Sports

[gardenman]

The Eagles offense hasn't been in sync all camp. The defense has been very good, but the offense, not so good. Now part of that is we're still playing multiple subs, but they should look better than they have. Vaitai at left tackle may be playing his way off the roster. They subbed in Seumalo (our backup center/guard) for Vaitai for a bit and he looked a lot better than Vaitai despite getting no real practice reps that I'm aware of at tackle. Even Jordan Mailata, our seventh round pick and converted rugby player looked better than Vaitai. Big V may just be playing his way off the roster.

Foles is, and has always been a hot and cold QB. Catch him when he's hot and he can go throw for throw with the best in the league. When he's cold, he's really cold. Right now he's really cold.

I do think things will improve a ton when Jason Peters, Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Jay Ajayi, Carson Wentz, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles are all back on the field. Those are some powerful weapons Nick is missing. Vaitai has just been brutal so far in preseason games and Nick Foles is paying the price. He's got no confidence in his blindside blocking and Vaitai has been the guy who's gotten beat on Foles' fumbles.

I suspect we'll see more of Seumalo and Mailata at left tackle in game four to see how well they can play the spot. Seumalo was at risk of being cut, but his performance at left tackle last night might just have saved his roster spot. He stabilized things nicely while he was in there.

None of the lesser runningbacks have done much to earn a roster spot. That's good news for Donnell Pumphrey who's been dinged and not playing. He may default into that spot simply because no one else has grabbed it. The kid receivers have done very, very well and been a pleasant surprise. A few of those guys will have to be cut, but have shown they can play in the league. Expect one or more to land on the Eagles practice squad if no one claims them.

On defense it was nice to see Haloti Ngata and Michael Bennett kick it up a notch. That Eagles d-line depth is ridiculous right now. We're three deep at every d-line spot with NFL caliber starters. The same is true at cornerback. A few guys who deserve a roster spot will be getting cut simply because we're too deep at those positions.

[Spurt]

@gardenman @yellowBeetle

I know its just preseason---but this game is usually the dress rehearsal for the starters......and the Eagles/Browns game set the NFL back 30 years.... 

Its going to be difficult for the Eagles to just turn on a switch and play well....  It will be interesting to see what kind of a start they have.  The rest of the NFC East should try to get a jump on the Division....but each team is dealing with their own demons--

Cowboys-injury to their O Line, and question marks on defense....Can Dak get it done, do they have enough weapons on offense.....

NY- Did the GM do enough to protect Eli and give him time to throw, and can Barkley get some blocks. What about the weak links---Flowers on the line and Eli Apple at CB, Is OBJ 100% and will he show up if a contract is not inked.  

Redskins-Guice's injury was a huge blow to the offense, and leaves running game in flex.  Can TE Jordan Reed stay healthy?  Holes in the secondary.  Can enough players stay HEALTHY????!!!!

[gardenman]

Word I'm hearing from Giants camp is that the right side of their o-line is a disaster. NFC East teams tend to put their best pass rushers at left defensive end, so that's really bad news for Eli. He'll be playing duck and cover a lot if they don't fix their line issues.

I'm cautiously optimistic that the Eagles will be fine. I wouldn't be shocked to see Sudfeld moved up to QB2 over Foles though. Nick's been that bad and Sudfeld's been that good. Carson Wentz is the difference maker. When he's out, it's like the Packers without Aaron Rodgers. Nick can't carry a team like Carson can. Nick needs a total team effort and right now he's not getting it.

Jordan Mailata is impressing me a ton. He played in his first football game at any level two weeks ago, but looked very good last night. That kid (he's only 21) could be the steal of the draft having hung around until the seventh round. Pretty much everyone on the team is coaching the kid from the defensive ends/tackles, assistant coaches, and his fellow o-linemen. I think everyone sees his potential and wants to be part of making him a star. He's gone from being a big question mark to the likely replacement for Jason Peters.

The Cowboys, in my opinion, are now completely dependent on Ezekiel Elliott. That's a bit scary given how often runningbacks get dinged. I don't think they can count on Dak winning games and they've given him very limited weapons.

The Redskins hopes rest on Alex Smith being good and not another spent Andy Reid castoff about to fall off a cliff. He doesn't have the best weapons around him either, so they'll be interesting to watch.

I still think the Eagles are the best of the NFC East. I might put the Redskins second, Cowboys third, and Giants fourth. People keep saying the Giants will be good because they get OBJ back, but they were 0-4 with OBJ last year before he got hurt. That o-line of theirs could be big trouble for them.

[yellowBeetle]

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman @yellowBeetle

I know its just preseason---but this game is usually the dress rehearsal for the starters......and the Eagles/Browns game set the NFL back 30 years.... 

Its going to be difficult for the Eagles to just turn on a switch and play well....  It will be interesting to see what kind of a start they have.  The rest of the NFC East should try to get a jump on the Division....but each team is dealing with their own demons--

Cowboys-injury to their O Line, and question marks on defense....Can Dak get it done, do they have enough weapons on offense.....

NY- Did the GM do enough to protect Eli and give him time to throw, and can Barkley get some blocks. What about the weak links---Flowers on the line and Eli Apple at CB, Is OBJ 100% and will he show up if a contract is not inked.  

Redskins-Guice's injury was a huge blow to the offense, and leaves running game in flex.  Can TE Jordan Reed stay healthy?  Holes in the secondary.  Can enough players stay HEALTHY????!!!!

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@Spurt

I agree!! These three preseason games for the Eagles have not looked good ... with one exception ... the defense last night.

In the first two games the defense was absolutely dreadful allowing 31 and 37 points, respectively, to be racked up. They also had numerous penalties and just looked sloppy. At least last night the defense seemed to get their act together!

The offense has been lackluster in all three games. In the last two there were 14 sacks!!! The offensive line has been a disaster. Eli has been vulnerable in recent years because of his porous offensive line. These past two weeks especially, with the 14 sacks, have made Foles and Sudfeld sitting ducks to quote Peter Shraeger from GMF. Foles has been looking discombobulated ...  Sudfeld has been a little better, but certainly not good. Now as Shraeger was quick to point out, none of the three starting RBs were in the game last night ... nor were their two top WRs. And even reliable Jake Elliott missed a 33 yard field goal!

This team needs to fix that offensive line. Vaitai may have to go ... probably should go. You just cannot allow 14 sacks in two weeks!! 

And since most analysts including Terry Bradshaw and the others last night are saying  that Foles may play at minimum the first game and quite likely the first four games or so, then we have to hope that MVP Nick Foles shows up!!! I remember how in those last regular season games in December when Foles looked awful, everyone discounted the Eagles! But then we know what happened and the Foles from the stellar year with Chip Kelly showed up! I think he can come through again for the Eagles if Wentz cannot start. But as Pederson said last night ... it is not just Foles, but the entire offense that needs to do better. Let's hope they do ... and that the defense continues their good play from game three.

[Spurt]

@gardenman@yellowBeetle

Well pencil the Redskins in for last place for both the Division and the league!  My Redskins looked positively AWFUL particularly on defense---like a sieve----

[sunshine45]

the good news......the ravens have won all three of the preseason games so far, with two more to go.

the bad news......our first round draft pick, hayden hurst (#25 overall)  is out for probably a month with a stress fracture in his foot. we will also be without jimmy smith  who has been suspended for four games due to personal conduct violations.

ravens are still undecided on RG3. it looks like they are going to committ to lamar jackson. we have not kept three quarterbacks on the roster since 2009.

ravens play game four preseason versus miami tomorrow night.

[gardenman]

The scary thing for the Ravens is the likely fragility of both backups if either is needed long term. RGIII is proven fragile and Lamar Jackson sure looks fragile. Could either survive for more than a game or two if needed? I'd be inclined to keep them both and pray Flacco stays healthy.

[yellowBeetle]

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman@yellowBeetle

Well pencil the Redskins in for last place for both the Division and the league!  My Redskins looked positively AWFUL particularly on defense---like a sieve----

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@Spurt

I did see on the NFL Network that Adrian Peterson had a really good game!

I know this stat doesn't exactly apply to the Redskins this year since you have won one preseason game ...but my husband reminded me this morning that the Redskins from the 1982 season are the example that everyone should point to when  going through a dismal preseason!! The 1982 Redskins went 0-4 in the preseason but then went on to win the Super Bowl!!! So anything is possible!! 

[Spurt]

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@yellowBeetle wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman@yellowBeetle

Well pencil the Redskins in for last place for both the Division and the league!  My Redskins looked positively AWFUL particularly on defense---like a sieve----

---

@Spurt

I did see on the NFL Network that Adrian Peterson had a really good game!

I know this stat doesn't exactly apply to the Redskins this year since you have won one preseason game ...but my husband reminded me this morning that the Redskins from the 1982 season are the example that everyone should point to when  going through a dismal preseason!! The 1982 Redskins went 0-4 in the preseason but then went on to win the Super Bowl!!! So anything is possible!! 

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@yellowBeetle

Thanks for trying to cheer me up.  Your right, the preseason doesnt mean a thing at all to the regular season, BUT the 3rd preseason game is a dress rehersal to see where the starters really are.  Yes, AD had a decent game, but he's well rested and some wonder if he can maintain it as time goes by (que up Casablanca)....And RB Kelley was AWFUL. 

It was good to see Paul Richardson involved in the offense, he had a couple of nice passes, but when your best QB performance is 3rd stringer Kevin Hogan the team is in trouble (and he was playing against the Broncos 3rd string)......Alex wasnt on the same page as the WRs, and when he got in range there were a lot of drops 

The defense was pathetic--(DBS and LBS) --Case Keenum looked like Aaron Rodgers out there, he shredded the secondary! Even ESPN reporter, John Keim described the defense as BAD!!!  Swearinger summarized it well--“I can speak for the defense, it was really bad, man,” Swearinger said. “We missed too many tackles. We gave up too many third downs. They ran right up the gut when they wanted it at times. … We’ve got a long way to go.”

When the only bright spot in the game was AD--its BAD!!!   I like what Matt Paras with the Times said,  "If this was the dress rehearsal, they need to burn those clothes"....... 

[yellowBeetle]

@Spurt

I loved your reference to Casablanca!!!

I am beginning to think that the Packers have the right idea about preseason. They are choosing not to put Aaron Rodgers out there in this dress rehearsal third game. So far in preseason Rodgers has taken only 4 snaps ... and that will be it! So if they do not feel the necessity to see the starters in action together by keeping the principal starter ...Rodgers ... out of the games for the most part, then it makes you wonder if these preseason games are really necessary.

Now of course I am coming at this from the vantage point of seeing the Eagles having a really dreadful preseason! If the Eagles were 3-0, I might be saying that the Packers were copping out by not playing Rodgers! But honestly, I just wonder how seriously we should take these preseason games given that, for example, even in the dress rehearsal game for the Eagles the other night, there were a large number of starters who were not playing, which obviously impacts on the play of those who are out there!!

But I know the argument for playing these games is to try out different players, weed people out,  and also work off any rustiness for the veterans. But these games are such a mish-mash on so many levels that they really do not seem like a fair representation of what the starters will look like in the regular season.