The Sunday Six-Pack is going to be a weekly column identifying the “keys to the game.” Put another way: what are the six things that will need to happen to produce a Philadelphia Eagles win? In the preseason, the wins & losses don’t matter nearly as much as the roster battles, development of unit cohesion, etc. With that in mind—just for the preseason—the Six-Pack will consist of the six things you need to be watching. Let’s get started.
- Sam Bradford – This entire post could be about Bradford. Does he look skittish in a collapsing pocket? Is his weight transfer natural & fluid, as it should be when he trusts his legs? How does he command Chip Kelly’s fast paced offense? Can he lead receivers with well-placed balls that lead to YAC? Can you say he presents an upgrade over Nick Foles in terms of talent? Those are six questions that could each be investigated in depth. Here are the big ones for tonight…Will he play? And will he be healthy at game’s end? Everything else is secondary. We know he has natural ability. We question his confidence. That only comes with live reps
- The interior offensive line play. The Baltimore Ravens present a much more formidable challenge to an OL that, as we know, is playing with two new guards. Allen Barbre & Andrew Gardner looked good against the Indianapolis Colts last week. After sharing the practice field for a week, you can bet the Ravens front seven—manned by guys like Chris Canty, Terrell Suggs, CJ Mosley, Courtney Upshaw, & Elvis Dumervil—will play with a controlled rage. If the OL can open running lanes & keep the QBs upright, it’ll be easier to get excited about the unit moving forward.
- What will rookie wideout Nelson Agholor do for an encore? Will Josh Huff make a play in this game? These two questions roll into this one topic: is anyone going to make Riley Cooper obsolete as a starting WR in this offense? Cooper is an albatross on this team: in competition, contract, and culture. In a perfect world, Agholor will earn his way into a starting role & Huff will realize the potential we saw at times last season. If merit leads to a starting WR-corps comprised of Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, & Nelson Agholor, the offense will be better for it.
- Can the Eagles get after Joe Flacco? Outside of Connor Barwin & Brandon Graham, where is the pass rush coming from? It was one of the few things that could have been better against the Colts. Marcus Smith III is sidelined for 2-3 weeks now: delaying his development. Look for Vinny Curry, Bryan Braman, & Brad Jones in this game. The Eagles need one of them to show an ability to fluster Flacco. If they can’t, you may see a roster addition/trade prior to the regular season kickoff in Atlanta.
- Will Cory Undlin let his guys off the leash? Last week, the secondary focused on keeping everthing in front of them. “Prevent the big play” was the phrase of the week. It led to a couple third down conversions for Andrew Luck & the Colts offense but nothing going longer than 20 yards. That was an offense without wide receivers TY Hilton & Donte Moncrief. This week, the Eagles get loudmouth Steve Smith Sr., shifty Michael Campanaro, and rookie Breshad Perriman. It’d be nice to see the starting secondary press at the line and disrupt the passing game. In addition, there are significant roster battles left to be waged. Ed Reynolds, EJ Biggers, Jaylen Watkins, Denzel Rice, Randall Evans, and Jerome Couplin are all fighting for precious few roster spots…who’s gonna step up?
- I hate that I’m gonna write about Tim Tebow here…but such is life. That last roster spot ultimately doesn’t make a huge difference. If it is Barkley, he likely won’t dress on game days. If it is Tebow, he may dress but at the expense of a special teams guy: a Chris Prosinski-type. Instead, focus on the number two spot and pray to God Mark Sanchez looks significantly better than he did last week. If not, the Eagles will be in a world of hurt when if Bradford misses time this season with an injury.
