The Eagles rookies will play an important role on this young football team this year, so I think examining their contributions in the first game is worthwhile. Here’s a look at how they made out.
Rookie defensive end Brandon Graham showed us on Friday night that the explosiveness and potential we saw out here at training camp is legitimate. Graham beat the offensive tackle trying to block him and put a lick on Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard.
Graham was run by the quarterback a couple of times, so he’s got to make a counter move to stop and come back inside to pressure the quarterback or react to a draw or screen. It’s a good thing that he’s rotating because I noticed he’s sucking wind after a play or two.
Rookie safety Nate Allen didn’t get the chance to do much in his six plays. He watched the corners, Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs make some solid tackles of wide receivers outside.
We didn’t hear anything from rookie defensive end Daniel Te’o Nesheim as he rushed the passer from the defensive tackle position. In fairness, the top unit was only on the field for six plays which isn’t enough time to do much.
I’m sure they’ll get more time in the next couple of preseason games.
Rookie quarterback Mike Kafka got his feet wet. He’s progressed a long way in a short period of time but he’s not ready to do the job just yet.
Rookie cornerback Trevard Lindley made a couple of tackles on the special teams, as well as making a tackle on defense. Maybe the Eagles will consider giving him a chance on nickel after Joselio Hanson got cooked on that double move by the Jags Troy Williamson.
Rookie linebacker Keenan Clayton, got a nice sack and he was active during his time on the field.
Ricky Sapp didn’t play because of an injury.
Rookie wide receiver Riley Cooper came in the game and showed us the same thing we’ve seen all training camp. This young man has great size, with good hands and he’s faster than you might think. Cooper has been getting behind the Eagles defensive backs and he did the same thing against the Jags.
Rookie safety Kurt Coleman continued to turn heads as he layed out some licks on the Jaguar receivers. Coleman has made a statement every time he has played in training camp and now in a game. The young man is more than threatening Quintin Demps’ job.
Rookie free agent wide receiver Chad Hall caught passes as a wide receiver, ran the ball as a running back and returned punts. Hall is a jack of all trades but I still don’t think he’s going to be able to make this football team.
Backup left tackle Austin Howard was kicking butt and taking names. Howard has the size and mobility to play in this league.
DE R Sapp,RB C Scott, ILB Cheney all need to see the field and have strong week at practice and a solid perfomance in this week’s game or they won’t be around for too much longer
sad we didnt get 2 see much d but cant be upeset with 2for 2 (2 3 and outs)
chad hall im rootn for ya kid got heart
and im liking tebow gotta love tebow heart playing preasason like its the superbowl looked better than every rook qb
prove the experts wrong
Veteran players who need a good week of practice and a solid perfomance this Pre-Season game
WR H Baskett, OG F Topou , OT K Dunlap, CB M Harris & G Pope, DE/OLB M Fokou,S Q Demps
LB O Gaither, LB T White and DE D Tapp
Song/Phillywill, out of curiosity, do you think Vick outplayed Kolb? Not stirring the pot but i want to hear some color form you two comparing Vick’s and Kolb’s performance.
A fair question and comparison
Kolb was 6/11 for 95 yards for 8.6 yd average per pass completion and a QB rating of 83.5
(had a TD pass dropped by Celek, but also got away with a couple of forced passes)
Vick was 11/17 for 119 yds for a 7 yd average per completions and a QB Rating for 60 due to
throwing an Intercetption and fumbling,. Otherwise he looked quick and was explosive on his TD Run
but the Turnovers gave Jaguars the opportunity to get back into the game and actually take the lead.
All in all —
I give Kolb a 4 out of 5 Eagle Stars
I give Vick a 3 out of 5 Eagle Stars
On a side note, Kafka was 3/7 for 76 yards and a 10.9 yd per average completion and QB Rating
of 80
Issue doesn’t involve rookies – didn’t get to see the game – how did did the interior 3 (McGlynn, MJG and Andrews) do. I have read they did very well and I have read that the reason Ried activated Jackson and Hermanns is because they did poorly – seemed like they gained a lot of yards in the quarter the first team played.
Hey Navy Dave,
The interior did pretty well from the video I saw (expecially McGlynn) but the 2 gueards held their own.. I think both Herremans & Jackson were activated since they were cleared medically and I think Coach AR & Castillo will work them in non-contact drills for about a Week-10 days to see how they respond and than are probably planning on getting them some live action in at least the final Pre-Season Game giving them some timing and confidence before the Season Opener..
I think Herremans and Jackson realize that they need to get on the field (even if it’s in a limited way)
and try to get ready as quick as possible.
meanwhile, I believe MGJ is surpassing N Cole as the top back-up to the Guard position…
N Cole needs to get back on the practice field for he has not had a very good camp from most observors..
I think He
Vick’s performance is being incredibly overrated by the media. They are acting like the guy is a rookie. He clearly can’t run the offense the way it is supposed to be run. Gary Cobb tries to say that the Eagles run one offense for Vick and another one for Kolb. That’s incorrect. Michael Vick runs one offense for Michael Vick. All of these plays are not designed rollouts called by Reid. Vick, at the first sign of pressure, puts his head down and scrambles. He’s simply not comfortable in the pocket and therefore he will never be more than a gadget player on this team, where his skills can be used. When he was on Atlanta, they ran the ball a lot with Duckett and Dunn so Vick never had to throw as much as he would have to in this offense. Vick’s performance against the Jags got worse, not better as it went on.
Mike Vick proved what I knew all along. He is one of the best running backs ever to play QB in the NFL. No he did not outperform Kolb.
Pman- regarding your notes and QB evaluations. I was at the game, in general agreement about Kolb & Vick. 1st pre-season, so I do not intend on getting too high or too low on either one.
Kafka’s arm strength was disappointing. He had open recievers behind defensive backs and could not get the ball there on two different occasions. He appears to have a decent grasp of the offense, and did not appear to be nervous, but the arm strength was really poor.
This week’s game versus the Bengals will be a real good test,,
They have an excellent,quick defense and are especially strong at the LB,CB postions which will test the short to intermediate routes.. They get a good pash rush as well so the O/Line, QB,WR’s and TE’s will all be tested more than they were versus the Jags..I expect both teams to play their starters for the
1st Half, which will most likely be the longest time they play together for the remainder of the Pre-Season. Should be a good one and get us a good gauge of where the starters are really at…
This Friday’s game is the nationally televised game? or is that the next one.
Thanks Pman – I was kind of hoping that either Shipley or McGlynn would give jackson a run for his money.
On the MJG story – will be interesting to see if the weight loss helps his footwork and coordination without diminishing his power…
Good to hear about this Howard guy. Nice pickup if you can find a big brawling tackle without breaking the bank. Think he is solid enough to go in for Peters – or will they still slide Hermanns out?
I’d be shocked if Vick is here next season… simply do not trust him in this WCO where pinpoint passing is priority. An excellent runner though he’s all “lefthanded” in his game. It would be a waste of premier talent (all our WR’s & RB’s) for Vick to be #1 here, plus the NFC east & south know how to defend him.
Yup, next PS-game will be a lot more interesting.
I think it’s this week’s game that is Nationall Televised..
on MJG, the weight loss has definitely made him lighter and quicker, but this now being his 3rd/4th year in the Eagles system with O/L Coach Castillo program, it appears that he is more confident, in better shape and is more focused in his assignments (similar to W Justice and others)
I think A Howard will be back-up OT this seasons and compete with K Dunlap as that 3rd OT and fill in as needed for either Peters/Justice if they are injured. Howard does need to bulk up and get strong which he will over the year and I will go on record that he will compete with W Justice for the RT position next years camp and Justice will move inside replacing Stacey Andrews at RG…
My O/Line for 2011 will be left to right
Peters,Herremans,McGlynn,Justice and Howard (with MJG,Jackson,Toupou,Duncan as reserves)
i think this season is going to surprise alot of people all this youth and talent is going to have us set for years to come i think we fill a few more holes and this will be an EXTREMELY tough squad to deal with
o yeah and ps i read these threads daily ….and i have one question …..does songs ever have ANYTHING POSITIVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS TEAM i really am just curious seems to do a whole lot of crying …just saying
No doubt that this is VIck’s final season with the Eagles..
I am not sure what kind of interest there will be for next season by other teams.
You look around the league and most of the bad teams have already invested in Young QB’s for the future (Bucs,Lions,Chiefs,Browns,Rams,Panthers,Broncos) so when you take out the top teams with established QB like the Saints,Patriots,Giants,Steelers,Ravens,Colts,Packers,Falcons,Texans,Chargers,Cowboys,Redksins,Eagles, Bengals,Jets,Dolphins) you are left with very few teams that have that need for a #1 Starter
Buffalo,Seattle, come to mind and who knows about the 49ers,Cardinals,Raiders,VikingsTitans if they are satisfied with their QB tandems that they currently have in place…
I think Vick will be out of the NFL in 2011
One thing that don’t see anyone blogging about and not a single article tid-bit about even is the HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE special teams coverage. WTF happened, I thought Bobby April was supposed to have these guys in shape and be one of, if not THE best ST coach in the league. I guess it’s April Fools on us right. I know it’s only preseason and if 1 punt return or KO return got by for a nice gain that’s understandable. It was like every KO or punt was being returned for big yardage all over the field. That’s gonna kill us if it’s not corrected. Oh, and Chad Hall is amazing, he’ll be the 6th WR this year cuz you can’t just let a guy like that walk. Even if he’s not activated every game he needs to make the 53…
Special teams will come together WWW,
Once the roster is parred down and the Special-Teamers are assigned and practice more,
they will be fine. Right now you have about 40 players playing various positions on special teams
After the cutdowns, then you get the 20-25 players are will play the coverages,blocking teams and really hone in on it… I am not concerned with Coach April at the helm..