Everything about this game screams “take the Jets.”
Which is of course the reason I will pick the Eagles. I’ve been as stunned as anyone by the Birds 0-2 start. Look, anyone can lose two games to start the season, but it’s the way the Eagles have looked, in particular against the Cowboys, that is most troubling. The Birds never showed up.
This team is still struggling with a severe case of not knowing one another. Kelly tore the team apart in the offseason, then brought in a bunch of new faces, and decided they didn’t need to play all that much in the preseason.
That is particularly true of Quarterback Sam Bradford, who looked rattled and tentative against the Cowboys. That’s what happens when a precision offense based on tempo gets disrupted, its ground game in tatters, and its offensive line struggling.
Things won’t get a lot easier this week. The Jets’ defense is a stout bunch, and even a somewhat hobbling Darrel Revis has to be licking his chops.
But it looks like DeMarco Murray is going to play, and I don’t see Chip Kelly coming up with three straight lousy game plans.
The Birds need a fast start, to operate with the lead once. The Jets’ offense is terrible, probably worse than what the Eagles put on display vs. the Cowboys.
An 0-3 start would be anathema. I don’t see that happening.
The Pick: Make it Eagles 27, Jets 23. Bradford will look better. Murray and Ryan Matthews will get back on track. Cody Parkey will even boot a couple of key field goals.
Last Week: Troy Aikman pretty much summed it up. It was flat-out embarrassing. For some reason Kelly does not subscribe to the theory that the Cowboys game is not just one more game on the schedule. In these parts, that’s heresy. Don’t think I’ve ever seen an Eagles team less fired-up for a Dallas game.
Season Record: I expected the Eagles to be 2-0 at this point. Instead they’re a stunning 0-2 and standing on the edge of the abyss. They can’t really start 0-3, can they?
Game by Game: Cowboys 20, Eagles 10 (My Pick: Eagles 31, Cowboys 26.
Falcons 26, Eagles 24. (My Pick: Eagles 37, Falcons 26)
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