Eagles' special teams, offensive line make good early impressions

THE EAGLES preseason has been punctuated by some in-your-face performances. Tim Tebow running for a touchdown to the delight of the crowd in the first game against the Colts. The tag-team interception by Nolan Carroll and Walter Thurmond against Joe Flacco and the Ravens.

Kenjon Barner exploding for two punt-return touchdowns in the first two games, turning a little dunk pass into a 50-yard gain against Green Bay the other night.

Then there were all those stuffed runs.

And a secondary that appeared so improved, the head coach gave it a nickname: "Lactose intolerant."

It's all been fun to watch, even a little emotionally overwhelming at times. You find yourself looking for warts just to dampen your enthusiasm, or discounting what you're watching with that deflating phrase we've all come to know and embrace:

"It's only preseason."

Yet underneath those positive signs are, well, more positive signs. Subtle perhaps, and go ahead and argue their relevance, if it keeps both feet on the ground. But the signs are found in two facets that often decide football games, and you only have to take a look at the last Eagles season to see how.

Last Saturday in Green Bay, the Packers special-teams unit was flagged for six penalties.

In the first half.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy called it "poor," then later suggested that the officiating crew "called it tight tonight." But the Eagles special teams, coming off a season in which they scored seven touchdowns in all kinds of ways, didn't feel constrained.

I suggested to Eagles special-teams member Chris Maragos that those penalties had less to do with tight officiating as they did from being beaten amid the controlled mayhem. "Absolutely," he said. "It's almost better than making plays, making tackles. Obviously, if a team is taking that many penalties, they're out of position and they needed to do something to get back into position. For us, it says we're playing harder - and smarter - than them."

One big and yet overlooked reason the Eagles got off to a 9-3 start last year was the play of their special teams. After scoring a total of eight touchdowns via special teams in the previous 10 seasons, they had seven last season. Various end-of-season rankings not only rated them at the top of the league, but by a gaudy margin.

And the key players are all back, their talent and collective confidence making even preseason punts and kickoffs must-see TV.

"That's the fun part," said Maragos. "Every single guy, whether you're blocking or returning, we feel like on any given play something good is going to happen. You have all 11 guys, on every single play, playing unselfishly. That's why you see great things happen. Because no one cares who gets the credit."

The other positive sign is what appears to be a quick sync of their reconstructed offensive line - a source of civic anxiety for much of the past spring and early summer. Scanning the play-by-play sheets from the three Eagles preseason games, I found only five penalties called on Eagles offensive linemen. Only one - against Lane Johnson early in the Ravens game - was called against a projected starter. David Molk had a couple, Dennis Kelly was called for holding early in the Colts game, and Julian Vandervelde got caught doing the same against the Ravens.

They were squeaky-clean against the Packers.

I mentioned this to Jason Kelce the other day, and he reacted as if I broke a mirror in front of him, or released a black cat in front of his locker. But then he said this:

"I feel the offensive line in general is penalized more than any other position in the field. You have your false starts, offsides, there's a bunch of different things you can be called for.

"Also, during the preseason, there's points of emphasis. There's a lot of stuff that goes on between the tackles that kind of doesn't get really seen most of the time. So throughout the season, they'll make a point: 'Hey, this guy shouldn't be allowed to do this.' And then they'll keep an eye on it in preseason. But as the season goes on it kind of fades out. But at this time, they'll make a point to call it."

In other words, at a time when the officials' antennas are highest, the Eagles' offensive line - which may be the most critical domino to their season - is playing cleaner than the offensive lines of the three elite teams they have been matched up against.

Good stuff, right?

The Ravens committed 17 penalties in their lopsided loss to the Eagles. Including the six by their special teams, the Packers committed 15. Both were overwhelmed by the Eagles' pace and execution. Yes, it's preseason, but these are two really good teams that held late leads in the playoffs over the two teams that played in the Super Bowl, and both teams are among the short-odds teams to be there again when this season ends.

As is yours.

And so far this preseason, it's pretty obvious why.

On Twitter: @samdonnellon

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