PS Game Review – PHI 16, BAL 13
Posted August 11th, 2024 | Comments Off on PS Game Review – PHI 16, BAL 13The Eagles won their preseason opener on Friday night, beating the Ravens 16-13. Winning is nice, but staying healthy and playing well are actually more important in the preseason. The Eagles did all three so they should be feeling pretty good about things.
I’m not going to talk much about strategy and scheme. There is very limited gameplanning. The focus is on execution.
I do want to cover one thing…the Brotherly Shove. The Eagles ran it twice and were successful both times. However, they should not be running that play with their backups. The tush push is not some unstoppable play schematically. It requires excellent blocking, a powerful QB and smart blockers behind the QB who know when/how to assist. Other teams tried the play last year and I saw it stopped multiple times. Without Dickerson-Kelce blocking and Hurts running, the play is tough to execute.
Brett Toth didn’t get a good block on his attempt and the play was almost stopped. The second attempt required a generous spot to move the chains. I’m fine with running the play with the Eagles starters, but don’t like it at all with the backups. Run a normal QB sneak or RB dive play on short yardage. Leave the tush push to the guys who are good at it.
Enough of my dumb rant. Let’s talk about the players. I’m not going to cover everyone. I’m going to focus on the guys who either stood out to me or were of interest.
OFFENSE
Kenny Pickett – Not a great showing. The lack of good receivers didn’t do him any favors. Looked good when throwing to Calcaterra. Pickett was good on his short throws. They were accurate and looked smooth. Good timing when throwing over the middle. Not so good when he did try to go downfield. Pocket presence could have been better.
Tanner McKee – I thought he looked more in command, but his numbers weren’t good because he didn’t have guys getting open and/or catching the ball.
***
Will Shipley – N-S runner. Runs hard, but isn’t overly powerful. Caught short TD pass. Looked smooth on that play. Didn’t show much in the way of burst or speed. Did a good job in pass pro. Finished 7-23 and had the TD catch.
Tyrion Davis-Price – I was most impressed with him among the RBs. He was 6-34. I thought he showed good burst and vision. Strong enough to run through initial contact.
Lew Nichols – Only went 7-21, but he ran hard. Attacked up the middle aggressively. Has a good combination of size and power. His TD run required him to work through some traffic. Did that and got into the end zone. Nick Sirianni said after the game that Nichols is a played he liked a lot coming out of college. He was excited when the Eagles were able to sign him.
Kendall Milton – Showed some vision and burst. Still a bit stiff. Strong enough to run through contact. Finished 9-39.
***
Britain Covey – Showed good RAC ability. Finished 4-25, but long play was just 7 yards.
Johnny Wilson – Good blocker, on both runs and screens. Short catch over the middle. Looked natural. You could see where he could be an effective role player even as a rookie.
John Ross – The explosive speed that got him drafted early doesn’t appear to still be there. Ross was still the Eagles best receiver in the game. He finished 3-28 and was able to make a couple of plays, but you don’t want him as a chain-mover. That’s not who Ross is in terms of size or skills.
***
Grant Calcaterra – Good effort as a blocker. He’s not the strongest or most physical guy, but worked hard to try and keep his guy blocked. Went 2-14 as a receiver. Looked smooth. Good route-runner. Crisp and gets open.
CJ Uzomah – 1-3 as a receiver. Looked good as a blocker.
Albert O – Finished 1-6. Dropped a pass. Had another pass come his way where the DB broke it up. Not the performance you wanted to see from him.
EJ Jenkins – 1-4 as a receiver. Okay as a blocker.
K Foelsch – 1-7 as a receiver.
***
Fred Johnson – LT. Good combo block on inside run. Physical as a run blocker. Does a good job of using his length in pass pro. Extends his arms and pushes the rusher wide. Looked like the best of the backup OL.
Mekhi Becton – Started at RG. More upright than you would prefer. Happened multiple times. Allowed DT to push him back in pass pro. You can see why the coaches like him. So big and strong that when he does get his hands on a defender, can move him. Still learning to play OG, but has a high ceiling.
Tyler Steen – Took over at RG after first series. Had a good overall showing. Was good on some run blocks. Used his strength to toss a DT out of the way. Used his size and strength to seal a DL and make room for an inside run. Got movement on a short yardage run. Good pad level and power. Got shed too easily on a run play inside the 10. Needed to sustain better on that play. Looked good on a short pull. Hit his defender and had some pop. Got off-balance in pass pro and DT tossed him out of the way. Was beaten by DT on an outside rush and Pickett got hurried on the play. Got off the ball quickly and had a nice reach block on a run to his side. Missed time in camp so had to knock off some rust. Good performance to build on.
Brett Toth – Played C. Sloppy in pass pro early on. Got better. Moved his feet and played with good balance. Able to get out in space, but wasn’t able to block well there. Defender shed him easily and made the tackle. Has the agility the Eagles like, but doesn’t show good play strength. Got knocked back on the Tush Push. Toth doesn’t show the play strength you want out of an interior blocker. Frustrating performance.
Trevor Keegan – Started at LG. What I expected. Smart, tough, sound. Not flashy or overly athletic. Uses his hands well. Good awareness. Doesn’t look like a rookie out there. Got driven back in pass pro and Pickett had to scramble. The opposite of Becton. Keegan doesn’t have a ton of potential, but he knows what he’s doing and gets the most out of his ability.
Darian Kinnard – Played RT for the entire game. 83 snaps. Pretty good kick slide. Anchors well. Needs to do a better job of keeping rushers hands off his body. Must use his arms better in pass pro. Moves his feet okay, but doesn’t engage the rusher aggressively enough. Needs to do a better job of sustaining blocks. I came away feeling good about Kinnard. He showed better footwork than I expected. Kinnard has learned the Lane Johnson/Jason Peters trick of starting a bit early, but not getting called for it. That surprised me. Never seemed that nimble in college. He might be able to be a backup RT. There is plenty to still work on, but he’s a big, powerful blocker and is worth developing. Read the rest of this entry »