Sports

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw

They never gave Luck a decent O line or weapons....Now that the Colts have a decent GM and a good coach Andrew can get something to work with......

[gardenman]

Not an especially good game for the Eagles. A few players stood out and played well. Nate Sudfeld had a good game and looks pretty solid. He's thrown five TD's in two partial games. Shelton Gibson played very well and has likely cemented the fifth wide receiver position. A few more injuries than I'd like. Lots of penalties which has the coaches annoyed. Some players had very bad games. Backup left tackle Vaitai had a very bad game and gave up way too much pressure. Ronald Darby and the corners in general played well. The d-line was solid. None of the candidates for that last runningback slot stood out. All in all it wasn't a great game.

[yellowBeetle]

Well let's face it .... the Eagles looked mediocre at best. The defense allowed NE to score way too many points. Foles never found his rhythm ... and  suffered a shoulder injury that took him out of the game. The offensive line struggled. There were numerous penalties. It was a sloppy mess.

That said, there were a few bright spots! Sudfeld looked better and WR Gibson was really impressive.

But this team needs help. I know it is just the preseason. However, the takeaway for me from these two games is that this year will be very disappointing unless the defense really shapes up, the offensive line does its job, and the overall sloppiness as exhibited by the countless penalties is tidied up bigtime. 

[gardenman]

It pays to bear in mind that we're seeing a very vanilla offense and defense  in the preseason with many starters not playing. The o-line will look a lot better with Jason Peters starting. Carson Wentz is a vastly superior quarterback. Darren Sproles is a better back. Alshon Jeffery, and Nelson Agholor are better receivers. On defense Jim Schwartz will be rotating in d-linemen to keep the rush fresh. The Eagles are largely using the preseason to test their lesser known and unknown players. Some are passing and some are failing. Veteran players tend to throttle back a bit in the preseason also. Have we seen Michael Bennett or Haloti Ngata playing flat out yet? I doubt it. The penalties are a problem, but one that the coaching staff will be working to fix.

[yellowBeetle]

I agree that of course in preseason we are seeing only a shell of the real team. 

But I do think that the sloppiness of many of the plays by mainly the defense and   offensive line... and the enormous number of penalties by both the offense and defense ... should have everyone a bit concerned. The good news, though, is that there is plenty of time to work on it!!

And let's hope that Foles' shoulder injury is not serious. Wentz' time frame for coming back should also be clearer soon after his evaluation by the doctors. 

One nice note from last night was Brady coming over to Foles after the game.  One Super Bowl MVP QB offering  congratulations to a fellow MVP Super Bowl QB. A good moment!

[Spurt]

Well there was good and bad in the JETS/REDSKINS game......

Alex Smith was only in for one series, first play he was nailed after getting off a pass--scary moment.----thankfully no injury, he got up and went on to the next play---and a roughing the passer penalty was called, ... he finished 4/6 48 yds 8yds avg.  Now starters on the O line-LT Trent Williams and OT Ty Nsekhe did not play.  Alex will play more against the Broncos.

TE Jordan Reed, WR Jamison Crowder, RB Chris Thompson, WR Maurice Harris starters on offense didnt play.  

I think Gruden used this game to analyze who was getting a roster spot at WR and RB......

At RB 

2nd yr RB Samaje Payne had a nice run for 30 yds.....then twisted his ankle , Gruden said he was Ok-WHEW.  

RB Byron Marshall suffered a leg injury but fine after an MRI..... 

RB Martez Carter had a nice game---4.4 avg longest 18yds, most put him as candidate for the practice squad...

RB Rob Kelley caught a nice pass ....He was decent in the running game.

The big log jam is at WR---

Cam Sims one of the Alabama alumni had a great game, Simms has stood out in camp, although he dropped a pass in the red zone, he came back strong and made some tough catches. Kapri Bibbs had a good game. (he has an amazing story and many are pulling for him to make the team)   And Mr. Irrelevent Trey Quinn played well, and did well on special teams too........

It was GREAT to see DaRon Payne back after injury, and he and fellow Alabama alumni, Jonathon Allen looked good....Payne had a nice sack and took on double teams, Allen put on the rush! Preston Smith had a nice sack on Darnold!

Prince Charles had an interception!  

The Redskins still struggled in the Red Zone and settled for field goals.  

@gardenman @yellowBeetle

Its hard to evaluate preseason games---starters not playing, vanilla schemes, roster cuts coming up that coaches need to make decisions on.............

Sorry to hear about Foles, hope he's OK, he's a good guy. On Brady, well I guess better late than never, he didnt shake hands with Foles after the SuperBowl....

[gardenman]

Week three of the preseason is typically the dress rehearsal game, but with Wentz out and Foles likely out, the Eagles may not treat it that way. The Eagles have been very, very conservative with their high value injured guys this preseason and I'm not sure they'll change that policy. Wentz won't play. Sproles and Jason Peters probably won't play. Agholor and Alshon Jeffery probably won't play. Foles probably won't play. It's not likely to be much of a dress rehearsal.

[yellowBeetle]

I heard on both the NFL Network and the local Philly news that Foles will not play in the final two preseason games. They want him ready for the opener on September 6 if Wentz is unable to start.Thank goodness Foles' shoulder injury has been classified as minor!  What a scare!

 Edited to add that now I am reading that Foles really wants to play in the third preseason game next Thursday...so guess we will see what happens!!

Also just saw that Wentz has been cleared for 11 on 11 in practice ... but still not cleared for contact. It's encouraging, though, that he will be able to participate more in practice.

[Spurt]

Here's something interesting---

Jay Gruden has said that the Redskins will bring in some RBS on Sunday. Two who have been identified for the visit are FAs--- Orleans Darkwa and Jamaal Charles. The focus on established names like Darkwa and Charles suggest that Washington is aiming higher than simply bringing in a camp body.

Bill's QB AJ McCarron is getting a second opinion on his collarbone injury---(For the sake of the Bill's fans I hope this doesnt turn out like the Kawhi Leonard fiasco --GOOD LUCK!

[gardenman]

@Spurt

If you need a body at any position at this stage of camp, you've either got to go with a poorly rated kid, or a vet past his prime. With rosters at 90, and even larger with injured players, there just isn't anyone else out there. The Redskins may look to snatch a  back when rosters get down to 53, but with rosters as full as they are now, anyone with some NFL talent is likely already on a roster. The Eagles signed a receiver from the arena football league to give us an extra body at receiver. This is the toughest time of the year to fill out a roster unless you can trade for someone. Each team is likely carrying at least two spare runningbacks, so in a couple of weeks the supply of available backs will grow by sixty-four or more and the shopping will be better. For now, you're stuck with a past his prime vet, or a kid who all 32 teams in the league felt wasn't good enough to even give a shot.