Can we please just get rid of the first quarter? Would anyone really even care all that much? Seriously, when’s the last time something good happened in the first quarter? Answer: never. it’s a dumb, pointless quarter that should be removed for the benefit of football. Or at least that’s the way the Eagles probably see it.
It was a pretty banner day for the birds, except for that whole first quarter that is. This was the type of win Chip Kelly needed to win back his locker room.
This was the Eagles game to lose from the get, Sam Bradford threw the Saints a few bones in the first quarter to keep things interesting, but for the most part, they couldn’t touch the the birds. They held the momentum pretty much from Josh Huff’s 40 yard opening kick off return, well aside from that first quarter, Huff made his presence felt early and often in this one.
Over the past few weeks Sam Bradford has struggled to find a wide receiver he can consistently trust, Jordan Matthews has been his usual go to, but he’s got a bad case of brick hands that he just can’t seem to shake. There have been a lot of drives this season that have ended on a Jordan Matthews drops. Luckily, Josh Huff came to play today.
He may of only had four catches, but they were pretty crucial catches, most of which extended drives, with one in particular going 41 yards to the house. Huff has’t had his name called very often this season, nagging injuries have been bugging him since the preseason, but he finally seems to be making good on some of that training camp hype. I don’t think that it’s coincidence that the offense just so happen to have its best game of the season when someone steps up as a consistent receiving threat.
If Josh Huff getting more playing time means eating into Nelson Agholor’s snaps, than that’s perfectly fine by me. Drops are contagious and Agholor was patient zero with the brick hands that are afflicting Jordan Matthews. I say they let the kids take a seat for a few weeks so he can just breath and adapt to the speed of the game. Agholor went to the locker room early due to an ankle injury, if he needs to miss time, the Eagles would be wise to let him take his time and heal and not rush him back, give Huff the reps and see how things go from there.
The running back situation should get interesting over the coming weeks. DeMarco Murray finally had a quality game leading the team with 83 yards rushing and 37 receiving. You’d think DeMarco finally having a solid game would provide some better understanding of how the Eagles should handle the position, but not when Ryan Matthews nearly matches Murray’s production in less than half the carries. Kinda makes you wonder if Ryan Matthews is gonna start thinking DeMarco Murray is leaving too much meat on the bone. But in all seriousness, it just looks like Ryan Matthews has more of a burst, when Murray tries to bounce a run outside he gets swallowed up a lot before he can round the corner, Matthews on the other hand can beat defenders and cut it up field.
Ryan Matthews has started one game this year, faced a better run defense than Murray has seen all year, and out did any of Murray’s performances from this year. I know Murray was the higher profile free agent, but Matthews is a former first round pick and probowl running back, but DeMarco needs to get his ego in check and realize that there are two star running back on this team, it’s hardly the time to start asking for more carries.
For as good as the offense was, the player of the game didn’t even play on that side of the ball, it just goes to show how good of a game Fletcher Cox had. Cox finished with a team high six tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles, all just a typical day at the office for Cox.
Cox and sacks just go together, its as simple as that.
Fletcher was clearly pissed when he was rob of a probowl spot last season, this year he’s going to do his best to remove any shred of doubt in the minds of potential voters. It really seems like Cox gets better by the week, I don’t want to compare him to JJ Watt because he’s just otherworldly, but if he keeps progressing like this, he could reach the level of the position’s elite.
Next up: The New York football Giants. Odell Beckham Jr, SCARY, the rest of the Giants, meh. With all that said, winning this game is pretty important, the Eagles need to build on the momentum this week established. One win is nice, two is better, and three is a streak, and with the hole the Eagles have dug themselves, they could use a nice winning streak.
More importantly, the Eagles need to win because they can’t lose anymore ground in the division, they’re already 0-2 and another lose means, at best, they can only finish .500 in the NFC East, that’d make playing in January all the more difficult. The Giants, as ridiculous as it sounds, currently stand as the biggest threat in this division next to the Eagles, the Redskins are a bad, racist joke, and the Cowboys are being held together by staples and Scotch tape.
As of this moment, things feel good in Philly, the offense finally moved the ball well and the Eagles got the win in a very important game, you know things are going well when Brent Celek is hurdling people.
Chip Kelly’s seat is nice, cool, and cushiony, the fanbase is happy, so his job is secure, for the time being. Hopefully all this can quiet the Chip Kelly to Texas/Oklahoma/Oregon/what ever big name college football program lost that week rumors that people love to get off on. All Im asking is for a week were I don’t have to hear about Chip Kelly jumping ship for some sweet college offer, a la Jim Harbaugh. Chip Kelly is way too chill to be like Jim Harbaugh.
Things are good, but lets not get too excited, I look at this like the Eagles just beat the Packers in the preseason. Yes, they just showed a lot on the field and look like they could be a very could team, but the Saints are one of the worst teams in a division that was so bad its winner didn’t even have a winning record. So yes, they showed a lot, but no it does not really matter because your only the best if you can beat the best and the Eagles track record leaves me with very little to believe they can beat the best.
I am optimistic about this team going forward, but it’s a cautious optimism. Im probably just putting up a mental wall so I don’t get myself too excited because I’ve been hurt in the past and I really don’t want it to happen again. Freud would probably have a field day on me, but such is the life of a Philadelphia sports fan.
Snowballs & Batteries 