The Philadelphia Eagles Look Ready For The Regular Season

The Philadelphia Eagles rolled to their third consecutive victory in the preseason Saturday after defeating the Indianapolis Colts. With expectations at a record low, the Eagles are looking like they could fly under the radar in 2016.

The first offensive drive for the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday looked bad. A sack and an interception that bounced off the hands of the ever-inconsistent Nelson Agholor gave the Indianapolis Colts the ball on the Eagles’ 33-yard line. As has been the case all preseason, the Eagles defense rose to the task. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has his defense seemingly firing on all cylinders. While it’s not wise to rest your laurels on the performance in the preseason, the Eagles appear to be thriving under the new regime.

Sam Bradford looks like one of the biggest beneficiaries of Chip Kelly’s departure thus far. Once again running a traditional offense, Bradford has been deadly accurate through three games. Bradford has completed 32 of 40 passes for 285 yards, two touchdowns and one “interception” in the preseason. Not a bad performance for a quarterback many were claiming to be over-rated and overpaid huh? While the competition tonight was not equivalent to what he’ll see starting September 11th, Bradford did what he was supposed to do against backup players.

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Prior to tonight’s game, the Eagles wide receivers didn’t appear ready for a challenge. Their recent acquisition, Dorial Green-Beckham, looks like he could emerge as a certifiable nightmare in the red zone however. Green-Beckham embarrassed Tay Glover-Wright as he caught his red zone touchdown on Saturday. It’s difficult to believe that the Eagles offense won’t be significantly better this upcoming season. The quality work, and opportunities, in the red zone thus far is very encouraging. After a superb performance in the dress rehearsal, the Eagles starters can enjoy some time off before Week One.

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One receiver who might not be on the 53-man roster is Rueben Randle. Randle caught both of his targets against the Colts, but neither went for more than seven yards. The inconsistencies that have plagued Randle throughout his career have continued to haunt him in Philadelphia. With the onset of Paul Turner, Randle can ill-afford to lose the faith of the coaching staff. While I find it difficult to believe that Randle and Chris Givens will both make the roster, I think Randle has the better body of work throughout the offseason.

Speaking of bodies of work, the Eagles defense sure seems to be rebounding from the Bill Davis era. Roster cuts on the defense are going to be a difficult task, particularly along the defensive line. Beau Allen is looking like he could start for half the teams in the league. Brandon Graham has continued his steady improvement and almost resembles a first-round pick. Then there’s Fletcher Cox, who is going to earn every cent of that new contract.

The secondary looks improved as well. Nolan Carroll had another interception last night. The bad taste left by Byron Maxwell, Cary Williams, and Nnamdi Asomugha‘s performance recently is slowly being whitewashed. Rookie corner C.J. Smith is pushing Eric Rowe for a job. Finally, Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins appear to be the best combination at safety since Brian Dawkins and Michael Lewis.

Preseason can be an interesting gauge for fans and teams alike. The games don’t matter, the starters don’t play much, and the play-calling is vanilla. Despite these warnings, it’s difficult to overlook what’s happening thus far. The Eagles are playing good football in all three phases of the game. With just one more game left in the preseason, we’ve likely seen the end of the starters. The tail-end of the roster will shape up when the Eagles take on the New York Jets to conclude the preseason. As the roster stands currently however, I think we’re all in for a pleasant surprise from the Birds in 2016.

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