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The education of Jordan Matthews

In his first NFL preseason game, Jordan Matthews dropped two passes - three, if you're a tough critic. In the Eagles rookie's second regular-season game, he dropped two passes - three, again, if you're perfectionist.

Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

In his first NFL preseason game, Jordan Matthews dropped two passes - three, if you're a tough critic. In the Eagles rookie's second regular-season game, he dropped two passes - three, again, if you're perfectionist.

It's a small sample of professional games for the wide receiver, but Matthews has had a case of the dropsies before. The Web site Rotoworld charted the college plays for the top receivers in this year's draft and Matthews had a 7.69 percent drop rate on passes that were defined as easily catchable.

Of the nine top-ranked receivers heading into the draft, that put him sixth behind Mike Evans (4.29), Sammy Watkins (4.49), Brandin Cooks (4.69), Allen Robinson (5.43), and Odell Beckham (6.45), and ahead of Kelvin Benjamin (9.68) and Marqise Lee (12.31).

During the week of Senior Bowl practices in January, Matthews also struggled to hang onto the ball. He obviously caught many passes over his Vanderbilt career - a Southeastern Conference record of 262 receptions - but a great majority of them were screens.

Monday night against the Colts, Matthews dropped passes on a bubble screen and a short out. There was another throw that a scrambling Nick Foles made to the receiver, but it appeared that a defender may have knocked it out before Matthews had a chance to secure the ball.

"It's whatever," Matthews said about the drops. "You really can't worry about it anymore. That's not really part of my game because I hate dropping the ball. I pride myself on catching everything."

Asked about Matthews' drops, coach Chip Kelly noted that the receiver bounced back from his drops in the preseason opener against the Bears.

"So some of it is just concentration, fingertips, eyes to the catch, make sure you're tucking it away," Kelly said. "Little fundamental things but nothing we're concerned about."

In the regular-season opener, Matthews caught two passes for 37 yards, but his two other targets would have likely been long completions if Foles hadn't misfired. Like the other Eagles receivers, Matthews had space downfield against the Jaguars zone but had less room against the Colts' man-to-man defense.

Kelly has spoken before about the adjustment receivers must make from college to pro because they're seeing more man coverage. Matthews, who is playing in the slot, is also being asked to block far more than he did at Vanderbilt.

"In college, I was getting the ball almost every time so there wasn't as much blocking that I had to do," said Matthews, who was drafted in the second round. "Now I'm in at a position where most plays, especially in our offense you got great running backs, naturally you're going to put your head in there sometimes.

"You're blocking for LeSean McCoy, so your want-to has to go to a whole other level, because you can back-side block your guy and [McCoy] can literally take the ball and you can be the main blocker the whole play."

Matthews was called for holding during a McCoy carry against the Colts.

He played the slot at times in college, but it's a full-time job here. There's a ton of run-blocking against linebackers and safeties - dirty work that Matthews' predecessor, Jason Avant, handled mostly under the radar.

Avant, now with the Panthers, was released in March. Last season was the first time in eight years that his receptions decreased. But he had become a reliable blocker in Kelly's scheme and was still capable of converting third downs.

"It's tough to follow a good player no matter the position," veteran Eagles receiver Brad Smith said. "Jason was a special guy and a special player. Everybody's different, though. Everybody's got a different skill set and different way of doing things."

Matthews said that he has watched a lot of film of Avant and has studied his precise and deceptive route running the most. But he said he isn't trying to emulate other receivers, even though there was a great amount of preseason hype.

"I put more pressure on myself than anybody. All that stuff isn't really relevant," Matthews said. "At the same time, it's a process. For somebody to think that maybe sometimes whenever I struggle, they think, 'Aw, he's worried about hype.' That would be wrong. It's a transition. It's a process."

Kelce the cut-blocker

To be an offensive lineman in Chip Kelly's offense, you must be a capable cut-blocker.

High and through the thigh is how Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland - and many coaches - teaches his pupils to cut-block.

"If you shoot low you'll miss him," center Jason Kelce said. And "if you go too high, you're not going to get him down. Usually diving - if you go through the upper part of their leg, even if he doesn't go down, you hit enough of him to make the play."

There is no better student and practitioner of the cut block than Kelce.

"He's like a missile flying through the screen when we watch film," guard Dennis Kelly said.

The Eagles run so many screens and sweeps that require their linemen to get out in space, that being able to cut-block is a prerequisite. The defenders are generally moving at a high speed, whether they're chasing a sweep or catching up on a misdirection screen, which makes them more susceptible to cut blocks.

"If a guy's stationary it's really hard to cut him," Kelce said. "That's why when he's stationary you want to run through him. If he's turning and he's running, that's when it's a good time to utilize a cut block."

The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Kelce's unique athleticism for a center allows him to dive into an opponent's thighs easier than say, the 6-8, 321-pound Kelly.

"I find that it's a little bit harder for me to cut someone just because you have to get the guy running, especially on the move," Kelly said. "You have to get him to commit."

Five questions: Connor Barwin

A weekly Q&A with an Eagle:

1. Q: If you were NFL commissioner what would be the one thing you would change about the league?

A: Have a panel review all discipline issues and not have the commissioner be the one that gives the punishment.

2. Q: Who wins a fight between a bear and a shark in five feet of water and why?

A: The shark because it's his natural habitat.

3. Q: If you could have lunch with one person from any time period, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

A: I'd like to have lunch with Mark Cuban. I think he's a really smart guy.

4. Q: What subject should they teach in elementary school that they don't?

A: I think all schools should focus more on the arts.

5. Q: Do you think we came from apes?

A: I believe in evolution, yes.

Inside the game

Eagles defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro teaches his linemen, when playing the run, to have three keys - strike, see, and tackle. The strike part is taking on the offensive lineman you're pitted against and beating him with contact.

The tackle key is self-explanatory. But "seeing" the ball - as simple as it sounds - requires sound technique, vision, and football IQ.

"If you're so determined to beat your guy and don't really have faith in your technique," defensive end Brandon Bair said, "you're going to stay on your guy and never see the ball and they'll run right past you."

The three keys can happen in a matter of seconds, and that short span separates the best 3-4 two-gap defensive ends from the rest.

Inside the locker room

In the opener against the Jaguars, defensive coordinator Bill Davis employed a rotation in his secondary with reserve cornerback Nolan Carroll and safety Earl Wolff replacing starters Bradley Fletcher and Nate Allen. Carroll played only 15 percent of the snaps at outside corner and Wolff played only 12 percent, but Wolff said they knew going into the game that they would play.

He said he didn't know his involvement heading into the next game against the Colts. He never took a snap on defense, while Carroll filled in for Fletcher when he left with an injury and played as the sixth defensive back in the dime package for two snaps.

Wolff, who lost the preseason competition with Allen, believes he is significantly ahead of where he was at this time last year as a rookie.

"I can only control what I can control," Wolff said, "and that's me getting in there and giving my all."

Jason Avant's presence isn't missed just on the field and in the locker room. The former Eagles receiver organized the players' weekly Bible study group with the team chaplain. Nick Foles assumed the role this season, according to several players. The players meet every Thursday.

By the numbers

70

Percentage of starting outside wide receivers bigger than the 6-foot, 198-pound Jeremy Maclin.

6.25

Average yards per rush for the Eagles when they run up the middle. They rank fourth in the NFL. Last year they averaged 6.09 yards and were first in the league.

12

Twenty-plus-yard plays the league-leading Eagles have had this year. Last season they led the NFL with 99. They project to 96 after two games.