Philadelphia Eagles Preseason Preview Week 2
The Philadelphia Eagles got off to a sloppy start in preseason last week, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–14. Nate Sudfeld threw two interceptions, Rasul Douglas gave up two touchdowns and nobody seemed capable of making an open field tackle.
There was plenty of good to take away from last week’s game as well. The running game was solid for all four quarters, Sidney Jones looked comfortable in the slot and Jordan Mailata, the former rugby star playing in his first football game ever, played pretty well after giving up a sack on one of his first plays.
The second preseason game is typically a good mix of your starters and backups. The starters usually play 1–2 quarters, depending on how things go, and the second stringers eat up most of the snaps after that.
Here is what I will be focusing on during Eagles preseason game number two:
Players Making Their Preseason Debuts-
As a write this, we’re still 2–3 days away from knowing exactly which of the injured players who were out last week will play and who will still be held out. There was a big chunk that missed last week’s game, especially at running back, and it will be key for them have a strong showing.
Donnell Pumphrey and Matt Jones are already behind Josh Adams for the fourth running back role on this team. Adams had a couple of really good runs last week while Pumphrey and Jones were out. Jones was signed to a non-guaranteed contract this offseason. The Eagles have relatively nothing invested in Jones. If he is out another week, you can pretty much kiss him goodbye. Pumphrey was drafted in the fourth round in 2017. The Eagles don’t want to pull the plug on him before his second season really begins, but he has to show the coaches something this month. If he’s out again, Adams becomes the favorite to make the roster as the fourth back.
More Matt Pryor-
Rookie guard/tackle Matt Pryor has been getting rave reviews and held his ground last week. He’s going to get more snaps and more attention this week against a better front. He’s not battling for a starting spot right now, but he is trying to prove he’s the best reserve linemen on the roster and the first guard off the bench. He’s also making a case for taking over the left guard spot in two years when Stefan Wisniewski(or sooner if he is traded).
Shelton Gibson-
Last year Gibson struggled to catch anything, whether it be practice or preseason. He was kept as the sixth wide receiver based purely on potential last year. Last week, Gibson looked like an NFL wide out that can make an impact consistently in the regular season. He ran good routes, his speed was evident on his 63 yard touchdown and he played well on special teams. If we see more of the same this week, you can go ahead and lock him up as the fifth wide receiver.
Last year Gibson struggled to catch anything, whether it be practice or preseason. He was kept as the sixth wide receiver based purely on potential last year. Last week, Gibson looked like an NFL wide out that can make an impact consistently in the regular season.
Josh Sweat-
Sweat is a key player to watch not only Thursday night, but the entire season. Brandon Graham has not signed a contract extension yet and is currently slated to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. If Sweat stays healthy and impresses, the Eagles may feel they can move on from Graham and use that money for a future Carson Wentz contract extension.
Sweat had a few explosive pressures last week, but still has to get better against the run and develop a better array of pass rush moves before he can take on a bigger role. Right now he’s the clear cut fifth defensive end(sorry Steven Means). I believe he’s a year away from taking on a bigger role, but how he develops this season will determine how big of a role he earns next season.
Kamu Grugier-Hill-
I was so impressed with KGH’s play last week. Outside of Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham, he was the Eagles best linebacker against the Steelers. He was always around the ball and got blew up several run plays. He’s still not great in coverage, but as a base linebacker his run support in zone coverage is what is going to win him a starting WILL job.
Sidney Jones-
Thursday night should give us a heavy dose of Sidney Jones. He’ll be a first team slot corner and a second team outside corner, so he’ll probably log more snaps than any other Eagle against the Patriots. It will be a good test for him. This will be the game(along with practice of course) where he can lock up the slot corner spot. He’s going to be so key to this defense all season long. Patrick Robinson was the only real loss the Eagles had this past offseason. He’s taking over his role as both the slot corner in nickel and the backup outside corner in base. If he can lock that role down, or even be an upgrade, this defense has a chance to be special.
Tre Sullivan-
Sullivan really walked into a great situation this season. Chris Maragos is coming off major surgery and the Eagles don’t have any safety depth outside of Corey Graham. If Sullivan is at least competent at safety, he makes this roster. Last week he couldn’t make a tackle to save his life. He made me miss Jaiquawn Jarrett. Hopefully this week he will be better. Ideally he wins the fourth safety job.
