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Eagles' Molk faces noisy test in desert

There is nothing simple about what the Eagles will want and need center David Molk to do Sunday when they face the 5-1 Arizona Cardinals out in the desert.

Eagles center David Molk. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Eagles center David Molk. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more(Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)

There is nothing simple about what the Eagles will want and need center David Molk to do Sunday when they face the 5-1 Arizona Cardinals out in the desert.

Because the Cardinals have been besieged by injuries on defense, they believe their best weapon against the Eagles, or any offense, for that matter, is deception. So when Molk reaches down to grab the football before the start of each Eagles play, he can expect to see planned chaos on the other side.

Sometimes he'll see a 3-4 look, which is the Cardinals' base defense. Other times it will be a 4-3. Sometimes defensive coordinator Todd Bowles - remember him? - will call a defense that has only two down linemen. And there will be blitz packages. Lots and lots of blitz packages.

All Molk has to do is make sure he calls the right blocking scheme for each one.

"I think that's kind of their goal is to confuse you," said Molk, who will be making his fourth NFL start as Jason Kelce continues to recover from the sports hernia injury he suffered in Week 3 against Washington. "It's warranted because they've lost so much personnel on defense. They're trying to throw so much at you that you kind of get lost out there."

It is not unreasonable to think that Bowles and the Cardinals will try to do even more against Molk because of his lack of experience. Add the fact that it is a road game in a place where the Cardinals are 3-0 this season and 9-2 since Bruce Arians took over as head coach and that Molk could be confronted by some serious noise problems, too.

Communication breakdowns can be disastrous for an offensive line and, if you'll recall, the Eagles offense did not score in San Francisco during Molk's first NFL start last month. The Birds also managed just 22 yards rushing, and this week they'll go against the NFL's top rushing defense.

That's not to say the loss in San Francisco was the young center's fault because it certainly was not. The point is that life is much more difficult for offensive linemen in general and centers in particular when they play in a road venue against a good defense.

Kelce, of course, knows firsthand about all of this.

"I think everybody's communication is that much more difficult [on the road] and that's a very important part of my job," Kelce said. "It's kind of like you're doing the same things, but you're paying much closer attention to making sure everybody is hearing the calls and making sure what the communication is."

Molk, a four-year starter at Michigan, said the only college defense that was similar to what he will see this Sunday was Michigan State's.

"For some reason it always seemed like they had a bye week to game-plan for us and they just threw the entire world at us and it always worked perfectly," Molk said. "They were always one of those teams where it was like, 'Come on.' "

Molk expects that against the Cardinals, only to a higher degree. He also expects to be better prepared.

"As NFL players, you have guys . . . who have seen more, done more and played more, especially with the Cardinals," Molk said. "They have Larry Foote, and I work out with him in the offseason. He's like a thousand years old and I'm sure he's seen absolutely everything that has ever been ran."

Kelce, who is back at practice but won't play Sunday, believes Molk can handle what's about to come his way.

Bowles "is going to come after him," Kelce said. "He's going to blitz. That has been his M.O., and since they've been banged up [on defense] it has only increased. You just have to be ready for it. It takes a little more film study during the week and understanding your rules so if they give you a funky look that you're not ready for, you know how to take care of it.

"I think [Molk] is just a very resilient guy who has been in a lot of tough situations before. He has done a great job here of being thrust into a difficult situation. He has only gotten better every single week. That's the biggest thing you want to see in a backup player or a guy who could be a starter down the road."

The Eagles need Molk to be at his absolute best Sunday if they are going to beat the Cardinals. It is that simple and that serious.