For the 3rd time in four years, the Philadelphia Eagles are beginning their routine season schedule with a game against the Washington Football Team. As soon as again, lets run through some of the most important things to see on Sunday as the Birds attempt to begin out 1-0.
1 – The COVID-19 NFL
Rather, the Eagles and the Football Team alike will be dealing with whatever artificial crowd noise is being played through the speakers. Its to be identified how that sounds while seeing the broadcast at home. The only NFL video game weve seen so far was the one hosted by the Kansas City Chiefs, who were allowed to have some fans in participation.
There will be no fans in the stands at FedEx Field. And despite using the road, thats a disadvantage for the Eagles since a sea of midnight green generally washes over the stadium in Landover, Maryland.
Weve known its coming so its not a shock but it truly is going to be weird to see the Eagles playing in an empty stadium.
2 – Offensive line problems on both sides
With Lane Johnson doubtful to play, the Eagles might be forced to utilize the following offending line setup:
Left take on– Jason PetersLeft guard– Isaac SeumaloCenter– Jason KelceRight guard– Nate HerbigRight tackle– Matt Pryor
One shouldnt even wish to think of what happens if the Eagles suffer another offensive line injury. Its difficult not to think about when Peters is susceptible to leaving the lineup; the 38-year-old has played 100% of the offending snaps in simply 17 of the groups last 54 video games. Including simply six out of 17 in 2019. Ergo, we may in fact see Jordan Mailata protecting Carson Wentzs blindside at some point. Yikes!
Perhaps Johnson will have the ability to play. Even if thats the case, one has to figure hes not going to be 100%. He was restricted in practice all week while still recuperating from his August ankle surgery.
It would be so fitting for the Eagles to lastly improve at receiver just for the offensive line to fall apart.
The best side is an apparent issue there. Herbig, who turned 22 in July, has actually never proceeded. I saw him get directly whooped a variety of times in camp. Pryor has take on size however does not have ideal athleticism and is most likely a much better fit at guard. The Eagles could decide to toss Jack Driscoll into the mix but hes a Day 3 novice. Anyone occur to keep in mind how Halapoulivaati Vaitai looked in his first NFL action versus Ryan Kerrigan? Oh, no factor.
But the Eagles arent the only team dealing with obstructing issues heading into this match. Take a look at Washingtons starting offending line:
Left tackle– Geron ChristianLeft guard– Wes MartinCenter– Chase RoullierRight guard– Brandon ScherffRight deal with– Morgan Moses
And beyond just the Wentz-Jackson connection getting where it left off, Im likewise referring to Wentz selecting up where he ended. He was red hot down the stretch in 2019. It d be real good to see that rollover into 2020.
Jackson is most likely drawing either Ronald Darby or Fabian Moreau with Kendall Fuller uncertain for Sundays matchup. Regardless, thats an extremely exploitable match. No. 11 must be looking No. 10s method early and typically.
I keep in mind Christian getting straight up bullied when he had to play as a rookie. He might be better now than he was then however he still figures to be a weak point. The exact same chooses Martin, who graded 87th out of 89 guards by Pro Football Focus last year. Washingtons left side could be as equally weak as the Eagles ideal side.
Methinks some may be sleeping on Jacksons potential impact. All of us know he had a huge video game versus Washington in Week 1 last year with eight receptions for 154 lawns and 2 goals. I totally expect Jackson to go off again in this one. Training camp advised us that Wentz absolutely loves tossing to Jackson and its not hard to comprehend why: the 33-year-old receiver is constantly finding a way to get open. And not just on the deep patterns but actually at any level of the field.
The sensation here is that itll be vital for each group to get off to a fast start. Unlike other teams who may be more equipped to remove a deficit, getting off to a bad start might be a death knell in this video game.
4 – Dwayne Haskins in Year 2
We also understand he played some of his best football versus the Eagles in Week 15: 67.9% completion portion, 9.3 yards per attempt, 2 touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 121.3 passer ranking.
Then again. its difficult to see Haskins taking some type of significant leap forward when one analyzes his supporting cast. Seriously, just take a look at the Football Teams depth chart. They have Logan Thomas beginning at tight end. Dontrelle Inman, who is on his sixth team considering that 2017, is a starting wide receiver for them. Not to mention how Haskins had actually restricted offseason associates to get used to Washingtons new offending scheme.
Terry McLaurin had 10 receptions for 255 lawns and two goals against the Eagles last year. Even if the Eagles require to provide Slay help at times, just figure it out.
BGNs Michael Kist currently discussed this match so I advise you check out that. Ill simply repeat that Slay being a genuine No. 1 cornerback would go a long way for this defense.
All of us understand Haskins rookie stats were bad: 58.6% conclusion percentage, 6.7 lawns per effort, seven goals, 7 interceptions, and a 76.1 passer ranking.
Itll be intriguing to see what his role looks like. Reagor was splitting first string reps with J.J. Arcega-Whiteside at the X receiver position in training camp. The Eagles may specifically wish to handle Reagors work given how hes coming off an injury.
Initial reports on Reagors shoulder injury recommended he wouldnt be able to play until Week 2 at the earliest. The No. 21 total pick from the 2020 NFL Draft is prepared to play after completely practicing on Thursday and Friday.
We dont know what Haskins will appear like in Year 2. One would think the 23-year-old will take a step forward in his development. Possibly hell be able to get the ball out faster after ranking 25th in typical time to toss as a novice. Perhaps he wont take many sacks.
Reagor wasnt utilized much a vertical danger in camp despite the fact he has that speed. He was mainly reliable reviewing the middle on slant routes. Will be fascinating to see if thats still the case in video game action. Even if hes not capturing a deep bomb, Reagor might still threaten as a YAC weapon.
On paper, Haskins is among the worst beginning quarterbacks in the league. Itll be pretty worrying if he lights it up against the Eagles defense again.
7 – The Antonio Gibson experiment
The Football Team plainly felt urged enough by what theyve seen to release Adrian Peterson. Provided how Chris Thompson utilized to provide the Eagles difficulty in the past, they better not sleep on Gibsons explosive capability.
Eagles protective organizer Jim Schwartz provided his thoughts on Gibson earlier in the week.
Gibson was an interesting possibility heading into the 2020 NFL Draft offered how he was seen as a receiver/running back hybrid. His efficiency number at Memphis were terrific! Gibson logged 19.0 lawns per reception and 11.2 backyards per rush effort. He scored 14 touchdowns on just 77 overall offensive college touches.
Q. I wished to ask you about the rookie theyre most likely going to start at running back, Antonio Gibson. You do not have any pre-season tape of this kid, so you got to pass his college tape when he was essentially a slot receiver. Your thoughts on him and the difficulty that he and his receiving skills and speed present to your linebackers.
Due to the fact that he did get running back snaps, I would not always think that he was just a slot receiver last year. We did go back and view the method he played in 2015 at Memphis. Hes a little bit different than some of these other guys that have been that running back/wide receiver, since typically they might be a little bit on the lighter side and things like that.
And when he is in the open field, you know, were going to have to do a good job dealing with and possibly even gang taking on, because were not talking about a 180-pound or 190-pound guy. Were talking about a guy thats most likely around 230 pounds on Sunday and has the speed, if he can make you miss out on to go the distance, however likewise might use his power and try to run guys over.
Hes a little bit various. We would anticipate him to definitely have a huge role, and were sort of just speculating on how they would use him. Well figure it out on Sunday.
SOME MORE QUESTIONS
Instead, the Eagles and the Football Team alike will be dealing with whatever synthetic crowd noise is being played through the speakers. One should not even want to believe about what occurs if the Eagles suffer another offensive line injury. Washingtons left side might be as equally weak as the Eagles ideal side.
Terry McLaurin had 10 receptions for 255 backyards and 2 goals against the Eagles last year. Even if the Eagles require to provide Slay assistance at times, simply figure it out.
How efficient is Miles Sanders going to want being limited in practice all week?
Will the Eagles be captured off guard by unanticipated appearances from Washingtons brand-new coaching staff, featuring head coach Ron Rivera?
Will the Eagles offensive coaching modifications manifest in the type of any new wrinkles? More Wentz out of the pocket?
How is Jalen Mills going to handle the shift to security?
Does Jalen Hurts get any technique play snaps?
