Well, at least Cody Parkey is in mid-season form.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Eagles last night looked very much like a team that had gone convulsive change, that had been dismantled by Chip Kelly and put back together again. By Chip Kelly, the man who now holds all the power when it comes to personnel and the Eagles roster.
It was Chip Kelly who sent Nick Foles packing in favor of Sam Bradford, then decided to barely play his QB at all in the preseason. Bradford commanded the Eagles for all of about four series in the preseason - and looked very much like a rusty guy who was having trouble meshing with his receivers in the first half last night. That's especially true with wideout Josh Huff and tight end Zach Ertz. What do they all have in common? They also played very little in the preseason, and looked like it last night.
Yes, if Parkey makes that 44-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the 4th quarter, it gives the Eagles the lead. Whether the Birds' reconstructed secondary could hold it is another matter.
Here are my observations after a disappointing 26-24 Eagles loss on opening night:
- For most of the first half, the Eagles looked very much like a team that had been taken apart and put back together in the offseason. Lots of new faces, lots of misfiring. No doubt they will get better, and they actually were much better in the second half, especially on offense.
- Why do people insist on saying that Chip Kelly's offense is based on rushing the ball. I've yet to see any evidence of that. Kelly sent LeSean McCoy packing because he didn't like his style. He brought in the leading rusher in the NFL last year, DeMarco Murray of the Cowboys, then added Ryan Matthews to go along with Darren Sproles for what was being billed as a three-headed monster of a rushing attack. Then he managed to ignore them most of the night, putting the game in the hands of a guy who had not played in nearly 700 days and played very little in game situations with his receivers. The Eagles gave the ball to Murray just 8 times, who managed only 9 yards in the process. Matthews didn't do much better, lugging the rock 3 times for 4 yards. The Eagles managed just 63 yards on 16 rushes. Meanwhile Bradford threw the ball 52 times, completing 36 of them.
- Another thing that was evident last year as well as this preseason held true for the Eagles. They do not get pressure on the opposing quarterback unless they blitz. That's not a good combination against a QB as talented as Matt Ryan with one of the league's best wide receiving corps, including superstar Julio Jones. They scorched the Eagles secondary, including the big-money free agent signing Byron Maxwell, who was supposedly brought in here to shut down the other team's top receiver. Jones caught nine balls for 141 yards and 2 TDs.
- Last year their special teams were one of the biggest edges the Eagles had. Last night they got outplayed. Falcons kicker Matt Bryant makes any kind of return all but impossible, making teams start every drive from their 20. He's also automatic on field goals, hitting from 41, 39 and 44 yards last night.
- Usually reliable Donnie Jones had one miserable effort that set up a Falcons' score.
- And Cody Parkey. At the end of last year, Parkey, who was having a great year, started to look shaky. In the preseason, he was battling a leg injury and was among those guys with very limited time. It looked like it on that crucial miss last night.
- On the plus side, Bradford was spectacular in the second half, including commanding a dominating 95-yard drive, overcoming a series of penalties in the process.
The Eagles likely will get better as the season goes on. They brought in a lot of new faces in key positions.
Last night they played like it.
Dallas is next. Going 0-2 while the Cowboys are 2-0 would not be a good sign for this team - or for Chip Kelly.
Comments