Not since before the turn of the century has there been a new head coach of the Eagles headed into the first game of the season. Tonight, under the lights of FedEx Field and on national television, Chip Kelly brings his years of college football success to the big show. In the past six-plus months, Eagles fans, die hard and newbies alike, have watched this team transform enormously. The practices were revolutionized. The play calling comes from a brand new book. The anticipation is at all-time high levels. The quarterback is, well, the same…
Even with the changing of the guard Philadelphia saw overtake their beloved team, Michael Vick remains the number one quarterback on the roster. Even weeks into the preseason games, the decision still had not been made. However, after watching his play-callers perform, Chip Kelly saw that the best move was to keep Vick in control. That, my friends, will be one of the many, many factors to look for in this contest.
I could go on for about six pages with the fine details of what to pay close attention to in tonight's matchup. Instead, let me Chip away at the tip of the iceberg. Chip Kelly's style, despite being rolled out in the preseason, still has yet to be fully exposed. Tonight, though, we will finally get to see it put in regular season action. How similar will it be to his Oregon offense? It has been all but guaranteed that the team will look to run as many plays as possible in their 60 minutes of play time. It will be fast-paced, and nearly nonstop. Prepare for "injuries" to plague the Redskins and slow down some of the Eagles' drives.
The defense, an atrocious one at best last season, for the Eagles is still in question. So many new faces trying to adapt to a new style of play probably sets the scene for a rough couple of games to start the season. Against a returning Robert Griffin III though, the defense may get their chance to sign. It will also be exciting to look out for some of the draft picks brought in earlier this year by Philadelphia. Lane Johnson and Zach Ertz seem primed to get most of the playing time from the class. What they can bring to the team may be the push necessary to start the season 1-0. Though he is the third string quarterback, Matt Barkley is on the squad as well, and with the little information known about this offense, we may still see him get some sort of playing time.
So what about the Eagles' opponent tonight? The Washington Redskins are coming off a season in which they were able to win the division and head to the playoffs. They are also coming off a season in which they saw their star rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin III, go down with a cringing right knee injury that required major surgery in the offseason. Making is first appearance of the season tonight, what will RG3 be able to do? Or, perhaps a better question, what will he be allowed to do? It may just be that, what Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan does not allow Griffin to do will fall on the shoulders of running back Alfred Morris. With some of the QB's mobility being compromised, it may just come down to Morris picking up the slack. One final aspect to keep an eye on in this contest is the Redskin defense. A less-than-average squad last season did little to improve upon itself, and may be the perfect opponent for Kelly to break out his new offense against.
Injury Report (courtesy of NFL.com):
Where to Watch:
- TV: ESPN/6 ABC
- Radio: 94.1 WIP
- Satellite Radio: XM 225
Staff Predictions:
Erik Seybold
Eagles 24, Redskins 10
Frank Klose
Eagles 10, Redskins 35
Eric Cohen
Eagles 17, Redskins 42
Kevin Durso
Eagles 27, Redskins 34
Close game for much of it, but the Eagles D will get burned far too much. Won't get key stop when needed.
Andrew Gillen
Eagles 27, Redskins 23
Chip Kelly's style of offense will be too much for this Redskins defense. RG3 won't be fully ready to play, but will still have some good drives against the Eagles defenders. LeSean McCoy comes up big.
