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Plenty to like in Eagles' 36-10 win in preseason opener

Nothing overly significant to learn in the first preseason game, but Eagles showed some positives against Colts.

Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley.
Eagles quarterback Matt Barkley.Read more(Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)

IT WASN'T CLEAR that we learned anything vital about the 2015 Eagles in a sun-baked, 36-10 preseason-opening romp over the Indianapolis Colts at Lincoln Financial Field. You need for the starters to play a decent amount, and maybe you even need for the game to count in the standings, before you start to click into proclamation-issuing mode.

That was more or less what Chip Kelly said afterward.

"There's tape for us to coach off of, and that's really what we're looking at," Kelly said. "We're not making any predictions or any lofty goals, in terms of coming out of this. It's just one step. It's a good opportunity to go against another team. You get to live tackle to the ground."

We don't know anything at all about Sam Bradford or DeMarco Murray, because Kelly held them out. We didn't see Kiko Alonso, because he hasn't been through the entire NFL concussion protocol. Even the important guys who did play weren't always playing against the Colts' most important players - Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck left in the middle of the Colts' second series of downs. But we did see a couple of things that might mean something:

Depth. And culture.

Depth isn't something that gets a lot of headlines, but it was a major Kelly offseason thrust, and what you saw yesterday were Eagles second- and third-team guys who looked a lot better than the second- and third-team guys of a team that played in the AFC title game last season.

When starting quarterback Mark Sanchez sat down after a couple of series, Matt Barkley and other backups came in and ran Kelly's offense, with poise and tempo. There was no drop-off. (In fact, Barkley threw the ball better than Sanchez, who was high and wide a lot in going 2-for-7 for 52 yards and a TD.)

The offense did look a little less smooth after Tim Tebow came in, but points were scored, somehow. And every defensive group stuffed the run and created turnovers (two Eagles fumble recoveries, two interceptions).

Dave Fipp's special teams scored, on Kenjon Barner's 92-yard punt return, even if Cody Parkey missed one of the new, longer extra points, then shanked one of his four field-goal attempts.

There were misplays here and there, but the Eagles looked like the Eagles, no matter who was on the field. This is something Kelly cherishes.

"Depth," Kelly answered, when ESPN's Sal Paolantonio asked him what was behind the aggressiveness and energy the Eagles showed. "We've got a lot of depth here, and there's a lot of guys fighting for spots. I think everybody's aware of that. It wasn't like we gave them a big rah-rah speech before we went out on the field, but we put a lot of emphasis, because of how we train, on what goes on in a game when it's live."

Jordan Matthews, who caught two passes for 44 yards, was asked about the Eagles' group of receivers. His answer reflected Kelly's words. There were drops yesterday, but also astonishing catches, from first-round rookie Nelson Agholor, veteran Miles Austin and undrafted rookie Rasheed Bailey, from Delaware Valley College and Roxborough High.

"It was a good showing, even Rasheed going out and making that crazy, one-handed sideline catch," Matthews said. "That's what this game is about, everyone coming out and making plays. Our room of guys, we're like brothers; we're not putting any labels on nothing, none of that 'Ones, twos or threes.' It's about being a corps, being a family, and wanting the best for each other."

Here are some instances of the good, the bad, and some things that fell in between:

* Agholor. The first-round rookie sat down at halftime with three catches for 57 yards and an electrifying touchdown on his first catch. Agholor went up high for a Mark Sanchez pass, came down, spun around a defender and then just ran past everyone, 34 yards to the end zone. Next pass to him he dropped, but he atoned with a couple of more good catches.

* Bennie Logan. The Eagles' first-team nose tackle dominated the middle of the Colts' line during a brief stint early in the game. Overall, the Colts couldn't run on the Eagles' starters, at all.

* Marcus Smith, the much-scorned 2014 first-round draft choice, played a lot and looked much less lost than he seemed as a rookie. Smith seemed to get tired in the second half, but, early on, he put together back-to-back plays that hinted at true, early-round-worthy potential. Smith's coverage forced a Matt Hasselbeck incompletion to tight end Coby Fleener, then on third down, Smith's pass-rush pressure forced an early throw and a punt. Next series, he stepped into a hole and stopped running back Zurlon Tipton cold.

* Barkley. He threw a tipped interception that wasn't his fault, and overall was stronger than his final line of 12-for-20 for 192 yards would suggest.

"I feel like I've come a long way," Barkley said. "Right now, where I'm at, I feel great that I can lead this team, score points, and move the ball down the field . . . There were a few tough third downs, but I feel like we did OK for the first preseason game."

* Undrafted rookie tight end Eric Tomlinson, from Texas-El Paso, doesn't have the athleticism of Zach Ertz, who is sidelined after abdominal surgery, but Tomlinson caught a game-high five passes for 61 yards. At 6-6, 263, he can trample a defensive back when he gets his legs moving. This was the sort of thing coaches needed to see, in the wake of Ertz' surgery.

* Undrafted rookie running back Raheem Mostert took a Barkley dump-down 40 yards, showing the speed that made him the Big Ten 100- and 200-meter track champion his senior year at Purdue.

* Tebow completed his first four passes, returning to preseason NFL action for the first time in two years, and he actually had to raise his arms to quiet the crowd as he drove the offense down the field. But his accuracy fell off after that - he finished 6-for-12 for 69 yards - and he took three sacks. Still, his 7-yard sprint to the pylon for the TD that set the final score drew the biggest ovation of the day.

Kelly suggested Tebow wasn't helped by his supporting cast.

"You also have to look at who is in with who. There's a different set of receivers that were in with Matt than Timmy had, and really a different line at times," Kelly said. "There's a couple of those where Timmy held the ball, it looks like, 'Why is he doing that?' Well, the receiver ran the wrong route. He's looking for a receiver to run a shallow cross, we didn't get him the shallow cross."

* Jaylen Watkins, the lead contender for the nickel corner job, whiffed on running back Josh Robinson, who ran 9 yards for a touchdown. Also failing to make the tackle was third-round rookie inside linebacker Jordan Hicks.

* Safety Ed Reynolds, a fifth-round draft pick last year who spent the season on the practice squad, intercepted two passes. Earl Wolff sat out the game with swelling in his troublesome right knee, which underwent microfracture surgery last November. Though Wolff told the Daily News he hopes to practice tomorrow and plans to play against the Ravens on Saturday, his prolonged problems are a concern. (Wolff denied an NJ.com report that he had reinjured the knee.) Reynolds could be the Eagles' third safety.

"I thought he showed up today," Kelly said of Reynolds. "Not only two interceptions, but he had a big tackle on the kickoff return after that, late in the game . . . I thought Ed did a nice job and put himself in a pretty good situation coming out of Game 1. We'll see how he grows from here."

As a rookie, Reynolds missed spring work, because Stanford is on the quarter system and your class must graduate before you are allowed to participate. Reynolds said yesterday that being here all offseason made a big difference.

"It felt amazing," Reynolds said. "It made me feel like I was in college again. That was my thing in college - to go out there and be a ballhawk and give our offense more opportunities."

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian