Eagles vs. Jaguars: Some Observations

Well, Eagles fans, the era of Kolb has arrived. And if the rest of it goes the way that the Eagles first two offensive series went on Friday night, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. But enough generalizing: how did the team look in its first action of 2010?

The answer is: good and bad. The team managed to squeak out a 28-27 preseason win over the Jaguars, so that’s a positive. But the starters’ strong effort wasn’t necessarily reflected on the scoreboard, and the Eagles needed a late rally in order to overcome some of their backups’ mistakes that had allowed Jacksonville to take the lead. But chalk it up to learning experience. After all, it is only the preseason.

Specifically, here’s what I saw during the game:

• Kevin Kolb is ready to make a statement. I confess that I’ve directed some skepticism at Kolb’s ability to fill the void left by Donovan McNabb’s departure. But after seeing Kolb’s work in the first quarter on Friday, I think I might need to eat my words. Kolb looked sharp, and for the most part, his throws were on-target and crisp. If those two slant passes to DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are any indication, he’s got great chemistry with his receivers. Kolb also made a perfect throw to Celek in the endzone that would have been an easy touchdown if Celek had hung on. And he even showed some mobility after being flushed out of the pocket, rushing for a 6 yard gain.
• David Akers still has it.Akers has been one of the most consistent players for the Eagles during his tenure with the team. It doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon. He made all five of his field-goal tries and one extra-point. Vintage Akers.
• The Eagles have some good depth at receiver.Both Riley Cooper and Chad Hall showed good hands and made heads plays on some long passes. Cooper beat the coverage to haul in a pass from Vick, and Hall took advantage of the Jaguars’ blown coverage to grab a bomb from Mike Kafka. It’s early in the preseason, but I’m betting one of these guys makes the team (my money’s on Hall).
• The starting O-line still needs a little work. Admittedly, this criticism is a bit unfair. This group was playing without two starters, center Jamaal Jackson and guard Todd Herremans. But left tackle Jason Peters was clearly overpowered on a few plays, and I still think he just doesn’t look like he fits. The Eagles are really going to need him to step up this year.
• There are some good defensive line prospects on the roster this year. Obviously, I could be referring to the team’s rookie defensive ends, Brandon Graham and Daniel Teo-Nesheim, who are expected to revitalize the Eagles’ pass rush. But the player that I really want to mention is defensive tackle Jeff Owens, a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. Owens has made an impression in camp, and on Friday, he logged a sack and forced a fumble. A few more plays like those, and the Eagles will have to find a roster spot for this guy.
• Defensive depth is still a question mark. While the first team defense put on a good performance, the same can’t be said for the second-stringers, especially in the secondary. I know that these are the guys who are fighting for roster spots and won’t necessarily make the team, but it can’t be heartening to see the backups get burned for two long TD scores at the hands of Luke McCown, Troy Williamson, and Tiquan Underwood. If the defensive starters go down, this group could have some problems.
• Michael Vick is returning to form, but he still has some work to do. Vick’s 46-yard bomb to Riley Cooper was picture-perfect. And his 10-yard TD run was vintage Michael Vick. But the fumble and the interception were two ugly plays that marred an otherwise stellar effort. If Vick truly wants to make a comeback, he has to fix those issues.

Well, there you have it. Some good, some bad, some things to work on, some things to build on. But the most important observation that can be made about Friday’s game was that fans who are worried about Kevin Kolb and the Eagles offense can probably rest a little easier. It looks like this team might still be able to compete.