Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Opening Some Eyes

Posted August 13th, 2023 | 1 Comment »

The Eagles lost to the Ravens on Saturday night. This is the preseason so you don’t care all that much about the outcome. More than anything you want the young players and new guys to show you something. The Eagles have plenty to be happy about despite the 20-19 loss.

DT Jalen Carter didn’t play much, but he showed how special he is.

That is a dude. Carter’s splash play came on third down and forced a punt. You could see just how gifted he is, with a dynamic combination of quickness and strength. He’s also smart. He had a good pass rush plan on that play and executed it perfectly.

Nolan Smith was more up and down. His first standout play was a mistake that led to a 37-yard run. Smith went looking for the ball inside and lost contain. RB Justice Hill bounced the play to where Smith had been and took off. That set up a TD.

Smith seemed to do a good job of setting the edge on run plays that came right at him. He played on STs. He also had one QB hit.

https://twitter.com/AidanDoc_/status/1690521047823421440

Let’s talk QBs for a minute. Marcus Mariota was what we expected. He ran too much, but did make plays with his feet. His accuracy isn’t ideal, to put it mildly. He finished 4-29 as a runner and 7-11-58 as a passer. If he builds on that, fine. If he plays that way the next two weeks, it would make me a little nervous.

Rookie Tanner McKee was terrific. The complaint everyone has had about him this summer is he’ll only throw short stuff.

Boom.

I was very impressed with McKee. He was accurate and made good decisions. Throws had good velocity. The thing that stood out more than any other…pocket presence. He didn’t seem the least bit nervous. I would have him try to coach Mariota on how to settle down in the pocket. McKee has a major lead for the #3 spot. If he keeps playing well, you wonder if he could push Mariota.

We got to see Ian Book’s first action as an Eagle. I wish we hadn’t. I think he was on the field for 12 called pass plays. He threw 5, completing one. He ran 5 times and was sacked twice. I’ve never seen a QB so hesitant to throw the ball. You would think some James Bond villian had his family hidden in an abandoned volcano and Book was told he better not throw passes or they would be hurt. (Remind me to pitch that to Hollywood)

We didn’t find out anything definitive about RB. Gainwell and Scott sat. Sirianni said they’ll play in an upcoming game. He wanted to get a look at D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny. Both guys looked good. Swift had a 22-yard run. Penny had gains of 9 and 10.

Quez Watkins and Britain Covey had hamstring soreness so they sat out. Greg Ward and Tyrie Cleveland had 5 catches each. Cleveland had a couple of nice grabs. Joseph Ngata was 1-4. He had a long gain wiped out by an OPI call. I didn’t get to see a good replay (the Ravens telecast was terrible). Apparently Sirianni wasn’t too happy with the call.

I was impressed with the Eagles OL. None of the starters played. I thought the #2 line was good. Tyler Steen was the LT and had a good showing. The Ravens had to blitz to get pressure. I thought the #3 OL did some good things. I’ll need to study the tape to get a good feel for their performance.

DL Marlon Tuipulotu and rookie Moro Ojomo both flashed. Tui is in his third year and is playing his best football. Ojomo caught my eye a few times. He has a good combination of strength and quickness. He drew a holding call that wiped out a TD run. Reserve NT Noah Elliss had a TFL. I’ve been curious to see him in action. He is a big, strong dude.

I don’t have much to say about the LBs. The key guys didn’t play. I only saw Myles Jack for a few snaps. Shaun Bradley got hurt and maybe out for the year. UDFA Ben VanSumeren played a lot. He had 6 tackles. You can see his athleticism, but he is still raw.

Sydney Brown led the team with 9 tackles. He played fast and physical. Love his tackling. He closes to the ball and wraps up. K’Von Wallace had 5 tackles and a FF. I thought he played well.

CB Josh Jobe looked good in coverage. He did have one penalty. UDFA Eli Ricks was the star of the secondary.

He also had another PBU. Kelee Ringo looked good in coverage. I thought he would be a project this year. Ringo was better than I anticipated. Let’s hope he doesn’t have to play, but good to see his talent coming through. Mekhi Garner was physical on STs an defense. Mario Goodrich had 3 tackles and a couple of PBUs.

The secondary showed good potential.

***

There was some overall sloppiness by the team that the coaches will need to clean up.

  • Missed FG
  • Delay of game
  • Timeout to avoid delay of game
  • 7 overall penalties
  • Blown assignments on defense

You expect that stuff in the preseason opener. The players showed talented and worked well together.

Good start to the preseason.

_

Preseason Opener

Posted August 12th, 2023 | Comments Off on Preseason Opener

We finally get to see the Eagles in action. It’s only preseason, but it will be good to see the backups and new guys in action. Nick Sirianni, in midseason form, wouldn’t tell the media who would and wouldn’t play. With joint practices against Cleveland coming up on Monday and Tuesday and another game on Thursday, you can bet the starters won’t see action tonight.

We’ll all be watching the same things.

LB

I’m curious to see if Nakobe Dean plays. He’s coming off an injury, but is young and could use the snaps. If he does play, it wouldn’t be for long. We’ll probably see a lot of Christian Elliss and Nick Morrow. This is a big game for both guys. Morrow is trying to hang onto a job. Elliss is trying to prove he should be a starter. I’m interested to see Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham in action. Preseason games aren’t normally important for them, but they are battling for roster spots.

UGA DL

Nolan Smith is the one player we’re all the most excited to see. He hasn’t played in a game in a while and is desperate to hit someone in a different colored jersey. I expect him to fly around the field and play with a lot of energy. Jalen Carter might not play a lot, but it will be fun to see him in action. He’s been inconsistent in camp. Playing in a game should bring out the best in him.

RB

Who will play? Who will shine? Will this be the beginning of the Trey Sermon era? So many questions.

Safety

Who will play and how will they be used? Sydney Brown is the player I’m most interested in. He’s played with the third string for the most part. We know he’s fast. We know he can hit. We need to see if he can be disciplined and cover well.

Backup QBs

Marcus Mariota has looked good in recent practices. He’ll probably be what we expect. Tanner McKee should get a good amount of playing time. The biggest knock on him in camp is that he won’t throw the ball down the field. We’ll see if he opens up in a game setting. Ian Book has not impressed in camp. He is more of a playmaker than a practice player so the game might be his best chance to show what he can do.

WR

There could be one or two open roster spots. Britain Covey will make the team because of his return ability. I want to see what he can do as a receiver. UDFA Joseph Ngata has played well in camp. Now we get to see him in a game. I had questions about how his skills would translate to the NFL. I’m curious to see how he does. Jadon Haselwood is the guy I thought would surprise people. He’s been up and down in camp. I’d love Devon Allen to make some plays and push for a roster spot.

P

The Eagles don’t punt much, but they need to be better at it than they were last year. Arryn Siposs hasn’t exactly lit is up this summer. He better pick things up if he wants to feel secure. Ty Zentner has underwhelmed. He needs to come alive if he’s going to make this a real competition.

***

Most important of all…stay healthy.

_