Molk embracing his moment on Eagles’ offensive line

PAT SHURMUR was asked yesterday about crowd noise in Arizona's domed stadium affecting his center, David Molk, whose start Sunday will be Molk's fourth in the NFL - and maybe his last, given Jason Kelce's pending return from groin surgery.

Shurmur said crowd noise wasn't his biggest worry, in this matchup of 5-1 NFC teams.

"The challenge this week for our center is the multiple looks that we face from the Arizona defense," the Eagles' offensive coordinator said. "They do a lot of different things to try and create pressure. That certainly does put more of a challenge on the center . . . He'll be fine. We feel like he'll be trained up, ready to go. But there certainly is more of a challenge than a team that just lines up one or two looks."

Molk had his best game of the season just before the Birds broke for their bye week, in that 27-0 destruction of the Giants. The same probably could be said for just about every offensive lineman, with the running game finally looking like the 2013 version. LeSean McCoy gained 149 yards on 22 carries, Darren Sproles 39 on seven before leaving in the third quarter with what has proved to be a minor MCL sprain.

When the run game works, the Eagles' offense works, but this week, the Birds face the NFL's top-ranked run defense, which is giving up only 72.5 yards per game, despite the fact that Arizona is missing several key defenders. Inside linebacker Daryl Washington is suspended for the season (substance abuse), defensive end Darnell Dockett is out with an ACL tear and outside linebacker John Abraham's career might be over because of concussion concerns. Defensive end Calais Campbell is "50-50" to return this week from a knee injury, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said yesterday, on a conference call with Philadelphia-area reporters.

It might be worth noting that opponents, doing much better against Arizona's 31st-ranked pass defense (284.8 yards per game), are running the ball just 23 times a game against the Cards, the NFL's 27th-highest figure.

"A lot of guys are hurt that are very good. For other guys to step in and make plays just shows you a lot about the defense," McCoy said yesterday. "They play fast. They're a physical group. And they do tons of things on the blitz."

"That's kind of their goal, is to confuse you," Molk said of the defense run by former Eagles defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. "That's what they're doing, and 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. I think if we prepare how we prepare and are ready for the game, we're ready for whatever they throw at us.

"It's more than most teams will want to run in their package. The more [looks] a team runs, the more reps you have to take, the more study you have to have, to see when it's coming and where it's coming from, and also kind of predict what they're going to make for you."

That last part has been a sticking point for the Eagles' offense this season, perhaps almost as important as the inexperience of Molk, left guard Matt Tobin (who has 2 more weeks of subbing for Evan Mathis), and Andrew Gardner and Dennis Kelly, who were pressed into action earlier in the season. Several times, the Eagles have been surprised by how teams have played them, opponents doing things they didn't show on film.

"The running game is always there," Molk said, after being asked a question about why it was there against the Giants, and not in other games. "Our running game is fantastic. But we need a certain look. Plays are specified for certain things. If we don't get that, and they give us something else, that throws two more people in the box - no one can run against that. Literally no one. Absolutely no one. That's kind of what we're running into."

McCoy gained just 79 yards on 19 carries against the Cards last season.

"Their down linemen grabbed us quite a bit, did a good job of keeping us off the linebackers," right guard Todd Herremans recalled.

Kelce, who again was a limited practice participant yesterday, and should return to the lineup either next week at Houston or the week after against Carolina, agreed with Shurmur that the Cardinals' trickery shouldn't faze Molk.

"I think David's been with us long enough now that he understands the calls, understands where the point needs to be, and he's had enough game experience under his belt to where he's really confident now, the guys trust him," Kelce said. "I think he's just a very resilient guy who's been in a lot of tough situations before. I think a guy who's had a lot of adversity throughout his life [including losing his mother, Gail, to breast cancer when David was in the seventh grade], and he's overcome it each time . . . He's done a great job in here, being thrust into a very difficult situation. He's only gotten better every single week."

Kelce said that even though the Cards' injury situation might have been better when Arizona visited the Eagles last Dec. 1, Bowles' unit had the same approach, shifting in and out of fronts in a 24-21 Eagles victory.

"We've just got to be ready for it," Kelce said. "It takes a little more film study during the week, understanding your rules and everything, so if they give you a funky look you're not ready for, you know how to take care of it."

McCoy said he felt he had better vision against the Giants, when the Eagles put Nick Foles under center more than usual. "You can see the cuts better, the lanes better," he said.

But Molk indicated that was a look specific to that opponent, that the Eagles would have a different plan this week.

This is an odd situation for Molk, being central to the Eagles' success this week, and maybe not involved at all next week, if Kelce can get in a full week of practice. Then again, Molk was out of football and helping coach his high school team a year ago, after a year as a Chargers backup; he doesn't seem too concerned about this wrinkle.

"This is his team. This is his offensive line," Molk said of Kelce. "I'm biding my time, and getting everything I can out of every single rep I get. These are, like [offensive-line coach Jeff Stoutland] likes to say, pieces of gold. They're platinum for me. I'm just trying to get as much as I can and build my resume, I guess you could say."

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