What I noticed: Eagles vs. Ravens
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What I noticed: Eagles vs. Ravens
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's are my instant observations tonight's Eagles-Ravens game:
+ Michael Vick has looked good at Lehigh, and he looked good in his only drive tonight. Vick completed four of six passes for 74 yards as the Eagles went 80 yards on eight plays. He hit Brent Celek for a 3-yard touchdown and finished with a QB rating of 148.6.
+ As for Celek, I get a lot of questions about the Eagles needing more weapons in the red zone. Celek had a down year in 2010, but he was excellent in the red zone the year before, scoring six times from inside the 20. Maybe he can get back to that in 2011.
+ Riley Cooper made the play of the game, coming up with a 42-yard grab on the opening scoring drive. Ed Reed had a hold of Cooper's right arm, but he was able to hang on and use his size and athleticism. Cooper and Vick have had a nice connection since last training camp when they practiced together with the twos. The Eagles' wide receiver situation is up in the air with so much uncertainty surrounding Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith, but I think Cooper can be a contributor for this team.
+ The three cornerbacks only played one possession together. I have to re-watch, but I believe Asante Samuel and Nnamdi Asomugha were on the outside, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie played inside in the nickel. Trevard Lindley came in ahead of Curtis Marsh with the backups. That has not been the case during practice.
+ I got to the Linc around 5:30, and there were several Eagles players already on the field warming up. One of them was wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who didn’t play in the game. Dressed in an oversized grey jersey T-shirt, Jackson ran route after route, catching passes from Vick.
+ The defensive line looked good. Darryl Tapp had two sacks in the first half. Trent Cole had one too, and he was helped by pressure from Jason Babin on the play. Backup DT Derek Landri, who started 16 games for Carolina last year, also had a sack.
+ Nice debut for rookie kicker Alex Henery. He made two field goals (from 35 and 24 yards) and booted touchbacks on three of four kickoffs.
+ The first-team defensive line was Juqua Parker, Anthony Hargrove, Cullen Jenkins and Trent Cole. The second team was Jason Babin, Derek Landri, Antonio Dixon and Tapp. We got a glimpse of how Jim Washburn uses his linemen. There were two separate four-man units, and one spelled the other on the first possession.
+ Rookie Jaiquawn Jarrett got his name called early with an interception. Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman started at safety. Jarrett and Jarrad Page came in with the twos. Page also had an interception in the third quarter.
+ Can't say I got a great look at Casey Matthews and the first-team linebackers (Moise Fokou and Jamar Chaney). I'll write about them in Man Up though.
+ Andy Reid lost a timeout on a failed challenge in the first quarter. He was arguing for a Jason Avant touchdown. Oh how I've missed that red flag. That's when it really felt like football was back.
+ The first-team offensive line (Jason Peters, Todd Herremans, Jamaal Jackson, Danny Watkins and Ryan Harris) only played one possession together. Austin Howard, Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce then entered the game at left tackle, left guard and center, respectively. Watkins and Harris stayed in on the right side. Harris saw more playing time than any of the other first-team offensive linemen. Mike McGlynn eventually filled in for Watkins at right guard, and King Dunlap came in for Harris at right tackle.
+ Ronnie Brown got nine carries and 10 touches. Hope he doesn't expect that many in a regular season game. LeSean McCoy only had one carry and called it a night.
+ Howard got beat a couple times. On one play, Vince Young was sacked. On another, Young escaped and hit Chad Hall for 32 yards.
+ Dion Lewis had a couple nice moments. He picked up 6 yards and broke a tackle on one play and then had a 16-yard catch and run on the next play.
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Did you notice? Flacco running for his life. No false starts by the O line. The Eagles marching down on their first possession and scoring twice (Avant was in bounds). Pressure from the D line creating a couple of picks. Chad Hall making a case that he deserves to be on this team. Ronnie Brown making people forget about that Harrison guy. Vicks' accuracy, except for that pass to Riley Cooper that he underthrew a little and got Cooper dinged up. That the Eagles looked well coached and played aggressive, confident football. The Eagles are deep at a lot of positions. All in all, a very good effort for the first pre-season game.— cletisvandam- The ball moved when he Avant hit the ground=incomplete. — beerflow
- I was worried that Cooper was going to get injured, with no arm to break his fall (Reed hanging on it). If I'm not mistaken, he was behind Reed on the play, and the ball was slightly underthrown. Cooper being behind Reed is a very good sign. I'd like to see more of that.— armchairGM
- Dion Lewis looked Quick and runs low to the ground, bouncing off people like a pinball...Brown looked fine..they ran him 5 times in a row working the o-line...he runs better to the left, does not a=have the spoeed he came into the league with, but delivers a blow...he'll be used late in games whrn the Birds have leads to wear down the other teams...Agreed, he should not wear 36!...Kafka knows offense like a seasoned vet and can move the team, but lacks the big arm to go deep, as exhibited by that lame interception...Young has no idea of the offense yet, but that one gorgeous play where he extended the play and hit Hall was priceless.....Chad Hall just outshined his compoetition by making play after play....Taylor Mays can't cover a table.— bearsfriend
- Taylor Mays is the guy the Eagles need to bring in here. 6 foot 3 230 pds. drafted by the 49ers 2010 in the second round. He is now being waived or being offered to any takers. He is listed as a strong safety but this guy has the measurements and build of a linebacker. I have seen the tape on this guy he is an absolute stud. Reminds you of a young Brian Dawkins but a lot bigger and nastier. He is a hard hitter. Came from USC. I can imagine this guy lining up next to Casey Mathews. These two would be a nightmare for opposing offenses. Can someone get this message over to the eagles brass so they scoop up this guy. They could put him anywhere on defense he is a stud. Get him now please. at least look at him Frisco is trying to give him away. he fell out of favor there. Remember the name Taylor Mays. Eagles get this guy please before you regret it. peace anthony— anthonyy15
- I see two people here talking about how Brown didn't have his legs. Bull he ran hard and had ABSOLUTELY NO BLOCKING. The second team O-line and defenses were pathetic. Dion Lewis looks quick.— Zeedog
- Ooops, there was a false start late in the 3rd Q close to the goal line.— road515
- This team is loaded. All of our holes are stacked with DD's (Defense and Determination).— lonewolf 10
- In contrast to seasons past, the Eagles played a crisp game. I don't recall any false starts, or players injured on the field. For a pre-season game, about as good a game as a fan could expect. Defensive pressure was refreshing.— road515
- Calvin got beat and missed tackles all game, he is terrible— xlGmanlx
- If McCoy goes down we are in BIG trouble....Brown did nothing....
It was stupid to cut Harrison a guy that Averaged 6 Yards a carry last year and a guy that was ideal to stand in for McCoy if he goes down....
Brown just cannot do what McCoy does and Harrison Can....Stupid Stupid Stupid.....Well Harrison belongs to Detroit now....Maybe a quick trade before he runs off a bunch of yards and they say hey How did the Eagles let this guy get away...— Bigmike 34 - The Eagles didn't "cut" Harrison. He was a free agent and wasn't going to re-sign with the team because he wanted a shot at a starting job.
Brown isn't expected to do what McCoy can do. They brought him in as a change of pace back. If they wanted someone that could play exactly like McCoy, they would have stuck with Dion Lewis is is atypical of McCoy's style. Brown was brought in to be a banger and get the tough couple of yards.— dusk2k3 - Our new punter waited until his last punt to go only 28 yards or so. Could've been huge in a real game. His first one should've been downed inside the 5 but the coverage guys botched it.— burholme
- Great to see the pressure from the front four. I'm surprised that Watkins didn't get time with the second team as well as the first, given all we have been told about how he needs reps.— blaqjaq
- First off, that was some of the worst game coverage I've ever seen, preseason or not. The whole game, no down and distance shown and terrible commentating. Second, Kafka looks pretty accurate in the short and mid-range game, and plays with some grit, but lacks athleticism. His arm doesn't have the same pop on the longer throws and he is jittery in the pocket, occasionally making poor throws and reads. The entire dynamic of the offense would change with him as a starter, and not for the better. I'm not sold on him, I think he has limited upside.— jiggy
- First off: the down and distance was shown on every play. It was super-imposed on the field. — Deep Release
- Come on Jiggy. Kafka looked good. Intelligent, pocket quarterbacks don't have to be athletic. Besides, Kafka was moving around pretty when he had to. He stepped up into the pocket when pressured and didn't pirouette into the arms of the defense. — Dr Bri
- no complaints. the eagels looks swell.— Dexter
- How about Kafka? He looked to be Young's superior. No mention? Jarret looked good on a number of plays, that's very reassuring. The folks past 2nd team seemed to be struggling with aggressive tacking, not that it's abig surprise for those on the bubble, but it still wasn't fun to watch. I was really hoping to see Johnson produce something, but the game situation didn't allow for much. Unfortunately, he mostly looked like a clueless rookie. Across the board, the coverage by the secondary looked excellent. They just need to pick up on the tackling. All in all, it was a very good showing. Looking good for when it counts.— HorshamGuy
- No expert here, but I thought Ronnie Brown looked like he didn't have his legs yet. With his late arrival into camp, I thought that was plausible . . . or maybe I'm just accustomed to seeing the #36 jersey move a lot quicker and shiftier. I had trouble finding Matthews as well, but the guys in front of him looked great all night, even when the Ravens' first line was in. It was nice of the Eagles to schedule their first pre-season game on the Phils' night off, eh?— calm weather
- Ronnie Brown played well and would have had more than 2 yds/carry if the 2nd o-line stopped letting the Ravens into the backfield. Multiple carries he had to break tackles behind the line of scrimmage. If anything it was his vision, he had tons of room outside to the left on one carry and he ran up the middle into the 0-line, still got a first down tho. Also I'm not sure if it was Shady or Brown, Watkins cleard a path to the right and the rb ran to the left for a minimal gain. — beerflow
- How did the QB's play?— JimSeitz
- It is nice to have football back!— PhilliefaninAZ
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