Eagles rookies Kelce and Watkins struggle against Browns

Given a chance to win a starting job, Jason Kelce had a brutal opening Thursday night.

The rookie center struggled early blocking Browns defensive tackle Phil Taylor, allowing a sack and later getting called for holding.

Rookie guard Danny Watkins, expected to start Week 1, had an equally rough start, also struggling in pass protection while lining up alongside Kelce.

Meanwhile, rookies Casey Matthews, Alex Henery, and Chas Henry had strong showings, providing mixed results for young Eagles being counted on to play big roles in a season of high expectations.

"You come out of college, where you dominate each and every play, to go into the NFL, where you're kind of trying to feel it out," Kelce said.

He was the focus from the start, a sixth-round pick who is battling veteran Jamaal Jackson for a starting job. Jackson has looked strong so far, but Thursday, Kelce played the entire first half with the starters, giving him a chance to stake a claim to the job. It didn't start well.

"Mike [Vick] got hit too much," Kelce said after the game. "You never like seeing No. 7 being hit like that. It's our job to keep him clean."

On the Eagles' first drive, Kelce and Watkins blocked the same man, allowing a pass rusher to pressure Vick. On the next play, Taylor bulled past Kelce to sack Vick and force a fumble that Cleveland recovered on the Eagles' 18. Kelce and Vick also had a botched snap.

Seeing Vick on the ground, Kelce said: "It's like the bottom of your stomach just falls out."

The offensive line looked disoriented in the first quarter. Kelce said mental errors, not physical ones, were to blame.

"It was just miscommunication there, miscommunication here, fumbled snap, and those things add up, and we've got to get them corrected," he said. "It's unacceptable, let's put it that way."

Jackson's organizing presence was sorely missed last season. (He entered the game in the third quarter, leading the second-string offensive line.)

Coach Andy Reid said the offense had some confusion early because the unit ran a no-huddle attack and used different terminology while facing a team led by a former Eagles assistant.

"It was a combination of things," Reid said, pointing to Vick's setup point along with the protection. "We changed things up and probably tricked ourselves a little."

The line play improved as the first half went on, with both rookies holding their own in the second quarter. Kelce threw an impressive lead block on Brown's 13-yard touchdown run.

Kelce said veterans offered encouragement throughout the game, and he was talking to Jackson, his competitor, late in the game on the sideline.

Matthews, another rookie playing a key role as the starting middle linebacker since the start of training camp, bounced back from his own difficult showing last week. He had four solo tackles, including one on which he knifed through the offensive line to stop Montario Hardesty for no gain. He also had a pass breakup.

"It's just coming more natural now instead of having to think about it," Matthews said. "It felt a lot better."

"It looked like he made some plays," Reid said, but he added that he needed to review the tape.

Henery hit a 37-yard field goal on his one attempt.

Henry punted four times, averaging 43.5 yards and putting two inside the 20-yard line. Perhaps his best moment came early in the third quarter. In heavy rain, he bobbled a snap but recovered quickly enough to get his kick away and boom it into the end zone.