Michael Vick and Turnovers…

The Philadelphia Eagles have turned over the ball 12 times over the course of three games. Mike has taken way too many hits, most of them his own doing. What are the sources of the issues?

1)      Mike is holding onto the ball too long. Football Outsiders did a report from the 2011 season grading each NFL quarterback on the average amount of time they hold onto the ball. Vick was in the same ranks as Christian Ponder and Jake Locker. The routes that the Eagles receivers are running are long developing and often have both safeties playing over top; that means that his first and possible second read are locked down. It causes Mike to second guess himself and try to make something happen on the fly.

2)      The O-Line is struggling with the loss of LT Jason Peters and C Jason Kelce. Admit it; we all thought this was one of the team’s strengths going into this year. It was but the injury bug has plagued the Birds front five. Although C Dallas Reynolds has done a pretty admirable job so far, Guards Evan Mathis and Danny Watkins haven’t held up their end. I like all players involved and hope that they come back to playing like they did late last season.

3)      The play calling is not balanced. If a team ran play action in 3 out of 7 plays, 3 passes, and 1 run play, would you bite on the play action?  The Birds only have one of the most physically gifted running backs in the league in LeSean McCoy.  My grandmother has said for YEARS that Andy Reid has lacked aptitude in play calling and more importantly, in situations where time management and execution are key. We can’t blame Donovan for that anymore! Feed McCoy the ball; Rookie Bryce Brown has made a case for himself and now, has moved up the depth chart. Now, he’s 2^nd behind Shady.

Final Note- Feed Shady McCoy, Dagggoneit! (In my Brian Dawkins voice. By the way, the Eagles-Giants match-up is highlighted by B-Dawk’s number being retired forever. I love that guy!!

How do you get better at reading the blitz? Study, study, study, Mr. Vick. O-Line needs to pick up the pieces of the last two games and get it together. They need to have some pride in protecting their weapon. They must use the Screen game. They have to get that nasty streak back.

Philadelphia Eagles 2012 - Vs. Cleveland Browns - Week 1

The Philadelphia Eagles kickoff the season versus The Cleveland Browns at the Cleveland Brown Stadium. These two teams met in the 3rd preseason game of this year and Eagles prevailed in that early tune-up.
Browns rookie QB Brandon Weeden will be the 17th Browns quarterback to start a game since 1999 and 11th Opening Day starter.

My view on the match-up:

-The Eagles pass rush will eat Weeden alive in his first pro game. I believe the Eagles will finish the day with 5 sacks and leave Browns' fans hurt feelings
-Browns rookie RB Trent Richardson won't rush for over 110 yards
-Eagles RB LeSean McCoy amasses 130 all-purpose yards and at least 1 TD
-Eagles OLB Mychal Kendricks racks up 8+ tackles
-Eagles WR's Maclin and D.Jacc combine for 210 yards receiving and Celek has a TD catch.
-Browns LB Scott Fujita is a non-factor for the Browns D
-Browns CB Joe Haden holds up his end of the bargain and holds DeSean down. CB Sheldon Brown gets burnt like forgotten toast early and oftentimes.
-Eagles rookie Brandon Boykins averages 28 yards per return

Prediction: Eagles 38 , Browns 10

Breakout Player Alert: Eagles Safety Kurt Coleman

After being drafted in the seventh round of the 2010 draft out of Ohio State University, Safety Kurt Coleman has been nothing but stellar. Early in his career, he filled in for spot duty and showed flashes of things to come.

Some pundits think that he was a liability in pass coverage and in his ability to shed blocks (of which he has improved). Every season, he’s improved and last year, he became a full time starter, even with the 2^nd round selection of Temple Safety Jaiquan Jarrett. Jarrett was donned with becoming the successor to All-time great Brian Dawkins but there’s a few things in his way; one of them being the good play of Coleman.

Coleman is neither the biggest nor the fastest but he is wise and plays with heart. Those two ingredients make up for size and strength.

Going into his third year, he should thrive and not look back. In 2011, Coleman was second on the team with 88 tackles and 4 interceptions (3 coming in one game against Redskins QB Rex Grossman).

I expected teams to go after him early and often due to his size but he will shine like the Phoenix in 2012. Paired with Safety Nate Allen, The Eagles will be a top 10 unit with Coleman making tons of plays.