SCORES TWICE AFTER A PUCK TO THE FACE
Each week, we provide a list of what we will be watching during the Eagles game:
1. The assault on JaMarcus. Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott blitzed Bucs quarterback Josh Johnson on 60 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps (45 of 75) last week. That percentage might be even higher this week against Russell, who was sacked six times and lost three fumbles last week against the Giants.
2. Turnover time. The Eagles are second in the league in takeaways with 12, and should be able to add to that total this week against a Raiders team that has the third most giveaways (12). Seven of those 12 giveaways belong to quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who isn’t very adept at reading coverages and doesn’t protect the ball in the pocket.
3. The Jackson & Maclin Show. DeSean Jackson and rookie Jeremy Maclin already have combined for three 100-yard receiving performances and four touchdown catches in the first four games. The Bucs rolled their coverage toward Jackson last week and Maclin responded by catching six balls for 142 yards and two TDs.
4. Welcome back Trotter, Act II. Less than 2 weeks after re-signing with the Eagles, Jeremiah Trotter played 19 snaps last week against the Bucs, all of them on first down or in short-yardage situations. He wasn’t much of a factor, which was hardly surprising considering he hadn’t played football in almost 2 years. He’ll try to shake off some more rust Sunday against a Raiders team that is averaging the third fewest yards in the league on first down.
5. Plague of the yellow hankies. The Eagles committed a season-high 10 penalties against the Bucs last week and currently are seventh in the league in flags per game (7.25). Fewer penalties is very high on Andy Reid’s “things to do” list this week against the 1-4 Raiders.
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Four our earlier report from practice, click here.
Les
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.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with 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 started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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