Eagles Wake-Up Call: Tebow’s Two-Point Attempts

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When debating whether the Eagles should keep Matt Barkley or Tim Tebow, the pro-Tebow crowd often points to how Chip Kelly could use him in goal-line or short-yardage situations. Well, Tebow was put in for just that reason—twice—against the Packers Saturday for two-point conversions.

How did he do?

The first attempt featured Tebow in an empty backfield with three receivers and two tight ends. Tebow took the snap and ran right up the middle, but was tackled about a yard short of the end zone. Andrew Gardner was immediately beaten off the ball and the defensive lineman got his hands on Tebow behind the line-of-scrimmage.

“We had penetration up front, so Tim had to cut it back and then we had an unblocked guy coming off the backside edge,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to kind of solidify the penetration up there so we can press a little bit longer on the front side.”

Tebow didn’t have a hole to run through, and despite his mobility, he’s not going to get through a wall of defensive linemen and linebackers.

After Sam Bradford threw his second of three touchdown passes, Kelly put Tebow in once again for the two-point conversion. This time, the Eagles ran a quick slant with Nelson Agholor as the primary receiver.

However, the Packers brought a defensive back off the edge on a blitz and immediately pressured Tebow. The quarterback didn’t have enough time to make a good throw and he threw it incomplete, although it was almost intercepted.

If you ask Agholor, he could’ve helped out Tebow more.

“I got to make a better play and catch the ball,” Agholor said. “I gave the corner an opportunity to break on it so I need to come flatter and protect the quarterback.”

The two plays weren’t exactly defining moments forecasting Tebow’s future one way or another, but it is the first time we saw him in the exact situation that has been widely speculated about for months.

Regardless of the outcomes of these plays and future preseason two-point conversions, it’s unwise to think this provides a lot of insight into how Kelly could use Tebow. Kelly is a master at using his offensive weapons in creative and innovative ways, and would probably give Tebow more options than simply running the ball up the middle.

Urban Meyer designed effective plays when Tebow was at Florida—including the jump-pass and shovel-option—and Kelly could easily do the same. We’re just not going to see it in meaningless games.

WHAT YOU MISSED

I broke down how each of the Eagles’ touchdowns and turnovers happened in their win over the Packers.

What does the Terrell Suggs ruling mean for the Eagles and quarterbacks around the league moving forward?

“That’s still a big question mark going into Thursday’s game against the Jets.” Chip talks the safety position and more.

T-Mac takes a look at the remaining roster battles after the Eagles trimmed their roster Sunday.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Zach Berman looks at the Eagles’ snap counts against Green Bay, including what to make of a well-oiled running back corps.

The Ryan Mathews/DeMarco Murray/Darren Sproles rotation continues to work. Murray totaled 28 yards on six carries, a 4.7-yard average that showed he’s healthy and ready for the regular season. Sproles was on the field for four plays and had two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. His receiving numbers should improve this season. Kenjon Barner continued to show why he should make the roster. Even though he did not return a punt for a touchdown this week, he made plays on offense. Barner had a 50-yard reception, most of which he created on the run-after-catch. He also played 18 special-teams snaps, which shows his utility in that phase of the game.

Jimmy Kempski has five Eagles he expects to break out in 2015, including Jordan Matthews.

Matthews is coming off a great rookie year that was almost lost to some degree among the great seasons turned in by several of the wide receivers in the 2014 rookie class, like Odell Backham Jr. In 2015, I think Matthews is going to be special. In the first three preseason games, Matthews quietly racked up 7 catches for 115 yards, while making it look routine. There may not be a slot corner in the league that can cover him for 60 minutes. Matthews could put up crazy numbers this season.

COMING UP

We’ll speak to Chip at 11:25. Walk-throughs start at 11:40.