Their first game of the new season is in the books and your Eagles are undefeated! Okay, so it's just a meaningless preseason game but the Eagles were quite impressive in their 28-27 win over the Jaguars. While the final score may make it seem like the two teams were evenly matched, if you watched the first quarter when all of the starters were in the game you saw a dominating performance by the Eagles. Here are some of the positives and negatives from the Eagles first preseason game.
Positives:
First team offense: The Eagles first team offense looked on point from the start, marching right down the field on their first two drives. Kevin Kolb looked sharp, hitting DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin for big plays and even showing his scrambling ability on a couple of nice runs. Sure, they had to settle for field goals, but you couldn't have asked for much better start for the offense this preseason.
Kevin Kolb: He was strong in his quarter of play, completing 6 of 11 passes for 95 yards. While it would have been nice for Kolb to get a TD pass, he showed good movement in the pocket and made all the right throws. He's got a ton of weapons surrounding him and Kolb looks like he's capable of finding the open man and letting the playmakers make plays.
First team defense: The Jaguars first team offense couldn't get anything going, failing to even get a first down against the Eagles first team defense. They weren't out there long, but the first team D had a ton of energy and put plenty of pressure on the quarterback and didn't allow the Jaguars to let a play develop downfield. While I would have liked to see the defense out there for longer, you can't complain about how efficient they were in shutting down the Jaguars.
Riley Cooper: Cooper made an immediate impact in the second quarter, making a nice catch on a long pass from Michael Vick for 46 yards. Given that he also spent some time with the first team offense on a three receiver set, Cooper, who finished with 3 catches for 61 yards, appears to be a lock to make the team.
Brandon Graham: No, he didn't have any sacks but he did put plenty of pressure on the quarterback and had some run with the first team on third downs. A positive first step for Graham, who looks like he has the pass-rushing ability to make an impact this season.
David Akers: You can't argue with 5 for 5 on field goals. The guy has still got it.
Michael Vick: Because of his turnovers, I debated for a while about putting Vick in the negative column but I saw enough explosiveness out of him to keep him in the positives. Sure, Vick did try to do too much, but he kept the offense moving, completing 11 of 17 passes and rushing for 50 yards. The bottom line with Vick is that he looks more like his old self and is going to be a bigger weapon for the Eagles on gimmick plays than he was last year.
Martell Mallett: Due to Mike Bell and J.J. Arrington's injuries, Mallett got a ton of work in the second half and finished with 60 yards rushing, a touchdown and 18 yard receiving. The former CFL star certainly made a strong showing but he's still a longshot to make the team.
Keenan Clayton: Clayton was all over the field in the second half, making 4 tackles and picking up a sack. With a motor like that he will make it impossible for the coaches to keep him off the team.
Negatives:
Quintin Demps injured: He left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. Let's hope it's nothing serious because the Eagles don't have a whole lot of depth at safety.
Second team secondary: In the second quarter, the Jaguars burned the Eagles second team secondary repeatedly, allowing Josh McCown to thrown the ball all over the field. Joselio Hanson, Dimitri Patterson, Kurt Coleman and Trevard Lindley have a ways to go if they want to get significant playing time this season.
Joselio Hanson: Hanson got torched in the second quarter on a 73 yard touchdown pass from Luke McCown to Troy Williamson. Not only did Williamson blow by him but Hanson also committed a penalty on the play. Don't count on Hanson being anything more than a nickel corner.
Geoff Pope: Like Hanson, he got burned for a big play. Unlike Hanson, Pope isn't making the team.
(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
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