I know it’s only preseason, but honestly this off season has seemed to stretch on for eternity. That being said the Philadelphia Eagles face the Pittsburgh Steelers today at Lincoln Financial Field at 7:30p.m. Is anyone else counting down the minutes?
After a heart-wrenching week with the loss of Garret Reid, Andy Reid’s son, this is perhaps exactly what the head coach needs to lift his spirits…his team. I expect every player to continue to rally around the coach who they mention as being “like family” or “a second father” to them. The passion that ignites this team that has come together during this tough time will be electric. Steelers beware! This is so much more than the average preseason game.
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The QBs will be playing one quarter each so expect to see Vick then Kafka followed by Nick Foles and Trent Edwards respectively. Do not expect to see Nate Allen, Jason Babin, Brent Celek, Jamar Chaney, Trent Cole, Riley Cooper, Cliff Harris or Brandon Washington as they will not see any playing time. I was hoping Cullen Jenkins would be on the list of those not playing just to keep his hamstring as rested as possible, but we can’t always get what we want.
I like it: Defensive end wise, my eyes are on Vinny Curry, no not Brandon Graham and I will tell you why a little later. Curry is young and will play with a lot of heart, something this city values more than just about anything. I want to see if he has the professional level of talent that our defense exudes. The entire world knows what LeSean McCoy is capable of, but behind him I’d like to see more from Chris Polk and Bryce Brown than Dion Lewis. Offensive linemen and their game of injury-musical-chairs has me eager to see how Demetress Bell fits with the first-team and what the second-team of King Dunlap, Mike Gibson, Dennis Kelly, Dallas Reynolds and Julian Vandervelde is capable of. Special Teams has a lot to prove as does Bobby April, but to say I’m looking for Damaris Johnson and Brandon Boykin to have a stellar performance would be an understatement
I love it: One of my favorite draft prospects this year was Mychal Kendricks. Everything about him physically screams successful linebacker and I love that he is a Philadelphia Eagle. Meanwhile, the roster battle of the ages is happening between Wade Bonner, Brandon Hughes, Trevard Lindley, Curtis Marsh and Kevin Thomas I didn’t include Cliff Harris since he isn’t playing. Have you seen what rookie Brandon Boykin has done to elevate Joselio Hanson’s game? Be prepared. This season could be the re-birth of Brandon Graham in the NFL and we have a front row seat. Graham has performed like a machine at training camp and carries a slight chip on his shoulder from the “draft bust” press. Desean Jackson had a rough season last year due to contract issues. I do think it would be nice to see Vick connect to him for a touchdown or two in order to show fans that his head and heart are in Eagles green.
E, A, G, L, E, S, EAGLES!
