Questions to Ask Tonight As the Eagles Face the Colts
by Bob_Q on Aug 20, 2009 12:15 PM EDT
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Tonight at 8:00, the Eagles will take the field at Lucas Oil Stadium to face the Indianapolis Colts for their second preseason game. There are several interesting storylines going into the game. Who will step up in place of the injured starters? Which players will help themselves in position battles? How will the first team gel?
Andy Reid has announced that he intends to play the starters for the first half of the game, with the second and third team splitting the remaining time. This should give the Eagles faithful ample time to see all three teams perform, but what positions should we be watching closely? Here are a few questions fans should be asking for each position:
Quarterback: With Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick still out, will RFA Adam DiMichele get any playing time?
Halfback: Will Eldra Buckley give us a repeat of last week's two-touchdown performance?
Fullback: Can Leonard Weaver do no wrong?
Tight End: Can Eugene Bright and Rob Myers stop fans from worrying about the gaping hole at TE?
Wide Receiver: Will Jeremy Maclin improve his punt return skills or will we have to resort to Danny Amendola?
Left Tackle: Can King Dunlap prevent Donovan McNabb from being flattened by the Colts' pass rush?
Left Guard: Could Nick Cole make a push for a starting position?
Center: Can Jamaal Jackson maintain his dubious honor of being the only starting offensive lineman not to miss significant playing time?
Right Guard: Is Max Jean-Gilles fully healed from last season's broken ankle?
Right Tackle: Is starting Winston Justice really worth the possibility of increasing his trade value?
Left Defensive End: Can Victor Abiamiri make up for all his lost playing time?
Defensive Tackle: Will the return of Trevor Laws take away any playing time from Brodrick Bunkley or Mike Patterson?
Right Defensive End: Will Jason Babin continue to impress during Trent Cole's absence?
Weakside Linebacker: With Omar Gaither temporarily out of the picture, is this Akeem Jordan's time to shine?
Middle Linebacker: Can Joe Mays play for all three downs?
Strongside Linebacker: Can 7th round pick Moise Fokou perform well enough on special teams to earn a roster spot?
Left Cornerback: Will Asante Samuel step up as a leader of this defense?
Right Cornerback: Will Sheldon Brown's absence help Dimitri Patterson beat out Jack Ikegwuonu for the 5th CB slot?
Free Safety: Can Quintin Demps solidify his hold on the starting FS position?
Strong Safety: Who exactly is Brandon Harrison and will we be seeing him on the field?
Kicker: Will David Akers get his kicking team under control and start nailing those 60-yarders we've all been waiting for?
Punter: Can Sav Rocca and the punt unit improve on their 19.7 yard net average of last game?
Tonight's Injured Birds: Staying home this week will be Trent Cole (AC), Kevin Kolb (MCL), Brian Westbrook (ankle), Omar Gaither (knee), Shawn Andrews (back), Sheldon Brown (ribs), Todd Herremans (foot), Darren Howard (groin), Jason Peters (quad), Bryan Smith (concussion), Stacy Andrews (knee) and Michael Vick (suspension). How will their absence affect the performance of the team?
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QB: DiMichele will be cut, so its a waste of time with him starting. I understand during training camp so we had another arm but these snaps could go to McNabb in the first half and Feeley in the second.
RB: I love what i see in Buckley. Please release Booker….
FB: Weaver is a stud. Enough said.
TE: I see us siging a TE before the start of the season for sure. i doubt there will be a trade.
WR: I personally would rather see a Hobbs returning then Maclin. I have high hopes and dont want to see them cruched by a injury from a return.
OL: Just get healthy and for now make sure #5 doesnt get hurt….
DL: Lets see more pressure on the QB. Especially from our ends.
LB: I just hope Mays does good. For some reason i really like this kid. I guess because they say he is a little Trotter.
CB: Asante is already a leader. After watching some clips from training camp it seems like he is a professional and a great guy to be around.
FS: Hopefully Demps can shut up those critics out there. He needs to be more physical
SS: This spot is locked down with Q
K: Akers will be fine. let him do his thing.
P: I personally think Rocca is going to have a breakout year.
very excited for tonight
im really looking forward to seeing abiamiri and babin play tonight. i really believe that victor can be a force and could be the Left end threat we have been looking for so i will be watching him closely tonight. im also interested in watching babin tonight and see if he can play at the same level as he did in the first game.
Dunno why Andy is playing the starters so much in the second preseason game. I understand wanting to give that patchwork offensive line and the rookie RB more reps, but why risk McNabb?
Because he’s still knocking the rust off. Better to do it now rather than v. Carolina
About 10 minutes ago, I was pondering my own existence. Then I decided that it didn't matter.
by IronHank on Aug 20, 2009 1:08 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
THEY TYPICALLY DO PLAY
1ST PRESEASON= 1 QUARTER
2ND PRESEASON= 2QUARTERS
3RD PRESEASON=3 QUARTERS
4TH PRESEASON= 1 SERIES
Astra Inclinant, Non Necessitant
by EagleGreeninMD on Aug 20, 2009 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Prediction: Leonard Weaver will get injured tonight
It’s the only way I can hope to reverse the bad mojo hex you created with this one:
Fullback: Can Leonard Weaver do no wrong?
You should know better.
by Luxury_Used_Vehicles_By_Braman on Aug 20, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions
-1
For negative energy. “The Weave” is gonna be this years MVP!
by UnclaimedFright on Aug 20, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions
good job...
stupid thing to say
RIP Jim Johnson. You will truly be missed.
by Igglesfan13 on Aug 21, 2009 1:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Excited bout tonight
I don’t live in the Philly area so I’m excited as hell about the game being broadcast nationally tonight! I’m going to sit and watch every snap. The only thing I ever hear about is what it written on here and other websites about the eagles….so I personally can’t wait to see the game. Go EAGLES!
At least with Burress in the Clink taking tonsil shots from Nasty Nate and Minny’s FarveStock #4 going on, Vick isn’t such a media black hole anymore.
Astra Inclinant, Non Necessitant
It is great that two huge stories have now dropped this week to cover up the Vick nonsense, but you and I both know the circus will return next week when he plays his first preseason game.
"THIS IS NOT COLLEGE NO MORE. THIS IS THE BIG MAN SPORT." ~Crazy Lady on BGN forums
by southjersey89 on Aug 20, 2009 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Question
Is A.J. outta here?
With all the unanswered questions about Vick don’t we have to keep A.J.
The road to victory!
I’m most curious to watch our offensive line tonight, along with the backup TE’s. It’s crucial that these lineman get valuable playing time before the season starts, because there is a decent chance that a few of them will be needed to start at some point. As for the TE position, I just want to be assured that we have something….anything…better than Schobel to line up for us when week 1 rears its head.
"THIS IS NOT COLLEGE NO MORE. THIS IS THE BIG MAN SPORT." ~Crazy Lady on BGN forums
3 positions I'm looking at are obviously
TE, LB, and the entire O line. I’m honestly fairly terrified by all these O line injuries. I think that both the Andrews brothers are pansies and basically don’t want to play football. They are essentially stealing money from this team. If Big John was having back spasms he’d just slap a little linament on it and freaking play ball! John would probably be ragging the entire O line quite viciously for bitching about their nagging ailments. John broke his God Dang TAIL BONE before a game (slipped getting out of a therapy/ ice spa) and not only played the game, but finished the season w/ the same injury. Tra & John were a different breed, and the Andrews were deff. not cut from the same cloth.
And as far as TE, and LB go…..we are so thin in these spots and the guys we have filling the holes are so young, I just don’t see these positions as being remotely solid. LB is especially worrying me right now. I’m very, very, very worried about our LB’s being able to keep their heads and contribute. It’s great to have youth on your side, but I’m of the opinion that we not only need to be actively looking for a TE, but we really need to be looking for a Veteran LB to help keep this defensive unit together.
Loooooook here brotha'.....who you jivein' with that Cosmic Debris!!!???
i try to stay positive
because i’ve bitten off so much that i hope i can chew it all, but i’m starting to get that headache this team always gives me.
to okie
i don’t think it is fair to lump shawn and stacy into the same category because they are brothers, stacy is coming off a torn acl last year for crying out loud, the eagles are just being extra cautious with him to make sure he is ready for the regular season, plus he has been at most practices, be frustrated with shawn, not stacy, totally different circumstances.
That makes sense.
I’m just lacking in confidence in both of em. I’m ultra concerned that these guys are essentially going to be a couple of super rich bust’s. Stacy hadn’t really proven much in his time w/ the Bengals and we haven’t seen him do anything with this team so far. IMHO they are high jacking our cap room w/ their incredible salaries and non existent production. Their mansions and yacht’s will all have been financed with our (the teams) money and if Shawn has a boat he should call it “The U.S.S. Unrealized Potential”.
AR normally has a great nose for finding OL players; but I’m afraid the Andrews brothers must have thrown him off by carrying bacon in their pockets.
Loooooook here brotha'.....who you jivein' with that Cosmic Debris!!!???
Question
So this may be the wrong spot to put this but how does Vicks signing screw up our roster? You mean to tell me that andy is going to keep FOUR quarterbacks going into the regular season when that extra roster space could be filled by an DL or, god help us, an OL?
I think we’re going to see feeley tonight, and then in the next game he’s going to split it with Vick. But I think that going into the regular season one of those QB’s is going to get cut/traded. Don’t you think?
The first problem is not knowing how long Vick is suspended for.
Its kinda risky to only have 2 QB’s available for the first 4 games if that turns out to be the case.
Second problem I see is whether he will actually be a better 3rd string QB than AJ at any point this season.
2 years away from the game makes it seem like a stretch.
If we do end up keeping 4 QB’s it make me question further how acquiring Vick will end up being worth the trouble.
The road to victory!
I wouldn't worry too much about Justice getting McNabb hurt
Robert Mathis is sitting out (with a bruise, for an example of how seriously the Colts take preseason), and Raheem Brock is also out for the preseason with a hand injury.
So the RTs will be going up against converted DT (or really de-converted DE) Keyunta Dawson and Mathis Lite (Marcus Howard)
For the few plays Freeney’s on the field I’d be concerned about Donovan’s blindside though
It's shocking what you can miss sometimes. The amazing color changing card trick.
so we meet again, Mr. Brock
or I guess not since he’s injured.
What a collosal f’up that one was. Probably one of Banner’s biggest lowlights.
by Luxury_Used_Vehicles_By_Braman on Aug 20, 2009 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions
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