Eagles sign Trent Edwards, say goodbye to Vince Young?

According to Adam Schefter, the Eagles have signed QB Trent Edwards to a one year contract.  Edwards, who has played for the Bills and Jaguars, was cut right before the beginning of the 2011 season by the Raiders and didn't take a snap all season long.  His most significant playing time came in 2008 when he started 14 games for Buffalo.

What is the significance of the Eagles signing a quarterback who didn't even play last year?  Well, with Mike Vick locked in as the starter and Mike Kafka locked in as the quarterback of the future, Edwards figures to compete for the veteran backup role.  Given that his skills fit the Eagles offense much better than the 2011 backup, Vince Young, this signing could be a signal that Young won't be brought back this season.  If that's the case, so long Young and thanks so much for all the "Dream Team" crap.

Eagles look broken in loss to Giants

Well, that was embarrassing.  Here are some of my thoughts on the Eagles terrible performance against the Giants:

-The offense wasn't pretty but the defense deserves most of the blame for this loss.  The Giants are not a good offensive team and they were playing with a makeshift wide receiver group and they still managed to put up 29 points. Not all of the blame goes to the linebackers, either, as top players like Nnamdi Asomugha got uncharacteristically burned.  While the defensive line is still creating a lot of pressure, the rest of the D is broken.  Juan Castillo may be in over his head.

-Even before he hurt his hand, Michael Vick did not look right.  It's hard to blame him with the way he was getting hit early and often.  It will be a miracle if he makes it through this season without a serious injury.  He broke his non-throwing hand so I would have to guess he will be able to make the start next week.

-Mike Kafka did not look good this time around, throwing a pair of picks.  Should Vick not be able to go, we could see our first Vince Young start.

-LeSean McCoy is an absolute beast.  Just when the offense looked lost, McCoy took the rock and carried the team on his back and got the Eagles back in the game.  His 128 yards on the ground were the lone bright spot for the Birds.

-Casey Matthews and Kurt Coleman both made terrible plays that led to long Giants touchdowns in the first half.  Coleman was benched for his missed tackle in favor of Nate Allen, who quickly got abused by Ahmad Bradshaw.  Matthews should have also been benched for completely biting on a play fake and letting Brandon Jacobs rumble down the sideline.  Perhaps the Eagles will shake up the linebackers yet again next week or perhaps they will finally sit the rookie down.

-Playcalling is always an issue with Andy Reid but I'm still trying to figure out why Owen Schmitt got a pair of goalline carries.  The Giants couldn't stop McCoy so they give the ball to the fullback twice in a must-score situation?  Doesn't make any sense.

-Steve Smith has to be pissed for how he played against his former team.  That gift interception and only two catches better leave a sour taste in his mouth.

The Eagles really aren't a good football team right now.  They get a weak Niners team next week and if they don't show some life, you can probably already kiss the playoffs goodbye.

Eagles fall to Falcons on Sunday Night

Tough, tough loss for the Eagles, who went from having the game in hand to losing their lead and their starting quarterback in a 35-31 loss to the Falcons.  Here are a few quick thoughts about the game:

-The game completely turned when Michael Vick left.  Even though backup Mike Kafka played about as well as he possibly could have, the momentum in the game completely shifted when Vick got knocked out.  Let's hope Vick is okay for next week.

-For as good as the Eagles defense looked at times, they gave up 5 touchdowns on 5 Falcons red zone attempts.  That's completely unacceptable.  For all the great pressure they put on the quarterback and all of the shutdown corners they have, they have to come up with the big stops inside the 20.  It's almost the opposite of the "bend but don't break" defense.  Don't bend but break?

-Trent Cole had a hell of a game.  So did Cullen Jenkins.  The defensive line is simply phenomenal and will be a force that other teams are going to have a hard time figuring out how to stop.

-Despite all the names on defense, the Eagles still can't cover a tight end to save their lives.  Oh, that's right, there aren't any "names" playing linebacker.

-Kafka is well on his way to being traded for a second round pick in two years.  The kid played great, throwing only two incompletions that weren't his fault at all.  Even though it's probably just the system, Kafka seems accurate enough to be a solid backup.

-Jeremy Maclin went from hero to goat on one play.  He had 13 catches for 171 yards and yet will only be remembered for dropping that perfect pass by Kafka on 4th down.

-Why the heck did the Falcons punt to DeSean Jackson at the end of the game?  They were lucky he didn't win the game right there just like the Miracle at the Meadowlands.

-Speaking of the Giants, as long as Vick is healthy next week, the Eagles should bounce back and put a beating on the G-men.  Heck, even with Kafka I like the Eagles chances.

Tough loss for the Eagles but there is no shame in losing to a solid Falcons team on the road.  Yes, the game was theirs for the taking but there is no reason to lose faith in a good Eagles team.  With their next two games against the Giants and Niners, this team is in position to bounce back nicely.

Michael Vick forced out of Sunday Night game with a concussion

UPDATE: According to Andy Reid, Vick had a concussion.

Uh oh.  After knocking his head into Todd Herremans in the third quarter, Michael Vick had to leave the Sunday Night game against the Falcons with an apparent neck injury.  There is no word yet if he will return to the game.

Bigger uh oh: with Vince Young out, the Eagles are going to turn to Mike Kafka to maintain their slim lead.  In Shady McCoy we trust!

Eagles Preseason Game 3 Thoughts

If you've ever wondered why wins and losses are completely meaningless in the preseason then look no further than the Eagles 20-17 win over the Chiefs on Friday night. Sure, the Eagles had a nice come from behind win in the final minute of the game but anyone who watched any of the action when the starters were in the game knows that the Birds are nowhere close to ready to start the season. From an offensive line that can't block to a weak passing game to stupid penalties to missed tackles, the Eagles looked a lot like a team that is going to struggle to go .500 than a team that has any chance at the playoffs. Here are my positives and negatives from the Eagles third preseason game.

Positives:

Red Zone offense: The Eagles first team offense finally broke through in the red-zone as LeSean McCoy ran it in from the 18 yard line in the first quarter. Of course, they did fail on their next two attempts in the red zone but at least they were successful once this entire preseason!

Mike Kafka: Nice game from the rookie as he completed 9 of his 13 passes for 93 yards and led the Eagles on a nice two-minute drive for the game-winning touchdown. I may be in the minority but if Kevin Kolb goes down, I'm much more comfortable with Kafka as the starting quarterback than Michael Vick. Of course, if Kolb goes down the Eagles will probably just sign a veteran QB like Jeff Garcia to be the starter.
Trevard Lindley: Lindley was another rookie making an impact as he played some with the first team and even had an interception. He should probably help Macho Harris pack his bags at this point.

David Akers: He went two for two on field goals and remains perfect in the preseason.

Negatives:

Offensive line: Once again, the Eagles offensive line was just terrible, this time giving 5 sacks as they continue to allow the opposing defense to do pretty much whatever they want. I continue to hold out hope that all of the line problems are simply due to a lack of consistency because of all of the injuries, but, with the season just around the corner, I don't see how the line is going to just magically flip a switch and be good. If they don't gel, and fast, this is going to be a long, long season for the Eagles.

Jason Peters: He continues to be a drive-killer as he had two false start penalties called on him. Remind me again how this guy was a Pro Bowler?

Passing offense: The first team offense was completely out of sync for the entire game as Kevin Kolb went just 11 for 25 for 103 yards. I'm not sure if the injury to DeSean Jackson hampered the passing attack or if Kolb simply can't get comfortable behind his suspect offensive line but the offense certainly didn't look like it was ready for real game action.

Running game: Besides Shady McCoy's 18 yard touchdown run, the Eagles running game was pretty pathetic. While most of the blame likely goes to the aforementioned offensive line, Eagles running backs didn't get much of anything going on the ground. Mike Bell, making his Eagles preseason debut, didn't look impressive as he managed only 17 yards on 8 carries.

DeSean Jackson: Jackson left the game early in the first quarter with an upper back injury that has been diagnosed as a neck strain. His injury didn't look incredibly serious so hopefully the Eagles just kept him out of the game as a precaution.

Trent Cole: Cole left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury. While X-rays came back negative on the ankle, Cole still could have sprained it and that could cost him some time. Let's hope for the best but, obviously, losing both their best offensive and defensive player for any amount of time would be a huge blow to the Eagles.
(Photo by G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images)

Guest Post: Eagles Training Camp Observations

ATPS is happy to have Mark Trible back to write another guest post, this time on his observations at Eagles Training Camp:

As I made my yearly trip to Lehigh, my thoughts about this year’s Eagles team were unlike any other I’ve had in my life. I knew what I loved about this year’s team, and I knew what occupies the middle ground between disaster and success.

Kolb, Free Safety, Right Cornerback.

As Eagles fans, we’re familiar with these question marks by now, aren’t we? Despite my understanding of the questions on the team, I tried to go into my time at training camp with an open mind. I wanted to see what would jump out at me and give me some type of expectations for this season. For the last nine seasons, we pretty much knew what we would see from the Birds, and while it could be extremely comforting, it was also extremely boring. Now, we head into the 2010-11 campaign with a young team, a new quarterback, and hundreds of dollars worth of training camp merchandise. Well, I do anyway.

I attended an afternoon session of camp this past weekend, one that was non-contact, but nonetheless the team put together a pretty decent scrimmage. I looked for answers to the obvious questions, but also saw some positive things that deserve acknowledgment. Seeing as how I was on vacation, I wasn’t too cynical. I know, I’m disappointed in myself too. Here are some of the impressions while watching the team.

Kolb’s arm- I know that the predominant train of thought on Kevin Kolb is that he will be a more accurate passer than Donovan was, and his long range arm leaves something to be desired. After getting my first look at Kolb, I couldn’t be more impressed. His accuracy was excellent, and I was surprised at how good he looked throwing the deep ball. He hooked up with Jeremy Maclin several times, all of which were perfect. I probably saw Kolb throw 20-25 deep passes, and all but three or four were caught in stride, with excellent placement. One negative to the practice was that most of his deep passes were thrown on go routes, so I cannot vouch for his ability to hit the 20-30 yard crossing or out routes. All in all, I was extremely impressed with our new quarterback. Whether or not he has what it takes mentally and psychologically to run the team is a completely different can of worms. But, on mechanics and physical ability alone, he looked ready.

Nasty Nate Allen- Okay, so I don’t really want to go through another season with a combination of what feels like twelve different free safeties playing in the secondary. I felt it last year and all it did was rub salt in the open wound of losing Brian Dawkins. I went to camp feeling suspicious about all I had heard about Nate Allen and his prowess as a rookie to understand the defense. For all we know, that could be the same propaganda machine that we’ve heard for years by the Eagles. Jeremy Bloom was supposed to be pretty good if you all correctly remember what the organization told us.

Jeremy Bloom was a joke.

Nate Allen is no such thing (I’ll never mention the two in the same breath again, I promise).

Allen was in the middle of everything when he was on the field. He broke up pass after pass, and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He looked completely comfortable in the defense, much to my amazement. If I didn’t know he was a rookie before practice, I sure as hell wouldn’t have been able to tell after practice. I’m looking forward to seeing a whole lot more of Nate Allen this season. I have a strong feeling I won’t have to see two different free safeties this season. That’s a great feeling.

Jeremy Maclin- The one thing I noticed while closely observing Kolb during practice was that he loves to throw to Maclin. It seemed like every time number 18 was on the field, the ball was thrown in his direction. I don’t know if that was simply the way things worked out, but it seemed like Kolb and Maclin have excellent chemistry when they’re on the field together. No matter what the reason was, it’s certainly an encouraging sign for the young wide receiver and the team moving forward.

Ellis Hobbs- Hobbs seemed to hold his own most through most of practice; however he was involved in a couple of miscommunications that resulted in wide open receivers. With that being said, there was no contact in the scrimmage, so it was difficult for any corners to really shine. I’m not completely sure if the miscommunications were Hobbs’ fault or simply mistakes made by the safeties, but I was not impressed with Hobbs on the right side. I will be watching him closely throughout the preseason to see if that was an aberration. For the team’s sake, I hope it was.

Linebackers- After the scrimmage installment of practice was complete; the different positions broke into separate drills. I spent this time evaluating the linebackers. Fokou, Bradley and Sims did not participate in the drills. Basically, the drills were concentrated on pass coverage, with each linebacker covering another’s route. The routes started on the hash marks, much like tight end routes would. In watching the drills, it seemed like most of the linebackers were successful in coverage about 50 percent of the time. The exceptions were Akeem Jordan and Jamar Chaney. It’s hard not to think that Jordan will be starting at the SAM as the season opens, and I can’t help but believe that Chaney will find himself on the roster as well. He is extremely fluid and quick for a linebacker, something the birds sorely need when it comes to matching up against the tight ends in the NFC East.

Here are some less in-depth observations I also made upon my visit:

Mike Kafka looked pretty accurate, Michael Vick did not.

LeSean McCoy has the offense down to a T at this point, he looked great.

It’s great to see Stewart Bradley back on the field. He spent 20-30 minutes talking to Defensive Coordinator Sean McDermott after practice.

Chad Hall spent quite a bit of time running 40 yard sprints after practice. Whether he makes the team or not, I couldn’t help but be impressed with his work ethic.

Brandon Graham was always the first person on the field when the coaches called for substitutions. He was continuously sprinting on the field to his spots. He was far and away the most enthusiastic player I saw during practice.


*I also had an excellent fan experience with rookie safety Kurt Coleman and wide receiver Kelley Washington. I was lost on Lehigh’s campus and saw the two waiting outside the dorms, for food or a ride I suppose. I stopped and wished them luck. My high school was in the same district as Washington’s, so we struck up some good-natured trash talk. Suffice to say, I was impressed with the both of them as professionals and gentlemen. I’m rooting for both to make the roster this season.

Feel free to follow Mark on Twitter (@Mtrible) or shoot him an email (mtrible@vt.edu).