Eagles vs. Bengals: Some Observations

Another weekend, another game of preseason football. On Friday night, the only game on the docket was a matchup between the remade Eagles and the defending AFC North champion Bengals. The Bengals defense can be pretty stout at times and the team has a solid ground game, so they were likely to present a bigger challenge for Philly than the Jaguars had a week ago. To make things more interesting, the Eagles’ starters (the available ones at least) played the whole first half, giving Andy Reid and the whole country an extended look at how Kolb and the gang would improve upon last week’s promising debut.

Well, it didn’t quite go as planned. The first-team offense failed to reach the endzone for the second straight week, and the starting defense gave up some key third downs and big plays that led to a Bengals lead at halftime. Granted, they were missing some of their usual starters, but still, the team’s effort didn’t exactly inspire the Philly masses.

Here are some things I saw in Friday’s contest:

• The Eagles got good pressure from their front four. While I’m sure that Sean McDermott mixed in a few blitz packages, for the most part I saw the Eagles line up no more than five men on the defensive line, only to have one drop back into coverage. The other four were able to keep the Bengal’s O-line on its heels. While they didn’t get the penetration that they probably wanted to, this unit did force Carson Palmer to make some shaky throws.
• Speaking of the defense, the Eagles secondary might actually have more depth than we thought. I wrote last week that the Eagles didn’t have many quality backups in their secondary, particularly at cornerback. And with injuries to Asante Samuel and some other guys, the Eagles were forced to rely on players like Dmitri Patterson on Friday. Not an ideal situation, if you ask me. But these guys stepped up and intercepted two of Palmer’s passes in the first half. Very impressive. And don’t be too hard on Joselio Hanson. He had decent coverage on T.O’s long bomb from Palmer. It was just a good pass.
• Kevin Kolb needs more time in the pocket. Kolb’s numbers on the night aren’t anything special (11/17, 126 yards, 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s), but he didn’t really have a chance to make many big plays because he rarely had time to look downfield. Most of his throws were quick dumps in the flat, or quick darts to mid-field; he rarely had time to set his feet. Fortunately he showed some escapability that helped avoid a couple of sacks and keep a couple of plays alive. But if he’s going to lead the offense, he’s going to need time to make a play.
• As for that offensive line, they played sloppy football last night. In their defense, guard Nick Cole, center Jamaal Jackson, and guard Todd Herremans weren’t on the field yesterday. But still, aside from being overpowered, the unit (more specifically, Jason Peters) was charged with a costly illegal formation penalty that nullified a touchdown pass. Last time I checked, Peters is actually healthy enough to play, so I don’t really know what his excuse is for making mistakes. This group will hopefully improve when the regular starters return, but it would be scary if some of these backups had to play in real games, don’t you think?
• The Eagles still can’t get a steady running game going. The blame for the team’s ineffective performance on the ground last night should be in part on the O-line’s shoulders, but LeSean McCoy seemed like he wasn’t making an effort yesterday. He seemed content to just run between the tackles without trying to cut for more yardage. Plus, he really never showed any tackle-breaking burst. He’ll need to be better if the Eagles want to have success this year.
• The rookies are starting to step up. This really needs no explanation. It’s just good to see the rookies contributing. Brandon Graham had his first NFL sack and Nate Allen had good coverage on a play that could have been a long bomb to Chad Ochocinco. Hopefully, Eagles fans will see plenty more plays like these in the future.
• As for the rest of the special teams, there’s some work to be done. I’m pretty sure that one of the basic tenets of football is to play until you hear the whistle. And after that huge return by Adam Jones, I’m sure that the Eagles won’t stand around the next time that they interfere with the kicker. It doesn’t matter if he signaled for a fair catch. You knocked him over. It’s a live ball, fellas.
• The Eagles need to do a better job of protecting the football. Jeremy Maclin needs to learn that if he hangs the ball out there like that, it’s going to get knocked away. A first down is important, but turnovers are the ultimate drive-killer. Also, Michael Vick threw two picks on the night. This guy used to be a franchise QB? Doesn’t look like it anymore.

I realize that most of that sounds pretty bad. But remember that this is only the second preseason game, and that the Eagles are still taking the field without some of their starters. Look for the team to improve in its next outing.

Of course, if the next performance is just as disappointing, then that would be a good time to start worrying.