Irene is pounding the North Carolina coast as I write this… up here in the Philly area we are busy filling gallon jugs with water and tearing apart our kitchen drawers in search of “D”-size batteries, which are more rare right now than a kickoff return.
Thanks for your patience in dealing with the “lost planet” situation the other day here, where smart-phones could get into Livefyre but deskers could not. The folks at Livefyre have put in some new code and features that should prevent that from happening again.
The deeds done in rainwater the other night against the Browns resulted in a very satisfactory grade for the Eagles
DT Mike Patterson had a very strong outing against the Browns’ first team offense… the Eagles DL graded out very well.
The Eagles starters only played two quarters of the three planned by coach Andy Reid. One interpretation of the move would be that the deluge that drenched the stadium and flooded the press box at the half made it unwise to put the starters back out on a sloppy field.
A less charitable explanation was that Michael Vick was taking more hits than the National Hurricane Center’s page for Irene, and Reid didn’t dare risk Vick out there again.
Yes, there were problems with the right side protection of the QB pocket, no question… The Eagles O-Line did not grade out as well as the D-Line and the LB’s and the DB’s in this one.
Browns’ rookie defensive tackle Phil Taylor was by far the best player on the field in the first half. His monster sack of Vick forced a fumble… only a block of a Cleveland field goal by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie prevented it from being turned into points. Taylor ate up rookies Jason Kelce, starting at center, and Danny Watkins (his Baylor teammate).
“When you see your quarterback get hit like that, regardless of whose fault it is, it’s never a good feeling,” Kelce said after the game. “Whatever’s in the bottom of your stomach comes up on plays like that. But Mike (Vick) just told us to keep pushing through and I thought we got better as the game went on.
“It wasn’t any one person getting destroyed by a pass rush move. It was a lot of little things that added up to big things. We have to be all together on every single play to make this thing work.”
“You can’t expect a guy to come in and be a Pro Bowl player in two (preseason) games,” Vick said of Kelce. “That’s just not the way this thing works. You’ve got so many responsibilities on offense as a center, so many things you have to learn, so many defenses and different looks that you’re going to see, and that’s just part of the growing pains that we all have to go through in this league.
“It’s going to take time. We all learn from our mistakes. I made four or five of them tonight that I’ll have to learn from. We just take pride in what we do at getting better. That’s why I think we’re going to be one of the best teams in this league this year.”
Vick was being extremely generous in his “Incomplete” grade for the O-Line. The big thing to remember is that Kelce and Watkins are rookies…and will get better. Jamaal Jackson should be ready to start at center in two weeks, anyway…and if Watkins needs relief, Mike McGlynn should be there for him…
At right tackle, King Dunlap was “okay”… got tangled up and spun around a few times, but overall, graded out okay in my book.
Unfortunately, it looks like RT Ryan Harris will not be available to help out anytime soon, as he is scheduled for back surgery next week.
The offensive line has undergone numerous changes since last season. Of the five players who lined up in a playoff loss to Green Bay, only Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters and left guard Todd Herremans are still starters.
The Eagles pass defense showed nicely against Cleveland’s ex-Texas star Colt McCoy.
Rookie middle linebacker Casey Matthews, under the microscope after a shaky performance in Pittsburgh, looked considerably sharper. Matthews contributed five tackles and a pass defended and produced good penetration on running plays.
The Birds received an interception from Asante Samuel that was turned into a touchdown, saw linebacker Jamar Chaney, safeties Kurt Coleman and Jarrad Page and corners Nnamdi Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie shine in coverage….and sacked McCoy three times.
But Vick simply can’t keep getting tagged like he did Thursday and expect to survive the season. Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson absolutely buried Vick on a second-quarter blitz and forced Vick to throw early and cause an interception — but Jackson was unfairly flagged for roughing the passer.
Reid and his coaches know this. And the deeds done to protect Vick in the pocket will involve more than just improved line play from the center to the right side, but also play design that involves more pass protection involving running backs and tight ends.
Meanwhile, the cuts continue: The Eagles began trimming their roster Friday by releasing defensive tackle Marlon Favorite, running back Derrick Locke, linebacker Brandon Peguese and wide receiver Terrance Turner. The moves left the Eagles with 86 players. They must be down to 80 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Now back to Irene… be careful out there, good friends…
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