The Linc - Eagles at Raiders Game Day

IT'S GAME DAY!

Don't forget to follow the wonderful BGN writers on Twitter:

Brandon Lee Gowton - @BrandonGowton

Mike E. Kaye - @mike_e_kaye

James Keane - @JeromesFriend

Brent Cohen - @EaglesRewind

Mark Saltveit - @taoish

Josh Collacchi - @PFF_JCollacchi

BGN Radio - @BGN_Radio.

Let's get to the links...

Eagles vs. Raiders 2013: Full Game Coverage - BGN
All of BGN's coverage of today's game in one place.

The Hurry Up: Previewing Eagles vs. Raiders - James Kempski, Philly.com
On this week's episode of The Hurry Up, Philly.com's Jimmy Kempski is joined by CineSport's Noah Coslov to preview Sunday's Eagles-Raiders game in Oakland.

Three-And-Out: Eagles-Raiders Predictions - Birds 24/7
Most of the time it’s clear I have no clue what I’m talking about, but in this instance I’ll just come out and say it: How Foles will bounce back from that start two weeks ago is a complete mystery to me. My main issue is that he wasn’t just missing throws against Dallas. He wasn’t seeing the field and failed to identify wide-open receivers. For most of the past two seasons, Foles has showed a level of competency that was missing in that Cowboys game. I’m anxious to see if he can rebound, but am taking a "show-me" mindset.

Game Preview – PHI at OAK - Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
I can’t say I’m confident because the Raiders are a weird team and weird things happen when you go to Oakland. At the same time, they aren’t a good team and this sure feels like a game the Eagles should win. A lot depends on Nick Foles. If he struggles and the Eagles settle for FGs and play sloppy football, the Raiders can absolutely win. If the Eagles score 20 or less, the Raiders will be ecstatic. If Foles gets back to his old self and the Eagles can score in the mid to high-20′s, Oakland will be in a world of hurt.

The Eagles at midseason - Daily News
Not A disaster, but at least slightly disappointing. That's how I'd rate the Eagles at midseason. The 3-5 record is more or less what most of us figured. The way they got here is not. After a summer of frantic-paced practices and blaring music and player excitement about Chip Kelly's offense, we were expecting bears riding unicycles and 49-47 scores and offensive linemen lined up with the wideouts - which actually happened, but only in the opener. What we've gotten in Year 1, since that giddy Monday night at FedEx Field, has been less thrilling. Not without promise, but less thrilling.

Read-Option Progress Report - Bill Barnwell, Grantland
So, where does the read-option stand? Somewhere between where it was and where its detractors think it will end up. It’s very obviously not dead. It’s also not the mind-blowing force of nature that it was for San Francisco in the playoffs last year, nor could it ever really be that consistently good. It’s an ever-evolving part of about half the offenses around the league, some much more than others, but just like an NFL team would never run play-action or line up in the shotgun on every single snap, it’s also unlikely to use the zone-read as a base offensive concept. It’s not a gimmick and it’s not an offensive panacea. And if you want to have a discussion about it that extends the argument beyond those two poles, you’re going to have to wait a lot longer than eight weeks to truly figure out how it has changed the game. Until then, all we can do is keep taking its temperature and see how the league is adapting on both sides of the ball.

Chip Kelly Update: Rock Bottom & Rock Bottomer - Mark Saltveit, Fishduck
None of this has unfolded the way it was expected. The Eagles’ defense was written off for the year by all concerned, but it has actually tightened up a great deal. They have held their last four opponents to 21 or fewer points. Sure, three of them suck on offense, but the Cowboys brought the league’s second-best scoring machine to Lincoln Financial Field and left with just 17 points. Only Kansas City’s dominating defense has held them to fewer points (16); against non-Eagle teams (including the Chiefs), Dallas averages more than 30 points this year.

Eagles' odds to win weak NFC East still decent - John Gonzalez, CSN Philly

According to Bovada, however, the possibility of the Eagles winning the division isn’t as implausible as their recent on-field performances might suggest. The Eagles are 2-2 in the NFC East, which puts them one game behind the Cowboys for first place. That’s good enough for the Las Vegas oddsmakers to list the Eagles at 4/1 to win the division. That’s the second-best odds in the NFC East. The Cowboys (4/9) have the best chance, according to Bovada, to claim the NFC East crown. Washington (6/1) and New York (9/1) were installed third and fourth, respectively.

Scouting The Raiders - PE.com
For the second consecutive week, the Eagles will be led by a quarterback coming off an injury. A week ago, Michael Vick returned from a hamstring injury against the New York Giants only to reinjure the hamstring in the Eagles' second consecutive division loss. This week, with Vick back on the shelf, Nick Foles is set to play his first game since suffering a concussion two weeks ago against the Dallas Cowboys. That game against the Cowboys marked a low point for Foles' career, as he completed just 11-of-29 passes for only 80 yards on the heels of an NFC Offensive Player of the Week performance. To make matters worse, of course, Foles suffered the concussion on the final play of the third quarter and was sidelined until he was able to complete the NFL's post-concussion protocol.

More from Bleeding Green Nation:

• Eagles vs. Raiders 2013: Full Game Coverage
• Eagles Mid-Season Rookie Review
• BGN Radio: Eagles-Raiders preview, plus win free Eagles tickets
• NFL Week 9 Fantasy Football Guide
• Eagles vs. Raiders 2013: Game time, TV schedule, trivia, online streaming and more
• Eagles vs. Raiders 2013 Preview: Who is the real Nick Foles?