problem with under throwing deep balls a question of arm strength or mechanics?

    • TommyLawlor

      Combination. He’s got a good arm, but not one of those cannons where he can just make any throw. I think he needs to do a better job of stepping into his deep balls. If pressure is on him, needs to adjust and not force the ball downfield.

      • Mike Flick

        It could also be a speed of the game thing. He is not used to throwing to Desean at game speed.

        • A_T_G

          I was thinking this too. What were his receivers like in college? It seems like by the time he sees the pass, deSean is out of reach.

      • http://twitter.com/ProtoTyler Tyler Phillips

        Under throwing can be corrected, so not a huge deal. However, that ball went 60 yds in the air. I’m not sure if that can be called an arm strength issue. I’d say it’s more an issue of a getting the ball out quicker.

        • TommyLawlor

          Re-watching that is a great idea. And that’s a great quote for our young hero.

      • ICDogg

        So on an arm strength scale of Pennington = 1 to Elway = 5, Foles would be a 3?

        • TommyLawlor

          Yes. Maybe even 3.5. Donovan and Vick are 4.5 guys. Koy Detmer doesn’t seem to register.

          • http://twitter.com/Kevin__Cahill Kevin Cahill

            I am just re-watched the Chuckie’s down camp with Foles and he did criticise Nick for being greedy on broken plays and not checking down, “you never go broke taking profit.”

          • http://twitter.com/Kevin__Cahill Kevin Cahill

            I apologise for the grammar in my last comment…. Predictive text is awful on my phone.

      • SteveH

        It’s odd because he can really rifle in those intermediate passes, its only when he goes deep that his throws seem to get a little wobbly. Could be something in his mechanics?

  • http://twitter.com/benjabad Ben Hert

    I’m really interested in watching Kelly. Mainly because I’m a Purdue homer, and I love to see our guys in the NFL, but also because I really think he has the potential to be a fantastic T for us under the Mudd system.

    Rewatching some of his plays, he moves his feet pretty well most the time, but his biggest weakness is the inside move, as you mentioned in the DGR and a separate post. He seems to play a bit too upright, especially for a 6’8″ guy. I really think that contributes to both getting beat on the outside and dealing with edge rushers. His feet and hands stay really active, he just needs to get lower so he doesn’t get caught off balance on a spin or inside move.

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  • http://twitter.com/alex_karklins Alex Karklins

    Listening to Bernie Kosar was kind of depressing; it’s like he’s already given up on the season. Makes me realize how lucky Eagles fans are to (almost) always have a contending team in the Andy Reid era.

    The defensive line is going to be ridiculous this year. I keep forgetting that Jason Babin is still on the team; It’s almost like he’s not even needed. Crazy.

    I figured your radio silence was due to Megan Fox showing up at your place dressed up as a bag of Funyuns and holding a sixer of PBR, but I guess that party sounds cool too.

    • TommyLawlor

      I like your scenario better. A lot better.

  • Thomas

    Did anybody else notice that on Henery’s miss, Mcbriar was the holder?

    • P_P_K

      This reminds me of something. I have been wondering if anyone has been close enough to a pro lockeroom to know what it is like when position battles are coming down to the wire? I would think it would be tough to be positive to the other man when you know your job is on the line.

      • TommyLawlor

        Never been exposed to this situation, but it has to be incredibly awkward.

  • SebastianAubrey

    Two observations. 1st: the sound of pads cracking from Eagles defenders is the only reason I didn’t mute the game. I thought Paul Diamatti and Ryan Seacrest were commentating..terrible. Love the physicality of the team. 2nd: The defense play like a team instead of playing with the mentality of “there is so much talent that someone will step and make a play” they just took care of business.

  • austinfan

    Some notes:

    Foles has a lot of work on the deeper passes, late to Hall down the seam and low, underthrown to D Johnson but great catch, underthrown to Maclin for an Int on a pass that should have been thrown away, hard to judge the pass to D Johnson in the end zone (deliberately underthrown?) and couldn’t see the deep sideline throw to Hall. Great poise, but I think he must have gotten into bad habits in Arizona.

    Put Bell on the trading block. Some teams are desperate right now (Arizona).

    I’d like to see more of DJ Jones, had a perfect 4th Q, pretty much did everything right, on run plays when he didn’t have a man to block went man hunting, pass blocking moved his feet and kept his man under control, problem was his man was Anton English, a UDFA last year who had a cup of coffe the last couple games. Would like to see him play early against the Jets to match him up against someone better, or even put him on the second team in practice.

    I think Clayton got scraped off that open field block by Jordan, I thought he blew it then rewound it a couple times. Otherwise he had a great game on STs and deflected the ball to Harris in coverage.

    Ogbu will be worth stashing on the PS for depth, nice spin move, plays hard, just is a bit of a tweener, not athletic enough as a “3″, not stout enough as a NT. Doesn’t explode off the snap like Landri.

    Rau has to be considered in the LB race, small but quick to the ball, for a small college (Portland State) LB has good instincts, can run (4.65) and isn’t afraid to stick his nose in there. At worse a solid PS candidate.

    Phillip Thomas blew the coverage on Moore’s TD, cut him! Actually he had a very impressive game, stood out more than Jarrett and has a similar skill package except he’s a ball hawk and looks quicker.

    Thought Hughes was outstanding in coverage, the ball completed on him was a perfect pass. Marsh was also very good except for one play when he gave a big cushion yet was backpedaling too early like he didn’t trust his makeup speed against Gordon, but that may just take time.

    Lindley played well but doesn’t have a chance of making this team, however, I’ll bet he gets picked up off the waiver wire.

    • ian_no_2

      Yeah, I don’t quite get why DJ Jones is being buried in the depth chart (so he doesn’t get good competition) when they don’t have a proven set of backups.

      And Rau has looked good. One of the things I like is that he hasn’t played like crap yet after having a few good games early on, like the other linebackers.

      I vented my befuddlement that they didn’t draft a safety with all those picks.. but I’m ok with Philip S Thomas going out there come September. Giving an UDFA a chance is one of the benefits of being pitifully weak at a position.

      I doubt anyone’s going to trade for Bell’s contract. I’m getting a vibe he may get cut so they don’t pay a guy millions of dollars to tap defensive ends on the shoulder while they run by, unless they have it worked out so that Jason Peters is footing the bill.

    • Arby1

      I think Brandon Hughes has this team made. Very impressive game. Anybody have an opinion on whether he can play FS?
      Phillip Thomas always seems around the ball. I don’t know if he’s better than Jarrett but he’s advanced more in less time so that’s gotta count for something.
      Rau was another guy who always seemed to be around the ball. I think it’s too late for him to be considered for making the team but I hope he’s put on PS.
      I haven’t re-watched the Clayton missed tackle but I didn’t see him try to use his arms at all. I’d be very surprised to see Clayton making this team unless we keep 7 lb’s and I don’t see that happening.

  • A_T_G

    From Sheil:

    “Here are the guys they waived: WR Elvis Akpla, safety Wade Bonner, defensive end Xavier Brown, wide receiver Brian Hernandez (injured), wide receiver McKay Jacobson, wide receiver Tiger Jones, offensive lineman Alfred McCullough, safety Tom Nelson, cornerback Kevin Thomas and offensive lineman Thomas Welch.”

    No real surprises I wonder what the conditions were on the conditional pick with Thomas.

    link: http://www.phillymag.com/eagles/2012/08/25/eagles-waive-10-players/

  • ceteris_paribus1776

    thoughts on Nnamdi? Didn’t get to see the game, but I’ve read that he was a major disappointment and not looking more than a mediocre CB right now.

  • Skeptic_Eagle

    has “JaiJar”…(!!!888)…actually impressed you, or has he just impressed you as not being a gushing catastrophe at all times when on the field? To me, he’s looked competent and at home with other 2nd and 3rd stringers, at best. I was actually impressed with Phillip Thomas in this game, since he made actual plays. It’s too bad Atogwe can’t stay healthy, I liked what I saw of him in the Steelers game.

    My biggest takeaway from this pre-season so far in regards to safeties has been a little more confidence in Kurt Coleman. He seems to be where he needs to be more often. Don’t know if that’s scheme or progression on Coleman’s part, but it’s gotta be a good thing. Still think Coleman’s no world-beater, but at this point, I’m a lot more comfortable with the defensive backfield than I was at the end of last year.