The Eagles take on the Cleveland Browns in the thirs week of Preseason action Friday night.
Where to Watch/Listen:
- TV: / 6ABC
- Radio: 94WIP
- Sirius: 136
With the two sides facing each other in Week 1 of the Regular Season, don't expect either side to show too much strategically. Head Coach Andy Reid announced that the starters will play one quarter at the most, but Nick Foles will start for Philadelphia. Michael Vick suffered a rib injury early in the first quarter of last Monday's contest versus New England (he plans to be ready for the season opener).
To say Foles has been impressive would be an understatement. In two games, he's 24/38 for 361 yards and and 4 touchdowns. He's played mostly against second and third stringers so far, but will have a good challenge against the Browns first team Defense. Cleveland was the second best in the league in Opponent Passing yards with just 184.9 yards. On offense, Cleveland will be without rookie RB Trent Richardson for Friday's game as he recovers from knee surgery.
However, the Eagles will be missing a key piece on Offense as well. Starting RT Todd Herremans will miss the game due to a death in the family. In his place, rookie Dennis Kelly, a 5th round selection from Purdue, will start in his place.
There are also two underlying story lines for both sides. In Cleveland, Quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace could be auditioning for jobs elsewhere in the NFL. Browns writer Mary Kay Cabot spoke with coach Pat Shurmur, who believes 4th string QB Thad Lewis is worth developing. So Wallace, McCoy and Lewis will all see time in Friday night's contest as they audition for a roster spot. Wallace, entering his third year with Cleveland, is 10/17 for 130 yards and 1 touchdown. McCoy, who the franchise had hoped would be their Quarterback of the future, is 11/15 for 160 yards, and Lewis 5/8 for 90 yards.
Brandon Boykin and Joselio Hanson are in a very tight battle for the starting Nickel job. Reid has said the gap has "closed", and believes the two are in a very tight battle.
I think you play the best guy is what you do, so you make it as simple as you possibly can in your evaluation of that and say whoever’s playing the best will play in that position, and that’s a close competition there. Those guys are going after it and I thought both of them actually did some good things in the game. So, we’ll just leave that as an open competition.
If Hanson has any advantage over Boykin, it's his veteran knowledge. He's spent 6 years with Philadelphia, and has become one of the best Nickel corners in the NFL. Boykin shows incredible speed, and can stick with Wide Receivers step for step. The two will be given plenty of chances gain an advatange over the other.
Jake Pavorsky is a contributor for Eagledelphia. You can follow him on Twitter @JakePavorsky.
