How Can The Eagles Win On Sunday?

If you’re an Eagles fan, you’re likely suffering from whiplash. In the short span of less than a week, your new franchise signal-caller got a concussion, your prized fullback went down with arguably the nastiest injury of the year, and you’re team is about to start Michael Vick at quarterback. Ouch. But there’s good news, too: the Eagles are playing the Lions. And though the Lions are showing signs of life this year, that’s still not a bad matchup to get for Week 2. So, what exactly can the Eagles to do to ensure that this week goes differently?

• Michael Vick needs to play like his old Pro-Bowl self. I won’t lie: I didn’t expect Vick to play as well as he did against Green Bay. Not only did he make plays with his legs; he also threw very crisp and accurate passes. Vick even put some touch on his throws, most notably the long pass to a well-covered Brent Celek late in the game. He’ll need to continue those habits against the Lions. He’ll also need to have better downfield vision. Vick clearly missed an opportunity to bring the eagles within a field goal of victory by not running into the end-zone on a third-and-goal in the fourth quarter. If he wants to become a starter again, now is his time to prove that he can be one.
• The offensive line needs to play physically. This unit had a hard time containing against Green Bay’s front three last week. Green Bay took advantage of that fact by having a few of their linebackers rush the quarterback on delayed blitzes. They all worked and both Vick and Kolb found themselves on the run quite often. It doesn’t get any easier against Detroit’s defensive front. The key here is to play physically so that the pass rush can be contained. If the Eagles offensive line can’t handle that alone, then a tight end or a tailback will have to play blitz pickup. Otherwise, Michael Vick will find himself on the run for most of the afternoon.
• The pass rush is going to have to carry the defense. The pass rush is the strength of this defense. They actually got after Aaron Rodgers pretty well last Sunday, and forced Green Bay to use the shotgun formation and other three-step drops for their passing plays. That’s the kind of pressure they need to bring against Detroit. Why? Because Detroit is still lacking in offensive talent and are ripe for the plucking at the hands of a skilled pass rush. Also, the Eagles’ secondary is very suspect. After re-watching some highlights from last week’s matchup with Green Bay, I’m still not very impressed with this group. They whiffed on a couple of tackles, and let Green Bay receivers—especially Greg Jennings—get open in space. A good pass rush will take some of the pressure off of them.
• The Eagles can’t underestimate their opponent. Just because it’s the Lions doesn’t guarantee that Sunday will be an easy game. The Lions still have a defensive line anchored by Ndamakong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch that could do some damage to the Eagles’ struggling offensive line. They also have a legitimate receiving threat in Calvin Johnson, who probably won’t be prematurely dropping anymore touchdown passes this week. The Eagles can’t afford to sleep on Detroit.

Last week couldn’t have gone any worse for Philadelphia. But I still think they can salvage the first half of their season. The Lions are improved, but they’re still not a true contender. And though they lost their new franchise quarterback for an indeterminate amount of time, I think that Michael Vick can make the Eagles offense more dynamic and that he’ll make it easier on the offensive line because of his mobility on the run.

That’s why I’m taking the Eagles in a 20-14 decision. Vick’s lack of reps with the first-team prevents the offense from being explosive, but the Eagles’ pass rush keeps Detroit at bay. Book it.