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Thursday, August 21, 2008
What to watch in Eagles-Patriots

Three Things to Watch in Friday's preseason game at New England:

1. DeSean Jackson: He’ll be starting at wideout, with Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown sidelined. Maybe the rookie can help quell the general wideout panic.

2. Hank Baskett: See above. Baskett will split time on the other side with fellow wide receiver Greg Lewis, whose upside and downside are well known by now. But the idea that Baskett might still be more than a bit player still lingers, especially with Baskett having a strong training camp.

3. Asante Samuel: Oh ,yeah, Asante Samuel returning to Foxborough to face the Patriots. That would have been a fairly big deal if Kevin Curtis hadn’t gotten hurt. And if Samuel had been willing to talk to reporters about it this week. Still looking for proof that the hamstring is OK.

For an opposing view of what the folks in Beantown are checking out tonight, here is this from the Boston Herald.

So, what will you be looking for?

And, if you are looking ahead to the regular season, Rams running back Stephen Jackson, who ended his holdout yesterday, insists he will be ready for the opener against the Eagles. "I definitely believe so," Jackson told reporters. "I promised (Rams President of Football Operations and General Manager) Mr. (Jay) Zygmunt and Coach (Scott) Linehan that I am in great shape. I'm physically in shape. I just have to get used to the hits."

Posted by Les Bowen @ 6:25 PM  Permalink | 12 comments
12
Comments   
Posted 08:53 PM, 08/21/2008
davetheherman
I'll be looking for a star receiver who, obviously and unfortunately, will be playing for the other team...the one with owners who settle for nothing but WINNING!!!!!
Posted 09:30 PM, 08/21/2008
#1WRneeded
Ditto on looking at a star wide receiver on the other team in Blue. Heck, that owner even picked up one of our wide receivers that "let go". Remember Donte' Stallworth? He is still better than any of the three receivers we were going to line up there to start. Look at their wide receivers. Moss, unbelievable last year. Welker, 1175 receiving yards and he is the SECOND go to receiver! He is 5'11", for heavens sake, and better than any one we got!! I'd take their 4th guy on their roster, Jabar Gaffney and place him in as our #1 receiver in a heartbeat! And to top it all off, they are the team that knocked us out of winning the super bowl a few years back, remember? Yes, it does SEEM that our owner is different than theirs! We settle for just a great quarterback on his downside of his career and an awesome back with absolutely nothing else around them. WAKE up ANDY!! Admit you need a REAL #1 wide receiver and tell the Boston connection you need the money backing for it.
Posted 10:46 PM, 08/21/2008
JACK V
WOULD LIKE TO SEE KEVIN KLOB PLAY WITH 1'S. LOOKING AT THE BIG KID'S PLAY. IS TRA THOMAS O.K.? IS BOOKER ANY GOOD OTHER THAN IN CAMP? CAN ANYONE PRODUCE AT OUTSIDE RECEIVER? WILL DEMPS BE ANSWER AT KR? WHO CAN PLAY DEFENSIVE END OTHER THAN COLE? LIKE TO SEE MAYS PLAY WITH 1'S. CAN SAMUEL PLAY FOR MORE THAN EITHT PLAYS? WAS HE WORTH THE MONEY? CAN DAVID ATKINS STILL GO 3 FOR 3?
Posted 10:47 PM, 08/21/2008
JACK V
WOULD LIKE TO SEE KEVIN KLOB PLAY WITH 1'S. LOOKING AT THE BIG KID'S PLAY. IS TRA THOMAS O.K.? IS BOOKER ANY GOOD OTHER THAN IN CAMP? CAN ANYONE PRODUCE AT OUTSIDE RECEIVER? WILL DEMPS BE ANSWER AT KR? WHO CAN PLAY DEFENSIVE END OTHER THAN COLE? LIKE TO SEE MAYS PLAY WITH 1'S. CAN SAMUEL PLAY FOR MORE THAN EITHT PLAYS? WAS HE WORTH THE MONEY? CAN DAVID ATKINS STILL GO 3 FOR 3?
Posted 12:47 AM, 08/22/2008
BountyBowl
Wait, so Samuel is being surly with the media? Tell us more.
Posted 01:38 AM, 08/22/2008
chollie
i'll be looking for something foreign to the 'birds - a running game. If they had one we would not be worrying about the lack of a "star" receiver. I'll also be looking for the defense to stop NE in their tracks - heck, Brady is not even playing.
Posted 02:44 AM, 08/22/2008
Jacksp
I'll be looking for a low scoring game since I bet the game UNDER 37--no Brady, no receivers for Eagles should translate to few scoring drives.
Posted 09:11 AM, 08/22/2008
drnnat
The birds have shown so little up to now I expect nothing more tonite. Its hard to tell if they are really as bad as they seem, or if Reid has kept them totally under cover. The not too special "Special Teams" need a lot of work. It all starts there.
Posted 09:38 AM, 08/22/2008
craigaroo74
I'll be watching reruns of Webster instead since the Eagles have basically thrown in the towel for the season before it has even begun....
Posted 10:25 AM, 08/22/2008
craig123
Don't you love "Eagles Fans", it's August and they have given up already. All I want to see is the receivers we have CATCH the ball. Enough of the drops. Andy has NEVER shown what the plan is in the pre-season, so get used to it. We'll see the plan in game #1. Tonight, catch the ball, and play a clean game with no injuries.
Posted 12:30 PM, 08/22/2008
doo dah man
The Eagles are laughing at us all the way to the bank. Don't waste your money or time on them. Andy Reid and the rest of the management should be run out of the league for wasting the potential of the McNabb era. Ten years and we're still looking for a big time receiving weapon. Even Congress could figure it out if you give them 10 years, but not our Birds. Like Paulie in Good Fellas, now I gotta turn my back.
Posted 03:37 PM, 08/22/2008
IVSPORT
DeSean Jackson will have an amazing game (I see 6 receptions for 78 yards and two scores in 3 quarters of play) and McNabb and the rookie will develop a rhythm that will cary over to the regular season. Jackson could've easily been a first-round pick but he had some attitude problems at Cal and that's why he fell. He has always had the talent to be a No. 1 receiver, motivation and work-ethic has been the issue. But before the draft, Jackson trained with the one and only Jerry Rice, the best WR in histoy who would still hold the single-season TD record if not for a strike-shortened season). After doing everything Rice did to keep in shape and dominate for as long as he did, I'd say Jackson has a pedigree and is poised to be the dominant No. 1 receiver Eagles fans have been hoping for since T.O. fled town.
About Eagletarian Blog
Les BowenLes Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.

You can now follow Les Bowen on Twitter.

Paul DomowitchPaul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.

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