It’s Alive!!!

The Eagles offense has been the red-headed stepchild to the defense this spring and summer. Compliments have been few and far between. The offense has done little to make anyone feel optimistic about them.

That changed on Saturday night. The defense was still outstanding, but the Eagles offense finally came to life. They controlled the line of scrimmage, which meant time for QBs to throw and holes for the RBs to hit. Things finally clicked. I don’t think the Eagles will be setting any records this year, but the offense finally showed some potential and gave you a sense of some optimism.

Beyond just the players doing their job well, I liked how the coaches called the game. They were creative, in terms of plays and personnel use. There were times when they went with 3 TEs. They ran from that and threw from that. They would bunch them and run to that side. Creates good blocking angles for the TEs. They used a lot of the Ace formation (2 TEs, 2 WRs, RB). I’m a big fan of this. The 2003 Eagles used this a lot and did some great things with it.

One complaint with Doug Pederson. He didn’t call timeouts late in the half. The Eagles got the ball back with just 0:26 left. They didn’t need the ball to go get points, but it would have been nice to see the starting offense in a 2-minute setting.

For an idea of just what a blowout this was, the Eagles led 33-10 in the 4th quarter. The Colts FG came off an INT that put them in scoring territory. The TD came on a blocked punt that was recovered for a score. 2 Eagles mistakes, 10 points.

QB

Sam Bradford – 17-20-167. Threw for 2 TDs and an INT. The pick wasn’t his fault. Tried to hit Agholor over the middle. Nelson couldn’t make the grab and it bounced to a DB. Ideally you’d like that ball out in front of the receiver so he catches it at full speed and can add good RAC yards, but the Eagles used a 1st round pick on Agholor to make tough catches. I don’t know if Bradford threw a bad pass all night. He overthrew DGB in the end zone, but that was from 20 yards out and they’re still working on timing. Did a nice job on early 3rd/17. Rusher came up the middle. Sam stepped to the side and then hit Givens for a 1st down. Solid throw. Loved the fade to DGB for the score. Put the ball up there and let his guy go get it. The quick pass to Huff for the long gain was a good throw. Consistently put the ball where it needed to be so his guys could catch it and make plays.

For some perspective, Bradford threw 15 passes last year in the preseason. He threw 40 this summer. He’s healthy. He looks comfortable on the field and in the offense. Bradford was rusty when the regular season started last year. That won’t be the case this year.

Chase Daniel – 9-12-104. Had one TD. Good game. Once again looked comfortable running the offense. Made adjustments at the LOS. Had some nice throws. Hit Watford for a 28-yard TD. Watford was wide open, but the ball was on the money. Tried to hit Turner for a long TD, but the ball was about a step too far away. Mixed in quick throws as well. Was accurate with his short throws.

RB

Ryan Mathews – 3-31 on the ground. Ran hard and looked good. Does not run like a back concerned about staying healthy. Fights for yards. Best run came late in the 1st Qtr. Started up the middle and then bounced the run wide left. Turned that into a gain of 16. Good vision and cutting ability, plus burst. Looks ready for the season. I was getting nervous watching him fight for yards. Normally I want a RB to do that. With Mathews, I’m like “Go down dude. We’re good.”

Kenjon Barner – Took over at RB in the 2nd Qtr. 6-39 on the ground. Seeing the field really well right now. Vision and instincts are tremendous right now. Also has the footwork and moves to get to the right spots. In a groove, at RB and as a RS. Best run was a 25-yard gain to the left side. Had really good blocking and didn’t hesitate. Late in the run, Barber popped the defender before going out of bounds. I liked that. Good to see him running hard and playing with a bit of an edge. Good chip block of Cole on 3rd down helped to keep Bradford clean.

Byron Marshall – Another solid showing. You wouldn’t think he was last a RB early in his career at Oregon. Looks natural in the backfield. I’m really impressed with his inside runs. He’s no Earl Campbell, but he doesn’t dance. Will hit it up in there. Good burst. Still at his best in space. 10-40 on the ground.

Wendell Smallwood – Got the final carry of the 1st half. No room to run. Lined up out wide in the early 3rd and caught a quick out. Good route, smooth catch. Next play he ran up the middle for 9 yards. Good burst on that. Took a big shot to the legs and went down. A defender might have hit Smallwood in the head with his knees as he rolled on the field. Smallwood let go of the ball for a second then grabbed it. Left the game to be checked for concussion. You saw some of his potential, but it is concerning for him to leave after so few touches.

TE

Brent Celek – Mostly great as a blocker. Got knocked back on one run by 93. Had one pass thrown his way. Hit Celek in the hands, but before he could secure it a DB was able to rip it out. Good play by #40, but you still wish Celek had made that play. He’s bigger and stronger than the DB.

Zach Ertz – Has turned into Bradford’s favorite checkdown target. Only 5-25 as a receiver. Very good as a blocker. Got a LB on the ground on a run where Barner ran wide to that side. Had a good block on Barner’s long run to the left side. Ertz isn’t overpowering defenders, but he’s more physical than in the past and his effort is excellent. Really trying to make his blocks count.

Shot 12 – #Eagles get a great double team at the point of attack from Ertz and Celek on a big gain from Barner pic.twitter.com/6XFtwKieTV — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) August 28, 2016

Trey Burton – Best game of the summer. 5-35. Played early as well as later on. Had some effective run blocks in the game. Caught every pass thrown his way. Took a big shot to the head after one catch over the middle, but it didn’t seem to phase him. Caught a short TD. Was supposed to be a rub route, but the DB got lost on his own. Wide open. Lined up out wide and caught a slant on one play. Has the athleticism to do that and be effective.

Chris Pantale – Played FB and TE. 2 catches for 7 yards. Solid job as a blocker. Good effort. Still needs work, but works hard to stick with his blocks. Tall player who does struggle at times with his pad level.

MJ McFarland – Poor job as a blocker. No passes thrown his way.

WR

Nelson Agholor – Only had one pass come his way. Ball hit him in the chest on a crossing route. Needed to make that catch, but the ball went into the air and got picked off. One good sign is that he didn’t pout after that play. Did a good job as a blocker. Had a block on Huff’s long catch/run. Had the key block on Huff’s TD run. Dominated the DB on that and let Huff get around them cleanly, giving him an open lane to the end zone. Tried to block Trent Cole on Agholor’s other run. That didn’t go so well.

Chris Givens – 1-19 as as receiver. Got past the chains on 3rd/17 and made smooth catch. Solid job as a blocker.

Rueben Randle – Played mostly after the starters. 2-13. Just never showed much of a spark. Has talent, but not sure about heart. Certainly didn’t show much this summer.

DGB – Good game. Caught a slant pass and fought through a tackle to add extra yards. Gained 11 on the play. Showed his strength on that. A couple of plays later Bradford threw him a fade pass for a TD. DGB made that look so easy. Just leapt up and snatched the ball. Showed his size and athleticism on that play. The CB had no chance.

Josh Huff – Terrific game. 2-60 as a receiver, 2-10-1 as a runner. Caught a short pass on the 2nd drive. Made the initial defender miss and then raced downfield for a gain of 38. Showed his RAC skills on that play. Big reason the coaches have been so patient with Huff is that RAC potential. This offense needs that. Got the ball on a jet sweep in the Red Zone and ran for 9-yd TD. Good speed on that run. Ran the ball on end around and got minimal gain. Trent Cole sniffed that out, made the play. Caught pass on 3rd/6. Crossed the middle, got some separation and got the ball. Gain of 22. Most importantly…smooth catch. Really helped himself.

Paul Turner – Somewhat quiet. 2-21 with a long of 18. Caught a short pass on a crossing route and the ILB tackled him immediately. Big deal you say. The LB, rookie Antonio Morrison, ran a 5.1 last spring. The fact he tackled Turner so quickly did bother me.

Cayleb Jones – 1-22. Did a good job on that catch. Got the ball near the sideline and fought his way upfield for the good gain. That’s the kind of effort you want to see from someone fighting for a roster spot.

David Watford – 1-28. That was a TD catch. Used a good fake to freeze the DB and got behind him with ease. Nice job by Watford, but the DB has struggled all spring and just froze. Didn’t put some crazy Jason Avant move on the guy. Still, got open and caught the pass. Failed to stand out as a blocker.

OL

There’s no reason to post notes about Lane Johnson going against backups.

Eagles QBs were sacked once…when the RG missed a blitzer. QBs had enough time to go 26-32. As Colts broadcast team mentioned, it was like watching a 7-on-7 drill.

Eagles ran for 130 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry.

Simply put, the boys up front dominated the game.

Jason Peters – Started at LT and played pretty well. Got beaten in pass pro by good spin move. Sam got hit on that play. Had a great block on Mathews long run. JP downblocked the DE and put him on the ground. Then JP went and blocked a LB. Still a little rusty in pass pro, but knocked the crap out of defenders on a few different plays.

Stefen Wisniewski – Started at LG. Played well. Didn’t get a lot of push in the run game, but generally handled his guy. Good in pass pro. Locked out his arms and controlled his defender. Moved his feet pretty well.

Jason Kelce – C. Made the tackle after the INT. Old LB skills kicked in. Good game. Used his athleticism to make tough blocks at the LOS and to also get upfield or outside.

Brandon Brooks – RG. Missed blitzing LB on opening play and LB sacked Bradford for a big loss. Not sure why Brooks was slow to read that blitz and react. Picked up looping DL on 3rd/long, giving Bradford time to throw. Had poor block on run play where he just didn’t cleanly get his guy. Has not stood out the way I hoped this summer.

Allen Barbre – RT. Another good game. Hasn’t faced an elite LDE or OLB yet, but I’m getting more and more comfortable with him. Good run blocker, effective pass blocker.

Matt Tobin – Backup LT. Came in late in the 1st half so he could get some reps with the starters. The group didn’t miss a beat. Good game. Solid pass protector. Moves his feet well and uses his hands to control the rusher. Still doesn’t have great feet and will have to reach at times. Good effort as a run blocker. At his best on LBs, blocking on the 2nd level. Doesn’t get as much push as you’d want at the LOS. Had a good block on Barner’s long run to the left side. See the .gif above.

Barrett Jones – Played C. Struggled early, but did improve as the game went along. I still don’t like him and wouldn’t keep him on the roster. Reaches too much. Seems to guess on more blocks than I care for. Got out front on a screen and didn’t block anyone. Had another play where a DL just tossed him aside (like last week).

Josh Andrews – Played LG. Up and down. Good effort as a blocker. That said, there were some plays where his lack of size and strength was an issue. Andrews does play with a wide base. Pad level certainly isn’t an issue. Had a trap block that was effective, but the DL ended up pushing Andrews to the ground.

Dillon Gordon – 3rd team LT. Up and down. I’m impressed with how natural he looks at LT. Can’t stress how important something simple like that is. Good feet. Knee bender. Doesn’t get much push in the run game. Must get stronger. Had one bad moment in pass pro. Eagles tried to run a screen. Gordon was slow or something and his guy flew off the edge and was in the backfield instantly.

Darrell Greene – RG. Has the size. Has the strength. Does not have the footwork. Heavy-footed. Reaches when DL get by him or get the angle on him. Too high at times because of the poor footwork. Threw a defender to the ground on one play. Love that size and strength. Unfortunately dove on the player. Jon Runyan loves that, but is now against the rules. Got a penalty for that. Also called for early holding. Talented, but still a project.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai – RT. Isn’t showing the footwork to play OT right now. Seems a bit overwhelmed as well. He’s thinking and not just playing. Needs a lot of work. Isn’t using his size as an advantage often enough.

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