Preseason Week 4 Report Card: Eagles turn the New Meadowlands into "Sack City"

The Eagles' preseason is over and the results have been mixed. The team ended up going 2-2 in the exhibition season following a 27-20 loss at New Meadowlands Stadium against the New York Jets. The offense really struggled until late in the game and the defense was up-and-down. The game certainly sets the stage for an intriguing final weekend of the offseason. The Eagles have a ton of decisions to make and could add several new faces in the coming days.

What We Know

• If Emmanuel Acho doesn't make this team, I will be crushed. I have said on Twitter several times that he has easily been my favorite new Eagle this offseason and I have been extremely impressed by his instincts and speed. The guy is easily the third best inside linebacker on the team and could eventually take over for DeMeco Ryans. I will talk more about Acho later in the report.

• CFL product Chris McCoy is now an NFL player. If he doesn't make the Eagles roster (spoilers: he will), then he will play somewhere. He was fantastic Thursday night and has been throughout the preseason outside of Week 3.

• If anyone on the offensive line gets hurt, the only reserve you can feel comfortable with is Allen Barbre. Honestly, the second unit was horrific against the Jets, who normally have zero pass rush. I wouldn't be surprised if the team cut everyone but Barbre as backups and brought in two or three new guys.Matt Tobin has a shot though and they seem to like Julian Vandervelde for some reason.

• If the Eagles cut Matthew Tucker, he will likely be claimed. A lot of the fanbase wants him on the practice squad, but after these last two games and the Giants and Cowboys suffering running back injuries, I can't imagine he isn't claimed. I think he has proven he can be valuable in the redzone and I could see the Eagles keeping four running backs with the speed of the offense.

• Zach Ertz has a serious issue with drops. If you watch his college tape, you'll notice he is about as accustomed to drops as he is touchdowns. I am not overreacting, as he has had issues hanging onto the ball all summer. With James Casey dealing with a hamstring, it is imperative that Ertz's hands show up to start the season.

• The cornerback depth is, in a word, gross. Trevard Lindley was injured in last night's game and joins Curtis Marsh and Brandon Hughes on the DB MASH unit. Outside of starters Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams, the team can really only count on Brandon Boykin, who gave up several completions on the outside against the Jets. I would be shocked if there aren't two new cornerbacks on this roster by Monday.

• Nick Foles clearly doesn't want to leave Philadelphia, because his performance on Thursday night left a lot to be desired. Kelly blamed the offensive line for his struggles but Foles did hold the ball too long at times. His wide receivers and tight ends made his stats look worse than what they were with several drops, but Foles clearly didn't play all that well. Then again, he was working with pretty poor talent.

• Everette Brown clearly wants to play in the NFL. Unlike Aaron Maybin with the Bengals, Brown is making sure his last stand in the league actually works out. If Brown isn't on the Eagles' roster come Monday, he won't be on the street very long. He has been able to get to the quarterback with relative ease. Now, let's also keep in mind that he did so against players that could be washing cars or working at Pei Wei in a couple of weeks. So let's not get ahead of ourselves with his performance.

Remaining Questions

• I don't mean to sound like Bernie Kosar, but the entire right side of the second-team offensive line should be ashamed of themselves. Julian Vandervelde, Danny Watkins and Michael Bamiro looked awful against future All-State agents and carnival ride attendants. Bamiro is more of a project than a life-size puzzle of the Titanic and Watkins makes firefighters prefer Kurt Russell as a representative of their profession. The fact that Vandervelde is viewed higher by the coaching staff than Dallas Reynolds is very hard to believe following the last night's game. As I said above, I wouldn't be surprised if Barbre was the only backup retained. I think Matt Tobin has a real shot of making it. He was crucial on the first Tucker touchdown and the follow-up two-point conversion.

• The drops of wide receivers and tight ends. Just going off of notes from the first half, Zach Ertz, Clay Harbor, Greg Salas, Will Murphy and Chris Polk all dropped catchable balls. If you want to make the roster, you catch the ball when it hits your hands. It's a very basic rule, like putting the toilet seat down when you have a lady in the house.

• Brandon Boykin really needs to stay on the inside. He gave up a few passes and looked outmatched on the outside. That said, he wrapped up extremely well and his tackling has greatly improved.

• Matt Barkley is not ready to start at all this year. He has been incredibly erratic during the preseason and I don't feel like he sees the field as much as he thinks he does. He has talent and led two touchdown drives but his pick-six was just lame.

Miscellaneous Musings

• It is funny how much Eagles' fans are against keeping Matthew Tucker on the roster. People need to realize this team is going to need a lot of backs.

• The game plan seemed to favor throwing to Jeff Maehl. Darkhorse for a roster spot?

• I will be watching the waiver wire for cornerbacks like there is no tomorrow (because there won't be if we don't upgrade our depth).

• I know he is greatly disliked by most of the fanbase, but I am just not sure how anyone can genuinely dislike Kurt Coleman. The guy is the definition of a team player and really showed a lot of courage by playing cornerback tonight. If he was absolutely awful, that could have really stuck out to other front offices and he could have been done. Instead, he wanted to stay in Philadelphia, so he went out to prove he will do whatever he is asked. At this point, I like Colt Anderson's special teams prowess, but I would keep Coleman over him in a heartbeat. Anderson can't play safety for more than a few plays a game.

• Guys like Jake Knott and Damion Square make me smile. While you typically don't want several undrafted rookies making your roster, these guys have just proved that scouting isn't an exact science. Knott looks better than a mid-round pick like Casey Matthews ever has. Square is a Cedric Thornton-like diamond in the rough despite coming from a major program (Bama). They are both going to make this roster in my opinion.

• The CSN Philly crew thinks Clay Harbor is getting traded. They predicted the David Sims trade last year so it is worth noting. Stay tuned to the Harbor situation as the team could look to add a cornerback or safety in a deal.

• Prepare yourself for a mass exodus of offensive linemen. There are currently 15 on the roster and the Eagles are only likely to keep eight to nine guys. At least one of those spots could be filled by a linemen that's not on the team.