Eagles 31, Rams 13: Cleaning Out the Notebook
By Bob Wankel
Here are some random thoughts this Monday morning on the Eagles 31-13 season opening win over the Rams.
The other running back from Pitt. I’m all for getting the ball in rookie running back Dion Lewis’ hands, but he needs to make better decisions as a returner. While it’s important to remain aggressive, Lewis can’t afford to catch the ball eight yards deep in the endzone and only take it out to the 11-yard line to open the game. That a set a bad tone for the opening drive. A second quarter Lewis return failed to reach the 15-yard line. That’s simply not going to work.
Center of attention. Much has been said about the importance of center Jason Kelce quickly making the transition to the NFL. Kelce, as the game wore on, appeared to get more comfortable. Still, the Eagles had to waste timeouts and were called for multiple delay of game penalties. Truthfully, the onus probably lies more on Andy Reid than anyone else for this, particularly given that’s it’s been a fatal flaw of Reid’s for years. Kelce, however, did appear confused on a few occasions early in the game.
The wildcat. Ronnie Brown made the wildcat a league-wide fad a few years ago in Miami, but Andy Reid needs to quickly forget about that. While I want to see Brown get 7-10 touches per game, I don’t want them coming out of the wildcat, especially if it’s going to produce a run for no gain that almost gets him killed. Brown’s legs went in three different directions on the failed rushing attempt.
The kickers. It’s going to take awhile for both Alex Henery and Chas Henry to hit their stride in the kicking game. Fair enough. But Henry’s first punt attempt was terrible. In a dome, with ideal conditions, Henry needs to be better than he was yesterday. He averaged only 36.3 yards per punt, with none landing inside the 20.
Discipline on third downs. The Rams were only 2 for 12 on third down, but there were a few occasions in which bad penalties extended drives. Jason Babin was called for a terrible personal foul penalty, while Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was also flagged for a penalty that extended a drive. Against better teams, like Atlanta, the Eagles won’t be able to get away with this.
Dominant defense?We touched on this a bit yesterday, but it’s worth a second mention. The Eagles had great success rushing the passer yesterday, but allowed 154 yards rushing and 5.9 yards per attempt. The “wide-nine” scheme employed by defensive line coach Jim Washburn allows for opponents to have some success in the run game, but the Eagles’ interior defensive lineman have to do a better job getting penetration and stuffing lanes, particularly with a weak linebacking group.
Looks like you dropped something. Another reason the Philadelphia defense was successful was due to the inordinate amount of drops by Rams receivers. The Rams dropped at least seven catchable balls yesterday–the Eagles won’t be so lucky in future games.
Get out of the man’s way. Defensive end Juqua Parker has been in the end zone before–he intercepted a pass against San Francisco on October 12, 2008 and returned it 55 yards for a score. Clearly, he was intent on getting back into the end zone, so much so that he wouldn’t let anyone, even his own teammate, stop him. Parker picked up Sam Bradford’s second quarter fumble and ran it back 56 yards for the score, stiff arming teammate Moises Fokou in the process. The guy was in the zone.